I would say that his reviews are pretty honest. I know he is a glock fanboy, but I don't get the feeling from him as some do if a manufacture gives them a gun that they try to push you to buy. I believe he does get his firearms from viewers and LGS instead of from the factory to try out. Also the place where he got the 4006 is only 20 miles away from me.

I've enjoyed his vids for years for general info, I never go into it assuming I'm going to get a wealth of in-depth info. He presents as a regular shooter/gun guy which is appealing, not some goofy-tacticool/operator type (Yaeger or Nutnfancy).

You understand what Youtube did, and what he always did with his channel. Youtube doesn't pay him a dime for his videos...they've demonetized all the firearm channels. He also never has ads on his channel, which is how you make money. Federal pays him in ammo, Bud's in guns, and Sonoran Desert Institute...that's Zeke's deal, he's friend of John's and liekly doesn't pay them a dime. Greg isn't rolling in dough due to videos...he's was a smart investor and did things right financially. The small amount of actual money that comes from videos just buys more guns for his own collection. He's always very certain to say that he's not an expert at anything...but I disagree, he's an expert in keeping up other's interests in shooting, in supplying great info to the shooting community, giving a clean and decent channel to all of us, and providing great entertainment to us all.

I have a 4006. It was originally my Mother-in-Law's but once I pulled the trigger for the first time I looked over at my husband and told him this gun is mine now. I actually love this gun and .40 has become one of my favorite calibers.

Attached Images

Model 4006.jpg (255.5 KB, 34 views)

I've never fired any of them either. Also, I've never fired a Glock!

I don't know if it's true about the Model 52, but I remember seeing the machine that was used to machine a part of the Model 19 frame sitting in a corner. The story was that the machine was the reason that Model 19 frames couldn't be replaced if they suffered from flame cutting.

That was on a tour back in 2006 (I think).

Everything, except barrel boring, is now done on CNC machines. At the time of my last visit, S&W had more than 100 CNC machines of various ages. We were told that it was the most on the east coast.

Since they make 1911s, with forged and machined frames, slides, and other parts, they could make 3rd Gens. The problem is that there is a big market for 1911s, but not for 3rd Gens. They still make revolvers using the forge/machine method and crank out a ton of J frames. Again, there is a demand.

Gary

__________________
Can open, worms everywhere.

I enjoy Hickcok45's videos, but he has definitely sold out. Instead of shooting his reloads like he used to, he has boxes of free ammo sent to him. Can't start a video without mentioning Buds Gunshop.

As for his negatives, heavier than more modern weapons? Yes. So is the 1911's he has several of and sings the praises to. Not to mention no heavier than an L frame 686.

Holds less ammo? Yes, as do 1911's compared to more
Modern full size .45's.

Ease of takedown? He clearly didn't know how to. I field strip mine with no effort. And they're way easier to field strip than a 1911.

For all his negatives, he sure showed how somebody who can shoot can handle one.

If we all liked the same things..........The world would be a BORING place.........

__________________
S&W Accumulator

The Smith and Ruger autos from the 80s and 90s both always seems so heavy and clunky and not aesthetically pleasing. So I never bought one. But no worries, millions of others did. I have plenty of Glocks hi powers 1911's and sigs to make up the difference.

I have a client that has a youtube channel And he has several videos with views into the 10's of millions. Not his full time job. But he also has serious professional quality filming and they are very funny. He estimated he makes about $1,000 per million views. So if your pumping out 2 or 3 videos a Week AND you have a huge subscriber base you can make a living at it. Of course they are free to watch. You just have to endure the commercials just like tv. That's how YouTube and the channnel owners they make their money.

.............."sold out"???......Is that what it is called now??

__________________
witty signature goes here

What does one have to do with the other? If S&W found out they could fold paper and make that work with a 9mm id buy it! If it works who cares what the material is. It's irrelevant. Why does it instantly have to be made the biggest and heaviest? There's a reason I don't one 3rd gens. I don't see a point in carrying 3lbs for a 9mm when I can do the same with half the weight. Same for the 40 and 45. When a new caliber comes out and something needs to change then change it. In the same way I can say that S&W 3rd gen aren't strong enough to handle 44 magnum or anything in .50.

