952 no dash purchase questions.

[MP1518]

Few questions. Is Smith and Wesson still able/willing to service/ repair a 952? ? What exactly is the difference between no dash 952 guns and -1? Does 2000.00 total sound like a right price for a 98% ( with aluminum case ) no dash 952 in today's market ?

[Sevens]

I don’t know who is at S&W these days, but they show us constantly that they struggle to even assemble tupperware guns properly often. I would search high and low and find a dozen other places before I even considered sending a 952 to S&W here in the year 2021. The very idea makes me shudder.

There are a couple differences between a no-dash and a dash-1:
—mainly, the no-dash has a non-moving mainspring housing and no firing pin lock, while the dash-1 and dash-2 MSH is a grip safety that works as a swartz-style firing pin lock

—the no-dash was an Bangers distributor special, only 400 reportedly produced, in one single style

—the dash-1 was produced in two different visual styles, the earlier guns look exactly like the no-dash with a “billboard” 952 in large font on the left side of the slide while the later dash-1 has very little of the laser-style printing on it, having instead the very understated stamping that would end up being somewhat similar to the eventual stainless 952-2 model

— $2,000 for a no-dash 952 with all the original stuff and true 98% nearly mint but having been shot condition would be a LOW price in today’s market. $2,000 would be low for a similar 952-1 package, so it’s very low for a no-dash package.

$2,000 would be market range for a “nicely used and shows it” but fully functional and lovable 952-1 with no extras whatsoever. Mint, unfired and time-capsule 952-1 with all goodies would run $2,800-$3,200 in today’s market.

Love it or loathe it, there is no place on this globe where more 952 pistols are traded currently or in the last 5 years than Gunbroker. There are always oddball exceptions one way or the other, but the market is for these is pretty easy to keep tabs on if you watch Gunbroker a lot.

[MP1518]

Thank You. That's a lot of information. Other than being less common, is no dash a better gun in any way ? What magazines work in 952?

[lowriderfxr]

I wouldn't say any of the 952s in that series are better than any other, they just have different features. I would snap up any 952 for 2k. They take 3906 magazines which are not hard to find and not expensive, certainly compared to 52 magazines which are hard to find and expensive.

[Sevens]

The no-dash is slightly preferable in that the 952-1 and 952-2 have a very slight pinch-point that I find mildly annoying that the no-dash does not have. This is not a deal breaker and it doesn’t keep me from enjoying my dash-1. This may not be noticeable to most folks.

I definitely notice it.

Beyond that, no real difference in build, quality or ability.

[MP1518]

If I was to buy this pistol and something ever breaks on it , will it become a paper weight? Or they can still be serviced pretty easy? This is the only thing that makes me reluctant to get it. I am a shooter and at least occasionally I would like to be able to put a box of ammo through it without worrying about something breaking that I won't be able to get fixed.

[jag22]

What do you think might break? They are built like a tank. After 50,000 rounds or so you may want to replace the recoil spring, maybe. I've been following 952s on this forum for about ten years and never saw anything about replacing any parts.

[MP1518]

Originally Posted by jag22

What do you think might break? They are built like a tank. After 50,000 rounds or so you may want to replace the recoil spring, maybe. I've been following 952s on this forum for about ten years and never saw anything about replacing any parts.

What concerns me are small parts. Extractor, firing pin , miscellaneous springs etc. I am not worried about frame, slide and barrel of course.

[Sevens]

Okay let’s look at it a bit. The internal parts still follow the design of the 1-2-3rd Gens, but it would be my guess that the drawbar at least is possibly a non-standard part. If that is the case (and it is an important part!) then I could see extreme trouble sourcing that. The trigger is definitely a Performance Center part and I can only assume the hammer is also a PC part. Sear, I couldn’t say.

I can only imagine that the disconnector and the ejector are standard 3rd Gen parts. The firing pin and spring are an interesting question. Maybe a 3rd Gen part? The hammer block safety isn’t exactly the same as a 3rd Gen as it isn’t a decocker and is also oversized. The extractor and related parts certainly seem to be simple 3rd Gen parts.

Stocks are not standard, even though they look an awful lot like the 39/52 stocks. The location of the grip screws is slightly off. (This never made good sense to me)

The barrel is long gone out of production but one of our forum guys recently had Briley do a run, so barrels can be had and having one of those would be a good idea if you’re worried.

We have a long (L O N G) time PC gun shooter active here (I believe it is Calreb!) who has a PPC-9 that he’s sent a ridiculous volume of ammo through. This is relevant because the PPC-9 and 952 top end are for the purpose of this discussion, basically the same.

