My 2 39's have different type slide lock's. I would like to have the lower profile one on both pistols. If i find one, will there be fitting required? Why two types?

YES IT IS A "HARD FIT" PART, FORM THE FACTORY. THAT BEING SAID MOST DO DROP IN. AS FOR THE DIFFERENCE, DIFFERENT GENERATIONS OF THE PISTOL. JP

I little bit of time with a file and some cold blue and you can mod your existing slide lock yourself.

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

You should find that the pistol with the low profile slide stop also has a lower profile safety lever.

"You say toe-may-toe . . ." while your correspondent says "Slide-stop assembly."

Whatever it may be called, the slide stop does indeed lock open the slide when appropriate . . . or doesn't when not appropriate (these little gems of wisdom just up and come. I have no control of 'em. Remarkable, huh?).

Okay, okay. . .

Let us first dispense with "Where can I get 'em?" smith wesson slide stop | eBay, Numrich (among my favorites), Bob's Gun Shop.

We now deal with the more, um, discerning aspect in answering the posed question.

Spurred by questions of efficacy but blurred by a Smith & Wesson Generations One-through-Three semi-auto collection that has more handguns than their owner has sense, it was necessary to examine the slide-stops in numerous handguns and among which are found more than 40 Model 39 and Model 39-2.

A small rant for all concerned or interested: A Smith & Wesson 39-2 is not a duplication of an earlier Model 39. Yes, they look alike and actually are alike in many respects, but that little ol' dash - whether found on a Model 39-2 or a Model 29-2 wheel - tells a bunch to those who are viewing or discussing either. Please remember to fully state a Smith & Wesson's model number including, if any, a following dash and "change" number.

In this case, a change number isn't really germane to the discussion because the two parts in question were presented in a very clear image (thank you, automaticlee).

Continuing . . . the topmost pictured slide stop had an odd feel from the get go. It appears to be stainless steel as opposed to nickel. The Model "39" series didn't use stainless until the Model 539, which hit store shelves in 1984.

Then there are the number of "steps," or landings and of which the pictured stainless-steel stop has three and then meant another trip to the safe whereupon was found a three-step (kinda sounds like a Country/Western dance, eh?) stop affixed to a third-generation Model 6906.

Now, inasmuch as the S&W Model 6906 and immediate predecessors - Models 669 and 469 - are among my more favored handguns, I checked 'em all, including a couple of stainless steel Ashland 469s. All, whether stainless or matte blue, had the three-step stops.

Speaking of "matte blue," that would be the finish, insofar as I can discern, found on the lower of the two slide stops in Automaticlee's image.

So, back to the safes and the third-generation section - primarily distinguished by four-digit model numbers - and within the "full-size" pistols (e.g., barrel lengths of four-or-more inches; mostly Models 3904, 3906, 5904, 5906 and others in Models 59xx pistols) were found five-step stops.

Note that all but one of the Models 59xx pistols have four-inch barrels (M 5943-SSV being the exception at 3.5 inches) nor are 4-inch barrels found in all Models 39xx - the latter having a number of 3.5-inch barreled models in its model line.

Additional differences between Models 39xx and 59xx are the latter's use of an aluminium-based alloy for the frame beneath a carbon steel or stainless steel slide. Still more, Models 59xx employ double-stack magazines; Models 39xx single stack magazines.

Thus, Automaticlee, it looks as though neither of those stops came with the Model 39 with which they are associated, although they may function within the framework.

Which brings us to another of your questions: Can a different stop work in your pistol? One supposes the answer to that is fairly obvious if you've already safely fired either or both.

All things considered, I've not taken a stop from one gun and affixed it to another without it being fitted to some extent. Admitting to only a couple-or-three such efforts over 40 years, the need for new stops is not ordinarily encountered.

Inasmuch as the slide-stop assembly interacts with the barrel breech's underside, the recoil rod and recoil spring guide bushing, all of the preceding is taken into account during the pistol's assembly at S&W. Thus one is left to assume a Generation one-through-three pistol's smoothest operation is dependant on the relationship involving the above.

Well, this has been fun and it is at this point that Ol' DC wishes to give a shout-out to Jim Supica and Richard Nahas, whose Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson 4th Edition aided greatly in fashioning the above. It is a wise investment.

Later.

DC

S&W began with the "5-step" slide stop and used it throughout the run of all full-size 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen pistols.

With the advent of the 9mm, 2nd gen compacts (469, 669) S&W began installing the "3-step" slide stops and pairing them with slimmed safety paddles.

S&W continued with the slimmed parts on the earliest 3rd gen compact models, then as parts stocks were exhausted, transitioned back to the "5-step" or full width parts for all models.

All slide stops (5-step or 3-step) are interchangeable within their respective model families (i.e. all single stack, 9mm pistols are one family; 9mm and 40s&w double stacks are the second family; and 40s&w single stacks, 45 acp, and 10mm pistols are the 3rd family).

A file and possibly some cold blue are all that is needed to convert the wider slide stops and safety levers to the slimmer design.

As with any modification, I always caution any home hobbyists to save the filings, just in case you change your mind.

John

Haha at saving the filings after a little grind... almost makes me wonder why I haven't seen Gunbroker auctions with some such filings!

My 3906 has the slim slide stop, but it does not have the "matching" slim decocker thumb paddle. As I don't know the history of my 3906, I have no idea if this was the as-shipped combination or if the slide stop were swapped for a slim on or if it were altered.

Two bits regarding my 3906 that I can attest to, however:

--this was some manner of an issued gun as it has a hard-stamped four-digit number on the right side of the frame just above the trigger pin

--this slide stop is unlike ANY other 1-2-3rd Gen S&W that I own in that I actually need the assistance of either a blunt tool or rag to remove it. I typically use the flat end of a plastic Bic pen to push it, it's with no doubt whatsoever the hardest slide stop to remove of any that I own.

This 3906 simply exhibits MORE natural accuracy/repeatability than I have come to expect from a full production 1-2-3rd Gen. Perhaps this is a side-benefit to a very hard-fit slide stop but this is one genuinely accurate production gun.

I think most of us know by now that the slide stop is retained by the pressure of the recoil spring guide rod's spring and plunger bearing against the notch in the middle of the slide stop shaft.

And certainly, the pressure of the spring or the roughness of the tip of the plunger can contribute to difficulties in removing the slide stop.

However, on one particularly stubborn stop I found no irregularities with the recoil spring guide so I turned my attentions to the slide stop.

Upon examination and comparison to other slide stops, I found this one to have a deeper groove in the center of the shaft and appeared to be unmodified.

If examination does not reveal any problems with your guide rod plunger and spring, you might want to compare the groove depth of your recalcitrant stop to that of your better behaved components.

John

The slide stop on my Model 39 practically falls out when I clean it, the one on my 659 is shorter where it passes through the pistol and has to be pushed out with a golf tee or something similar.