I heard, I heard. I heard doesn't work for me. There's lots of half truths and flat out lies about every gun manufacturer. I heard Beretta blew up in their gov testing but offered a base in Italy to the US government so that's how they got the contract! I heard .... I heard! Let's either state actual facts or not at all

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

S&W 4006 TSW CHP - YouTube

I'm actually a big fan and subscribe to his channel, but I must admit I cringed watching him working over the slide release with a screwdriver. All I've ever needed was my finger to push it through to release.

digiroc

He was a school teacher.

Exactly, guns do not fit everyone the same, crazy concept. I have a boatload of 3rd gen Smiths, but that sad fact is, the M&P full size line fits my hand better, which leads me to be more accurate with them, case closed. I'm not going to sell my collection of 3rd gen gun, In fact I would like to add the TSW models of the 4006 & 5906.

An injection molding machine is a very different animal from a milling machine, especially one that was most likely custom built for the application. With an injection molding machine, you just change the molds and the material and go. You can go from making gun frames, cheap dinner plates to car parts all on the same machine.
With injection molding, all your costs are in the molds. I worked for the company that made the pull strap for all the Ford Ranger, Explorers etc in the 90's through the 2000's. In the late 90's, a 4 cavity mold for a simple handle like that was a over 100k, who knows what a complex mold for a gun would cost, plus you are going to have several of them.

I've watched his videos on occasion & have enjoyed him.

I was a revolver guy long before I became partial to the 3rd Gens relatively recently & was a little disappointed in his review.

One of his complaints was it didn't have a safety & it can't be carried "cocked & locked". Isn't that negated by the fact that it's a TDA, with a double action first trigger pull, that's ready to fired at any time?

Additionally he pointed out that the decocker lever springs back up, which he didn't like. He failed to mention, or didn't know, that the vast majority of 3rd Gens do not have that feature & that option was the way the CHP ordered them.

All the other TDA 3rd Gens have decockers levers (safeties) that will stay down which drops and blocks the hammer from hitting the firing pin, as well as also disconnecting the trigger engagement.

Additionally, with the decocker down, you can safely chamber & unchamber a live round completely assured that the pistol can not accidently be discharged, which for me, makes it a VERY safe semi-automatic pistol & would be the one I'd prefer to introduce a novice to for home protection.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

so, in other words, you have seen for a fact lots of unsold 3rd gen pistols brand new in their boxes, stashed in the shelves of the stores all around, hence the demand has dropped. interesting!!!!. you heard correct about the beretta though! hence seals went with the runner up.

the bigger heavier, makes sense when you have something producing pressure. hence the light sheetmetal sig was wearing out faster. hence the alloy frames wear out faster than steel frames. hence howitzers and naval guns do not have polymer or alloy frames. simple physics friend.

and that my friend, is called engineering! Not foreseeing the potential problems, bad engineering in my book. and in this forum you have people reaming 9mm barrels of 59xx and shooting 357 sig out of them.

The Clinton Brady bill was in 1993 (seems like yesterday, how time flies!!!). Apparently, you are not familiar with recent American History, but its ok, not many people are. You may search it your self though, if you do not want to hear, hear, hear, from those who know. ;-)

It sure means a lot. certain agencies know their guns, and dont go with the flow just like if guns were fashion. The RMCP had 5946 up until a couple years ago. The Japanesse coast guard probably still has their 59xx. and the Israeli Defense Department had 915 until 2 years ago. As for Kazakstan, you may believe whatever you want, but a p38 still is a nice service gun!

correct!! cheaper faster production!

