S&W 3rd Gen love/hate?

I love them. I HAD 11 (457, 908S, 910, 915, 2214, 4006, 4506, 4566, 5904, 5906 and 6904) third gen S&W's until this evening. I stumbled upon an 915 up for auction with low start of $275 with zero bids and two hours left. I ended up being the only bidder and winning the auction. My otd cost will be $340 after the transfer on my end. I will keep picking these gun up for less than $350 every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

I am still on the lookout for a DAO third gen for my collection.

I like Gen 3s but don't have any yet. I do have a pair of Gen 2s NIB that I like, though I may sell the 559 since I don't like nickel pistols. Neither has been fired; the 559 has packing grease still. The 539 should go to the range soon.

Love them. Have had at least 25 of them over the years. Am left with two 5946’s, one 3953, one 5906, and a 4566. Love the mag disconnect. Love the heavier fast trigger pull. Prefer a hammer. Wish S&W still supported them but not only are they tough so parts breaking is unlikely, but I only use mine for range toys for the most part so they don’t get abused. My house gun is a 5906.

But for carry, I have gone to striker and polymer, only because of the weight. I’d prefer to carry a hammer fired gun but until they make one the same size and weight as a S&W Shield I’ll stick with the Shield. But they are my favorite guns to shoot at the range.

And unlike anything plastic, they just look good.

Trey Veston: The exposure only Began less than two years ago at age 63. No time span for nostalgia.

That first 3rd Gen. - the all-steel 5906 - was just for the range. It was my first semi-auto, centerfire handgun Made In America (it wasn't to relieve any guilt)! The purpose was to compliment my foreign 9mm guns with a very high quality, metal, DA/SA gun made here.

Last December (to repeat an earlier post) I bought both a 908 and 6904. The 6904 isn't exactly a heavy gun, and is compact, very nifty.

The single-stack, light weight 908, very high on the official Nifty Scale, weighs only 26 ounces.

I like the 2nd generation best.

I love 3rd gen S&W semiautos. They will feed anything and I prefer DA/SA and all steel. I guess that's why I like CZ guns so much, too.
I have a 6906, 5906, and a 4506. All PD trade ins and in near new condition.

I was in a smith transition course from revolvers to smith autos in 1989. Went to a 469 in plainclothes, along in my career I picked up my 457.I carried that gun till I retired. Most reliable easy shooting gun I carried. I still have it and love mine. I bought my uniform glock when I retired but it is in its box and I have not shot it in years. The old 457 is still a favorite and I still carry it when I can.

I carried a 4046 for two years on duty. Hated the DOA and the mag disconnect. It was also a boat anchor. I was so happy to turn it in when we went to Glocks. Now there were some very nice models in the 3rd Gen lineup. I think I still have one of the economy versions in 40 S&W tucked away in the back of one of my safes.

I do not like either the double action or single action trigger pull on the 3rd Gens....However there is one 3rd Gen that I am very fond of...It is the 4506 which is probably one of the best auto handguns for hunting...It will shoot .45 Super out of the box with no issues...even with the stock recoil spring...If it makes anybody feel better an 18# spring is what S&W put in the 1006 and it works well in the 4506. I also really like the hammer drop safety...If you have to cock the gun when you see a deer comming then have to let the hammer down later you can do it much more reassuringly with the hammer drop than using your thumb on a 1911. Not sure about all 3rd Gens but my 4506 is the most accurate stock auto I have ever owned or shot. I have worked on the single action trigger and although it will never be as good as a tuned 1911 it is now at least acceptable for hunting..Now that I have a holo red dot mounted on mine I think I may have my ultimate deer auto...Other than for hunting I have no great love for any of the other 3rd Gens...There are lots better choices out there...

Duplicate

I like them. Top one is my EDC, bottom one is my trainer.

Love them! I have been carrying them since the 90s till today. Started with a 910 issued to me, then a 4506-1, 4566 on duty and a 4513TSW, 3913 and 457 for off duty/Court gun.

