Thinking about changing my screen name to Semiman.

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Traveling Man

That is a sharp looking little tool. I like the milled front on that one. I have had my eye on a CS45 or CS40 for a while but I might hold out for one of those instead. Great find.

Well that shows what I know! I thought it didn't look like a second so figured it must be an early third.

Looks like a first class pistol wish I could carry one, lived with Colt for forty years and the safety on S&W is backward, hence I am now down to the tupperware wonder Glock 27. I have a 4506 but won't carry because of the backward safety. But you have one fine firearm.

revoman says: you should change your screen name to "Lucky Dog"

OK, this is a bit of an odd ball Shorty 40; someone is gonna have to do a bit more history on this one.

It has the frame of a 1st generation pistol, the checkering of a 2nd generation pistol and ambi safety. Lastly the serial number doesn't fit into either 1st or 2nd gen guns.

I'm not arguing what it is, just an interesting piece with a mix of Shorty 40 features that span the generations.

Edit: Looking again at the front strap it appears that the original 1st gen vertical lines are there and someone just added the checkering; interesting.

Cheers,
Sam

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Beware the man with one gun...

That is one nice Smith. I love the one I have but I can't bring myself to carry it. Maybe I will since I found a comfortable holster for it.

Nice piece. How does she shoot?

Sam, I bought it from a S&W employee who said it was a prototype / pre production gun.

He built it, along with others as they designed the Shorty- Forty.

I always wanted one, when I saw them in the case at S&W so when this came along at a good price I bought it.

For what I paid and the unusal serial number I figured I couldn't go wrong.

Also, she is a shooter very nice trigger, I've only owned a couple forty's this is by far the best.

Thanks, Jay

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Traveling Man

That was my initial reaction Revoman, it is possible that this is actually the pistol that Paul Liebenberg slammed in front of the Sr. Engineer that said this pistol couldn't be built. The rest as they say is history.

The fact that this has the short tang 1st generation frame points it to an early gun along with the ambi safety. It is quite a find, it may be worth contacting Liebenberg to see if he knows any of the history. I would definately letter this one to see where it falls in the lineage.

Please keep us posted as you find out. Here are a couple of other pictures of early guns for comparisons:

1st Generation:


2nd Generation:


Great find! They are very accurate pistols; I do carry my 1st generation pistol. The 2nd generation pistol is NIB.

Cheers,
Sam

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Beware the man with one gun...

When you refer to generations do you mean generations of the shorty 40?

Aren't all the pictures in this thread 3rd gen guns?

David

Hi David, Yes the reference is to which version of the Shorty 40. You are correct in that all Shorty 40 pistols are 3rd Generation S&W autoloaders. There are 4 generations of the Shorty 40 that I am aware of; the one in the OP could be considered a 5th generation but I'm sure there aren't a large number of them out there.

Cheers,
Sam

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Beware the man with one gun...

Thanks Sam!

Very interesting stuff.

David

Wow very special S40 you have there. Congrats! Definitely a collectors item. Serial number 1 and an odd prefix? Maybe Grinder can clarify but this might be even beyond the norm.

Thanks for the info and kind words. Now a few more questions.

I was going to carry and use it regularly.

It is used already but now I wonder should it be better preserved.

I'm not much for safe queens and I don't see the value going up so much that this should be one.

I paid $650, I figured it has been shot but no real signs of carrying.
I have other guns I can carry, maybe just shoot this one at the range and return it to the safe.

What do you guys think?

Thanks Jay.

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Traveling Man

There is no reason you can't carry it, I carry my 1st generation pistol pretty regular. I normanlly won't carry it when I know it will get hit with the elements. We have a regular group that walks every morning, normally around 5 miles or so. I bought a M&P compact for this duty, but I will carry the Shorty a lot.

Cheers,
Sam

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Beware the man with one gun...

RevoMan, not to wish you any ill will but in the event that you were ever involved in a shooting the police would likely collect your pistol (or revolver) as evidence until the case was resolved. Because of this practice I prefer NOT to carry something that I would be heartbroken to be without or worse yet, have DESTROYED if a judge so ordered!

My house was broken into several years ago and three 3rd generation Smith's were stolen. The one with the most sentimental value was a custom gun and it was recovered about two months later and only about a mile from house. The good news was that the pistol was in decent shape. The bad news was that it was used in a series of robberies and it was found empty so I knew it had also been fired as two loaded magazines were stolen with the pistol. After it was seized as evidence it made its way up to the crime lab and thankfully the bullets and cartridge cases that were test fired did not match any open shooting cases, meaning I would eventually get the pistol back since I was a victim and it my property that was stolen in the burglary.