I would have no reason to expect any 952 that you buy to fail under normal or even heavy use. And if it did, I would hope that a great gunsmith (such as BMCM in this forum) would be willing to look at it.

In summary, there’s lots of things that can be called “worrisome.” I would not be worried about a 952 failing and the small chance of that happening would never be enough for me to not want to buy one.

[MP1518]

Originally Posted by Sevens

Okay let’s look at it a bit. The internal parts still follow the design of the 1-2-3rd Gens, but it would be my guess that the drawbar at least is possibly a non-standard part. If that is the case (and it is an important part!) then I could see extreme trouble sourcing that. The trigger is definitely a Performance Center part and I can only assume the hammer is also a PC part. Sear, I couldn’t say.

I can only imagine that the disconnector and the ejector are standard 3rd Gen parts. The firing pin and spring are an interesting question. Maybe a 3rd Gen part? The hammer block safety isn’t exactly the same as a 3rd Gen as it isn’t a decocker and is also oversized. The extractor and related parts certainly seem to be simple 3rd Gen parts.

Stocks are not standard, even though they look an awful lot like the 39/52 stocks. The location of the grip screws is slightly off. (This never made good sense to me)

The barrel is long gone out of production but one of our forum guys recently had Briley do a run, so barrels can be had and having one of those would be a good idea if you’re worried.

We have a long (L O N G) time PC gun shooter active here (I believe it is Calreb!) who has a PPC-9 that he’s sent a ridiculous volume of ammo through. This is relevant because the PPC-9 and 952 top end are for the purpose of this discussion, basically the same.

I would have no reason to expect any 952 that you buy to fail under normal or even heavy use. And if it did, I would hope that a great gunsmith (such as BMCM in this forum) would be willing to look at it.

In summary, there’s lots of things that can be called “worrisome.” I would not be worried about a 952 failing and the small chance of that happening would never be enough for me to not want to buy one.

Thank You. That's a lot of good information. Will S&W Performance Center be able to provide basic service if needed ?

[Ben-Kenobi]

Originally Posted by MP1518

Thank You. That's a lot of good information. Will S&W Performance Center be able to provide basic service if needed ?

As Sevens said I wouldn't trust S&W to do anything to your pistol. You suggesting it gave me the willies! The Performance Center of today only shares the name with the PC when the 952 was made. I'd imagine everyone from the golden era has retired.

[MP1518]

Originally Posted by Ben-Kenobi

As Sevens said I wouldn't trust S&W to do anything to your pistol. You suggesting it gave me the willies! The Performance Center of today only shares the name with the PC when the 952 was made. I'd imagine everyone from the golden era has retired.

I looked at the gun again . Its nice. 4 mags and aluminum case (manual and warranty car are missing) . It is the very first run for Bangers according to serial number. I just have to decide. A little bit of a turn off that factory is not supporting them .

[Sevens]

The Performance Center was a separate facility, in it’s own building, it opened in late 1989 or was it 1990? It was a collection of the very best that S&W had on staff and some genuine ringers brought in specifically on the design and management side. The very last handguns from the true Performance Center were shipped in 2011 or 2012.

The Performance Center does not exist today. The classy PC logo and name is a branding used now, they slap it on regular production tupperware and AR’s, some of which are far beyond gaudy, and none of which show evidence of any higher quality... let alone true hand fitting by artists, craftsmen and designs by legends.

Try for fun even calling Smith & Wesson and pick the brain of anyone they are willing to put on the phone. Ask someone about the 952. I would be surprised if you could find someone employed there that has genuine knowledge or care for these pistols.

Will S&W Performance Center be able to provide basic service if needed ?

The PC does not exist, you would need a time machine. Smith & Wesson could possibly have some parts stashed somewhere, it would be a lottery draw to find someone on the phone that would be able to identify and locate helpful parts for an elite, hand-fitted and scarce pistol such as the 952. Certainly, it is possible.

I have a 952-1 and a 952-2 and I have other elite PC Limited guns also, they are the focus of my collection and they are what I love most in firearms. If one of mine broke, I would build a list in order of who I would call and where I might send it and S&W doesn’t make my list.

I would call Emmitt “Doc” Brown and ask about a flux capacitor before I called S&W for help with a broken 952.

While I am certain that a 952 could break and I’m sure it has happened, the next one I hear about will be the first one I’ve heard about.

[MP1518]

Thank You. I got an idea. I will get it.