I feel like 'ole Rip waking up after a 30 yr. nap. Went to check prices on something in a 39 series after about a year of not tracking them and wow! Prices are way up from what I remember.

Hardly anything on gunbroker for under $400 and a bunch over 500...when did that happen?

There's a 39-2 in my LGS for $325. I'd buy it, but it was mine! I traded it for something (can't quite remember what) at least eight months ago and it's still sitting in the back on the lowest shelf. It was in great shape internally but a bunch of wear and a Washington DC Metro Police ID electro-penciled on the right slide. I'm really tempted as I'm appreciating those guns more and more.

I had all three iterations in both the 39 and 59 series and I sold all but a 5906. I think I need one 39 something back. Which one do folks here think is the one to have?

Also, there seem to be a ton of nickel? or chrome? 39s listed on gunbroker....did someone open a container in the back of some warehouse and find a bunch?

What do folks think the "real" going rate for a 39-2 in decent shape? The others?

thanks.

I love my 39, carried it for years, the single stack is sweet they are a great handgun. Your next alternative would be a mod. 952, but they are a little more expensive.

39-2 is an odd market and it's difficult to discuss your view of what you saw on Gunbroker until we establish what has actually happened on Gunbroker versus what you think you have seen. Point being... there's a zillion listings on Gunbroker but until we are looking at ended final auctions with active and competing bidders, it's not real data.

39-2's occupy an interesting space (as do so many S&W's) because it is a much loved model that was/is extremely successful in the market... and they made a third of a million of them. That typically results in decent prices when the pistol has wear, making only the most pristine examples "pricey."

Now, add in another curveball -- the recent re-import of former service, duty and otherwise issued pistols. The market is fluid for sure, even on a model not made since 1982.

The pistol you describe as the one you formerly owned sounds like a great buy at that price!

I still carry my Model 39. Why? It's not too heavy, it's reliable, and it's accurate. I carry it in a shoulder rig with two extra mags.

There is something about the 39 that is addictive. Not sure if it is the look, the feel, the smoothness of the action, the "vintageness" of an old single stack 9mm but I just can't seem to get enough of them. Truly one of those guns that when I see one I buy it. I have probably a half dozen or more, I have bought one for each of my kids and I am sure I will buy a few more. Great gun.

Umm.. how about $550.00?



I thought it was a bit high, but it was near new in box. Happy to have one back in the safe...

One of the details that I really love about these is the trigger. Sure, the trigger break and reset, yeah, but what I actually mean is the feel and contour of the face of the trigger itself, just feels PERFECTLY designed on my trigger finger, it truly is the one thing about the 39 that I truly wish the 52 had.

NO LINKS TO GUNBROKER AUCTIONS

Staff will DELETE THIS THREAD!
Edit it now, do it right now.

Why the influx of nickel 39-2's or 39's in general? I think part of it is that the original owners of these guns are getting older (includes myself) and the inheritors are not interested in keeping them.

Nice model 39s and 59s are going for $500ish in my area. NIB more.

The new edition of The Book is putting them right at $1K for a LNIB one. I got one around 4 years ago for $500. It was blue. Nickel seems to be very common with the M39 which is probably why you are seeing a lot of them for sale. I guess people liked that look back in the 1970's. When you consider that under 10% of all post-war Smiths were done in nickel, I'm guessing that a large proportion of those guns were the M29 and the M39. As much as I like nickel, I am way tired of seeing nickel M29's out for sale everywhere I go.

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Dr. B

sorry about the gunbroker links....was just trying to illustrate the post about all the nickel 39s and prices and I forgot the rules. Chalk it up to me being a dum-a**.

No problem, I totally understand but the staff gets good & nasty in an accelerated hurry, so it's better if we can police ourselves and keep the whole thread from getting wiped from existence.

Plus, they'll give you an infraction for even discussing a current gun auction.

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

I actually overpaid for mine. $850 plus shipping, but it was necessary because a Model 39 no dash is basically the only way I'm getting one in California.

My ideal 39 variant is actually the S&W Model 539.

Oh, and Hogue still makes grips for them.

Redcoat, you remind of a friend of mine. Whenever I tell him I've bought a new gun, or he sees one advertised, his first comment is about the price, and how much it is. He too hasn't kept up with prices and is still living back in the 80's. Yes, it's sticker shock, but some models have suffered more than others. Go check out prices for any of the Colt snake guns for a real eye opener. I recently sold a Colt Boa that was used with no box and got well north of $6K. If it had been NIB, it would have fetched $10K.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

Model -39 is very s addictive.

I will own one for sure someday... a Model 39-2. Unfortunately, I'm a "used-but-not-abused" kind of guy and that means I'm probably going to have to pay top dollar to get one that meets my very high standards. I've turned down a few that were semi-reasonably priced just because they fell short of the condition I desire. I've even thought about getting a so-so one refinished but the total cost (of gun plus refinishing) would put it right up there with used ones already in top condition.

