Not a gunsmith

[Guest Major Pain]

I'm not a gunsmith and don't know much about automatics but have a problem maybe somebody here can help me with. My buddy came by today with a S&W 9mm sigma that he was having problems with failure to feed. It was his wife's gun and I thought maybe she was limp wristing it. I ran two mags thru it and had 3 FTFs. The gun was dirty and he was scolded for not keeping it cleaner but I'm not sure that was the problem. It is almost a new gun and I suggested a good cleaning and maybe polish the feed ramp, although the ramp felt smooth. He is shooting wwb ammo 115gr. He left to give it a good cleaning and I told him I would get on the forum and ask if anyone else has had this problem. I know autos need to be kept clean to be reliable and wwb ammo has a tendency to be a little dirty but is this enough to cause this kind of problem?--MP

[Smith]

Most semi-automatic problems are mag related. That being said a new gun will take some time to get "broken" in. Most say around 500 rounds as a minimal break in time. I'd try those first and then reassess.

[Guest Major Pain]

That may be some of his problem. He said there has only been about 200 rds run thru it.--MP

[nightrunner]

i had a 9mm sigma and NEVER had any problem with it, bought it used but looked to be in very good shape

[Will]

Try another mag if this will not correct problem and ammo is not junk,call

S&W to have it returned for repair. The Sigma is not a known jammer.

[Smith]

The other thing is cleaning. Meaning he probably didn't clean it first and lube it. I'm willing to bet it is a combination of all the above mentioned factors.

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

I have about 2,000 rounds through my Sigma and never had an issue with it. Even when I let it get too dirty, it still performed flawlessly.

[Guest sling]

Well... Sigma's arent exactly the "cream of the crop" so to speak. nate pretty much dinged it on the head. Check the magazines. Are they filthy too? Strip those suckers down and yank the spring out and give it a good rub with some CLP. Work the spring a little bit and see if she loosens up.

The break in period is also a good possibility.

The feed ramp... probably doesnt have anything to do with it... especially since you said it seems smooth. Might check for a proverbial sharp "edge" at the end of the ramp around the throat. Seen it a few times...cartridges dont like hitting that.

[Luckyforward]

Excellent advice from all: a dirty gun with a questionable magazine are where I would start.

[Guest Major Pain]

Thanks for all the info. Just found out its my buddy's first auto and first cleaning after 200 rds. I had to tell him how to clean it and will probably FS and check it for him when he gets done. He usually just wipes it down and oils it, I thought it looked very wet. I think dirty gun is his main problem. Thanks everyone for the help.--MP

[molonlabetn]

Sigmas are actually pretty well known to be very reliable... I would bet that the magazine(s) are to blame. But if not, S&W has a great warranty and customer service. I'd probably try different ammo, a different mag, and maybe a good clean & lube before calling them.

[Guest Major Pain]

Well my buddy brought his S&W 9 by this morning. He said he cleaned it good last night and went out to fire it and had another fail to feed. I took it down and gave it a little extra cleaning and put back together. I took the mags apart and they looked almost new. I took the springs out and stretched them a little and put all back together. I ran 3 mags thru it as fast as I could and no problem. He said he would pick it up this evening and give it a try. I never really found a problem with it. (maybe gremlins?) I'll see how it does when he fires it. Thanks again.--MP

[Guest justaman30]

My sigma 9MM has 760 rounds through it so far, and only a single jam, and I think it was a fluke. Great advice from all the above.

[BigPoppa]

Is this a 1st generation problematic Sigma ? or a newer one with the kinks worked out ?

I wouldn't think WWB is to blame.

[molonlabetn]

Actually, I recall hearing that the earlier Sigmas were the best... after Glock sued them over the design, S&W changed a few things and by accounts didn't get it quite as right. Either way, I've fired several examples many times and never had a malfunction, even when really dirty and really hot.

[edellson]

I am in agreement. Check first to see if it is mag related, and a good cleaning won't hurt. Little chance it is ammo related IMO.

[Guest Major Pain]

I'm not really sure which gen. it is. He bought it used from a buddy and it looks brand new, not even any marking around firing pin and no marks on the slide rails and he got it with a half box of shells that he was told was all that had been thru it. But not sure how long buddy had it or even when the 1st gens. came out. I'm a little auto illiterate cause I usually just deal with revolvers. By the way I think its doing fine now. I ran 3 mags thru it as fast as it would shoot and no problems. He was suppose to pick up today or tomorrow and try it. We'll see how it does. If still having problems he does have a life time warranty. --MP

[Guest Major Pain]

The only thing I did was give a little extra cleaning,(mags included) and stretched the springs a little and its shooting fine now. Told him to run some ammo thru it.--MP