S&W 3rd Gen love/hate?

[Steve762us]

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.

It varies.

On a couple of the CHP 4006TSW's, I was able to hold slides in my hand, and tap the rear sights out, sitting
watching TV.

On a 6906 and a 4013TSW, it took several minutes in a vise, and in Fastbolt's words, "the hammer of Thor."

Other 3rd Gens were somewhere in between those extremes, but required vise support.

If you have one that seems more resistant, try unscrewing the setscrew and filling the 'well' with penetrating
oil. Put setscrew back in and screw it down, to pressurize the oil in between sight and slide. Run some oil
around all the edges too, and leave it sit overnite. It's worth the effort. I've cleaned a staggering amount
of nasty stuff out of firing pin safety & mag disconnect bores on 3rd Gens.

 

[Homerboy]

It varies.

On a couple of the CHP 4006TSW's, I was able to hold slides in my hand, and tap the rear sights out, sitting
watching TV.

On a 6906 and a 4013TSW, it took several minutes in a vise, and in Fastbolt's words, "the hammer of Thor."

Other 3rd Gens were somewhere in between those extremes, but required vise support.

If you have one that seems more resistant, try unscrewing the setscrew and filling the 'well' with penetrating
oil. Put setscrew back in and screw it down, to pressurize the oil in between sight and slide. Run some oil
around all the edges too, and leave it sit overnite. It's worth the effort. I've cleaned a staggering amount
of nasty stuff out of firing pin safety & mag disconnect bores on 3rd Gens.

The fact that the ones that were easy were PD guns might be a factor. The sights had probably been off before. Although the one I tried was an NYPD 5946 with night sights on there so the sights had been off before. I tried whacking it with a brass punch and a hammer and I couldn’t budge it. I wasn’t swinging for the fences but they were solid whacks and it didn’t budge.

Believe me, I would love to remove the sights and clean. I’m super anal about a clean gun and would like to get under there, but I was afraid of damaging the gun or permanently damaging the sights. The taking the screw out and adding Kroil and then screwing it back in to squeeze the oil into there is a good idea. But what about the front sight? No screw in that.

 

[Tirod]

One reason for the respect is that the S&W M39 series was designed to replace the 1911. The 1954 Army trials were concluded with that as a submission, along with the Colt Commander. Both made it into production, which one became service issue to most American police departments?

Smith came up with a derivative of the Walther P38, which command wanted, as their specs for the Trials were 9mm, 4" barrel, DA/SA. Bean counters determined that 2.5 million 1911's and hundreds of millions of rounds in ammo storage depots were already there, why bother? So we recycled the ancient 1911's another 30 years putting many into a third arsenal rebuild.

The 1911 rarely made it as an issue LEO firearm. Once the Illinois State Police adopted the M39, the changeover from revolvers started and departments modernized their gun carry by issuing something an officer could carry off duty, on which he was qualified. Most could not qualify on their off duty guns at all, as proven by shooting them in testing "off the record."

While there are some complaints about the Smiths, in the day, they were a major step forward in technology and design, as most were transitioning from revolver to auto pistol, and the Wondernines from Europe were leading the way in the 70s and 80s over there. This came down to the Army once again having to review the now long in the tooth 70 year old 1911 and more Trials were conducted. Eventually, the Beretta M9 was chosen - another Walther P38 derivative. Gee, we could have done that 30 years earlier?

The Smith was head and shoulders better than most duty service handguns in holsters across America. Is it now a viable alternative? May I suggest that when we take off the rose tinted glasses of 1911 adoration we will see the S&W in a clear light - it was considered superior and it was chosen for duty use where the 1911 was still lagging behind, growing more obsolete each decade.

Once polymer was introduced as a frame material, the only regret we should have is that Smith didn't jump in with both feet and convert the M39. Nope, they didn't - but they sure do now. By then unfortunately British ownership of the company may have influenced that. It goes to how do we protect our own national resources necessary in time of war if we allow them to be sold off to foreign owners? What do we issue now? A pistol that is formerly a German company, divorced by circumstances because their own government now micromanages all sales decisions and prosecutes their directors on political grounds for selling to the unliked country of the week. SIG is American now, yet, what do we generally hear about our own? Derision and put downs for the most part, the foreign guns are held superior, and it's worse than discussing who's 1 ton pickup has more power.

