My first 39-2

That one is a beauty hardknocks. So is that nickel one.

A Model 39-2 was my second semi-auto pistol. (A Colt GM, 45 was the first). It came and went as a lot of other guns did over the years.

Today and wife and I decided to stop by the LGS and the first thing I saw was a Model 39-2 in the center of the case. It was one of those "honest wear" guns I suppose. It was like running into an old friend. The price was right, they knocked off a bit more, so I put it on layaway. No pictures but the receipt says it was made 78-79 or so.

I'll get it out of purgatory soon. I think I have a holster for it in my bag-O-holsters. We'll see.
 
You will enjoy you model 39. This was my first pistol in 1978. I let it go a year later for a 357 magnum. In 2002 I saw a LNIB for $420 in a LGS.
It has been mine ever since. Even picked up a nice vintage leather holster off of EBAY.
John!
 
Well, I got mine out of layaway yesterday and spent a few hours cleaning and waxing it. It needed a light Flitzing then a couple of coats of Ren Wax to make it presentable. That was after a blasting with Gunscrubber, followed by patches and Hoppes. It was filthy. Bore is bright and shiny, and the trigger is pretty decent. Not a K-frame 38, but not bad.

SW39R.webp

This side looks pretty decent. Excuse the poor light, it was about 0530 when I took these.

SW39L.webp

This other side on the other hand, has been rode hard and put up wet. The slide looks like it got dropped on concrete then got kicked across the sidewalk. It should do for a shooter though. I haven't shot it, but it feeds dummy rounds by hand just fine, and a laser cartridge shoots straight to the sights. I hope to get to the range over the weekend if I can work it out.

I don't guess it was too bad for $350 out the door.

I did find a leather IWB holster in my big bag O holsters for it and a found a couple of mags online. They're Pro Mags, but I've had good luck with them and they were cheap. We'll see.
 
CajunBass said:
Well, I got mine out of layaway yesterday and spent a few hours cleaning and waxing it. It needed a light Flitzing then a couple of coats of Ren Wax to make it presentable. That was after a blasting with Gunscrubber, followed by patches and Hoppes. It was filthy. Bore is bright and shiny, and the trigger is pretty decent. Not a K-frame 38, but not bad.



This side looks pretty decent. Excuse the poor light, it was about 0530 when I took these.

View attachment 886849

This other side on the other hand, has been rode hard and put up wet. The slide looks like it got dropped on concrete then got kicked across the sidewalk. It should do for a shooter though. I haven't shot it, but it feeds dummy rounds by hand just fine, and a laser cartridge shoots straight to the sights. I hope to get to the range over the weekend if I can work it out.

I don't guess it was too bad for $350 out the door.

I did find a leather IWB holster in my big bag O holsters for it and a found a couple of mags online. They're Pro Mags, but I've had good luck with them and they were cheap. We'll see.
Click to expand...
For $350, you did ok, but yes, that one was rode hard and put away wet and more than once. So sad.
 
CajunBass said:
Well, I got mine out of layaway yesterday and spent a few hours cleaning and waxing it. It needed a light Flitzing then a couple of coats of Ren Wax to make it presentable. That was after a blasting with Gunscrubber, followed by patches and Hoppes. It was filthy. Bore is bright and shiny, and the trigger is pretty decent. Not a K-frame 38, but not bad.

View attachment 886848

This side looks pretty decent. Excuse the poor light, it was about 0530 when I took these.

View attachment 886849

This other side on the other hand, has been rode hard and put up wet. The slide looks like it got dropped on concrete then got kicked across the sidewalk. It should do for a shooter though. I haven't shot it, but it feeds dummy rounds by hand just fine, and a laser cartridge shoots straight to the sights. I hope to get to the range over the weekend if I can work it out.

I don't guess it was too bad for $350 out the door.

I did find a leather IWB holster in my big bag O holsters for it and a found a couple of mags online. They're Pro Mags, but I've had good luck with them and they were cheap. We'll see.
Click to expand...
I saw that badboy in your other post on the early 39 thread. Don't fault the appearance. It has a story. All it really needs is to be a 39, and to go 'bang' each and every time you want it to. Worldly guns are very attractive to many of us.
 
Oh, I don't mind the way it looks a bit. I've got a couple hundred rounds through it now with no malfunctions. I picked up a couple of magazines for it, and dug around in my "bag O holsters" and found a couple that fit it just fine. I've even carried it a bit just sort of as a "test run." Who knows. It might become a regular.
 
