Prolific forum poster TTSH shocked me in another thread when he said his first 3rd Gen pistol came to him in 2014! Certainly later than I would have guessed for an addict.

So when was your first? Or better yet, your first in each of 1-2-3 Gens and which models, why?

My first was 1994... my 1006. This is a pistol that my buddy bought after picking my brain in 1992, his first handgun. His then-new wife thought it was too dangerous in the house (!) and he knew that I loved it. And except for four boxes of factory ammo... I had handloaded all it's ammo. I think he paid around $575 for it new in '92... $400 to me in 1994.

My first 1st Gen was my clean 39-2, I wanna say A7xxxxx or so, but I would have to look. No box, 2 mags, but extremely clean. Snagged that from a show in 2012 I think.

My first 2nd Gen was my non-IPSC Model 745, a Gunbroker snag in the Spring of 2014. I remember it being not as low priced as I had wanted but I have had a total blast hammering steel plates with this pistol, no regrets.

Plenty of others but those were my first in each series.

My first 1st gen was a 39-2 that I bought out of the academy. It wound up getting traded for a 60 that I carried as a backup.
Don't currently have any 1st or 2d, but my LGS has a 745 that is in good shape, for a fair price, that I think would match nicely with my 4506-1, my 4566, 4516-1, 5906, 5903 and 6904!
That's not counting the various K-frames that I have!

My first was a 2nd Gen 669.... 198something..... felt like a 2x4 in my hand and was soon gone.......

Got a 6906 1st year..... transition sights and square trigger guard.......followed by a 3913 1st year 89/90.....

1995/96 I bought a "used" SD-9 off a shooting buddy/ gun shop manager.... when he wanted to "upgrade" to a Shorty 40 the shop had gotten in

That early 6906 got traded for a PC Shorty-9 in 95/96..................

been accumulating ever since. Factory and PC guns...... 3913/14/NLs. 6906/04, 915s, 5906s and 45xxs.

Have had 'several" 39-2s over the years....... bought and sold.... missed and bought another......................

Gun Shop rescued a pre-39 about 10-12 years ago ...... a former sock drawer gun it was anib...... sold it for 4Xs what I paid for it about 4/5 years ago.

First 3rd Gen was a 915 bought in '91 maybe? Sold it, and left the Smith autos for quite sometime, until I bought a 3913 as a CCW piece. Then they started multiplying.

A mint 39-2 with box and goodies fell into my lap around 2013 for 3 bills.

No second gens in the stable.

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Because of the metric system?

I got started late 2014 with a model 39, all downhill from there.

6904, 6906, 457, 915

Interesting thread Sevins, thanks for posting.

I started with a 1st Gen in 1985 with an unfired Pre Md 39 which was already 30 years old.

I totally missed all of the 2nd Gens and it wasn't until the late 1990s that I bought a new 4516-2 which I still have and love.

Then came this forum in 2013 and all of you enablers led me to my all-time favorite semi, the 4506. And after that, well, several others.

And finally, I have recently purchased a 2nd Gen, Model 745 ANIB with tools, docs etc. Pictures and text coming soon.

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I'm gonna grow fins.

Still only have just the 1076 I picked up in '11. I will add in a 39 and an 439 for sure, then who knows what. Currently all is on hold as a work on a career transition, but if all goes well, 2-3 years from know I'll be set to start checking off my wish list.

Model 39-2 back around 1984

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It is the Indian not the arrow

Bought a 659 in 1985, my first 2nd Gen, then sold it.

Picked up a 559 a few years ago, then a 39-2, then a 3914 & a 915, another 39-2, finally got a 59 last year, then the 3rd Gens really started to show up.

Now
1st Gens
39-2
39-2
59

2nd Gen
559
669

3rd Gen
3914
3913 NL
909
5903
5904
915

LOL, but I'm primarily a revolver guy.

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SWCA #2817

My 1st 3rd Generation was around 2013 (3913) Don't have any 1st or 2nd Generations Yet

Hummmm....

First 3rd gen - Nov 2014 (3913tsw)
First 2nd gen - 2016 (469)
No 1st gen

But from Nov 2014 - present purchased 73 3rd gens...yes I'm an addict!!!

I'm currently in rehab!!

Cheers!!!
David

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Kinda funny, I grew up shooting revolvers only & didn't decided to buy my first centerfire automatic, a 1911, until the early 80's. (Many years before that I shot briefly on the Air Force pistol team & had to borrow a 1911 to compete in the 45 Class at each event. )

So my next auto, & first S&W 3rd Gen, didn't come until 2013 when I spied an incorrectly tagged S&W 45 Auto in the corner of a display case, upside down, & with no model number stamped on it.

