I was a slow convert to the 3913 ... I waited until 3 of the other range staff owned a couple of 3913's & a 3914 ... and I'd fired them all ... and I attended my first S&W Armorer's Course ... before I put down my own money on one.
I noticed the one I ordered came with the slide pre-milled & drilled to accept the spring loaded decocker assembly, so I ordered that part and installed it. I have a Ruger P-90DC and like the idea of the decocker returning to the ready-to-fire position. We carry our S&W's ready-to-fire, and I'd looked at a decocker-only equipped pistol at the armorer's course, which seemed like something I'd like to try ...
I asked someone at the factory why my slide had come modified for the spring-loaded decocker assembly, but they had no answer, except that maybe it had been modified and set aside for something at the Performance Center, but then returned to regular inventory. Whatever the reason, it saved me some money and gave me a fast handling pistol when it came to decocking and returning to the ready-to-fire condition.
The latest TSW slides come with this slide modification, in case someone wants to have the spring-loaded part retro-fitted. Otherwise the modification costs about $105 (old price, but that was including the new part) and is done at the Performance Center. (My 4013TSW has the modified slide, but I just haven't gotten around to ordering the new part, yet.)
I added a pair of Hogue grips to my 3913, just to make it fit my hand as though made for me, and which also reduced the already minimal 9mm recoil ... and changed the stock rear sight to one of the Novak Ghost Ring rear sights ... This is a defensive off duty weapon, after all ...
A friend who carries an earlier 7-shot 3913TSW had me install a LPA rear sight on his pistol a couple of years ago, and he's very satisfied with it. I can't get him to understand that 30+ yards isn't normally considered "close-combat" distance for a defensive pistol, as his response is usually something to the effect, " But it's so accurate ..." ... Whatever ...
The 3913/3914 pistols are more accurate than anything their size has a right to be, and are the epitome of reliability. If you can't consistently hit half-inch wooden clothespins at 7 yards, and empty buckshot cases at 10 yards ... it isn't the pistol's fault. If it won't feed modern factory ammunition, it's because the rounds were loaded in the magazines backwards.
S&W created a "standard" in this design.
As far as I'm concerned the 3913 is pretty much state-of-the-art when it comes to compact 9mm pistols ... and is what the ASP wanted to be back in the 70's ...
We also had an instant "aversion" to the plastic guide rod in a 908 we T&E'd for a while ... but it never caused a problem. S&W will tell you that their plastic guide rods will last for the life of the pistol ... and I certainly won't try to disagree with them. I DO like the metal ones, though ... just "traditional" that way ...
A factory armorer once told me the nylon disconnectors used in some of the S&W pistols actually outlasted the stainless steel parts in their intended role during endurance testing ...
If I was in the market for another 3913, I'd probably buy the nearest 908S I could find. I prefer stainless to blued carbon steel, but that's because I'm lazy.
Sure, the TSW's have some additional refinements ... box-type rails versus the standard type of rails found on the previous 3913/14 & current 908 series ... a modified barrel cam profile which delays unlocking slightly longer, resulting in less perceived recoil ... a modifed barrel tab which serves as a visual loaded-chamber indicator ... the love-it-or-hate-it accessory rail ... "better" finish on the external aesthetics ... the slide pre-drilled & milled for the spring-loaded decocker assembly ... ambidextrous decocker/safety assembly ...
But the 908 & 908S will get the job done every bit as well ...
I'll say one other thing ... doing a simple muzzle crown job to the pistols can apparently make them even better ...
