SW99 any good?

[855R]

I got a friend that will sell me his at what seems like a good deal to me. I know it's a joint effort between walther and S&W and seems to have some nice features. The gun fits my hand great and has had very few rounds through it. The reason I'm buying is I told him I was interested in the SR45 and he offered up one of his gunsafe queens for less than the ruger price. It's a .45 also so not so many out there. He tells me this is a better gun than the ruger and after checking it out and using the trigger features(DA/SA) and decocker I think I believe him.

[855R]

Well 58 views and not a single "it's junk" I think I'll buy it and shoot the snot out of it and find out for myself.

[Ponderosa2]

I have a sw99 in .40. I bought it new quite a few years ago. It's always functioned fine except for the fact that it sometimes doesn't like to rack the first round when 10 are inserted in the magazine. Aside from that, it's been fine. The problem I have with it is that it has probably the worst trigger on any handgun I've ever shot or handled, but it could just be me.

[855R]

My friend didn't really like the trigger also, but it seem ok to me. Yes a little long on the DA pull but still good to me. I really like being able to reset the trigger with a partial rack without having to eject the round in the chamber. He may have under estimated the rounds through the gun to me because the trigger felt actually smooth. Either way I jailed it. I'm just happy to have a .45 with a rail on it for under $400. I will put a lot of rounds through it and if it passes the test of time it may become go to HD gun.

[acpbrain]

It's a low budget gun , nothin' wrong with that

it is what it is

[lolkopter]

Don't have much experience with that, but love my 9mm walther

[jimmythebrain]

I sure wish that Walther had made an actual P99 in 45 ACP but that never happened. I sought out and bought the closest thing, the SW99 and its larger dimensions changed that magic perfect feel in the hand that makes the Walther P99 special.

I had the SW99 45 ACP (the DA/SA trigger, not the DA only SW990).
The trigger was long and heavy, kind of gritty compared to the Walther P99 counterpart.

Walther actually made the frame but S&W makes the slide (and therefor the striker mechanism which determined the trigger pull and feel).

I inspected the gun closely and found the trigger problem to be from rough edges on the trigger transfer bar and levers that either hit each other or the frame. With the slide off you could see the back sweeping edge of the trigger make subtle unintentional contact with frame at a casting ridge. If one were to simply do a full strip and debur these parts from their casting ridges (not change any other contact part geometry) the grittiness would probably go away. Also the firing pin/striker spring binds and causes a grinding feeling when it gets fully compressed (cocked). You do not feel this when shooting the gun as it happens during recoil impulse. But with dry firing you feel it.

I never did do anything to the inside of my gun like deburring or spring change because it did not fit the heel of my hand well. Eventually I sold it through the classfied section here on Calguns to someone with larger hands.

Before I sold it though, it shot very accurately and the recoil was very manageable for a polymer 45 ACP pistol. It was reliable with multiple bullet nose types. As long as the grip fits your hand well, the SW99 45 ACP in DA/SA trigger is a great buy depending on price. These came from the factory with two mags, different back straps, different sight posts. In near perfect condition with all the accessories, $400 is about the top of price range that I would still consider it a deal. Lower price ($375) would be better but these are hard to find if you are set on a SW99 45 ACP. Since you are not looking for a SW99 I suggest only buying it for a good deal. There are other $400 used pistols out there.

In other calibers like 9 MM and 40 Caliber there are used Beretta PX4's for sale. These are at least current production guns that have accessories available. But the SW99 is a good gun, but do not get the double action only version. Those DA only ones are worse than a Sigma.

[jyo]

Actually, I like my SW99 45 ACP pistol quite a lot---it's been reliable---shoots well---doesn't kick too much for as lightweight a 45 gun that it is---there is not much in the way of holsters for it---the Galco belt slide holster holds mine just fine. The SW99 is a well-made gun---my example has a DA/SA trigger system---not target grade, but not really an issue for me as I shoot a great variety of guns with many different triggers---I have been offered decent money for mine, but I think I'll keep it for now...