TexasRaider, I think you have misconstrued my argument with regards to time passing. I don't mean that the 3rd Gen design or style is out of date or old news and propping that argument with the success of the 1911 doesn't prove the point.

I'm suggesting that the 3rd Gen has been out of the spotlight for too long, that's what I mean about the passing of time. I'm saying that if it were 1998 right now, we could make a far more realistic argument for S&W keeping it alive.

As to S&W not catering specifically to buyers, S&W fans or to a market? Well, kind of makes them like almost all the other gunmakers these days. They are a for-profit company that also answers to share holders.

The current version of S&W, no matter what a bunch of gun cranks thinks, is far better than the LAST version of S&W, that's for sure. They bought the company at a depressed price & made them a huge player in the industry once again.

That may not be the kind of success this vocal little group cares for so much, but the value of the stock & viability of the company is far stronger today than it was when Tompkins nearly crashed and burned it entirely.