Anyone own a S&W Mod. 39 9mm?

[brickboy240]

Yesterday, I was in a local gunshop and the guy had a used S&W pistol that I have never seen before. I admit to not having payed much attention to Smith's autoloaders in the past. I have onwed several Smith revolvers and they're excellent. Their autos never exited me...until now.

What I handled was an early 9mm single stack pistol called the Model 39. This was a nickled version with nice wood grips. It was in immaculate shape.

Yeah, I know its low tech and single stack and not exciting to most, but the thing felt good in the hand and seemed well made. It looked like a decent size for concealed carry, too. Yes, it is bigger than some compact 9mms, but it is slim and the trigger pull was nice too.

The guy was asking 340 dollars for it in the original box, with an extra mag, owners manual and an old leather Safariland belt holster. The pistol was in VERY good condition.

Does anyone own one of these? Were these good Smith autos or ones to stay away from?

I know little about Smith autos, so any advice would be appreciated. I might pick the little thing up...it sure felt good in the hand.

Thanks,

-Brickboy240

 

[mete]

I don't remember all the details but there were three versions . The M39 and M39-2 had jamming and other problems but the third generation M439 and 639 were OK.

 

[Ala Dan]

mete said:

"The 39 and 39-2 had jamming and other problems"

Uumm, excuse me please! All of the 39-2's I've owned did not have
jamming or any other type problems. This includes a factory nickel
39-2 with S/N A222XXX. As a matter of fact, I wish I had that one
back.

Currently, I own a LNIB S&W model 6906 that I hope proves to be as
worthy a firearm as those 39-2's.

 

[flinch]

Hello,

The 39-2 had an improved extractor ( I think that was the only difference). They were used in Nam by the "tunnel rats" so that should tell you how reliable they are. I wish I still had my Nickel 39-2 it was one of the most accurate 9mm's I ever owned. Extra mags were about $ 20. and a little hard to find for me. The greatest S&W 9mm ever. Next is the 3913, 908 etc. .

Great price you wont be sorry.

 

[pogo2]

I've had a model 39 for 37 years

In 1968 I bought a new S&W model 39 for about $125 or so at a gunshop in Virginia. I still have it, and shoot it several times a year at the range. The only problem I've had with it was a broken extractor in about 1988 or so. The gun had an internal extractor and it broke in half.

I sent it back to S&W and they recommended replacing the entire slide with a later version having an external extractor. They said they didn't have any more of the part that broke. It was an expensive fix, as they charged me about $200 for the work and parts, which was way more than I had paid for the new gun. But I had it done, and the gun has worked fine ever since.

At this point the gun has sentimental value, since I have owned it so long, and I would never sell it. I have more modern 9mm guns from Sig and Glock that handle most of my 9mm shooting, but the model 39 keeps on ticking. I have never holstered it, so it still looks like a new gun.

 

[49hudson]

I carried one on duty[concealed] from '69 to '75, at which time the powers that be at Quantico[FBI Academy], determined that it was to expensive to stock parts for both the S&W M10 and the M39.
It was a good gun and I never had any problems with fail to feed, or fail to eject.
Sold it when I was no longer allowed to carry it on duty.
Try it . You'll like it!

 

[Ala Dan]

An all steel* (not alloy) model 39 is highly sought after by collectors;
often times demanding prices starting at $1500 per unit, and those
with detachable dust covers, add 'bout $75 more dollars.

* FooNote: Frame and Slide

 

[GrandmasterB]

I have read lots of good things about the 39. The first handgun I ever purchased was a 39-2 and it was the worst jamm-o-matic POS! I sent it to the gunsmith 2 or 3 times for reliability problems and action work, but it never was reliable so I sold it.

I have no experience with any other 39's and my experience may not be typical, but I personally wouldn't buy another one. YMMV

 

[1832]

I had the chance to pick up a 39-2 a while back, mostly out of nostalgia for the one I carried in the seventies. My partner opted for the HP so we could both use the 9mm. My original never failed me under any circumstances. The recent one is equally reliable. If I were still on the job, I wouldn't hesitate to carry it.

 

[isp2605]

My agency issued the 29 from 1968 to about 1982. My first issued duty gun was a S&W 39. It had a trigger that broke like glass and would shoot like a target gun. Duty ammo at the time was W-W 125 gr SP, Fed 95 gr SP, and Fed 115 BP and BPLE. Never had problems with it feeding any of them. It got me out of trouble twice when the chips were down so I became more than a bit attached to it. When we transitioned to the 439 I bought mine back. Still one of my all time favorites.
Here's a link to a pix of mine. The pix makes it looks like it's rusty. It's not. That's just the way the scanner made it look. But it does have the holster wear.
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=17097

 

[pogo2]

Picture of my model 39

Here is a picture of my model 39 that I have owned for 37 years. It has aftermarket grips from Kelley in Texas.

