Smith & Wesson SD9 2.0 Pistol: Full Review

The SD9 2.0 boasts functional and practical upgrades while maintaining an affordable price tag.

August 22, 2024 By J. Scott Rupp

Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases.

Maybe you’ve heard of Smith & Wesson’s SD or Self Defense pistol. The original SD was the successor to the Sigma, which was the company’s initial foray into the polymer-frame, striker-fired category. The affordable SD made its debut in 2010, and it continued largely unchanged for many years—save for the SDVE (for value-enhanced) models and the more recent gray and flat dark earth versions. Those are still in the S&W catalog, although the original SD is available in .40 S&W only.

But with the sometimes challenging economic climate faced by people across the country, Smith & Wesson decided it was time to refresh the SD. The company is fond of the “2.0” nomenclature to indicate an upgraded platform. In the case of the SD, while the 2.0 upgrades aren’t earth-shattering, they are functional and practical—while still keeping the price tag low.

Changes

pistol slide serrations — The new slide serrations on the 2.0 offer good purchase for racking and press checks, and the slide top is serrated to combat glare. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

The SD9 2.0 has a four-inch barrel, and the slide on this version is stainless steel for a two-tone look. One of the big changes involves the slide serrations. The SD always had fore and aft slide cuts, but on the 2.0 they’re deeper, slightly angled and oblong in shape. They do a great job of providing a secure grip for general manipulation and press checks.

The slide is also serrated across its top to defeat glare, and there’s a small half-moon viewing port machined behind the ejection port for determining if a round is chambered. The 2.0 has a steel white-dot front and a polymer two-dot rear, both of which are set in dovetails. Unlike many of the newest pistols on the market, there’s no optics cut in the slide.

Flat Trigger

The SD trigger on the 2.0 version has a flat face for an improved pull. The slide-release lever and magazine release are both protected from accidental activation but easy to operate. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

Perhaps the most significant change involves the trigger. It’s still the Self-Defense trigger design that made its debut with the SD gun, but in the 2.0 it features a flat face and a trigger safety lever. Flat triggers really help in achieving a trigger press that goes straight to the rear, and they offer more mechanical advantage, making the pull easier for a given weight.

With my particular sample, take-up was fairly long, nearly half an inch, and the reset was almost that long. However, the break was a nice, crisp five pounds, 12 ounces. While some rave about super-light pulls and short resets, when you come right down to it, the SD 2.0 has just the kind of trigger you want in a defensive pistol.

Controls include a slide-lock lever that’s an inch long and surrounded by a small molded ridge to keep the lever from catching on clothing. While the lever is fairly tight to the frame, thanks to its length and leverage it’s easy to use as a slide release if that’s your method. The magazine release is oblong and checkered, and it’s protected from accidental activation by a wedge-shaped molded projection behind it. Because of the projection and the fact that the release doesn’t protrude much, you may find you need to shift your grip slightly to activate it.

textured grip — The grip is textured on the sides and aggressively checkered on the frontstrap and backstrap for great control. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

The SD9 2.0 is available with 16- or 10-round magazines, and the pistol ships with a single mag. Magazines from the old Sigma and original SD series guns will fit the 2.0, as will holsters. The grip portion of the frame sports stippling on the sides and nicely sharp, diamond-style checkering on the frontstrap and backstrap. The checkering is fairly aggressive, and I did notice some mild abrasion on my keyboard-commando hands after putting about 150 rounds through the gun.

However, the SD 2.0 stays locked in your hands like it was super-glued there, and you’ll definitely appreciate the aggressiveness if you’re wearing gloves, which tends to allow guns to shift around. A slight bevel in the magazine well makes for easy reloads.

I think four-inch 9mms are the sweet spot for all-around defense guns, and the SD9 2.0 is a really shootable pistol—more so than today’s popular micro compacts. Besides the controllability offered by the size and the grip texturing, the rear-sight notch and the front-sight blade have a just-right relationship that allows quick acquisition and alignment. Rapid-fire Bill Drills were a breeze with this pistol.

At a recent meeting with S&W executives, they said there’s “not a better entry-level defense gun” on the market. I think it would be hard to argue with that. Some might point to the lack of red-dot capability, but adding a slide cut would increase cost, and the $349 suggested retail on the SD9 2.0—figure $300 or less street price—is going to appeal to a lot of folks.

As well it should. The SD9 2.0 is a great-handling pistol with a decent trigger. Not only is it easy to shoot, but it’s small and light enough for concealed carry, and if you throw a light or laser on the accessory rail, you’ve got a solid home-defense gun as well.