There are two (gunny) things I hate: low combs on rifle stocks, and crappy triggers. And readers, the Smith SD9 VE trigger ain’t nothin’ to write home about. Coming in around 8 – 8.5 lbs, it’s a gritty, terrible road to get there. And like all (or most) things, it can be fixed. But spending a few hundred dollars upgrading a gun that has an MSRP of $379 probably doesn’t sit right with most people. Law of diminishing returns and all that. Our friends at Apex Tactical happen to agree, which is why they sell a Spring Kit for $19.95 that can clean up that mess S&W left in your safe . . .
I’m no stranger to the Sigma family of pistols. In fact, I did a writeup back in late June on how to take a Sigma trigger from awful to decent for less than $5. And while the SD series isn’t a Sigma, the guts of the pistol don’t lie. There are some crappy trigger genes in the SD9’s DNA. But for the price of a meal for a family of four at Subway, your SD doesn’t have to be so low brow.
The 4-piece Spring Kit from Apex contains a trigger return spring, a striker block spring, a striker spring, and a slave pin to help during installation of the trigger return spring. The kit promises to improve the overall characteristics of the SD trigger and bring the pull weight down from the 8’s to the 5’s.
Installation
As with all of their kits, Apex provides a handy video on how to install your springs.
I found Scott’s video to be very well done and extremely informative. Truth be told, had these instructions been written, there’d still be a pile of SD on the bench. Scott is clearly a talented guy, and if you follow the instructions, you too can install one of these kits. My only issue during the install was getting the trigger return spring pin out of the frame. It took me two weekend sessions and probably 2 hours of struggling before I finally got it. When I emailed Scott for some pro tips, his response was the following.
I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the SD kit install. The most difficult part is the removal of that pin. It’s the same process as removing the Glock trigger pin, it just takes some time and practice.
I did have one customer tell me that he spent nearly 2 hours on it and was about to give up so he called me, I suggested he take his mind off it for a while then come back to it. He called back 2 hours later and said “Man it worked, I took a break, had a couple beers and went back and tried again and it came right out”. I’m no advocate for drinking and playing with guns, but it worked for that customer.
I took Scott’s advice, took a week off, and came back to it with a clear mind and a small rubber mallet. I gave it a little mechanical persuasion, and within 10 minutes of picking up where I’d left off, things were going back together.
Range Impression
The trigger pull is now under 6 lbs. which is a huge improvement. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s an easy trek until just the last little bit of takeup. The reset point is still wayyyyy out there, as you can see in the video below. I think that could be resolved, but we have to take a step back and ask ourselves if it’s really worth it. Twenty bucks is a small price to pay to get a good trigger in an inexpensive gun.
Apex did a really great job with this kit, and if you have the right tools to get the job done, don’t hesitate to contact them and get one on order. If you aren’t sure of your gunsmithing ability or don’t own the necessary tools, give some thought to sending your SD off to Apex, and they’ll do the install for you. It will take about 4-6 weeks and cost you $80 + shipping. Better yet, find a friend who’s comfortable and pay them a 6 pack of beer to install it.
Apex Tactical SD Spring Kit
- Includes: Trigger Return Spring, Striker Block Spring, Striker Spring, and a Slave Pin
- Cost: $19.95
- Installation Time: ~20 minutes if you are Scott Folk. Anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours depending on that TRS pin.
- Installation Difficulty: With the right tools, fairly easy.
- Installation Cost: If you choose not go the DIY route, $60 for the installation and $20 for test fire + shipping.
Design * * * * *
The Spring kit is very well designed and comes with all the right stuff to get things done.
Functionality * * * * *
Our T&E SD9 performs flawlessly now. I have had zero reliability issues and would feel totally comfortable carrying the SD.
Overall Rating * * * * *
This is a well-put together kit that will make a “cheap” gun feel like a couple thousand bucks.
If this is true, I may be looking at picking up a 92fs or cx4 storm.
Beretta was never at the top of my list of boom sticks, but I will vote with dollars since apparently my vote here in MD means nothing.
Unfortunately, just because your oppositon is moronic doesn’t make a fact said by them any less true.