Well no. Beretta story is just that a story. The real problem was that the gun/s that failed we're already heavily used and the problem turned out to be with the ammo. Winchester had changed the case by thickening the brass but didn't change the powder resulting in near proof loads. Essentially an already very used gun was being heavily used with proof loads. The problem was found and even though Beretta did change their design they also sued the US government.... and won. At the same time those same loads were cracking frames on Sigs. Ammo problem, not gun problem. No bases were ever in the agreement. A company cannot promise gov land. S&W cannot give US land to another government.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

It *is* kind of weird that he is just discovering Smith & Wesson 3rd Gens now more than a decade after they were discontinued in favor of cheap plastic wonder guns.

Anyway, it is well known that Hickok45 is a huge Glock fan. Every semi-auto he has ever posted a video about is always compared to his beloved Glocks, which he considers to be the absolute pinnacle of perfection within the semi-auto handgun realm.

So is it any surprise that he doesn't care for the hefty Smith & Wesson Model 4006TSW CHP version? Not in the least! Heck, I wasn't surprised at all. In fact, I would have been very surprised indeed if he would have had anything nice to say about the gun.

Does it bother me or change any of my opinions? Nope! Most of the guns he reviews (and likes) I wouldn't purchase or own in a million years. Different strokes for different folks.

How can you foresee a potential problem with a caliber that doesn't exist? How can Sig in 1980 know about the 40sw that will come out in 1990? If that was the case then SW better be foreseing future calibers as well

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

It isn't hard to tell when Hickok45 doesn't like a gun. I really wouldn't care to watch gun reviews by someone that supposedly likes every gun he reviews. Hickok45 is a Glock lover but at least he doesn't shove Glocks down the throats of his viewers like some you tube viewers do.

I have yet seen Hickok45 put a gun in a vise and pull the trigger then say look this piece of junk blew apart. I do think Hick could often have gone into more detailed review about the guns rather than just see him blast away most of the video.

From what I have seen he gives fair reviews rather than slamming a gun just because it isn't a Glock. I have seen him give very favorable reviews on inexpensive guns that many people consider junk by all the negative talk even though they never even held one let alone shot one.

I have to say I have had S&W semi autos and I was not overly impressed with them but they weren't bad either. They went by the wayside when I sold off most of my semi autos.

Wearing out in a NEW caliber that's WASN'T AROUND when the gun was made. In 9mm the gun is perfectly fine capable of handling a lifetime of shooting. Again....no chrystal ball! NE milled slide and the 40sw seem to work just fine with alloy frames



Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Selling out? All he does is thank that gun shop for loaning the gun and thanks the ammo company for giving him the ammo. That's all they get out of him. Every other second of the video is just him shooting, having fun, and telling the good and bad points about the guns and sometimes the ammo.

I'm familiar with it but it had nothing to do with stopping production of 2 out of many many handguns. They still made guns in the same calibers. So Clinton forced SW to stop production on the 5906 but not the 915, not the 910 nor the 909 nor the 908 or the Sigma which came out in 1994 or the SW 99 which is also a 9mm and 45 (sw99).

It didn't force Glock to stop importing guns, didn't force Ruger to stop making the P series. Didn't force Sig to stop making and importing. Seems Clinton must have had a thing for SW

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

revolvers is a whole different story. there are not many companies making revolvers these days to begin with, and the few that are, none of them has as extensive line of products as S&W for preety much every application. 1911? I am pro for them 100%. and lets assume for a split second, that you are right. no demand for 3rds. how about parts? how many posts are in this forum alone, of people looking for this tiny bit, or that to have their pistols up and running again. and how about those of us that do not bring their 3rds out to shoot or carry, just in case something breaks?? Allow me to disagree with you friend. there is plenty of demand. its just not good for the company though, because bringing these back, might canibalize their own current production of pistols in the market. why buy a PC 1911, If i can get a PC4506? why get a stupid shield if i can get a 3913?

If the slide release is tight, I will use the handle of a tooth brush. It's just stiff enough to start the release out, but definitely won't scratch it if I slip.

Mostly though, I find that if I position the slide properly, the release pops out easily.

