Hi all- Went to the Tyler gun show today looking for either a Kimber micro 9 or a Sig P938. I told myself before I went it would come down to which one fit my hand best. I must say I was shocked at how small these 9mm's are, and they weren't comfortable in my hand. Really wondering what to do when I saw a man with a Savage pistol case, and asked him what he was selling. He said a S&W model 3913. My interest went up exponentially since I used to have a 6906 and really regretted selling it. His 3913 was a one owner safe queen in MINT condition. I asked how much and he said $300. Needless to say, I couldn't pull those 3 bills out fast enough, hoping he wouldn't change his mind. Put 100 rounds of mixed ammo through it on the way home, and it functioned flawlessly. When I cleaned it, I was astonished at how "virgin" the metal inside was. My guess is I shot it more today than any time in its entire history combined. I'm a happy camper!

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An incredible purchase,sometimes people bringing firearms to sell at gun shows have no idea their value.

You now posses what many on this forum including me think is the King of Concealed Carry!!
Randy

Great score at a great price................a 39xx been my EDC since about 1990.

Not too big, not to small, not too heavy, not too light,.... just right with 8+1

Check out Hogue grips.... rubber and better yet wood..... smooth and checkered!!!!!!

I agree about King of CCW. It is the PERFECT size for me. I have a CZ P-01, but it's a little too big and a little too heavy. The 3913 is the "Goldilocks" pistol in that it's not too big; not too small; but just right.

How funny- I posted at the same time Bam Bam posted, and said nearly the exact same thing.

Super buy for sure!! Often going for twice what you paid. Usually gun show are merciless. Nice gun and great investment in my opinion.

You now own the second best carry gun S&W ever built. Right behind the 3953.

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Good pick up. Great shooting guns and very reliable.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

Congrats on your new 3913

I was looking for one years ago but ended up with a 3953 as my daily carry ,
(the 3953 is OK...just never found love for DAO especially without a 2nd strike feature).

The 6906 is its double stack twin which eliminates the shortcomings of the single stack mag in both capacity and reliability but the ambi safety really adds too much slide width .

The 3913 IMO is at the top of S&W 9mm CCW pistols....
Perhaps only second to the PC9 which despite the high purchase price I highly recommend if you ever stumble on one for sale .

The last 3913 I saw was very well worn and the sticker price was $500.

You know what they say about "Great Minds"......................

A question from Goldilocks...... what gun for "Three Bears" ????????????????

I bought several PC autos in the mid-90s including two Shorty 9s...... not knowing how few were made.... I started carrying one when I wanted more bullets than my 3913 or NL....... the difference in grip width and ambi safety IMO doesn't make for any practical difference when concealed carrying... FWIW IIRC some runs of the Shorty 9s had a single sided safety.


Check out Hogue's checkered wood grips for the 39xx guns.... adds a bit of a palm swell but doesn't again IMO effect concealed carry

The 3913 and 3914 are the Corvettes of the concealed carry world..... the NL versions are the 'split window" models!!!!!

I forgot to mention that the pistol also came with two of the original stainless S&W mags with the finger extension. Checked the price on these, and they come pretty dear these days. These added value to the purchase as well.

Magazines are getting hard enough to come by that I figure them into the cost of the gun. So, apparently, do some sellers. That goes for the 39xx compact guns, the 69xx guns, and the 45xx compact .45s.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I picked up an as-new 3913NL a few weeks back, found in a pawn shop and dickered out the door for $375. I considered myself lucky.

I currently own 9 different concealed carry handguns, all rightfully regarded as top-quality arms. With that choice available, if it became necessary to thin the herd down to one, the 3913 NL would be the survivor.

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Pisgah

Nice going. I'd have been all over that.

Pisgah-$375 is a really good price. I checked Gunbroker recently, and about the best you can do is $450 for the gun; $30 for shipping; and $20 for transfer fees. And that's buying a gun sight unseen. I much prefer looking at one and inspecting is before buying.

You guys know that they are only that cheap because they are a cult gun.

My guess is that more than 95% of gun guys have no idea what a S&W 3913 is let alone how good it is..........................

The ASP and Devel were built for "spooks"....... S&W saw a good..... no great thing.................. and built it ....... but the world in 1989/90 wanted a 15+1 gun because of a couple of movies... while in truth most of us .....including the spooks............ are well served by a single stack 9.

They were just 25 years or so too early. Today, lighter, concealable, single stack 9mm are all the rage for self defense.

