Smith & Wesson Sigma

The Smith & Wesson SW, better known as the Smith & Wesson Sigma (named after the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: Σ), was the company's first polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol line. The Smith & Wesson Sigma was introduced in the mid 1990s after the company took serious market losses when Glock began taking a huge majority of law enforcement contracts that were formerly secured by Smith & Wesson. The two biggest blows to the company came when Glock beat S&W to the market with a .40-caliber pistol (the .40-caliber cartridge was developed by Smith & Wesson) and the FBI chose to go with the .40-caliber Glock 22 instead of the Smith & Wesson 4006, which the company had designed specifically for the FBI. In response, a humiliated and desperate Smith & Wesson created the Sigma line as a budget alternative to the Glock. The Sigma pistol was offered in several calibers. The Sigma 9 (9x19mm), Sigma 40 (.40 S&W), Sigma 357V (.357 SIG), and the subcompact Sigma 380 (.380 ACP). However, the two designs were so similar that certain parts (such as barrels) could actually interchange and function. Glock immediately filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Smith & Wesson. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, which is theorized to be around 5 to 8 million dollars. As if this wasn't enough, the cheap build quality of the Sigmas resulted in them being notoriously unreliable and with heavy, gritty triggers. Because of the lawsuit, Smith & Wesson ultimately discontinued the original Sigma models, replacing them with the improved SW VE ("value enhanced") line. Smith & Wesson finally discontinued the SW/Sigma line in 2012 after introducing an improvement of the design, the SD VE line, which is still being produced today. In 2005, the Smith & Wesson M&P, a similar but substantially improved design, was introduced. Unlike the Sigma, the M&P became hugely successful and finally secured Smith & Wesson important law enforcement contracts, including the LAPD and DEA.

The Smith & Wesson Sigma and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Smith & Wesson Sigma SW9F

Smith & Wesson Sigma SW9F - 9x19mm

The SW9F/SW40F was introduced in 1994 to compete with the Glock 17 and Glock 22. These so-called "first generation Sigmas" are easily distinguishable by their lengthy slide, lack of an accessory rail and smooth grip texture. Also notable is that these guns originally shipped with a 17-round magazine, which can be identified by its larger baseplate. The 17-round magazines were later replaced with the 16-round magazine that is commonly associated with Sigmas (and is still being used on the SD line today). The SW9F was initially intended as an affordable Smith & Wesson handgun to compete with the similarly priced Glock, however its poor reliability did not make it a serious competitor for the law enforcement and self-defense markets. The SW9F found unfortunate success with criminals, and the gun's similarity to the Glock (even down to the rectangular firing pin) stumped forensic investigators who only could tell the difference because Sigma barrels did not use polygonal rifling. Because of these similarities, Smith & Wesson was sued for patent infringement by Glock the same year the guns were first released, 1994. Smith & Wesson settled the case and quickly discontinued the SW F in 1996, replacing them with the improved SW VE. Because of their short production schedule, the SW F models are some of the rarest Sigmas.

Specifications

(1994 - 1996)

Type: Pistol

Caliber(s): 9x19mm

Weight: 1.625 lb (0.737 kg)

Length: 7.5 in (190 mm)

Barrel length(s): 4.5 in (114 mm)

Capacity: 17, 16 or 10-round Magazine

Fire Modes: Semi-Auto (DAO)

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Substitute	Tom Berenger	John Shale		1996
American Dragons	Michael Biehn	Detective Tony Luca		1998
Scarred City	Jalil Jay Lynch	A robber		1998
Outside the Law		Peyton's henchman		2002
Belly of the Beast	Steven Seagal	Jake Hopper		2003
	Norman Veeratum	Captain Suthep
		Bangkok police
Torque	Ice Cube	Trey	Stainless slide	2004
Casino Royale		Thug		2006
Haunted Forest	Maris Racal	Mich		2017
Haunted Forest	Jon Lucas	Andre		2017

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Breaking Bad - Season 4			Seen in case; "Thirty-Eight Snub" (S4E02)	2011
Longmire	Bailey Chase	Branch Connally	two-tone	2012
Better Call Saul - Season 2	Vincent Fuentes	Arturo Colon	"Bali Ha'i" (S2E06)	2016
Better Call Saul - Season 2	Jonathan Banks	Michael Ehrmantraut	"Bali Ha'i" (S2E06)	2016
Better Call Saul - Season 3	Vincent Fuentes	Arturo Colon	"Lantern" (S3E10)	2017