Turned out to be a 845 Limited. It's finely fitted action won me over immediately & I made a nice deal on it, starting me on the road to more additions than I expected.

Since then I've bought about a dozen more 3rd Gens, mainly 40's & 45's, along with a few 9mm's.

I was just too busy working & raising a family to notice these guns when the came out in the 90's, but I'm trying to make up for it.

.

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Waiting for the break of day

Hahaha... so your first S&W semi-auto... was the 845 Limited.

That's not going to be a typical answer!

I can't believe you guys can remember what guns you bought and what year you bought them. I can barely tell you what I have now. My first S&W had to be in the early to mid 60s though.

[QUOTE=joeintexas;139485207]I can't believe you guys can remember what guns you bought and what year you bought them. I can barely tell you what I have now. .[/QUOTE

The worst part is remembering what you've....... sold or traded away......

like a nib 4505, 4516, or a 4513 TSW or a 581..... or a 3" 586........ stop me now....please!!!!!

I even keep the ones I don't shoot well now.
Things change. I miss most of what I left get away.

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Some assembly required..

My first 1st gen was a 39-2 in the late 70s. Traded it and twenty plus years later a man came into my office and gave it back to me.
The first 2nd gen was a 469 bought new when they came out. In the end it felt too blocky, like a 59, and it went down the road. After I started to collect S&W semi autos I found a twin in excellent condition and added it to the accumulation.
In 1997 when I became Chief in a small community I wanted to carry a full size 9mm like the other officers and the town bought a 5906 for my use. After we traded for SIGs a year later, I bought it.
I started to collect S&W semi autos after my retirement in 2008 because I felt that they were mostly undervalued and available. It seems like neither is true today and yet I still buy. Oh, I'm back to buying S&W revolvers too.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

Call me a curmudgeon but my first Gen. was in 1968 (Highway Patrolman). My second Gen. was in 1982 (Model 659) and I refuse to own a third Gen. model!

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Bill

My first was my first handgun ever, a 915 I bought in 1993. I recently sent it to Novak, had three dot sights installed and then I installed KSD grips. Maybe I spent more than makes sense but I don't really care. It's been 100% reliable and I'm keeping it.




My second was a custom 559. It has a 659 slide, S&W accessory arched back strap, Altamont grips, trigger job and polished feed ramp. I foolishly sold it last year, immediately regretted it and was able to buy it back yesterday :-)

Third is a stock 4506, PD marked that I bought last year

And lastly, I had a CS9 but decided to sell it as I don't carry concealed

A new in box 39-2 that I traded 2 extra Super Bowl tickets for in 1982...in 1982 SB tix were about 40 bucks a pop....no 2nd gens. then about 95 or so a 5906. But back then I was more interested in SW and Dan Wesson wheel guns..Then one day about 5 years ago 3913's and 45xx guns started showing up

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witty signature goes here

My first was a new Model 659 in 1984. A high capacity 9mm was quite the novelty back then and I wanted one (the original black plastic grips are in the box). Next was a new Model 645 in 1987. I read the write up in Guns & Ammo magazine about it and of course wanted one (it's wearing Model 745 walnut stocks-originals in the box). In 1989 I then bought a new Model 4006, again because of a Guns & Ammo article about the new cartridge and the gun created for it. I had to wait several months for this one and it was very expensive. Lastly I was a new competitor in a bullseye league and bought a new Model 52-2 in 1990. I still have and shoot all of them.

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I only have one left. It's a model 5967 new in the box, unfired except at the factory when produced. only 500 were made in 1990

1990 5906 NIB - I wanted a 659 as it was the first semi-auto I ever shot but discovered that the 3rd gen replaced it. I later sold it to fund the purchase of a Walther P88C - I don't regret it.

1996 39-2 LNIB - Probably unfired, the store got it from a lady whose husband had hidden his gun accumulation from her under floorboards and behind walls. When he died, his friends had to come to the house to find them for her.

2006 639 LNIB - Typical Gunbroker experience.

Others in between and since - 3904, 3906, 3913LS, 3913NL, 915 (sold it, later got another), 1076.

I never owned a 1st or 2nd gen S&W pistol. My first 3rd Gen was a CS-45 that came to me via S&W as a replacement for my original Model 19 that I blew up in 1997. I recollect it was 2000 when we finally got that deal done. Possibly 1999.

