"Tactical" Smith and Wesson Autos

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branrot

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What is so "Tactical" about these guns. Other than the writing on the side (which I'll admit does look cool) and the accessory rail attached to the frame, is there any difference between a regular 5906 and a Tactical 5906? If so, what are those differences and is it worth the price?
 
I don't even think they make the "regular" pistols anymore. Now they're all "tactical", which of course is 99% marketing gimmick.

I've had a 4013TSW, a pre-rail version, for four years or so. I like it very much. It's very accurate and has been reliable. I don't care for the big "tactical" etching on the slide, but I can live with it. I prefer the 4013TSW to the Sig P229. I also have a Sig P225, and as much as I love it, I think I like the Smith 3913 a little more.
 
Pretty soon, you relize, that we'll be seeing "Strategic" models, for when a "Tactical" model just isn't appropriate.

Strategic models, becuase of their potentially broader usage parameters, will necessarily carrier a much heftier price.

Blithering ninnyish hoards of gun owners will realize that their tactical handguns simply don't give the comprehensive list of attributes they need, so they will rush like a herd of lemmings to buy these new guns.

Soon after that there will be a call for handguns that combine BOTH "tactical" and "strategic" qualities in the same package.

After several years of furious and expensive design work, a new line of multipurpose handguns will be introduced -- the Unification series.

Because of their multi-purpose function, these guns will, of course, be the most expensive of all.

Because of the inherent logic of combining these two obviously disparate sets of requirements into one package, acceptance of these new guns will be swift and merciless.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of blithering ninnys will be killed in auto accidents speeding from gun shop to gun shop in an attempt to get a unification. Others will be crushed to death as the gunshops overflow.

Assaults on gunshop employees will skyrocket, and UPS and FedEx drivers delivering the Unifications will have to travel under the guard of armed Marshalls.

As might be expected, prices of the unification models skyrocket.

Otherwise sane men sell their entire gun collections to finance a unification.

Others, whose collections won't support the purchase, sell their homes, their cars, their children.

Fact?

Fiction?

Or a stop long the road in the Twilight Zone?

All I can really say is :cuss:
 
I truly haven't kept up with Smith auto prices, but last time I looked, it didn't seem like the new "TSW" pistols were priced any higher than the old versions, at least not more than the standard increase that manufacturers seem to pass on every year.

S&W is now offering their "value" series in stainless steel. They resemble the old "non-TSW" versions - no unsightly laser engraving and no light rail. I'm sure prices are a bit less than the TSW guns. Of course you can find older pre-TSW pistols in NIB or like-new condition if you keep an eye open.
 
I'm a pre-rail 4013TSW owner... and to tell you the truth the only thing "tactical" about this is the fact that it is sooo secretive.


So secret that no major leather goods company will provide a dang holster for it! I had to do a THR post to find out what works and what doesn't!

However, it is super reliable... never had a failure of any kind whatsoever. (Except the one time I didn't seat the magazine all the way prior to a COF on an IDPA course... how embarassing. Magazine disconnect was still installed and I'm squeezing the trigger with no tension and the hammer wouldn't move... DUH!)

New, the pre-rail TSWs were $800-900 guns... no joke... It is listed in the 2001 Guns Digest as list... :uhoh:

I paid less than that since I bought it second-hand... with only 50 rds through it that I know of. I got a bargain... wonder what value attenuation is???
 
I think I’ll put a deposit on a Unification today.
:D
 
Actually there are differences...its got a different lock up system that locks up sooner and longer...lessoning recoil and allowing faster followup shots...the only pair Ive been able to shoot as a pair of TSW and non...were the 3913's...and the TSW shot better.
There are other diff's also..tighter fitting rails...etc.
Personallly I love the guns....but hate the OEM retail price and the light rail......still love the guns.
Shoot well
 
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