Smith & Wesson Single Stack 9mm

[GaryArkansas]

I'm giving serious thought to carrying a Smith & Wesson Single Stack 9mm as a CCW pistol. Something like a 3917 or a variant. Less than ten rounds to be sure, but thin, with great ergos.

Do you carry one?

I know that are a bunch of single stack S&W pistol models. Any suggestions of alternate models?

Any pictures of your pistol in the holster?

 

[45shooter]

I carried a S&W 3913 for couple years in the late 80's.
It was a great pistol... totally reliable and very flat.
It hid in a IWB holster with tucked out t-shirt.
For many years my brother's carry pistol was a S&W 3903.
Actually that was his favorite all around 9mm pistol.
S&W's 3rd generation single column pistol were very underrated and can be found in the used gun market at very reasonable price.

Between me and my brother we still have couple 3913, 3906 and 3903 pistols. They are all great pistols.

 

[mavracer]

3913s make great carry guns.I dont carry one.dad used to have 6906, a very good shooter.

 

[marley]

The safety works the wrong way. Could never get used to it. Nice gun though. Patrick

 

[S&W 910]

while not single stack or 9mm,i owned a 910 and cs40,bought both NIB,both had feeding problems. got rid of them and i no longer trust S&W autos

 

[Golddog]

Long, crappy DA triggers took S&W autos off my list.

 

[Setzer77]

Got a 3913LS, awesome gun. Accurate, reliable, flat. Trigger could be a little lighter, but I'm sure it'll lighten up with use.

 

[Ranger61]

I have a 3953 which is DAO. Its thin, light, accurate and reliable. Its a my most frequent CCW gun.

 

[45shooter]

All my and my brother's 3rd generation S&W pistols were from earlier productions (late 80's) and they were/are excellent pistols. Their DA trigger feels better than my Sig P225 and 226 (about as good as my P-220) and are just as accurate as any Sigs. I don't think I've every had any failures with the pistol that wasn't ammo related.

I had a first generation model 39 and that pistol had a lot of problems with feeding with anhting other than FMJ/ball ammo. My worst pistol was a original model 59 that couldn't feel anything and shot patterns instead of group. Finally, I noticed that 3rd generation 45ACP caliber pistols (4506 series) were reliable but not very accurate.

S&W's first and even 2nd generation pistols were not that good but they got it right when they came out with the 3rd generations. I personally don't like double column 9mm pistols that much as their grip feels too large in my hand but single column pistols feel great.

IMHO. S&W 3013, 3906, 3903 series pistols are very underrated by most shooters. At gun shows its common to see these pistols in very good or excellent conditions selling for as low as $300. Magazines are not too hard to find and can be had for about $20-$30 each which is not too bad.

I love these pistols.

 

[rde]

I have the 908S (budget model of the 3913 series) and the CS9 (Chief's Special). The 908S required a light quick polish of the feed ramp out of the box to correct some feed problems...after the first 2 boxes of ammo I took it in. The gunsmith took about 5 minutes or so and problem solved...can't stop it now..will fire anything. The CS9 has been 100% since day one and is actually my favorite 9mm (and I have a lot of 9mm's). Both are easy to CCW and are surprisingly accurate (given barrel length respectively). I am quite happy with mine.

 

[MICHAEL T]

3913 is my carry when I want a mouse gun I still perfer the 1911

 

[Shipwreck]

One of these days I may get ones of these...

 

[Setzer77]

You should, it's a lot more practical than a FsN


seriously though, I couldn't be happier with my 3913LS. It's more accurate than me, reliable as I could ask. Despite the parts diagram, it's very simple to detail strip.

Ok, I lied, here's my gripes:

magazines: they're not only expensive, they're kinda chinsey looking, although the springs are appreciably strong, and they're actually decent quality, they just aren't poished or stainless.

Hammer: For a $650 pistol, one would think that the seam lines on the hammer would be smoothed out, but they're not. It's not terrible or sharp, but enough for me to gripe about.

Otherwise, I'd recommend such a pistol to anyone considering a 9mm, especially single stack.

 

[strambo]

They're great little guns except the safety goes the wrong way and it has a mag disconnect. An alternative is the Kahr K9, thinner and no slide mounted safety or mag safety.

 

[Setzer77]

The way I see it, the safety is a moot point b/c on a DA/SA pistol, I leave the safety off. I figure, if SIG can get away with no manual safety, and so can FN, amongst others, why use the safety at all? As far as mag disconnects are concerned, it's not a combat pistol designed to drop multiple targets with one magazine. If I need to fire the last round during a mag change, I'm probably dead before hand anyhow. I somewhat prefer not to have one, but it will absolutely not prevent me from buying a pistol otherwise.

 

[Nitrogen]

If S&W made an M&P style in a single stack, I'd be a happy man.
I love my M&P, but wish there was something smaller for summer here in Texas.

 

[strambo]

The mag disconnect isn't a deal breaker. I carried my M9 safety off outside the wire overseas too (sssh...don't tell), and would carry this gun the same way.

The problem with the slide mounted safety comes in manipulation. During a reload or malfunction clearance...the safety (right by the slide serrations) likes to get pushed back down and "on" when you rack the slide. It won't happen every time, but once in a while. It's a little annoying when the gun won't go bang after an emergency reload or tap-rack when you really, really want it to!