Prices sure aren't cheap for anything even semi-decent... and like almost all other S&W "all-metal" pistols, the prices keep increasing.

I've owned 4 (maybe 5; one at a time) over the past 25-30 years....... when I don't have one, I want one....... when I have one, I don't use it and ask myself why I have it if I'm not going to use it.

In the end 3 have been traded for other Smiths......... the forth ...... which was also the third..... is anib w/ box and docs back in the safe after 4 years with another accumulator.........

My single stack 9mm carry is some form of 3913/14 or a Beretta 92 Type M I've had since the early 90s.

I do believe I need counseling........................

I bought my first 39-2 like three years ago... maybe it was four? Missing original stocks and no box, but extremely clean, $400 brought it home. Some time back, I got a re-import that was probably stuffed in to a crate that used camel hair for bubble wrap, it looks like it was rode hard & put away wet and it hums along and runs like a CHAMPION and is pure joy to shoot.

I managed to snag a decent buy on a no-dash Model 39 whose serial number suggests 1963 or 1964 production, and it is a sweetheart that has seen very little use. I am torn on shooting it... it has been shot but I haven't shot it myself. One day soon I will, but I didn't really buy it to run hard. It's just beautiful and in terrific condition but less than mint.

It's one of those pistols that I love to pull out of the safe and handle, but it hasn't visited the range yet.

Actually price isn't my first consideration, the actual gun is. I had somewhere near 10 Smiths at one time...three (all revolvers) I gave to my kids, five were sold or traded to fund other guns (mostly Sigs), and two are in the safe (a 5906 and 19-5). I sorta caught the Sig-ness but I think I'm over it now and realize I should not have dumped one of the 39s.

I've got a pretty good handle on the prices of the stuff I'm interested in, but as I said earlier, I haven't looked at 39s in almost a year and I was surprised at prices in just 12 months.

(My buddy has one of those Colts and folks keep throwing money at him. But he's keep'n it. It was his original service gun when he was a CHIP).

I was also surprised at who many nickel ones are around.

Anyway, I'll keep looking for a good shooter and not worry about appearances. Mine are for the range not the display case. Besides, today, who actually displays their collection like one could in the "good old days." Everything is locked up tight in the safe.

There's a LGS here that has, or had 3 weeks ago, 2 39-2s, one a shooter with holster wear and a few blemishes for around 450 and the other nearly LNIB for 600 or 650, can't recall which now. They certainly have gone up the last couple of years.

I was happy to pick up a model 439 yesterday at the local gun show. Not a 39-2 and had 1 magazine with no box but it is in awfully nice shape- paid just under $400 for it

Consider the history of firearms and how materials have evolved in manufacture. In the beginning all you got was carbon steel because of the price and it was the normal material for machine tooling, etc.

It rusts. All you can do is oil it, wax it, keep after it, don't store it in leather, wipe it down, and then, get used to the rust.

If you are going to carry and use it, it's going to rust.

So, by the late 60's folks were getting tired of it. We'd put a man on the moon but we couldn't keep a gun from rusting? Wat? Not good enough. Chrome had been used on larger knife blades for quite a while, gunsmiths were turning to it and nickel as more plating shops opened up. It became something to do, and once the aftermarket shows a custom feature is worth the money, then katy bar the door, the factories all line up to offer the fancy stuff.

Kinda like trying to find a compact .45 1911 without ambi controls, extended beavertails, extended slide release, beveled mag well, ad infinitum. Back in the day if you bought a .45 you bought one that closely resembled a GI model. Not now. Those are hard to find.

So electroless nickel became a factory option and for folks who had them out in the weather it helped cut corrosion and certainly looked good. Done right it was a good thing. Aluminum was also left "in the white" but actually anodized clear, plus other gunsmiths started playing with finishes, which led to two tones.

Then as time went by it could be seen that if the gun was originally made and finished in stainless it would be competitive. There was also the impact of OSHA and the EPA on plating operations, which to date are largely gone at the local level. So is restamping and replating a muscle car bumper. I had one done in the '70s for my 66 Mustang - it's not offered locally or even regionally now. Too many regulations killed off plating. Stainless guns became the way to cut corrosion. It was more expensive, tho, as the machining is more difficult.

Along the way some German company made a gun out of plastic, about as "ray gun" a looking thing that was on the market then. And with it out there pros and cons were discussed with the idea that if the stuff wouldn't chip, peel, crack, break, or burn, it at least wouldn't rust either. So HK sold a few VP70's and nobody paid much attention. Except a drawer hardware manufacturer in Austria who wanted more money and bid a contract for a pistol for their own military.