In retirement from Investigations I picked up a CS45 and CS9 - I wish I'd had the CS45 back when I worked plainclothes. And the CS9 is a constant carry gun.

Great pistols! The likes of which we won't see again, from s&w anyways. I won't carry anything but 3rd gens. Regards 18DAI

I wish more people would hate on them. The prices need to come down, at least until I have all the ones I want.

The mag disconnects are easily removed, you can literally pierce the plastic and rip them out with a steel pick, no disassembly required.

The triggers aren't great, but you can acclimate.

In my experience, their durability and reliability can only be matched, not beaten.

They are fantastic suppressor hosts, quiet due to long lock time and very reliable with a can mounted. That's more than one can say for glocks and other striker fired pistols. Beretta 92s will rival them, but the open slide causes more debris in the face.

The model nomenclature seems confusing at first, but is actually really sensible. It's systematic, so you don't have to commit every model to memory like Glock, just have to remember what the digits stand for and you'll be able to quickly decipher finish, caliber, frame size, frame material, barrel length and action type across the dozens of variants. For 9mm, the numbering system also differentiates between single and double stack mags.

The reason the 3rd gens went away was cost. They were expensive to make, and could not be competitive in the LE market with the rise of polymer striker fired guns, and offering so many options was also a logistical nightmare for S&W. It was nice for the customer to have such an array to choose from if they knew what they were looking for, but in this day and age, giving so many options can actually hinder sales with a lazy buying public who can't be bothered to do any research or actually understand the intricacies of a product. That's why automakers began putting together option packages rather than having every option individually selected by the consumer. People think they want choices, but at the end of the day, most would rather only give a vague notion of what they want and then be told what to buy.

MachIVshooter said:

I wish more people would hate on them. The prices need to come down, at least until I have all the ones I want.

They are fantastic suppressor hosts, quiet due to long lock time and very reliable with a can mounted.

Click to expand...

Boy, from your mouth.......

Mach, are you speaking, then, of internal barrel threading? Any info on who might undertake such a project? I'm jonesing for a suppressed 59xx or 69xx......

Like. DA/SA pistols are good for the times when the weapon is carried inside a pouch or pack, or tucked into another type of creative space/place, on my person, as I now tend to do, being retired, and often participating in outdoors activities near water. Plus, when toddler grandsons are around, an actual active safety, plus a long-stroke DA first shot, is added comfort. (I am not advocating unattended weapons!)

In the early/mid-Nineties, I bought a 3913 and a 3953. I liked the 3953 better, so sold the 3914 to a colleague. In the late Nineties, I went through a phase of 1911 pistols being my only carry auto-pistols, on duty and off the clock, so I could concentrate on skill development with the 1911 trigger. My 3953 went to live with a dear friend.

In 2019/2020, I bought a 3913 TSW, and a 908. Now that 9mm ammo is becoming available again, I can soon vet these two. (I actually had enough 9mm ammo, on hand, to do this, but that would have left my reserve supply too low.)

Now that my aging right hand is becoming gimpy, and my left hand is now the one I mostly use to shoot auto-loaders*, I like the safety/de-cock levers being there, to act as “slide rackers.” I bought an ambidextrous set of these levers for the 908, which was manufactured with a single-side lever.

Re-acquainting myself with the safety/decock lever was not a problem. I was issued Tasers, with safety levers that worked in the same directions. Long ago, I learned to do a certain motion, with my thumb, that worked with BOTH 1911 safety levers, and Walther/S&W/Beretta/Taser safety/decock levers.

I ordered spare springs, and ordered some cannibalized spare parts, through evil bay. I have my eyes open for more 3rd-Generation S&W pistols, especially another 3913, and perhaps a 5906. “Pair and a spare” sounds good.

MachIVshooter said:

I wish more people would hate on them. The prices need to come down, at least until I have all the ones I want.

The mag disconnects are easily removed, you can literally pierce the plastic and rip them out with a steel pick, no disassembly required.

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Ouch, brutal!