In the early 80's my dad was a deputy sheriff and carried a S&W 39-2. I have good memories of my dad taking me shooting with the other deputies and teaching me how to shoot. I still have that old 39-2. They are great guns.

20241013_162910.webp
 
CajunBass said:
Oh, I don't mind the way it looks a bit. I've got a couple hundred rounds through it now with no malfunctions. I picked up a couple of magazines for it, and dug around in my "bag O holsters" and found a couple that fit it just fine. I've even carried it a bit just sort of as a "test run." Who knows. It might become a regular.
Click to expand...
Mine came to me needing some polishing up and with some commonly broken parts that leave me with doubts about their ability to really withstand high round counts BUT, hot damn does that thing feed and eject. Its sear, hammer and barrel bushing are new, but all of its springs are original.

I know that it doesn’t really mean anything if a gun can’t but even empty cases from the magazine feed with pretty much zero issues.

My beloved, never choked or broke a stock part over thousands of rounds, Glock 19 can’t even feed one.
 
I really don't know how many rounds the average aluminum receiver S&W 9mm pistol will withstand before a catastrophic failure occurs. I'm sure that receiver failure will occur sooner with aluminum than with a steel or stainless steel receiver. I'm also sure that 95% of us will never shoot one long enough to see that failure.
 
stansdds said:
I really don't know how many rounds the average aluminum receiver S&W 9mm pistol will withstand before a catastrophic failure occurs. I'm sure that receiver failure will occur sooner with aluminum than with a steel or stainless steel receiver. I'm also sure that 95% of us will never shoot one long enough to see that failure.
Click to expand...
My dept issued S&W 9mm alloy frame autos for 32 years. We were the first large dept to go to the 9mm and autos. We had between 1700 and 2300 in the field at any given time depending on how many sworn we had on the job.
Our last issued duty round was the W-W 115 gr JHP+P+. When we went to that round a LEO from another dept said our 5904s would not stand up to the constant beating of that round. So one of our range officers decided to keep track how many rds he fired thru his. Around 50,000 rds he replaced the barrel because accuracy was falling off. The rifling was nearly gone. When he retired he had documented 80,000 rds thru his gun. His 5904 was nothing special. Just an off the rack, issued gun.
It's not likely anyone on this forum will run 80,000 rds of +P+ ammo thru their gun. Few will ever run 80,000 rds of any ammo thru all their guns.
My issued 39-nothing has had many thousands of rds of +P ammo thru it. No way for me to figure the exact number. But there is this estimation. Before graduating the academy it was a minimum of 3500 rds. Then I spent 10 yrs on SWAT and fired several thousand rds a year. The only part of my 39 that is not original are the grips. They've been replaced with a new set of wood grips. The orginal grips were worn smooth on the right side from wearing against the seatbelt and radio console in the squad.
Not saying every alloy frame S&W
 
I think I've had my 39-2 longer than any Smith I own, save one. Traded a 59 for it in the early 80's. Have since acquired an 439 and a 639, along with a lot of other Smith nines.

The 39 fits my hand better than just about anything I've ever shot.
 
ispcapt said:
My dept issued S&W 9mm alloy frame autos for 32 years. We were the first large dept to go to the 9mm and autos. We had between 1700 and 2300 in the field at any given time depending on how many sworn we had on the job.
Our last issued duty round was the W-W 115 gr JHP+P+. When we went to that round a LEO from another dept said our 5904s would not stand up to the constant beating of that round. So one of our range officers decided to keep track how many rds he fired thru his. Around 50,000 rds he replaced the barrel because accuracy was falling off. The rifling was nearly gone. When he retired he had documented 80,000 rds thru his gun. His 5904 was nothing special. Just an off the rack, issued gun.
It's not likely anyone on this forum will run 80,000 rds of +P+ ammo thru their gun. Few will ever run 80,000 rds of any ammo thru all their guns.
My issued 39-nothing has had many thousands of rds of +P ammo thru it. No way for me to figure the exact number. But there is this estimation. Before graduating the academy it was a minimum of 3500 rds. Then I spent 10 yrs on SWAT and fired several thousand rds a year. The only part of my 39 that is not original are the grips. They've been replaced with a new set of wood grips. The orginal grips were worn smooth on the right side from wearing against the seatbelt and radio console in the squad.
Not saying every alloy frame S&W
Click to expand...
S&W designed a very durable pistol, plain and simple.
 
stansdds said:
S&W designed a very durable pistol, plain and simple.
Click to expand...
I’m probably biased from my own experience and researching it, but they do seem to have at least a little bit of a recurring issue with the hammer and sear engagement going out of whack and getting hammer follow.
 
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