__________________
Can open, worms everywhere.

oh, but it has my friend!! do some research and see how many calibers are designed by s&w. then check out how many calibers have been designed by all the others combined. pretty interesting indeed...

did you hear all this?

the other way around. s&w gave in to the dark side. they stopped production themselves pretty much. the tommy boys wanted a safer world. for kings and queens apparently and it did force all companies to limit their magazine capacity to 10 rnds. Glock was replacing the LE guns for free to get back the old stock of magazines and pass them out with new pistols, as they were old stock. If you ever run accross a high capacity magazine from back then, it is stamped "not for civilian use. LE or export only". also that cursed bill stopped manufacture or import of about 14 differsnt sporting rifles, that according to FBI's statistics they all acounted together for less than 1% of all gun related crimes. Go figure...

exactly my point. new caliber? design a new gun for it. the fn fal was not designed for the 7.62 nato. once asked to be chambered in it, they had the gun remade for the new caliber. With your point of view, the s&w 500 should be pushed in an L frame initially, and then say, oh, but if we beef it up it will hold. unless I am misreading something of what you say?

Again it comes back to if you don't like Hicock45, then don't watch him. If you do but he makes you mad in one particular video, move to another.

I will be honest I find his videos boring. They are not entertaining enough for me, but then I find many gun related videos boring. It is just my opinoin, so try not to go over the deep end. I might watch his videos more if he talked less, and made shorter videos. IOW get to the point without so much BS. I do like Jeff Quinn's videos though, but even though I don't watch many of them. As I said I want to be entertained, laugh, and Hicock just does not do it for me. Black Rifle Coffee videos do, as well as a few others that are there for humor. I especially like videos that make fun of the tactikewl crowd.

To be honest, I've watched them for years. Most are quite entertaining, with ton's of history thrown in. I like the way he tells it. I do think he would have been an interesting teacher, seeing how that was his profession. Considering all the guns he's reviewed over so many years, I can't imagine someone having no interest, in any of the guns he's reviewed (as someone implied in this thread.)

Going back, to his early videos, one can easily see, that he had a great interest in firearms, before You-Tube ever took off. That's what counts, in my book. I haven't watched a Hickock 45 video, since this morning. Watched all 30+ minutes of it. A 45-70 even!

If that was a reference to my post, please read again what I said.

Key words: "wouldn't purchase or own" Doesn't mean I have no interest in his videos (I do!), but I'm no longer into plastic at all and I am very limited in what long guns I can shoot with my life-long left arm handicap. It gets even worse when you realize how few handguns (relatively speaking) we can legally buy here in MA (adding mucho $$$ extra cost if you really must have one!) and how our anti-2A AG lady has stopped all sales of modern sporting rifles by dealers.

So no diss on Hickok45 whatsoever. I watch at least a few minutes of virtually every video he posts and I give him a "like" on all of them. He's a very cool guy. But just because I watch his videos doesn't mean I want to buy the same guns he likes. Plastic wonder guns? No thanks!

It's all been said before but give the guy a break. He never claims to be an expert and always emphasizes that he is giving his ( honest and un-bought ) opinion which may/may not match the viewers. Personally, I don't find him all that far off from my views on this particular review.

__________________
Dave

Nothing wrong with you liking him, and feeling entertained, we have different expectations. I like to bowl, but don't watch bowling, I like to shoot but not really interested in shooting videos. I like to go for walks in the woods, but not interested in watching someone walk in the woods. I love to eat, and cook, and find cooking channels boring. I do like Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Johnny Carson, sometimes Jerry Lewis. Ya know professional entertainers.

One of my favorite shooting reviews is John Wayne in the shootist, with Ron Howard.

Hope that helps you balance my viewing goals compared to yours without to much heartburn.

I tromp around in the desert sagebrush, side by side with the lizards, along the Pony Express trail, two or three times a week. And that's to set up targets. Then I just might listen to the Sinatra channel on XM radio, on the way home (lots of 40's through the 60's artists on that channel). As to Hope, Carson, Martin, and Lewis, their jokes and skits, were far more entertaining, than a lot of accepted ****, these days.

