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Old 06-18-2009, 05:21 AM
anchors anchors is offline
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Default Some questions on my CS45

When was my CS45 in satin stainless serial#VJF7508 made?

How easy do Big Dog grips replace the Hogue's? They seem to be popular,but exactly what is the difference?
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Old 06-18-2009, 06:26 AM
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Big Dogs grips are very easy to put on the CS Series of pistols.I have grip #1 for the CS9 and they came about due to the bulky Hogue grips.When I would carry it on my hip the Hougues would cling onto whatever shirt I was wearing and the firearms profile would "Print Out".Not the situation you want to have when concealed carrying.If I was using a pocket holster the Hogues would cause a great amount of drag and would act like a lint magnet.The difference is remarkable.What you have is a Delrin grip that looks as if it was original factory issue.I also had G add the Gator Treatment to mine and it fits my small hands perfectly.The install is a no brainer.First verify the firearm is empty.Unscrew and remove the Hogue Grips.Switch the frame pin cup to the one G provides.Slide the frame pinholes into place and tap the provided pin into place.Just remember don't allow cleaning fluid to contact the grips for at least the first month to allow the grip treatments to stabilize.You will be another Big Dog Happy Customer....God Bless........Mike
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Old 06-18-2009, 09:41 AM
jpwhel jpwhel is offline
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If you call S&W customer service or send them an email from their CS web site, they will furnish the Mfg date.
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Old 06-18-2009, 01:40 PM
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Default big dog grips

RE: Big Dog grips--search the forum, you'll find lots of satisfied customers, myself included. Not cheap but there's a fair amount of work that goes into making them and in many ways they are a marked improvement over the factory Hogues. Highly recommend them.

Call S&W for mfg date as suggested, they can sometimes even tell you the exact day your gun was made on.
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Old 06-18-2009, 02:25 PM
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S&W can tell you the approx production period.

FWIW, the later production CS45's had some minor differences.

For example, my early stainless model came with plastic sights and a single-sided manual safety decocker assembly, while newer production models came with steel Novak sights and ambidextrous safety assemblies.
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Old 06-18-2009, 04:00 PM
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Default Question on CS45

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fastbolt View Post
S&W can tell you the approx production period.

FWIW, the later production CS45's had some minor differences.

For example, my early stainless model came with plastic sights and a single-sided manual safety decocker assembly, while newer production models came with steel Novak sights and ambidextrous safety assemblies.
My CS45 was made in 2002,it has duel decockers and I think metal sights,since I don't have it yet I can't be sure on the sights.
Would it be advisable to get a new recoil spring set-up and guide rod just to be safe,since this pistol is 7 years old and I have no idea how many rounds have been through her?
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Last edited by anchors; 06-18-2009 at 04:14 PM. Reason: another question
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:00 PM
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Default replace 'em, they're cheap

My CS45 was 10 yrs old when I acquired it. First thing I did was replace the rod and recoil spring. They are super cheap, S&W has them. My gun looked like it had been fired very little when I bought it but for peace of mind and the little cost involved it made a lot of sense to me to replace them. Realized that in my last reply I didn't really answer the ques about how easy BigDog grips are to install---short answer=VERY EASY. They don't screw on like the factory Hogue grips but the driven pin is very easy to install and seems very secure. Many S&W grips install in this same fashion and I'm sure if it wasn't secure, S&W would have abandoned this style of attachment long ago.
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Old 06-19-2009, 10:19 AM
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Thumbs up Grips for cs9

I am looking for a CS 9 or 40 now and when I find one it is going to have a set of Big Dog Grips put on it for sure. They are the best thing around bar none.....
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Old 06-19-2009, 01:41 PM
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The CS9 and CS45 are still listed on the S&W website under LE backup. Can they still be bought new? Just curious since I've kinda been looking for one myself.
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Old 06-19-2009, 03:48 PM
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Since there's no way to know how a used pistol has been treated and maintained, it would seem a simple and inexpensive precaution to replace the recoil and magazine springs.

The guide rod is of a newer design being used where the plunger is not staked into the rod body under a collar, but is pressed into place into the coil of one end of a spring (which can also be removed from the rod).

Here's a thumbnail of a CS45 guide rod and a 4013TSW guide rod, each made in the new design. You'll notice they each have different plungers, one plastic and one metal, and I've placed similar plungers to one side.


The plastic plungers can become somewhat rough after repeated field-stripping due to the slide stop lever's pin being pushed across them. The metal plungers were released later. The trade off to the metal plungers are that they can sometimes make it a somewhat harder to push the slide stop levers in & out as opposed to the softer plastic plungers. I've tried both and I went back to the plastic plunger in my CS45. I really don't have a preference which plunger is used, though.

Recoil springs for the CS45 are relatively inexpensive, and to make shipping costs worthwhile I finally ordered about a dozen recoil springs each for my CS45 and CS9. I shoot a lot, but not that much with just those two guns. I just wanted to lay in a supply to last me for a few years.

The guide rods seem pretty durable. An improvement over the older style. I only have one spare rod for the CS45 in my parts supply and none for my CS9. I ordered the one for the CS45 just out of habit one day while ordering some spare parts but have never needed to use it. I ordered a couple of spare plungers just to see the difference between the metal and plastic versions.

As far as finding a NIB CS45 sitting on some dealer's shelf? Who knows?

The CS45 & CS9 are still listed in the LE/Gov catalog because they're still available for production orders, although I've been told that if they have some left over (overruns) in their vault from a prior production run that S&W will allow a S&W LE Distributor to order one for an individual officer (and the distributor can set whatever price they desire). There aren't a lot of authorized LE Distributors (CA only has 2, for example), though, compared to regular commercial sporting dealers.
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Old 06-19-2009, 04:37 PM
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I ordered a guide rod set as the S&W guy called them,$16.00.That should last me a long time.
I also ordered an extended Big Dog grip,the extension looks just great.
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Old 12-19-2009, 06:16 PM
chazzman5369 chazzman5369 is offline
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GunBroker.com has vendors that are selling Factory New CS.45's Not many around anymore.
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4013, ambidextrous, commercial, concealed, cs45, cs9, hogue, novak

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