A couple of months ago I bought a 908 serial #LKF05XX, which according to S&W it manufactured in 1999. It has some carry wear and appeared to be in good shape. I got it for a decent price at the pawn shop where I found it.

So far I have run about 300 rounds of various range and defense ammo, and it hasn't hiccuped. It fairly accurate, or at least as accurate as I am. I am not able to get any real tight groupings, but they all in the 5 ring at 3 yards and 7 yards. Or in center of mass. I plan on using this weapon for CC, and have ordered a nice leather IWB holster for it. It fits perfectly in a Don Hume JIT Slide OWB holster that I had for my other carry weapon, a Taurus PT140. The barrel sticks out the bottom a bit, but not a big problem.

Anyway to question. When cleaning and sitting in my living dry firing I notice what appears be lots of side to side play between the frame and the slide at the muzzle end. Almost a 1/32nd of inch either way. The barrel is tight in the slide, it the whole slide/barrel assembly that moves on the frame. Is this a problem for accuracy or is it dangerous? According to Smith I have no warranty on the pistol. Is it something I need to have looked at?
It has a plastic guide rod, is that part of the problem? Who makes a metal guide rod for this gun?

Thanks for any replies in advance.

Marty

The guide rod for the 3913 will work and is SS, the side to side does not sound too bad but hard to judge without looking at it.

My 908 is tight, but I doubt yours has a serious problem. The accuracy you're getting is certainly OK, about what I get with mine. A metal guide rod may or may not help, but some people have changed simply because they don't like the plastic one. Mine is stock out of the box and I've been very happy with mine over the 2 years or so I've owned it.

Guide rods keep the recoil spring in place under control. They have no effect on accuracy. The plastic guide rod will do the job.

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SOS USA

marty: Your accuracy is well within what is needed for self-defense work. You could find a competent S&W mechanic and get the 908 gone thru. But, you could wind up with as much invested in the 908 as you would have if you had bought a 3913 originally. All the internal components of a 3913 will retrofit to the 908.

The slide to frame fit you mentioned can be corrected, but is probably not necessary. The recoil spring is probably returning the slide to the same place after every shot. That is all that is required for achievable accuracy on that pistol. ......... Big Cholla

Thanks for the replies everyone!
I think I will just keep the gun as is and enjoy shooting it. It has gone into the rotation as one of my CCW since I recieved my DM Bullard Dual Carry holster last Friday. I will try to post some pics soon. I did replace to stock grips with Hogue and I like the feel.

I have a question for the ones that know, does the mag release assembly for the 3913 also work for the 908?