Old Smith Autos should be the new 1911.

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Dustbowl

Dustbowl

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So when will Smith drop the patent rights on the 39 and 59 series of pistols? They have fully embraced the: “We do not support those models anymore. Buy an M&P. It’s plastic and cheaper to make better.

I can see them becoming the new 1911/Ar-10-15, build a gun fad. Couple manufacturers just need to a start making parts and boom, old smith builds. Prices on the second and third Gen Smiths have been steadily climbing. I love my 39 and would 110% be behind this.
 
As much as I love my 39, it will never have the 1911 military pedigree or mystique- despite the fact that a few silenced "Hushpuppy" 39s did see action in 'Nam.

As far as patents....pretty sure those expired long ago. The double action 9mm FEG pistols were mechanical copies of the 59, despite being cosmetically altered to look somewhat like a BHP.

In fact, FEG made an almost direct 39 copy- in .45 no less!
DSCN9316-1.jpg
 
The first pistol I ever bought was a S&W 459. I sold it around 2013. That pistol never shot well for me. Around 2011 I realized it had a bent guide rod so I contacted S&W for parts. I managed to get the guide rod, spare firing pin and a barrel bushing (but not blued) but the parts guy told me that was about all they had left for the 459. It was larger than I wanted to conceal so given it's lack of accuracy (for me) and the lack of parts I sold it at a gun show to a guy who collects old Smiths. I don't regret the sale, I do regret not buying a 686 instead of the 459 back in 1986.
 
The problem with the 39/59 is there are better pistols (of the same basic design) available. The days of the steel 9mm, single- or double-stack, are gone, except for curiosity sake.
 
Charlie98 said:
The problem with the 39/59 is there are better pistols (of the same basic design) available. The days of the steel 9mm, single- or double-stack, are gone, except for curiosity sake.
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With the exception of a special run of 900 steel framed 39s made for a police contract which never materialized, the 39 and 59 have little more steel content than a Glock. They were aluminum framed.
 
One issue with the S&W Traditional Double Action autos is there were so many models of them vs the 1911 and the Hi-Power which really are only one model each. You'd have to pick one model of S&W TDA auto to focus on to make it practical from a parts manufacturing standpoint, and I don't know how you'd decide which one is the right one.
 
Dibbs said:
When they started going on about "S&W splitting", I was kind of hoping the whole facacta M&P line would be doing the splitting away from S&W, so we could start getting back to serious metal guns.
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Sadly, tupperware pistols are probably more profitable than all the rest of their products combined.

Im frankly amazed that they are able to sell enough new revolvers to justify continued production at all. Not complaining, just amazed.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
With the exception of a special run of 900 steel framed 39s made for a police contract which never materialized, the 39 and 59 have little more steel content than a Glock. They were aluminum framed.[/QUOTE]


The problem with the 39/59 is there are better pistols (of the same basic design) available. The days of the NON-POLY 9mm, single- or double-stack, are gone, except for curiosity sake.

There... FTFM (Fixed that for me.)
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Patents aren't the problem. A design that offers nothing special in terms of performance is the problem. The bore axis is high, the trigger guard pushes the weak hand low, the slide-mounted safety is not great, etc. There is a reason that there is no presence of these guns in competitive practical shooting.

They're cool guns. They're a neat piece of history. They're fun to shoot. They're serviceable. They're tough. There's a lot to be said for them. But they don't offer any of the things that has kept the 1911-is format relevant today.
 
Patents have long expired on those designs already. I've got a 5903 and it's a decent enough handgun, but when it comes to gun lego sets with a bazillion options to scratch build them, it'll never take off. 1911's, Glocks, AR-15's, and Ruger 10/22's are currently dominating that niche.
 
Now, I love my steel and aluminum framed guns.
I carried a S&W 4046 for two years on duty. I was so happy to get rid of that boat anchor when we switched to Glocks.
I own two of those so-called cheaper M&Ps and can tell you this. They are a better weapon then the Gen. 3 S&Ws.
The Gen 2 & 3s were great guns for their time, but they offer little in today’s market other then weight.
 
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I figure the allure of old Smiths is that they are old Smiths and were, say CZ or and of the manufacturers knocking off CZ75s to take up the 39/59 mantle, the market would fall flat.

The overall market has moved on and left what was contemporarily great about 39s/59s behind. Resurgence of 1911's, Walther clones and other by-gone relics, not withstanding.


Todd.
 
I owned a couple of the old school S&W autos. Never really did it for me. Perfectly nice and serviceable guns though.

I was always a Smith makes revolvers, Colt makes autos kind of guy. (Except for the SAA). I’ve owned a handful of Pythons. The trigger was ‘meh’ to me.

A nickel 39 with wood grips is a beautiful gun, but when I was shooting .45’s in the IPSC days, the early Smith autos didn’t have the best reputation for reliability as I recall.
 
ApacheCoTodd said:
Resurgence of 1911's... and other by-gone relics, not withstanding.
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The thing is that the 1911 pattern, or at least it's fire control system and basic ergonomics, still offer superior performance. People aren't building and buying $6k race guns with 1911-ish guts because of sentimentality or nostalgia. They're doing that because they offer the best raw performance when it comes to pure shooting. There are things a 1911-ish gun offers that more "modern" designs don't.

The same cannot be said of the S&W autos.
 
sgt127 said:
the early Smith autos didn’t have the best reputation for reliability as I recall.
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Yet the 3rd gen Smith autos in 9mm, particularly the 5906, had the reputation of feeding anything and everything.

While I always kinda liked my 5906, I gladly switched to a (gag) Glock 23; as noted,the Smiths -- for duty guns -- were just too heavy and clunky. Plus the sights and triggers were only average. We didn't appreciate them at the time (although the 3913/3914 seem to have always had a cult following.. Funny how so many of us look at the old S&W autoloaders now through those rose-colored glasses, lots of love coming out for them these days.

I agree with Gunny, too -- the M&P line is a far better duty pistol. Especially the 2.0s. S&W has absolutely nailed it this time.
 
Dustbowl said:
So when will Smith drop the patent rights on the 39 and 59 series of pistols? They have fully embraced the: “We do not support those models anymore. Buy an M&P. It’s plastic and cheaper to make better.

I can see them becoming the new 1911/Ar-10-15, build a gun fad. Couple manufacturers just need to a start making parts and boom, old smith builds. Prices on the second and third Gen Smiths have been steadily climbing. I love my 39 and would 110% be behind this.
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Any patents S&W had on the 39/59 have long since passed into public domain.

However, since the drawings for the 39/59 are the property of S&W, they are under no obligation to release them to the public.

In short, don't hold your breath.
 
The 1-3 gen S&Ws were good quality guns. I never cared for how they felt in my hand and I'm not a fan of the mag disconnect safety. The slide mounted thumb safety operates opposite of the way that it should (IMHO). There are more than enough of them on the used market at low prices. I really can't see making them now as a profitable endeavor.
 
Smith & Weson will do the same thing Sig did with P210, put again in the market small runs charging 980 MSRP, Browning did in the past with High Power last one came at 1000 at Buds with adjustable sights. I am not comparing them, it might happen, if they have enough request from distributors.

CZhen
FL
 
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