Smith & Wesson SD9VE: A Budget Friendly Striker-Fired 9 mm

Smith & Wesson’s budget-friendly self- and home-defense SD9VE pistol was introduced on June 1, 2012. “At Smith & Wesson we continue to introduce new and innovative products that provide today’s consumer with diverse and dependable firearms that address their multiple needs,” Mario Pasantes, Smith & Wesson’s senior vice president of marketing and global professional sales said at the unveiling.

“With the introduction of the new SD9VE and SD40VE value enhanced pistols, we have taken the best features of the Sigma and SD series pistols and evolved them into a new generation of firearms that meet our customers’ requirement in terms of both functionality and price.”

The reception by enthusiasts was a warm one, and sales of the semi-automatic 9 mm pistol remain strong. There are good reasons, too. The polymer-framed handgun has a distinctive, two-tone finish and comes with a stainless steel slide with aggressive front and rear slide serrations for improved handling. A textured finger locator aids in acquiring a proper grip and aggressive texturing on the backstrap and on the grip’s front ensure positive purchase, even when wearing gloves or with sweaty palms.

A Picatinny-style rail on the dustcover makes the addition of lasers or weaponlights a breeze, and the gun ships with a pair of 10-round magazines. The standard version of the pistol comes with white-dot front sights and a pair of dots at the rear. A variant wears Hi Viz green fiber optic up front, red Hi Viz dots at the back and comes with a loaded chamber indicator and magazine safety (for those regions where they are required). Weights are 22.4 and 23 ozs., respectively.

Both versions of the striker-fired, 9 mm semi-automatic have 4" barrels and an overall length of 7.2". MSRP for the standard model is $395, while the fiber-optic version comes in at $442.

If you prefer a .40 S&W chambering, prices are identical for the SD40VE, although specifications change slightly.