Hello to everyone. I have been a visitor here for a while. This is my first post. I own several S&W revolvers, but until now no semi's. I picked up a model 659 Sunday afternoon. Serial number TAAXXXX. This will be a project gun for this winter. It is already headed back to S&W on a recall I found that relates to a fix to the decocker. S&W mailed out a mailing label today. The slide has a few gouge marks around the slide stop pin, that the previous owner put on the slide. I tried to remove the slide stop pin, and have been unsuccessful so far. This one seems to be stuck. Does anyone know if there is an easy way to remove this thing? I am going to have to do some sanding on the stainless slide to get the gouge marks out. I have never done this before, and could use some guidance should anyone know how to remove gouge marks, and would share their knowledge with me. If anyone else has much expereience with the model 659 I would love to hear from them.

I feel for you on the pin. When I got my 469, I had the same problem, and could not figure out how to get that pin out. I almost wondered if it had ever come out before. But it was just my unfortunate lack of experience with these guns that gave me such a hard time. Remember to make sure it is unloaded and then take the safety off. Get the slide lined up with the little cut out, and push it out with a plastic cleaning rod or such. The trick is holding the slide steady at that exact point to get it out. I found a photo on the internet that suggested hooking your fingers in the trigger guard to hold the frame in place as you move the slide and that worked for me. And when the pin comes out, and the slide moves forward, put your thumb on the hammer, and let it down easy. Once you do it the first time, it will be easy.

The gun needs to be cocked before removing the slide pin and the magazine removed. The Gun Digest website sells a PDF download of their guide to field stripping the 659 which has good photos and is very helpful.

I am looking at a 659 this weekend. I will inspect and fire some rounds. I have a few questions. One, is there anything I should look for specifically? Two, how will I know the year manufactured? And finally, can I run the serial number somewhere with S&W for more information? The seller is including an extra clip, it comes in a leather pouch. He is asking $600. From the earlier posts, this seems high. I appreciate any feedback! Thanks.

First off, welcome to the forum!
I just did a search of completed auctions on Gunbroker to get an idea of what 659s are fetching, and $600 is a little on the high side. They appear to be selling in the $350-#550 range. For $600, I would hope it is in excellent condition. All this being said, with the current political climate driving up prices, I'm not really surprised.
You can call S&W (1-800-331-0852) and they'll tell you when it was made from the serial number, or you can post the # on the forum, and someone will pop in and tell you. Some of the folks on here have a book that has that info.

Oh - minor point on terminology. They're called magazines, not clips. Clips, or stripper clips, are used to load bolt action military rifles (and some semi-auto rifles, such as the SKS). Not trying to be nit-picky, just thought you'd want to know.

Good luck on the 659 - You may be able to bargain with the seller and get him down a little, but since it has an extra magazine with it, and with the prices of magazines going through the roof, that may be the going rate now. Depends on how good a condition it is.

Hello and welcome to the forum from frozen Canada. I agree with flyguy that $600 is at the top end of the price range, but having said that, if you are happy with the price thats all that matters. Getting 2 magazines is a bonus as you will definitely want at least 2. You won't be disappointed with the 659, they are built like a tank. I have several thousand rounds through mine, it's still going strong, no issues at all. There was a service bulletin/recall out on this pistol (and others) and you can read this here:
Firearm Recalls and Safety Warnings- FirearmsID.com
If you get the pistol and don't really understand what the potential problem that caused the bulletin/recall is, PM me and i'll walk you through it. Does this one have fixed or adjustable sights? If you post the serial#, or 3 letter prefix and the first number followed by X's for the remaining numbers, I can tell you when it was produced. This pistol was extremely popular with Police agencies in the 80's when they transitioned from revolvers. Here's a pic of mine, it has adjustable sights and the rounded trigger guard. It's wearing Hogue checkered stocks. The grip frame is very wide (high capacity magazines) and I found rubber stocks were just too big for my hand. The wood stocks feel nice and I find them better than the plastic stocks the pistol came with. Good luck and when you get it, post some pic's. We like pic's....

Thanks for all the info and education. Appreciate it! I will upload some pics on Sunday.

If someone has the ability to look up some details on this 659 serial # TAH5XXX, that would be great. Thank you!

I recently pruchased one of these and sure like it. I thinks it shoots very nice.

Hello
The SCS&W dates that 659 to about 1985. Good luck with it and post some pic's when you get it.

Here are the pics as promised. There aren't many scratches, it seems to be in pretty good shape. I have yet to fire it. Busy weekend. I'll let you know the results.

Attached Images

	S&W 659 one.jpg (54.4 KB, 186 views)
	S&W 659 two.jpg (56.4 KB, 271 views)
	S&W 659 three.jpg (100.3 KB, 234 views)

Beautiful weapon, amigo. I think you did good on the deal.

Sweeeet!!!!

Any and all scratches to the polished surfaces can be touched up with Mothers Mag Polish, works like a dream.

My 659 had scratches on the side of the slide and I "erased" them with very fine sandpaper being careful to keep it dead flat by using a piece of smooth hardwood to act as a sanding block. Work carefully and with the grain of the metal. I gave the sides of the slide a uniform, light sanding--enough to get the scratches out and no more. Then I chucked up a buffing wheel in my Dremel tool and slicked up the slab-sided slide using red rouge buffing compound. The result was excellent. Luckily the top of the slide's sand blasted finish was clean and it looks good in contrast with the buffed sides.

My 659 also had a crunched lanyard ring just behind the mag well. I couldn't straighten it out without some seriously heavy hammering and impact shaping, so I evened it up using a very fine cylindrical grinding head in the Dremel tool, taking off just enough metal from the inside diameter to reshape and even out the ring, keeping it looking stock. I was very happy with the results.

I carried a 659 for many years when I was a Reserve Police Officer and absolutely loved it. Pachmyer grips made it soooo sweet to shoot. I carried a 20 round magazine when on duty and 15 rounds off duty.

It passed the half-cock test related to the recall, so no problem there.

Enjoy it. As was stated before, it is built like a tank.

I've had my 659 for 20+ years without any issues. I occasionally "lust" after other pistols, yet my old familiar always pulls me back.

I wasn't aware of any recall until this thread. However, never had any problems at all. Mine is just outside the SN recall window.

I've also been called half-cocked more than once, and passed that test too.

I sent my 659 in for the recall last year. Got a call from S&W saying they couldn't fix it and offered me credit towards a new gun, I told them to send it back to me. I bought a sear release lever off Numrich for $4 and fixed it myself. It wasn't hard to do.

WHY on Earth did you send it away at all?!