It's almost like there is some kind of agenda or something.

In the day, the Smith had all the answers. And it was the chosne gun to carry. It wasn't perfect by any means, and we still gripe about brand new designs missing the mark, but it was considered far better than what we had. Those of us with some perspective to the long term view see this and that's why they are being bought up. I found a 4566TSW years ago for $450, good luck. I consider it my M45 - a better gun than any CMP 1911, which are $1000 more only due to collectors throwing money at them. Observe the masses, do the opposite.

 

[Steve762us]

Front sight surface/contact area is much smaller, not to tough to get moving.
I don't remove them unless the sight is being replaced, they don't have the
openings like rear sight, for accumulation of schmoo.

 

[gnappi]

Seems the popularity of these pistols have exploded, and I have no idea why.

Nostalgia, maybe?

I worked in a gun shop in the 80's and 90's and my recollection of the 3rd Gen S&W pistols was that they were heavy, rattled when handled, and had awful triggers. Ergonomics just weren't that great either.

There were so many versions and models that trying to keep up with all the variations was fruitless.

I went shooting with my dad, a retired FBI guy and Chief of Police, and he brought along his old 3rd Gen S&W issued to him when he made Lieutenant in the 90's.

It was exactly as I had remembered; heavy, rattled, awful trigger, didn't feel great in the hand.

View attachment 1000205

Not sure why they are exploding in popularity these days.

Maybe people just miss an all-metal mid-sized pistol?

I think I would pick up a Beretta Cougar before I would consider the S&W, however.

1. They're not plastic
2. They work
3. Most have mag safeties
4. They're metal.... Oh, see #1

I never heard of an officer who was in a gunfight mention the trigger as one of the things they consciously thought about.

 

[gnappi]

See my signature... nuff said

 

[Ignition Override]

Love-let’s be frank. And such a variety of 1st - 3rd. Gen S&W -----.
Refer to color-coded chart on Google images by LuckyGunner. “S&W 3rd Gen chart” (includes 1st and 2nd).

Didn’t know about Any of these until age 62 . Now 65.

 

[geologist]

3914 LS. It feels good in my medium sized hands. I've only had it to the range once but it shot well for me at 15 yards with both ball reloads and Winchester 115 gr JHP.

I'm used to the DA to SA change and the DA is pretty smooth. My buddy is a newish shooter. Shoots a double wide mag .45 ACP 1911. When he went to try the 3914 for the first time, I warned him three times about the SA being much shorter and lighter after the first DA. I also had him try it with A Zooms before a couple of times.

So he fires the first DA OK and the 2nd SA goes off real early on him. Barrel pointed safely down range on an outside range with a mountain backstop but his 2nd round was very high........

It came with a nice strongside kydex holster, a single mag holder and 4 magazines, one with a flat base plate, the others with the finger extensions.

 

[Old_Grouch]

I only had or handled 2 3rd gen that I didn't like.
4006 - Nothing wrong with it other than it was a .40 cal.
4516 - Feed issues. My 4506 would cycle anything including empty cases. To be fair, S&W determined the problem with the 4516 to be a magazine issue and replaced followers to correct the problem.

 

[Mr. Hill]

The 411 was my first handgun, back in the days when the .40 S&W was all the rage. It’s not fancy, but 11 rounds of .40 S&W is nothing to sneeze at, either.

I don’t shoot it much these days, but I still like the pistol and the caliber.

 

[Mars5l]

Anyone ever have a 915? Came across one today for $450, I kinda want to get a few more 3rd gens but not falling in love with this one but still tempted

 

[Tallball]

Mars51, I have a 915. It's an inexpensive 9mm service pistol... I guess for police departments or individuals who wanted a Gen 3 and didn't have a lot of cash.

I got it from Gary Cole's company, back in the day. I assume to was a LE turn-in.

The sights are plain old-school fixed sights. The finish isn't fancy, but it looks like it resisted holster wear pretty well.

It's a good shooter. The trigger is decent. I can shoot it about as well as any other full-sized 9mm duty pistol. It points well and I like the balance.

IIRC, the 915 is mechanically equal to the other Gen 3 pistols.

There was also a Model 910 with an inferior lockup and plastic parts inside. Those are probably best avoided.

My 915 has yet to malfunction and I enjoy shooting it. It's a great range toy. I would also feel well armed with it for EDC or HD.

Smith And Wesson Model 915

• Tallball
• Feb 14, 2018

 

[Bama59]

Saved 915 from pawnshop few days ago , was full of crud and scratched up grip . Field stripped cleaned and lube fired 50 rounds mag release stuck . Got home cleaned out the mag release and adjusted the button works very smooth now , makes a good companion to my 5906

 

[Heymatt]

Started with a 6946, added a 5906, then a 3913, then a 5904, and a 4513TSW and most recently a 457. Yeah, you could say I’m overly fond of them

 

[Rexster]

Since my previous reply post, in this thread, I have added a very-well-preserved 3914 LS. I then added a lefty Gould & Goodrich Yaqui Slide holster, and acquired a few more decent magazines, via evil-bay. I was gratified to find that the G&G holster will accommodate my railed 3913 TSW. It is becoming increasingly likely that I will be toting a Third-Generation S&W auto, for the first time since the Nineties.

 

[Mars5l]

I grabbed a 915 today. Well its in layaway since I can't take him for another few weeks til it clears from pawn. They sold it to me for $375 plus tax

 

[John_R]

I tried a 9mm Chief Special once. I really wanted to like it, but it was underwhelming to me. I thought the trigger was just average. I held a 3913 in the store once and same thing, I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.

 

[TBL004]

Really like my 3913. The DA/SA took a while to get used to but shoots fine, reliable and compact.

 

[shoobe01]

Love. Sorta wish I could still carry this but I refuse to cut on it for RDS, etc.

Yeah, that's my actual gun, I scanned it and cleaned up it. It is more worn now 20-some years later but is basically as pretty and functional.

Great in every way, I shot it better (by the scores, by the clock) than anything else. It did however need to be cleaned every 5,000 rounds or so Mine personally hence the stocks, and I removed the mag safety. Easy job.

I find it funny how many threads are that someone would like to see a variant on barrel length or finish or caliber, and then people ALSO complain that 3rd gen S&Ws had "too many models." They had everything. Go get what you want. This is a 5946, but I could also have gotten a 6943 (short, aluminum — I actually shot one of those, loved it lso) and... so on. Whatever you want. It was great.


Aside from technology catching up, it also became hard to find parts for it. Sadly. The one on the left is my EDC full size S&W these days, and works even better but it simply is not bead blasted stainless with wood stocks.

 

[Trey Veston]

This $1200 4566 is still on the shelf at the LGS. 2 weeks after being put on display. Price has not budged.

 

[Great Scot]

I just acquired a Smith 3914. Looking forward to getting it to the range. The weight and grip should make it a cream puff to shoot!

 

[TBL004]

Obligatory 3913 pics:


This 3913 served me well. When I first got it (years ago) the first DA shot always went low and left. I changed the trigger/hammer spring to a lower power and that corrected that user error problem. Overall, the 3913 has been very good for me. Sadly, I think it's going to be replaced by a Glock 43X MOS for EDC/CCW.

 

[18DAI]

While I am fortunate in having a......small herd of 3rd Gen guns to choose from, in my semi retirement I find I carry my CS45 and CS9 most often.

Both have been modified with cut down factory Delrin grips. Made by a talented young man over on another board. I put a rubber grip sleeve over the Delrin grip. Anchors the little guns in my hand.

I have had occasion to pull and point them both at miscreants over the last 3 years. Both times they were fast out of the concealment holster and pointed on target. Thankfully, no shots needed to be fired in either case. But the utility of these tiny, accurate, reliable pistols was cemented, for me. I have no desire to use anything else. Ever. Regards 18DAI

 

[Steve762us]

Waxing poetically of the virtues of the CS45 and CS9,

. But the utility of these tiny, accurate, reliable pistols was cemented, for me. I have no desire to use anything else. Ever. Regards 18DAI

Well, I already had a CS9, but ended up chasing down a 4513TSW and a 3914 (just couldn't find a 3913, at the time) on your account. I hope you stick to these two, for awhile!

 

[Heymatt]

I think the term is “enabler”