S&W, being the first out, there was not much to compare to. The idea of 14 or more shots was awesome then. As other companies came out with their hi-cap 9s, Smith was found to be at the hind tit, generally. Having dozens of them does not really qualify me as an expert, however, through the years, I have had some "bad" ones. A few that refused to extract, for no apparent reason, a model 59 that shot 6 FEET low, a 659 that the frame was machined way off center,(still worked!) Even the ones that did work, the triggers were gritty and awkward. Ergonomics sucked. That being said, I carry a 5906 and own a few others, so I know there are good ones too. Being old fashioned, I always avoided the Sigma series...thank god, as they have a bad reputation, for the most part.