S&W 3rd Gens; a growing addiction or How I learned to love a 3913. [Archive]

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Miami_JBT

01-08-15, 20:02

I just recently acquired a 3913 and a 4013 TSW for a very wonderful price. $225 each! I have fallen in love with Smith 3rd Gens and have been adding to the collection. I actually intend to have a melt job done on the 3913 and have it Cerakoted.

3913
http://i.imgur.com/zb4RWgr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zbVgzoE.jpg

Yup, I truly believe that this 3913 will be my carry gun for a very long time. It is just perfect in every way.

4013 TSW
http://i.imgur.com/IQ4G8Rl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5ZS3rNV.jpg

The rest of the collection...

http://i.imgur.com/fkldepe.jpg

4506-1
4566 TSW
5926
4006 TSW
Model 59

GregP220

01-08-15, 23:00

I have a 3913 myself and except for my general dislike of slide mounted controls (safety/decocker) I think it is a hell of a little pistol.

I have it with me almost daily. Ultra reliable and shoots dead nuts on with ammo it likes.

I had a 4506 and a 4006 but those were traded. All that machined stainless steel is certainly a blast from the past. Enjoy them!

SeriousStudent

01-08-15, 23:14

$225 is a terrific price on that pistol. I'd certainly love to find one in that ballpark.

Good luck with it, and stay safe.

ABNAK

01-09-15, 05:40

Miami_JBT

01-09-15, 06:52

I don't know why but I find those S&W 3rd Gens fascinating. I remember back in the early 90's I was eyeing up a "Shorty Forty" from the Performance Center. They were $700+, which at that time was a considerable chunk of change for a handgun so I never pulled the trigger (pun intended). Kind of wish I had.

I had the chance to get one recently at a LGS. They had it priced at $ 600 but I didn't have the cash at the time. When I did, it was already gone.

MistWolf

01-09-15, 06:59

I really liked the 4006 I had, with the exception of the DA/SA trigger. If you like the 3913, find yourself the LadySmith version- you'll really like that one!
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/images/26944.jpg

or if that's too girly for you, the Chief's Special
http://picturearchive.gunauction.com/1364/10208058/acfd633.jpg

DWood

01-09-15, 07:56

I have a 3913 and carried it for a while in a Milt Sparks holster. While I really like the little SW, it is a bit heavy for daily carry with such low magazine capacity. I went back to my Glock 19 and keep the 3913 staged in my house.

T2C

01-09-15, 11:22

Good buy! I would jump all over one at $225. I wore out a 3914, then bought a 3913, which I carried off duty for several years. Accuracy was very good with 125g loads when I shot a lot of PPC. If I could find one at a reasonable price, I would buy another.

Miami_JBT

01-13-15, 11:08

RAM Engineer

01-13-15, 11:36

I've always wanted a pristine 4006 with adjustable rear, as a pure historical piece. Although not the first .40 gun, it was the gun that S&W introduced the .40 with.

Miami_JBT

01-14-15, 07:44

I've always wanted a pristine 4006 with adjustable rear, as a pure historical piece. Although not the first .40 gun, it was the gun that S&W introduced the .40 with.

Glock beat Smith on that fact. But it was the first designed firearm for the cartridge.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/members/mikepriwer-albums-mlp6-picture8201-4006-2a.jpg

steppenwolf

01-15-15, 06:18

So some years ago, I came into a "litte-fired, mostly-carried" police trade-in S&W 4566. One mag but the tritium Novaks were still GTG. Inside it was dirty but that cleaned up quickly. The exterior of the slide near the muzzle showed some amount of holster wear.

Shot it a while - decent trigger too & the sights were dead-nuts on - then sent it off to Tripp Reseach for hard chroming. When it returned, it looked like a new gun. For what I paid for it, the hard chroming was worth it. These 3rd Gen Smith cop trade-ins are some of the best deals going, if you can find them. I haven't seen many on gunshow tables in the last couple of years. Either the word's gotten out on these all-steel Smiths or sources for them are drying up.

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo166/agtman/SW-1.jpg (http://s372.photobucket.com/user/agtman/media/SW-1.jpg.html)

Gary1911A1

01-15-15, 15:12

Great pistols. I like the large frame 45ACP/10MM Third Gen S&W Pistols the best. I have several and even though there is less support from the factory I can't bring myself to sell them off. Here's hoping 3D Printing makes it possible to make replacement parts.

brickboy240

01-15-15, 15:42

I owned (...and tried to like) several S&W d/a-s/a semi autos. The ones that worked (and were accurate) were still clunky, big and way too heavy.

How that company can make such excellent d/a revolvers and such blah centerfire semi-autos is beyond me.

...you can have them

Firefly

01-18-15, 12:01

Maybe I experimented a bit with being a .40 Partisan Peace Fighter and I have had nostalgia for the old 3rd Gen Smiths. I had a 4026 and my first ever issued handgun was a 4586.

I took my 4026 out a while back to shoot and forgot how horrid the trigger was and how finicky it can be. I just couldn't get into it anymore. As I've matured as a shooter, it is clear as day to me that the S&W autos were made for administrators and not shooters.

They look pretty in leather holsters but that is about all.
I will admit bias but in 2015 I don't see myself willingly toting one.

ltcal94

01-18-15, 17:42

I had the chance to get one recently at a LGS. They had it priced at $ 600 but I didn't have the cash at the time. When I did, it was already gone.

I bought when they first came out. It was my first experience with S&W Performance Center and my first .40 . At the time I got it a lot of people that saw it did not appreciate it until they had a chance to fire it. I really enjoyed that gun and regret at times that I traded it away.

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