As to the woods, sometimes I have to wait for the deer to move, in order to get out of the driveway.

I was thinking along the lines of many rifles he's reviewed. Such as the older Marlins, Winchesters, and even the old Henry versus the new. He's a true fan of 45/70s (owns 7 or 8), and he's probably the guy that got me shooting and reloading these larger bores. And then there's the Colt revolvers, and all those type of weapons. He's done a lot of "metal" gun reviews over the years. I'm not much into plastic either.

Soooo, somebody didn't like the beloved 3rd gen. Break out the tar boiler and the bag of feathers.

Well, I raise Hickok's video by saying I don't own a 1911 and don't quite see what the hype is all about. Sure, they shoot OK, but not THAT much better than anything else I've tried in fullsize pistols.

I was lucky enough to snag a 5906 TSW a couple of years ago to scratch (finally) my 3rd Gen itch. It shoots well and has a very smooth DA trigger for a DA/SA gun. The only one comparable I have tried is a Grand Power K100 which has a superior SA trigger.

There you go, I compared the features on two guns and one came out ahead in a particular field. Is that any different to what Hickok does most days? Of course, he has a more engaging manner than my autopsy style of delivery.

__________________
Release the Kraken

Where 'X' is an unknown quantity.
and a 'spurt' is a liquid under pressure.
An 'expert' is an unknown quantity of a liquid under pressure.

__________________
Certified Curmudgeon

Channel 439, my favorite!!! You MUST like it.

__________________
Certified Curmudgeon

There is a firearm that Hickock45 does like and has owned for almost 40 years. His Smith and Wesson model 29. He has had over 75 thousand rounds through his 29. Watch the 29 video. You can tell that is a gun he loves!! He had to have it freshener up because of high round count. That is one video he did that is definitely worth watching!

According to Hickok45, he was a secondary school teacher for many years. He said in one of his videos that he never considered it a job because he enjoyed it too much...

Let's give the man his due.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Hickok 45 is a good guy. His opinions and points of view are worthwhile for anyone to consider.

He has a paying job that most everyone I know would love to have at half the pay.

I am not arguing that for some he has good entertainment. I have watched him, and IMO it is like watching paint dry. But you are entitled to your opinion, and likes. Please respect that I find him to be dry. Not his fault I find most youtube videos dry. I do like ones by BRC, but you may not like those because of the sarcasm. I put Hickock45 in the same class as watching golf, or tennis.

Yes. Since Bud's sends him free guns to shoot, he's gonna be biased. I remember seeing a Model 10 video he did. He had a Model from the 1950's and then bought a PD trade in 10 from them. It looked almost new for a PD trade in. Much nicer than my luck of the draw 10 they sent me. He's surely not gonna bash Federal ammo, either. He was shooting Winchester white box once and had a very weak round. Said that wasn't a good sign for Winchester ammo. I don't believe he would have said the same if it happened with his free federal ammo.

He used to be a folksy guy shooting his hand loads and giving an unbiased opinion. Now it's always "Glock and Ballistol". I know he doesn't bash other products, but he surely has his favorites. No gun will ever beat his Glock 19. No need to even try.

I like him. I just liked him better before the non-requested endorsement.

I always enjoy watching hickok45's reviews. I do like 3rd gen S&Ws so watched this review even though I shoot primarily 9mm not 40 S&W. It seemed to me to be a pretty fair and honest review. He said many good things about the pistol, shoots great, good sights, accurate, etc, and the only negatives things that I can recall him mentioning in the video, was that it was a bit large and heavy for a carry pistol, which seems to be a fair assessment. He also mentioned that having the decocker lever on the slide interferes a little with grabbing the rear slide serrations, which I have to say, while I very much like my 3rd gens, I have to agree with him that also is a very valid comment, which is one of the reasons that for some recent purchases I went with a Shield and the FNH FNS-9C rather than another 3rd gen, as a safety (or decocker lever) I think is better placed on the frame, at least the ergonomics seem better that way for me, maybe not so for everyone.

__________________
DAV Life Member