I have a safe full of SW revolvers, but this is my first foray into the dark side I have been reading a couple recent threads on this 3rd gen, liked what I read and couldn't pass this up. I'm pretty sure this was at least a reasonable deal at $455 + tax at my LGS. Being new to 9 mm and semi's in general, I have questions:

- I am experienced handloading, mostly lead for a variety of six-shooters and rifles. Can I feed it 115 g coated RN for practice? I plan to use Speer 124 GD for the real thing.
- I have W231, Unique, CFE Pistol, AA#5, and Bullseye on hand. Workable?
- Lubricate now, or shoot first and see how things go?
- Polish assorted minor holster/wear marks with Mothers/Flitz, or ignore?
- Probably a nightstand/range gun for now and possible transition to carry later.
- What else do I not know that would be helpful in learning to feed and care for this pistol?

Thanks for the great advice I am sure to get!

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

I found 9mm easy to load. Only expand enough to get the base of your bullet started. After loading, use a taper crimp or a spare sizer (raised up in the press) to turn the flair back in.

Use standard loading sources for loads. I have experience with Bullseye in the small 9mm cases.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

Hello. Congratulations on your venture onto the dark side. I shoot a 439 plus a few 1911s. Usually, I LIGHTLY lubricate the frame rails.

I have fired a vast number of 124gr cast lead truncated cone bullets through mine. I doubt you will experience problems shooting coated round nose bullets. I have used 231 and Bullseye with all of my reloads. I have no experience with the other 3, but I will be experimenting with Titegroup this spring. It is my understanding, that due to production costs and waste, 231 and Bullseye are destined to be discontinued. I wouldn't worry about holster wear, just wipe your treasure with a silicone cloth when you have finished handling her.

For a night stand arm, I would strongly suggest that you decock it at night to ensure any shot you make is deliberate, giving you a chance to "wake up", and avoid any inadvertent discharges.

Other than that, I would suggest that you just practice, practice, practice!

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Judge control not gun control!

W231 is popular, and as I'm sure you are aware, HP38 is the same thing.
Taper crimp is the way to go.

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

Beautiful pistol there. I'm a 45ACP guy for the most part but that's the one 9mm I truly covet. Congratulations and enjoy

Don't play until you've given it a good checkup. At least field strip inspect, clean & lube.

And perhaps most importantly get a fresh factory recoil spring in there. Recoil springs are consumable items. There's no telling how many miles are on that spring or how old it is or even if it's the correct spring for that gun. Any second hand pistol always gets a fresh recoil spring before we go for a test drive. BTW, Brownells has 'emRecoil Spring : RECOIL SPRING | Brownells

Nah leave it be unless you intend to perfectly restore the factory finish.

Complete teardown vids courtesy of member BLUEBELLYYANKEE. S&W 3rd gen complete disassembly video
I'm not saying you need to detail strip the arm. Merely reviewing these will give you some knowledge of the inner working and perhaps an idea where to focus attention should anything be out of sorts.

Cheers
Bill

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Because they don't make a .46

Another item that has been discussed up here is what to lubricate the rails with. I'm a grease guy myself and would strongly avoid light oils like Rem0il for the rails.

Thanks for all the input. I will be taking advantage of all the above good advice. One thing I do notice is that the double action trigger seems good, and not that different than what I am accustomed to. The single action trigger, on the other hand seems very mushy. Is that to be expected?

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

Peak,

I wouldn't necessarily say that the SA trigger on my 439 is mushy, but there is a fair amount of play/slack before the sear drops the hammer. Please remember, the SA will be nothing like you are accustomed to on a Smith revolver, and definitely nothing like the trigger on a 1911! You have to remember that it is a completely different mechanism, due to the DA feature. I will be the first to admit, the trigger takes some getting used to,.

Good luck with your new purchase!

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Judge control not gun control!

I am so far only learning about 3rd gen pistols and don't own one yet. For my Sig SP2022 I load LRN bullets over 4.1gn of Bullseye and the Sig cycles perfectly. I use a Lee factory crimp die to finish every round. No issues.

Like BMCM said, give it a good cleaning & spring replacement.

Beside the recoil spring I'd also suggest to replace the firing pin spring. I've assumed that all the 3rd Gens I've adopted have the original springs in them, 25+ years old. Out with the old & in with the new.

If you get your springs from Wolff Springs they include an XP (Extra Power) firing pin spring with each recoil spring. Surely a safer beat than the old original one. Clean out the FP spring tunnel good too. They get debris & shavings in there. I spray them liberally with Rem-Oil, let it soak a bit, then wipe & lastly use some compressed air to blow out the excess.

Might as well replace that mainspring while you're ordering parts from Wolff too. And since you have the grips off that's a good time to add some Hogue grips to it. Besides the nice feel of their grips, I really like the mainspring perch they use, that stays attached to the frame when you remove the grips.

Judicious use of a fine Scotchbrite pad can lessen, or eliminate, minor scuffs/scratches & holster wear.

Let us know how it shoots at the range.

My 3914 is my only venture into 9mm territory (& I really like it) & the Dark Slide.

It now sports Hogues.


.

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Waiting for the break of day

Enjoy your new pistol, and the 3913 that will be coming through your door any minute now...

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Because of the metric system?