 

[stans]

The model 39 did have a hump in the feed ramp and usually would not feed hollowpoints. 927 model 39's had a steel frame and these are highly sought after by collectors.

The 39-2 had a straight feed ramp and redesigned extractor. I had one and it was extremely reliable.

The 439/539/639 (aluminum receiver/steel receiver/stainless receiver) had a firing pin blocking safety as well as redesigned rear sights. I still have my 439 and love it.

 

[Ala Dan]

Greetings All-

Great pics guy's, I envy those of you who had sense enough to retain
one of these in your collection. Tonight, I sat here thinking that if I
could only have one gun from MY past; well it would be a S&W model
39-2. Would I give up my 1990 West German SIG-SAUER P228?
Well guys, quite honestly maybe not (?), but it would be a great big
temptation~

 

[cocojo]

I have owned numerous 39's since the 70's. I loved every one of them. I even owned a steel framed one. I like the lighter alluminum one better. I still own one and never seen one as a jammomatic. Great triggers on them broke clean. I have the 39-2 model that's the one I like best. I remember buying them for 150.00 to 250.00 new. I wish they would bring back this gun as original 39-2 model. I have owned a few 59's also never like them as much. Still shoot my 39. The only problem I ever found was that the alluminum frames were rather soft and would wear after shooting. I would find particales of allumium while cleaning but it seemed to only wear so far and stop. That's it, I love the guns I think they look great and shoot great.

 

[akviper]

I carried one for my first few years overseas and as an officer back in the 70's. It had the most natural feel for my hand of any handgun I ever owned. It was easy to shoot and was very accurate. Mine was a 39-2. The gun was fairly light and the hand filling grip made it downright pleasant to shoot. I only had one problem and that was ammo related. Unfortunately, a bad guy was trying to shoot us at the time. It appeared that I had a squib load (name brand factory ammunition) and the bullet entered the bore enough to engage the rifling but didn't clear the case mouth. I attempted to clear the malfunction several times but the extractor did not have enough tension to pull the case and bullet from the barrel. Obviously I survived and I ended up disassembling the pistol and punching the round out of the chamber with a small chunk of tree branch. Auto pistols were still pretty rare in law enforcement at the time so the higher ups convinced me to convert to a S&W Model 19 revolver. I also learned to carry a bug at all times on duty and still do. I still like the 39 and probably would be less inclined to abandon it for a revolver now that I am older and er, wiser? This sounds like a good price for a good gun.

 

[Route 66]

I've owned my 39-2 since the late 70's and it was made in 1974 (s/n A234xxx). It is my 9mm range gun as well as home defense weapon. I run reloaded 124 gr LRN and 115 gr FMJ as well as factory hollowpoints and have no feeding or extracting problems whatsoever. I've always liked the grip feel and that's why I've never sold it. Between the grip feel and aluminum frame it has been a perfect combination for my hands which are on the smaller side. So for home defense and range work it is ideal for me but it's a bit big for CC.

$340 for a very good condition gun plus original box (make sure the s/n on the box matches the gun) plus extra mag and manual sounds like a very good deal to me. I normally see 39-2's in blue in VG to excellent condition for $350 with box, etc. I still see mags available for $20 but you have to ask a mag vendor for them because they are usually buried in the bottom of a pile. I even see them on eBay but always ask if the "S&W" logo is on the bottom because there are a fair number of aftermarket mags out there.

The only disappointing time (and embarassing time) I've had with it was last fall. I attended a two day defensive pistol class and took the 39-2. On the afternoon of the second day (and after about 300 rounds since the start of the class) the gun went DA only on me. I could not keep the hammer cocked but it did function in the DA mode just fine. However I notified the instructor and he insisted I stop using it (fearing it could go full auto) and let me use his Glock 9mm the rest of the day. I sent it off to S&W and they repaired a worn sear. There have been several range sessions since then and it has run smooth as silk as it did before. Even with that problem I'm still going to keep it but I now have a Colt CCO that I'm using for home defense.

So brickboy240 whip out that wallet and get yourself that 39 that I'm sure won't disappoint you. I expect a full report after you buy it.

 

[Yowza]

My dad has one that he got in a trade involving a boat. I used it to take my concealed weapons class since I've always shot it pretty well. Before I knew much of anything about guns, it never got cleaned because my dad didn't know how to field strip it. It would jam from time to time due to dirtyness, but once I got it apart and gave it a good cleaning, it's been quite reliable.

I think it's the only pistol I've held that fits my hand better than my Sig P225. The only reason I like the Sig better is because I don't care for the slide mounted safety/decocker on the S&W.

Rick