TWO plus years later the pistol was finally released to me and is now kept in the safe with occasional trips to the range. It is still an amazing pistol and it shoots great. Of course I still wonder what the pistol when through when the felons were out robbing people with that pistol. As luck would have it, the other two pistols were also recovered. One had minor scratches on it and the other had been abused a bit. Nothing that a good detail cleaning and bead blasting and new springs couldn’t cure.

I have been told numerous times that I was EXTREMELY lucky to get all three pistols back. And I truly feel lucky that I was able to put them back in the collection. But, as stated earlier, all three had to be cleared from the lab and their related criminal cases had to be disposed of and the judges signing off on the Return to Owner versus destruction. Now when I carry, especially when I travel, I consider that my dept. issued pistol would be the easiest to replace if I were involved in a shooting. The pistol would eventually be returned to my department and in the mean time I would be issued a replacement at no cost. Oh, and one more thing… The nice gentlemen that work in the Firearms and Tool mark section of our crime lab normally use an electric pencil to inscribe markings on firearms that they test fire and enter into IBIS. That way they can testify that this was indeed the firearm that they tested and should it ever come back to the lab they will know a little more of the history behind it. When the custom gun made it to the lab I specifically asked if there was a way that they could put a tag on the pistol so that they would not have to engrave markings on it. I was told that was not a possibility but they did help me out and put the markings on the back side of the frame under the hammer spring so it is not visible unless you remove the grips. They didn’t have to do that with any of the three pistols but they were trying to be nice. Can you imagine what my pistols would have looked like if parts like the frame, slide, barrel and magazine had been scribbled on with an electric engraver? I dare say that I probably would have let the insurance company take possession of them at that point.

I hope this information is helpful to you (and a few others). Many people never think of this as being an option and I have had a number of victims in cases very upset about them losing possession of firearms and the length it takes to get them back, if the judge agrees to it.

Oh, and I almost forgot... I love your Shorty .40 and one day I hope to add one to my collection. In light of the collectibility of your pistol I think I would also enjoy shooting it on occasion but I would return it to the safe after cleaning. I would not risk carrying it and if you are completely happy with it you might consider a 4013TSW which was more of a production version of the Performance Center Shorty .40's. They can be found on ocassion and they are much cheaper than the original Shorty .40's.

Beautiful guns,
Didnt know they existed until tonight.
Coincidentally purchased my very first .40 S&W caliber handgun.
Unfortunately its not a S&W but still a nice gun in that its a Belgium made Browning High Power in .40 S&W with the SMS system.

I am now on the BOLO for a shorty 40 ...
wish me luck as they seem hard to find.

BoDog - Yeah the safety is odd and backward from the Colts most of us grew up with but if you'd like to carry it, why not carry it with the safety off and not worry any more about it - isn't the first shot a fairly long double action type pull? I carry a 3914 (I know,it's a 9mm...) in that condition and it's no different than carrying a loaded revolver. And yes, those are very accurate pistols.

BoDog: My second carry is also a model 27 but with a Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrel - more accurate than the original Glock barrel. Same with my G23.

Shorty 40's are very nice guns. Mine is very accurate.

Well it's been a while and I bought a new holster for her so I thought I'd post it.

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Traveling Man

Thanks for telling us what you paid for it. I wish everyone would be so inclined as it helps all of us keep up with current price trends.
I hope you enjoy it.

Ah,
Make your screen name Revo-Semi

I carry a 642 or 686 -357 for primary and a 3rd gen 45 for back up.
That way you have best of "BOTH" worlds.
RH----" Enjoy The Trip, The Destination Is Not The Goal"

I am not big into the semi's but this one is on my list.
Great find.

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27-2, 66-1, 640 Pro, 10-5

beautiful shorty and nice gear. What model numbers were the shorty 40's considered? I have a 3913 and a 908. Would love to add a shorty to the carry collection.

A Model 4013TSW is my current "grail gun". A Shorty Forty?
I don't know if I'm worthy! Seriously though, very nice gun.

So if a local dealer has a Shorty .40 MK3S, in what looks like to be clean/excellent condition. I do not know about the accessories as the dealer is closed.

From what I am getting $950 is too high and something I should pass on?

PM sent to you; $950 seems a fair price for the pistol as described, as long as it includes at least a couple of Performance Center magazines.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever