3rd Gen Obsolete?

[tom-tom]

I have a three gun stable of 3rd. Gens. Smiths. Maybe it's time to retire them and go to a different gun maker. I have been a loyal customer for over 25 years,but I can show as much loyalty to S&W as they show to the customer. Maybe its time to go to Kahr or Glock or Sig.

I, too, have three 3rd gen Smiths, all 9mm and they're all in my carry rotation. The oldest gun is almost 20, the newest less than 10 years old. Frankly, I believe they'll retire me rather than the other way around. True, any tool can fail, but in quality tools, failure is rare. Will an S&W Bodyguard .380 or Ruger LCP go 20,000+ rounds? Somehow, I doubt it. Are they designed to last that long? Will a 6906 go 20,000+? Yes. Is it so designed?

To paraphrase Dasheill Hammett, most guns don't break; they get broken --- either through abuse or neglect. For example, I have a 40 year old Colt Combat Commander .45. I bought it used, but I've never replaced a part other than the recoil spring. It shoots as well as the day I bought it. I also have my grandfather's Woodsman. The gun was made in 1933 and as far as I know, it's never had a single piece replaced. It'll still pop a squirrel at 25 yards if I do my part.

Now, granted, there's a difference between a .22, a low pressure .45 and a high pressure 9mm. A well built pistol should be able to carry the load for decades and I've never heard anyone describe the third generation Smith & Wessons as anything less than well built.

 

[dh2683]

I, too, have three 3rd gen Smiths, all 9mm and they're all in my carry rotation. The oldest gun is almost 20, the newest less than 10 years old. Frankly, I believe they'll retire me rather than the other way around. True, any tool can fail, but in quality tools, failure is rare. Will an S&W Bodyguard .380 or Ruger LCP go 20,000+ rounds? Somehow, I doubt it. Are they designed to last that long? Will a 6906 go 20,000+? Yes. Is it so designed?

To paraphrase Dasheill Hammett, most guns don't break; they get broken --- either through abuse or neglect. For example, I have a 40 year old Colt Combat Commander .45. I bought it used, but I've never replaced a part other than the recoil spring. It shoots as well as the day I bought it. I also have my grandfather's Woodsman. The gun was made in 1933 and as far as I know, it's never had a single piece replaced. It'll still pop a squirrel at 25 yards if I do my part.

Now, granted, there's a difference between a .22, a low pressure .45 and a high pressure 9mm. A well built pistol should be able to carry the load for decades and I've never heard anyone describe the third generation Smith & Wessons as anything less than well built.

WELL SAID!!!

 

[HCH]

1) Where can I find a S&W pistol armor's manual?
2) All in favor of Fastbolt writing a comprehensive S&W pistolsmithing book, please raise your hand.

 

[GaryS]

I wonder if someone who was well versed in the 3rd generation guns got the appropriate level of FFL and set up shop could make a living just working on 3rd generation semi autos?

Then again, they don't seem to break if they are given some TLC and a couple of springs are changed now and again.

Probably a post retirement gig for a retired LE armorer, at best.

1) Where can I find a S&W pistol armor's manual?
2) All in favor of Fastbolt writing a comprehensive S&W pistolsmithing book, please raise your hand.

 

[pmosley]

To paraphrase a Joe Walsh tune, 3rd gens are analog guns in a digital world, but I for one still have a plenty of coax left.

 

[Badkarma 1]

And yet I take note that most of the digital devices have their share of woes. And yet analog devices which require a little care and oil, winding and attention, continue to work just fine.
Dale

 

[cometpx4]

Obsolesence

Yes-there is not a doubt they are obsolete. Smith has rendered them that way so they can focus all of their efforts on churning out there plastic profit pistol. This is not even a debate anymore. How do i know??
I had to pass a few months ago on a PC Shorty 9mm new in the box because there were no longer 10 round mags. I live in CT and because of a horrible, evil mass murderer , i had to get 10 round mags.
I called Smith and was told point blank, they don't have any, aren't making anymore, and are "phasing out the gen 3 guns and parts". Keep in mind that the Shorty 9 is a 6906 platform which is probably (along with the 3913 and 5906) the most produced semi auto in Smith's history and THEY are telling us to stop buying them and stop looking to them to keep them selling and running.
Yes-obsolete. If you accept my story as truth, how do you argue otherwise??
That being said-i have 2 HK USP 9mm Compacts that shoot as good as any Smith PC auto i ever had and i had them all (Shorty 40's, Shorty 45's, 5906 IDPA, CQB's,) 945, 845, and i am not exaggerating) . This being said, i will never argue that HK's are nicer guns all things considered.
Lastly, Smith is really missing the boat. They could at least pick one (the 3913 TSW) and continue to make it. Why not??

 

[tom-tom]

Obsolete? I guess I can also fall back on my English teacher training and insist on a definition of terms. I didn't look in a dictionary, but I think one would find "obsolete" defined as "no longer useful" or "out of fashion." A Shorty Forty may indeed be obsolete in the Land of Steady Habits if a person can't get a magazine - no longer useful. (I certainly wish S&W would offer full part support, but I also wish GM still made Oldsmobiles, Ford made Mercurys, and whoever is now Chrysler made Plymouths.) A 5906 may be obsolete if it's too heavy for a cop's belt or the powers that be get a sweetheart deal on a truckload of fantastic plastic - out of fashion. I live in Texas where there are plenty of mags and I'm not a cop. I can carry what I want pretty much where I want. My 6906, 908S, and CS9 aren't obsolete.

 

[st regis]

...I get a look once in a while , at a wreck, or in a restaurant, from someone who knows guns, when they look at my leather basket weave holster on my Sam Brown with brass buckle duty belt and see a 4566 in there...ready for action.....I replaced the mag springs with new ones and got a couple of new magazines to boot...my departments' issued Glock stays at home in the safe....