Smith & Wesson SD9 & SD40 Pistols

Smith & Wesson has announced two pistols which will be unveiled at the 2010 NRA Annual Meetings, the SD9 and the SD40.  Both pistols are brand new designs utilizing knowledge gained from the M&P pistol line to create a line of ergonomic and affordable defensive pistols.  Both guns are available in standard capacity and California capacity magazines.

Apparently, the trigger is an all new design, which Smith & Wesson is calling the SDT, or Self-Defense Trigger.  These are clearly being sold with an eye towards the concealed carry and self defense market – in fact, Smith & Wesson even says as much in the sales material!  “Specifically designed for home and personal defense”, right there in the flyer.  I actually think that’s kind of awesome when you think about it; for the longest time the concealed carry market was barely acknowledged by major manufacturers with just sort of a “wink and nod” policy towards self defense as a driver of firearms purchases.  In recent years though there has been a major attitude shift as major companies such as Ruger and Smith & Wesson are now directly appealing to the concealed carry market as a target demographic.

 The SD9 and SD40 sort of look like an M&P and a Sigma got together and had a baby…personally I’m hoping this gun trends more towards the M&P lineage than the Sigma in terms of trigger pull and shootability.

What I really like is that it comes direct from the factory with a good tritium night sight which I believe is essential on a serious home defense or concealed carry pistol.  I’m looking forward to getting one of these in my hands and putting some rounds through it!

10 Comments

  1. More choices are good, I guess, but I don’t see the point. It’s not like the M&P is hugely expensive. The small (between $100 and $150 in street price, looks like) price difference is dwarfed by the amount I spend on ammo.

    Maybe I’d see it differently if I didn’t already own and love two M&Ps.

  2. To me this sort of looks like an updated Sigma. The lineage of the M&P pistols owes more to the 3rd Gen inasumch as they were marketed (originally) as more of a “law enforcement” pistol; the Sigma was always marketed as a consumer pistol and this sort of follows that.

  3. The “optional self defense trigger” is described as offering the “same pull from first round to last.” Sounds like double-action only with a trip through the marketing department. Anyone know for sure?

  4. Don’t want to hijack the thread, but is it true that the NRA Annual Meeting is going to be held at a venue that doesn’t allow guns?

  5. This is technically correct – the state law in North Carolina prevents people from carrying in convention centers and stadiums, and as such the Charlotte Convention Center is off limits for concealed carry. This was NOT the decision of NRA, and is just an unfortunate consequence of trying to find host cities large enough to handle a convention of NRA’s size.

  6. You guys are very lucky , as we will not be seeing the SD Series in Canada for sometime due to the Barrel . I asked thier Rep and they said no longer barrel lengths to this date 🙁

  7. Canada required barrels 107mm or longer.

    The SD9/40 is a rehashed Sigma, so its barrel is 102mm long.

  8. I do wonder if they’re finally going to drop the Smegma from their lineup now that the SD9/40 is hitting the market.

    Also, I did not know about that particular law in Canada. What exactly is the purpose of that?

  9. With a few exceptions, handguns with a barrel length under 105mm are prohibited firearms in Canada.

    Replacement barrels are usually a mm or two longer “just in case”.

    So unless someone is going to make drop-in barrels 106mm or 107mm for the Sigma’s or the SD9/40, it looks like they will have to buy M&P’s.

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