My next 3rd gen was a Model 457 that I bought from a buddy at a cowboy action match. I saw it and I said, "That's not a cowboy gun" to which he replied, "It is when a cowboy is carrying it!". I would still have that gun but I gave it to a friend who was low on cash and had given his .45 to his brother-in-law after a murder occurred in that part of his family.

A couple of years ago I acquired a 6906; actually given to me by a friend after I assisted him in closing a large estate sale (he is a dealer) and the 6906 came to him in that sale.

All my other S&Ws are wheelguns.

WAIT!!! I always forget that I have a 5903 SSV. It is just about the only gun that I own that is NIB and unfired ever. That was my first 3rd Gen S&W pistol!

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I bought my first S&W auto in January of 07, a 4053. Next was a 645 in may of 2105, followed by a NIB 39-2 in July of 2015 and a nice shooter grade 39-2 in November. Then a 3913 in January of 2016.....I think those are all 1st and 2nd gens, but my ignorance is showing now.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

I really thought I'd be seeing more pics on this thread! Much as I love my S&W wheelguns there some really hot pistols I'm sure some of you are dying to share!!!

Issued my first auto a 5946 in 1993 still have it some where. Here are a few others.

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Well, if I must.....

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3914DAO



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CS-9



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4506-1



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4013TSW & 4056TSW (pre-rails)
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Waiting for the break of day

Some 3rd Gens

3914





915


909

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SWCA #2817

What a way to respond BLUEDOT37!!! That 845 just blew it right out the park!!! That's exactly what I was talking about.

My first handgun was a Model 659. I wanted a gun for my birthday and told this to one of my friends that was a NC Highway Patrolman. The next thing I know I am approached by a different Patrolman a few day later. He said he was retiring and had a gun he wanted to sell. This was in 1988 and my birthday is in September so it had to occur somewhere around that time. Now just to be honest my memory is not that good so it could have been 1989. I say that because my research says the gun was made and or shipped in 1988. The serial number starts with TBW I did not realize at the time the gun was practically brand new. Shot very little. I still have it.

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My first acquired firearm is the excellent S&W Model 915. It does all that is reasonably asked of it.

My current in inventory of 1st, 2nd & 3rd Generation S&Ws:
1st Gen: 2 39-2s (one blued and one nickel)
2nd Gen: 2 639s
3rd Gen: 2 CS9s, 3906, 3913TSW (pre-rail), 3914DAO, 3953, 3953TSW (pre-rail), 4006 Shorty Forty, 4013 (single stack), 5903, 5946TSW, 6906,
6946, 2 909s, Recon 9

I've had the following in the past: 59 (my first handgun), 469, CS45, 915 (I'm sure there are others that I can't recall right now)

Here's the wife's.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I picked up the 59 in 1979, the 669 and 5906 in 2011 and the 1006 in 2015.

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OK, here are mine.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Found another

A couple more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine was a 1066 , was a birthday present from my son and I still own it.
Got it in 07 or 08.
Had been a Browning High Power/1911 guy before but now own a bunch of 3rd gens. No 1st or 2nd gen autos so far but have looked at a few just not found the right deal/right pistol.
Here s the 1066

She now has factory grips and LPA adjustable sights

I figured my path to these guns was certainly rare in that my first ever was a 1006, but poster BLUDOT37 has arguably taken the most unpredictable path to S&W 1-2-3rd Gen metal pistol ownership when his first ever was an 845.

I've been awfully fortunate to find myself with five true Performance Center pistols and my first ever was also an 845, mine is the second run "Model of 1998" and though I got a fantastic buy on it, it came without anything extra... no box, no docs, one magazine and sadly, it's not even one of the two original PC marked magazines (and yes, that eats away at me...) This 845 is the one that I consider to be my "best" handgun that I own.

On great days in rare moments of luck/skill, with a few of my other guns I can almost match the kinds of targets I can make with my 845 nearly any/every time I shoot it. This pistol is absolutely that good.

My first S&W semi-auto was either a M-41 bought new by me in 1969, or the used .38 Master (M-52) I bought about the same time. I kept the M-41 until a couple of years ago, but the M-52 and my other target gun, an accurized 1911, were sold to other club members when I went in the service in 1970.

I got a new 39-2 in about 1974, sold it in a moment of financial difficulty shortly after, then bought a M-39 from a corrections officer shortly after.

