Happy New Year All,
I just picked up my first gun of 2021, a model 459, blued with adjustable sights. This isn't the first 459 I've owned, I had another one a couple years back, however it brought up a question: The barrel on my new one appears to be matte stainless, but im not sure. I seem to recall the other 459 I had, as was the cases with all of the 59s and 39s I've had, was fitted with a carbon steel barrel. What is this finish? Is it stainless? Carbon steel with Hard Chrome? Nickel?

Thanks!

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I have a model 439 manufactured around 1981-1982 which has a stainless steel barre. I was issued a new 439 in the Academy in 1988 and it had a stainless steel barrel. To my recollection all the 459’s I’ve seen had stainless steel barrels.

I have a model 39-2 fro around 1975-1976 and it has a blued barrel with a polished in white chamber which is visible through the slide. The model 59’s had the same barrel as the 39-2’s and I think the barrels were interchangeable.

A Friend has a nice model 59 in nickel and I can’t remember for sure but I think his had a few blued parts including the barrel.

Are they true stainless or just carbon steel flashed chromed? Very difficult to tell visually, like the flashed chromed hammers and triggers on the pre-MIM 3rd Gens.

Both my 459 and 559 have the matte "stainless" barrels.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

That's exactly what I was wondering... Hard to tell visually, but looks like solid stainless, idk.

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I'm 99% sure the barrels on the second and 3rd generations were Stainless Steel. S&W was trying to standardize a lot of the parts and I think the ISP preferred having the SS barrels. I know the 5904/6904 had stainless barrels. Late in the 5904 production run S&W discontinued shipping blued mags and blued pistols shipped with stainless steel magazines.

The overall appearance of the barrels is the same between the second and third generation except for the profile. S&W discontinued using the removeable barrel bushing on the 3rd gen guns. The barrels on the third gen pistols had a different profile near the muzzle.

I'm not sure but I think the 469 first used the fixed barrel bushing design with a flared muzzle similar design to the third gen 5904/5906 barrels.

The first new S&W I ever bought was a 459.

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Live long and prosper