As a former Special Agent and firearms instructor for U.S. Customs, I think I can lend a little light on the subject of the CS-1.

The CS-1 was the brain child of Mr. Mark Humphyville. He was hired as a firearms expert by former Commissioner William Von Raab. Mr. Humphyville had come from the Aberdeen Proving Ground staff. He had no law enforcement experience, and very little handgun expertise.

Mr. Humphyville belived that the .357 Magnum cartridge was the best "one shot stop" capable handgun. And without any law enforcement experience, he had no idea what it took to carry or conceal a large frame .357 Magnum revolver, in the line of duty.

Mr. Humphyville set the specs for the new revolver as it had to have a 3 or 4 inch barrel, and have a useable service life of 10,000 rounds of duty .357 Magnum ammunition. S&W put their bid in with their standard 686 revolver in both barrel lengths. Mr. Humphyville was also a national match high power rifle shooter, so when he looked at the factory specs for the 686, he felt the tolerences were not close enough, and drew up specs with much closer tolerences. He did this, believing that the CS-1 would be more accurate, like a match grade rifle. S&W developed the gun, and the contract was awarded to them.

At the time the guns came to the field, the Customs Service was using a 60 round qualification course. Most agents who carried revolvers, were carrying the .38 Spl +P+ Treasury round, instead of full house .357 Magnums. (The Treasury round preformed very well, and produced much less recoil and muzzle flash.)

When the CS-1's came into the field they were looked at as being too big and heavy for many agents to conceal or carry. Since most of the Special Agents work is done in plain clothes, the large, heavy revolver was just not a welcome sight. At the time the Customs Service policy allowed agents to carry personally owned handguns. So many agents opted to carry personally owned weapons.

Then came the malfunction problems. With many agents using the Treasury .38 round in their CS-1s, a new and serious malfunction began to arise. With the closer tolerences that Mr. Humphyville designed, the unburned powder from the Treasury load, would build up under the extractor star during firing. This would cause the extractor star to begin to push out from the cylinder face, and cause the cases to press against the frame. This caused the CS-1 to first have a very heavy trigger pull, and then eventually lock up completely. I have seen this happen many times during the 60 round qualification course. Causing agents to have to stop, and remove the unburned powder from under the extractor star, before being able to complete the 60 round qualification course.

This was unacceptable is a duty handgun. The CS-1 were recalled for repair to the Customs Firearms Program staff located at Ft. Benning, GA. The guns were modified, and sent back out to the field. However most of the agents chose not to carry the CS-1 due to it's large size, and reputation for not being reliable. (The recall seemed to cure the malfuction, but by then, most agents did not want to rely their lives on one.)

Approximately two years after it was introduced, the CS-1 was replaced by the S&W 6906 9mm pistol for all Special Agents.

To my knowledge, there were approximately 3,000 3 inch and 3,500 4 inch guns purchased on the contract by U.S. Customs. After the guns were replaced in the field, there were many sold during the exchange sale program. Lew Horton purchased many of them, and my 3 inch gun was one of them.

The Customs Service never did allow their Agents or Inspector to purchase the guns directly from them. Many Agents who wanted their guns, placed their business cards in the gun, when it was returned for exchange sale. Very few ever got the chance to buy their gun from a distributor.

After Janet Reno stopped the exchange sale program, many for the guns were sent overseas to some friendly governments, as part of foreign aid packages. Some were modified to only shoot Simunition cartridges, and were sent to the field offices for use in training. Alas, I do believe many were destroyed by the Clinton administration.

I enjoy my CS-1, and it was one that was recalled and is now a reliable handgun in my collection.