Glock.

It wasn't really their fault, and it wasn't the first gun on the market either. Look back and see what kind of innovative things have come out of the European gun markets. Like, 9mm, hammerforged barrels, DA/SA, double stack, the ejection port and barrel block lock, not to forget the entire P38 being the model for the S&W 39 submitted for the Army Trials in the early '50s - which also introduced the alloy framed Commander.

And Armalite the forged aluminum M16. We do our share.

Stuff has been going on for a long time so if we get to appreciating one particular series or type of firearm then we need to remember it's usually as a fond snapshot of an industry that will not slow down and stop innovating. One constant demand tho is to be able to make the gun with less machining and tooling and expense to meet the market demand of the Low Price Guaranteed - which keeps foreign 1911 makers shipping them in. And polymer makers. That has never really changed, if you look back there were inexpensive Spanish autos, and some countries specialized in zinc die cast. Eventually even Florida did.

Nothing really different to see a mauve pistol with matching cerakoted slide now. Or, baby blue. SIG does a finish that resembles aluminum step tread. There are guns with hydrodipped finishes of $100 bills.

Electroless nickel was just a means to cut rust and lighten up the look. We have much cheaper ways to do it now. Wonder who is collecting all those guns to display them?

Will the museum hand out Pepto Bismol? In the day some thought nickel was as ganster as chrome and pearl grips. We are way past that now.

Even more reason to buy it unless you were dumping a lemon on others.



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The reason for a lot of 39s being made in nickel is that time period predates regular production stainless steel handguns. If you wanted better protection against rust you opted for nickel.

Years ago was looking for a cheap 39 with a worn blued finish, but no metal abuse. Wanted to have it matte hard chromed. By the time I had a SIG P226 I found out about the 639, but never got one. Still need a 39 for the collection. Some day the right one will come along.

Just close the thread, I picked up that $325 39-2 this afternoon. It was in much better shape than I remember it except for the MPD electro pencil.

I'm starting another thread with a couple of pics of it. Keep tuned.

That's a good buy today. The prices have been up for longer than you might think.

I uncovered a couple of M39 magazines from the 'pile' back in 2013 and that started me on a search for a 39. I was expecting to find one for around $250 but after a full year of searching the best I could locate was $400 and I was not in any mood to spend $400 on an old single-stack when I could pick up newer double-stack Smiths for the originally imagined $250. So to avoid any more temptation I gave the problematic 39 mags to a buddy of mine who ran the collector show circuit and he made them go away.

Of course, shortly after that I found a deal on a lightly beat-up 39. It was one of the Israeli imports that was kind of scuffed up but solid,.....and it was under my $250 target,.....so I bought it(GB). Next day, the same dealer listed a second M39 that looked to be in slightly better shape for $20 less($219),.......so I bought it. Figured I could take my choice of the two and at least break even on the other.

Next day(why do I keep looking?!?!)another M39 got listed at an even lower price($209)and although it looked rough, I was pretty sure it would clean up OK,......so I bought it. This one turned out to be the gem. It looks like it was lightly oiled up and allowed to collect dust for 40yrs which looked horrible in the pictures but cleaned up with a light soaking and a wipe. Of course, I've kept them all.



I've managed to not buy any more but I still like to look. That same dealer still lists up an occasional M39(always in even worse condition than my three), but now they're $400 beaters. If you got your old gun back for $325 I think you can be pretty happy about that.

Love 39's! have a few & always looking. Recently, thought I had found another but turned out to be a 439, unfired since S&W in 1982 but no box or anything, just the gun. Probably try to trade it for something else. Only difference I can see is the fully adjustable rear sight. Am I missing something else?

I carried a Model 39-2 until about a year ago when I changed to a DAO SS 3rd gen 3953 which holds the same 8 rounds in a shortened grip frame and slide/barrel. Its a smaller package for CCW and its Novak sites are nicer although admittedly not a fan of the one peice Delrin monogrip which can disable the gun if damaged from dropping it.

Carried a Model 59 years ago but its grip frame shape always felt like a brick in the hand compared to the CZ75 or Browning High power and thats its Achilles heel IMO.

The 39 series goes back to 1955 and the older guns are becoming collectible in high condition,
The high cap Model 59 was introduced in the early 70's just after the 39-2 change over,
the 2nd gens (439, 639, 459, 659 etc) get a new improved safety system then a bit into production they get a squared trigger guard and that HUGE winged adjustable rear site unit becomes the norm with an occasional fixed unit (drift adjustable only).
The 3rd gens (3953,3956 etc etc etc) get dovetailed Novak sites and one piece Delrin grip, they also change the barrel bushing assembly on many models to become integral with the slide instead of a removable piece.

All have their advantages and disadvantages,