Nearly every non-firearms person who knows I carry has said “so, how much did your gun license cost?” . In my estimation, sheeple assume that if you need a background check to work at bank and ID to buy a cell phone, then ownership of a deadly weapon requires a government issued permit.
I overheard a conversation last year at a commons area at my university regarding a VH1 episode on rapper TIs arrest on gun charges. The girls freak out because OMG, the guy had like MULITpLe gUnS!!! One of the guys in the party says he owns a hunting shotgun, and the same girl says “it’s different though, because its licensed…..right?”
***Sigh***
You can find them on Amazon for $19.95. I just installed it on my SD40VE…took about 45 minutes with a small hammer and a roll pin punch set (and it was really my first forray into ‘gunsmithing’ aside from standard cleaning). I followed the Apex video step-by-step. The only advice I would give is that the trigger pin may actually come out easier if you do it in the opposite direction from the video. Otherwise, it wasn’t too taxing, and the video makes it pretty simple.
I bought both the trigger and the spring kit directly from ApexTactical for my SD9VE for under $70.00 with S&H. I used a small hammer and a punch set, a fingernail file, and a pen knife. I also fabricated a home-made armorer’s block from a 3/4″ thick piece of scrap wood.
I have a decent average level of mechanical aptitude so I was confident I could do the job, but I was hoping it would be easier than it was. The trigger pin was a major pain and had to be taken out from the left. Putting it back in was even more of a pain, mostly due to the frustration of reinstalling and aligning the slide catch. I hope I never have to, but I think I could do the whole job in a fraction of the the time now.
I was also one of the unfortunate purchasers of this trigger who had to spend a lot of time filing the new trigger, but with some patience and care, it’s doable. I used the pen knife to shave off the roughened plastic you get from filing and this makes for a nice finish. Also, using the pen knife to remove any unevenness in the plastic seam weld behind the trigger probably got me 50% of the way there.
I watched the video(s) a couple times, then had my tablet with the video running during the entire installation process, pausing and rewinding as needed the whole time.
While I certainly agree with the above comments that you are better off spending that $100 up front on a better gun than a gun like the SD9VE that needs $100.00 or more in modifications, but what can I say, live and learn. I say $100 because I had also earlier purchased metal slide guide to replace the plastic stock slide guide, and that cost another $30.00 or so if I remember correctly. But if you already own one of these S&W handguns with a crappy trigger, this is definitely money well spent. This is really the only thing wrong with this gun which otherwise has worked flawlessly for me since the day I bought it. Not a single misfire or malfunction in 500 or more rounds fires through it. We’ll see if this still holds true since the modifications…
I took my time, and as I said, I wasn’t fortunate get by without filing the trigger, so overall I put about 2 hours into the entire project before I was happy with the trigger and the gun working the way I wanted. It was also a great educational experience.
So the bottom line is, if I can do it, anyone can.
i havent seen a sd9 apex kit over 20-25 dollars…u sure that was the right kit? they are on ebay also, just got mine for $22.59 with 3 day shipping
I recently bought a sd9ve 9mm and a .40 cal. . i would like to know if i made a good decision on my purchases . i read about the crappy trigger situation and would like to know more . since i dont have a home computer can i please recieve a call about this matter 909-275-6411 .. all tho i do read my e-mails i would like to talk to a live person if possible .
I ordered this today, other than the hand strain after 3 clips, I find the weapon outstanding for the money.
Hope softening the trigger pull will add a more relaxing session / response 🙂
30 bux with freight, I’ll give it a whirl.
I just installed the Apex spring kit tonight along with a stainless guide rod and a wider take down plate. This video was extremely helpful. Thank you.
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Excellent review of the Smith & Wesson SD9VE. I purchased and installed the Apex spring kit and also the Apex trigger assembly. Made a big difference in the shootability of this pistol. Then I purchased and installed a stainless steel guide rod and return spring from Stainless Steel Guide Rods and a FireSight fiberoptic sight set from Williams Gun Sight. Huge difference in shootability. While I admit that almost $200.00 is alot to spend on a $300.00 (approximate) pistol, I have to say that this pistol shoots like a custom gun. I’m convinced that the money was well spent. I have run about 2,000 rounds through the barrel and never had a hitch. Happy, Happy, Happy.