Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns S&W 3rd Gen Autos

Having been brought up on S&W DA revolvers, I found that these autos best accommodated my shooting style:


3913


5906


4006


P.C. 4006 Competition 40


645, but with 3rd Generation guts and “other modifications”

All have BAR-STO barrels, single-side safety/decock levers, 3 pound trigger springs, and perform accordingly.

I really didn't appreciate these until the last few years. I sort of came up a gen later when glock got big, I remember all the cops complaining about having to carry the smiths.

I ran across a super clean 39 a few months back, i think it was 375, should have grabbed it.

All but the 3913 are disturbingly “hefty,” so they don’t get carried much anymore. But, they still shoot pretty good:

Nice collection of Gen 3's, Exchipy.

Picked up a very clean Model 5906 9mm about a year and a half ago or so. Only Gen 3 I own. Came with its original packaging, a plain brown cardboard box. Maybe LEO? Don't know for sure.

That was 14 years ago. I still have and shoot the pistol, but I won't discuss the round count lest the Glock guys show up at my house with torches and pitchforks.

My 5906 came set up the same as yours. And, of course, I altered it. But, parts for doing that are getting pretty hard to find, now. The last single-side safety I got was traded off an exhibitor’s pistol at a gun show. I convinced him his pistol would sell easier with an ambidextrous safety installed (all the rage at the time), then swapped it out for him on the spot. We were both happy, though I may have been just a little bit happier.

I have one, a 1006 that I got for a song when I wanted to see what the 10mm hubbub was all about.

I haven’t shot it a whole lot. Enough to know that 3” groups at 25 yards off a set of sandbags is about as good as I can get out of it. It’s also pretty heavy and dang loud. But it has been as reliable as a claw hammer and fairly effective on the few pigs that I’ve used it on. Need to buy a set of dies and start fooling with it more, especially since a member here gifted me a good mold for it.

I’d also like to find a factory arched grip for it. I have the Hogue and a straight back “hair dryer” and neither is ideal for my hand.

That’s the reason my 645 got a BAR-STO barrel installed; it wouldn’t shoot worth doo-doo. Now? See above.

I was heavily into BAR-STO barrels for all my 3rd Gen Smiths and Colt GMs. Not so much, anymore, since Irv Stone died and his kid moved the outfit from 29 Palms, in the Mojave Desert, to “Biker Town,” in South Dakota.

I had for a time believed the name BAR-STO was inspired only by the nearby desert town of Barstow. Turned out that “BAR” was for Irv’s wife, BARbara, who handled the business administration while Irv STOne handled R&D and production. Barbara was a joy on the phone. Together, they built a thriving business with an extremely good reputation.

If you ever find a clean one try the 5903 alloy frame. Not a lot heavier than a G17 though I don’t recall the exact numbers offhand. And MecGar makes a 17 round nickel magazine.

As fond as I am of 3rd Gen Smith autos, because of changed lifestyle, circumstances and environment, I’m not as likely to be “chosen” in the same way I once was. Therefore, magazine capacity does not carry the same importance for me when compared to convenient concealment and light weight. So, these guys get called upon most often now for every day carry:





When I was serving as a county prosecutor, and as an arraignment and court trial judge, the 645 pictured above accompanied me for every court appearance in a special, quick access, soft leather briefcase, which also contained a Threat Level IIIA ballistic panel. Seemed like not everyone was truly a “satisfied customer.”

I had a couple of 459 S&W pistols back in the 1980s, and currently own an old Model 39. One weakness of the entire line, gong back to the 39, was the tendency for the screw holding on the magazine release button to back out under recoil, requiring periodic checking and retightening. All three of mine have had that issue.

I picked up a nice 39 last year at a local pawn shop. I think that's about what I paid. Just liked it because of its history. It's the progenitor of the US Police 9mm semiauto craze.

I have had a strong love relationship with my 457 for years. Bought it back in the 80's, carried it for quite a few years, and it is still my go to pistol when push comes to shove. For some reason, the grip angle is perfect for me - every time I raise the pistol, the sights are perfectly aligned and ready to go. I do have a Para Elite Officer for my EDC anymore, but I still love my 457. A new one in the stable that has yet to be fully tested is the M&P 2.0 10mm by brother gave me.

The mag release button is actually a nut, which threads onto the mag catch so that the amount of push necessary to release the magazine can be adjusted. On the underside of that nut are notches into which fits a spring loaded plunger housed in the frame. When the spring loaded plunger is engaged in one of the notches, the mag release button (nut) cannot be turned without first depressing the plunger out of engagement with it. It’s kind of a pain to deal with, but it keeps the mag release button from backing out, and should require no further attention once set. Works well. So, I can’t figure why you’ve had the experience you described, unless the mag release button has been set so proud that the plunger can no longer sufficiently engage the notches.

I never adjusted it. Both the 459s were bought new. But the buttons on them both came loose, nearly falling off, and needed screwing back down every few hundred rounds.

When I bought my 39-2 last year, the mag release button was nearly falling off when I bought it. Luckily, I remembered that it just required screwing back down, so I got a good deal on it, i.e., the owner of the pawn shop likely assumed it needed the attention of a gunsmith, so priced it accordingly. Naturally, while I pointed it out to him, I never let him in on what an easy fix it was.

In looking more closely at the photo of your 39, it appears the mag release nut and the plunger are protruding far more than is usually seen:



Typically, the plunger is flush, or nearly flush, with the frame surface.

Suggest you turn the mag release nut in till it stops (due to plunger engagement). Then depress the plunger and turn the nut in another half to full turn. The plunger will engage a notch in the nut every half turn.

I noticed that in the picture, too. At any rate, it's not like that now. I guess I screwed it down after the picture was snapped.

Did it lock in place?

It's good and secure. That doesn't mean it won't shake loose in the future, though. I know this from repeated experience with my two 459s.