Driving the rear sight off is (usually) not an ordeal. I like to remove safety assembly from
slide (worthwhile anyway, to inspect & clean out firing pin, spring and bore) but it can be
done with safety in place, with care.

Use padded jaws, and softwood spacer block under slide. Drift from port-to-starboard, after
removing set screw, with a brass punch. Start with light hammer and controlled taps. If
no movement, it's better to use a heavier hammer with controlled taps, than trying to swing
a lighter hammer, harder--all about control, and keeping punch against sight base.

As sight begins drifting, it will reveal the springs for mag disconnect (first) and firing pin
safety plunger (next). On some models, an oval plate covers both springs; on others,
springs are ready to fly out, as soon as sight movement exposes them. They will
disappear if you let them.

To disable the mag disconnect feature, simply remove the spring, and leave the
white or black plunger in the slide (after cleaning out the crud). It may reduce
future accumulation of schmoo, and doesn't affect mag-less function, without
the spring.

IMO, drifting the rear sights off 3rd Gens is a worthwhile practice, just to clean
out the FP safety and mag disconnect bores/springs/plungers, even if you want
to keep the mag disconnect in place. You may be surprised at how much nasty
crud has accumulated in there!

Yiutube has a guy’s excellent series of total disassembly / reassembly videos for a 3rd Gen.

Nice illumination and close-up camera distance.

........ “blubelly” is his nickname.

Ignition Override said:

Yiutube has a guy’s excellent series of total disassembly / reassembly videos for a 3rd Gen.

Nice illumination and close-up camera distance.

........ “blubelly” is his nickname.

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Indeed he does! Blubelly2 should bring him right up

Edit: Here’s The “DEAL”—- you only need a little bit of 'nerve' for this.

You inexperienced novices can do any of this...If.... you follow the steps and advice of guys such as this.My 6904 frame was dis- and reassembled.

Only previous handgun work had been my Sig P6 (frame), using a video. Before that, just trigger groups in my AKMs. It took me a while to get the nerve for a simple AKM trigger group swap!

If it helps, have three or four small baggies to separate groups of small parts from different areas of a gun....etc. Never hurry and you will be fine.

I'm a fan.

Miami_JBT, that 5903 SSV is fantastic!

I would love to have my 4516 and 3913 again. Sold when money got tight in school.

I’ve posted before about my bad experience with a 5906, so those larger framed 9mm 3rd Gen guns I’m not a fan of.

My 4013 was a solid carry gun for me for many years until I went to lighter-higher capacity striker 9mm guns.

I shot the 4013 a month or so back, this was the first time in at least 8-9 years I’ve shot it. Even rusty as I was, it still shoots to POA and is 100 pct. reliable. Even with the slippery factory grips the 4013, or the 3913 9mm’s, are my favorite 3rd Gen Smith autos.



Stay safe.

Ignition Override said:

Edit: Here’s The “DEAL”—- you only need a little bit of 'nerve' for this.

You inexperienced novices can do any of this...If.... you follow the steps and advice of guys such as this.My 6904 frame was dis- and reassembled.

Only previous handgun work had been my Sig P6 (frame), using a video. Before that, just trigger groups in my AKMs. It took me a while to get the nerve for a simple AKM trigger group swap!

If it helps, have three or four small baggies to separate groups of small parts from different areas of a gun....etc. Never hurry and you will be fine.

Click to expand...

That rear sight came out way too easy and judging by how clean it was under there, it’s been off before. I used that video to try and remove the sight and it wouldn’t budge.

The 3'rd gen is what I came up with in 9mm. The DA/SA was fine though the decocking/safety on the slide wasn't my favorite. Liked the Sig approach much better but those were more $ than I could afford in the day of those 226/228 in the mid-later 80's. S&W was at a nice price point.

The 3913 I couldn't shoot worth a bean but I did pick up a 6904 and it is still here. I don't hate it, though love would be over embellished. I find it a nice shooting pistol. Installed a 5904 hammer as I like to have contuinity between the other DA/SA 9mm's.