Smith & Wesson 908 - good deal?

[cluttonfred]

There is a Smith & Wesson 908 With box and 4 Mags 9mm on Gunbroker.com with a "Buy Now!" price of $335. Yet no one has bid.

I would prefer a stainless 908s but this seems like a great deal? Is there something I am missing?

 

[steveracer]

Good guns. Thats a good price. Basically these are the economy model of the 3913, and not stainless. I really like them. I have had many 39-series pistols, and they are excellent carry guns. Mags for the 39 series fit, as do most holsters. They are a very inexpensive alternative, and not at all bad quality. Mine shot 2" groups at 15M with factory ammo, and did this without any failures.
My only gripe with these was the darn magazine disconnect. You have to have a mag in place to get the hammer to move. So, if you want to dry fire, which I do all the time, you have to insert a magazine.
I found out later that if you drift out the rear sight, you can remove the mag disconnect, and replace the sight. I have since done this on all my Smith autos, and now I'm very happy with them.
For about the same price, if you don't mind DAO, you can get the 3953, which is stainless and has some nice touches, like front-strap checkering and a smoother slide contour. However, this is really a non-issue if you are set on DA/SA.
The sights for a 59-series are easier to find, and they fit the dovetail of a 908. I found a front night sight for a 5906, and it fit right in place on my 3913.

 

[tinygnat219]

It's a good buy. the magazines alone are selling for 40 bucks and up if you can find them. You better buy it before I do! Serious...

 

[Moonclip]

Not a total steal but with the mags I'd think about it.

 

[StephenT]

I saw the auction. Time's up. Did you get it?

 

[SAG0282]

It's a good weapon and that's a pretty decent price.

 

[rde]

Really like mine. I have the stainless model. Mine was unusual in that it needed the feed ramp polished when I first got it to solve a slight feed issue...which very few people seem to need (I am the only person that I have read about I think). But has been perfect since and is very accurate. I have very small hands and the 908 fits me well. One of those purchases where I made an independant decision based on what I thought would be a good fit and design for me (as opposed to other's that I have purchased because one heck of a lot of people were singing their praises...some of those have been good for me...some not so good). Feel very strongly that I got and am getting my money's worth out of the 908.

 

[aquapong]

I've got the fullsize version of the 908...the 910. It's a pretty good gun for the money.

 

[Coronach]

I'm not a fan of the S&W genIII semiauto, but the 908 and the 910 are two guns of which I have always liked the look and feel. They somehow made the normally clunky ergos of the S&W work for me.

Never fired one, though.

Mike

 

[cluttonfred]

No, I didn't get bite this time.

By the way, I noticed on on the Bud's Gun Shop site that the S&W 908S is listed as DAO -- but isn't that wrong? I thought the 908s were double/single action with a decocking safety and a bobbed hammer.

 

[steveracer]

They are. They have a DAO first shot. You can't cock the hammer to fire them.

 

[cluttonfred]

They are...DAO or double/single? The second shot is single action or double action?

 

[steveracer]

Second shot is single action. The only way they can be considered DAO is in that they have a double-action first shot. That's it. The rest is normal DA/SA behavior.

 

[Moonclip]

IIRC there was DAO versions of another value series pistol, the 457.

 

[cluttonfred]

I know there was a pure DAO version of the more expensive line, not the value line - S&W 3953 in 9mm, IIRC - but I don't recall there being a DAO equivalent to the 908. I wonder if I the factory would make the conversion to DAO for me if I picked up a used 908 and sent it in for an action job?

 

[Z_Infidel]

They will if they still have the necessary parts. I had my wife's 457 converted to DAO a few years back.