First 3rd gen was a 5906 in 2010, which I still have and it's a high mileage item, on its second barrel.

I didn't get a 2nd gen until 2014 when I bought a nice 645, but I never connected with it, and sold it last year to help fund my new hobby, ham radio.

Bruce B
K7BAB

[quote=BAM-BAM;139485249]Now you got me thinking back...the 910 was nice a good shooter, the 915 a little better, the 5906 was sweet...so why on earth did I trade them or sell them? Who knows. Still have a few old friends to take out every so often. 6946, 5903 and 4566.IMG_0217.jpg
Sorry about them being sideways, not sure how to fix that. Learning the computer is high on my list of things to do...tomorrow...or the next day.

There's good news for you!
They made a -bunch- of 910's. They made a turdload of 915's. And they made so many 5906's that I cannot decide which term is most appropriate to describe it. And there are STILL many fine deals on these guns... I paid $355+shipping for my most recent 5906 and I cannot wait to shoot it.

Go get ya some!

I just wanted to bump this thread in hopes that newer folks would see it and add to the discussion.

In the mean time, there are three other classes of Smith & Wesson that gets discussed in this specific area of the site and my first three of those are:

1) 1911... I found the SW1911 Pro Series 9mm on Gunbroker a couple years back, it's a decent pistol that I think happens to be currently wearing too heavy a recoil spring. Function is 100% but it sure seems awfully heavy to draw back the slide for a 9mm. What's most interesting to me about this pistol are the very rare "wavy" serrations and PC-style stepped slide. To be clear, this pistol is absolutely NOT a Performance Center pistol and the build quality and fitting doesn't feel like a PC gun. But it's outrageously handsome!

2) .22 Semi-Auto... I think we need a proper name for this series of gun. My first of them is the 2206, a 6-inch example, I believe this one dates to 1992 but I'm not 100% sure of that. Definitely shooter grade, plenty of scratches on it and came with no box or goodies, only it's original 12-round magazine. It's a fine shooter but too heavy for brand new or young shooters.

3) The ubiquitous and absolutely famous Model 41... I finally joined the 41 club at the ripe old age of 46. Another Gunbroker find, this is a three-alpha THD24xx pistol from 1991. I was fortunate to get it's original box with it, but not it's original barrel. Shipped with the 7-inch upper, my pistol came with an older 5-1/2" barrel that is a perfect, tight fit on the frame and it shoots like a house afire. I've only run two kinds of ammo through it... the always recommended CCI-SV and also some Aguila SV, both running the 40 grain lead bullet at standard velocity spec.

When I got the 41, I went in to it with an open mind. "I know many folks fight with these pistols to make them run 100% all of the time." I've been far beyond happy that my example runs these two ammo selections perfectly. My log says I've sent over 800 rounds through it since I got a hold of it and it continues to run like a top.

My first Gen. was a Highway Patrolman in 1968. My second Gen. was a 659 in 1988 and I have absolutely no desire to get a third Gen. one!

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Bill

😳HOLY MOLY Very nice collection but I don’t think rehab is going to be able to do a thing for you!😆

My first and only 3rd gen is a 4516-2 that I picked up in 2018. The gun was LNIB with the original Carter's Country receipt from 1998. The dealer I bought(stole it for $400) it from told me it looked like a "Safe Queen" that has hardly been fired. I Added a Hogue Rubber Grip and Spurred Hammer.

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The 4516 is a special model in my opinion. It's a steel frame which they never did with the Shorty45 series and they never made a .45 in the Stocking Dealer series which were mid-sized uppers on compact steel frames.

I honestly believe the lack of a PC compact .45 with a steel frame was an oversight at the Performance Center!

The 4516 was a brick to carry. The AD guns were a stainless 6906 frame with a 4 1/4inch slide.


Love my AD-9mm........but now that I know there are only 179 made ; it's a safe queen.

My first 1st Gen is my model 59. My uncle gave it to me as a gift after he retired from the Navy in 2004. She's old and beat up, but an excellent shooter still.

My first 2nd Gen is a Model 659 that I bought from a retired Louisiana State University Campus Police Officer. He carried it as his duty gun many moons ago. Welcomed her to my family around 2008.

My first 3rd Gen was a model 908 from the value series line or the "American Pride" series. Love her! She's like an all metal Shield. She was my EDC for about three years.

Now I have dozens of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Gens in my collection and I love every single one! These never get sold or traded like newer guns do.

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Find a way or make one.