The problem, as we've said 1,000 times here, is that the 3rd Gens are all metal and forged. Which means that the receivers consume a lot of time in the CNC cabinets. You can make a few M&P slides in the time it takes to machine a 3rd Gen frame.

Not to mention that there aren't enough companies making 1911 guns.

That 95% of gun guys don't know what a 3rd Gen is, works to our benefit. Sometimes. Of course we do tend to spread the word and add more members to the cult. Which includes FFLs that until we open our mouths, we let 3rd Gens go at low prices.

Our own worst enemies.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

Yep.................... unless you stocked up in the 90s!!!!!!!!!

I bought my first 3rd Gen in 1993 from a friend. A very nice 5906 that I still have.

It was over 10 years before I had enough free money to start buying more guns. Since then though...

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Can open, worms everywhere.

mostly because of this BerettaYouTube

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witty signature goes here

Excellent find! You could do a lot of work to a P-01 and still will never get the single action reset as short as a 3913. That’s just one of the overlooked traits of that sweet pistol you got there

OP: Now, THAT is a real find!

I have three 3913 pistols (a 1992, a 1996 and a 1999 TSW). They are great. My older brother could not understand my fondness for the model. That was until he came across one at an outstanding price and picked it up. After he cleaned, lubed and shot it, he call me and said, "Okay, now I get it."

It's now one of a three handguns on his CCW.

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1st Signal Brigade, RVN '70

I don’t carry anything less than a 40 or a sig 357 as a Ccw your all infatuation with the 39xx or 69xx is lol funny. As a 9 mm it is not in the top 10 of 9mms ever produced. So many better 9 mms out, granted for more money but the 3rd gen smiths in 9 mm are not that special other than being all metal. Shoot a BHP or a Berreta 9 or even sig 9s and then post back all the aforementioned are better than a 39xx. I have a Swiss beater p238 that is vastly superior to any 39 or 69 series made.

I have and shoot BHPs, Beretta 92s and more than a few Sig 9mms ( 225,226,228) over the years..... all are or have been great , duty/police size guns.... but all are bigger and heavier then the 3rd Gen 39xx guns.

"We" are liking ( a lot) the 39xx for "civilian/off duty/007 concealed carry".... if I was carrying a 'duty" weapon today it would in all likelihood be my Beretta 92 Wilson Combat Centurion ( or one of my other Centurion or Elite IIs)...... but on a daily basis in the Burbs of the Burgh I don't need a 18+1 9mm ...... the 3913NL "meets my needs" in a concealed carry handgun.......

You may need something else ........ go for it ...... but don't troll those of us who find that the 39xx series guns meet "our needs"!!!!!!

I also have a Colt Mustang Pocket lite.......380 another gun I like when I can't carry a 39xx in 9mm

Personally, I’d like to see more of this talk. Prices on these third gens have gotten out of hand lately. Preach on, brother


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Actually miss post, I have a p228 stamped piece and a p229 forged piece which gets the 357 sig treatment. The p228 is lite weight and with hogue grips an excellent concealed carry piece it is nicer than a 3900 series smith

Too each their own..... but the 228 with a 3.9 inch barrel is more of a FrankinSmith 6906 w/ a 915 upper... than it is to a single stack 39xx.... to which Sig's answer was/is the 239

I have been there and done that, I had a 6906 and a 3914 tactical, even the tactical would not fit my hand right I have larger hands than most and the double stacks fit my palm better. The third gen is a good firearm hence why I am here but after having an. Shorty 40 along with a 1076 it makes you never want to shot another 9 mm smith and Wesson ever. The 40 cal is smitha nd Wesson but you know what they say about opinions

Referring back to BAM_BAM's post #14,my Corvettes.
My 3913NL 'split window' Corvette and my 3953 regular Corvette.

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As I said to each there own.................what works for one may not work for another......doesn't make one gun " vastly superior" to another gun......... beyond the needs of each shooter

Thief!!! you should be arrested!!! Kidding aside - what a GREAT find! Enjoy

I used to dis-assemble my 6906, and gave the 3913 a go today. Dis-assembly of slide and frame- no problem. Re-assembly of slide- no problem. The juggling act of re-assembling the frame took some time, and several trips to YouTube to remember the process. Quite a bit of finness required, but success at last. Glad I got her all cleaned up inside and out. I LOVE S&W autos, and the fact you can take them down so far for cleaning with minimal tools needed. It gives me a feeling of confidence to look at the insides of a new gun, and get them nice and clean. However- a process not to be repeated any time in the near future!