I hope this isn't boring, but I thought I'd share the my experiences with my duty sidearm over an 18 year period....

Just after being hired by my new agency, I was required to purchase, on allowance, a duty pistol (or even revolver, the specifications were pretty loose in this respect back then). At my prior agency, they had issued Model 39-2's, and the department armorer had been kind enough (probably for no other reason than I showed an interest) to school me on servicing them. So the 39-2 was a gun I knew intimately, shot well, and for which I already had all the leather gear and extra magazines. So another 39-2 was more or less a no-brainer for me, although now I couldn't tell you where I ended up buying it, or what I paid. At the time, it was near new, though, and accompanied by the box. It turned out that a couple of old hands in my division also preferred the 39-2, so I wasn't frowned upon for my choice.

I was unfaithful to the old girl just once. When it was the new "last word" and what everyone was switching to, I decided I needed a Glock 17. I even remember the serial number of that gun - AH 038. Now all you law enforcement types know what "Adam-Henry" stands for, and I was assigned to my department's Station 38. So I had to go for it. Bad idea.

On the range, the first thing I noticed was that the rear sight was jammed askew into its recess. So back to Glock it went. Upon its return, it was hardly any better, so off it was sent again. This time Glock got it right, so finally it was time to wring the pistol out on the range. First thing I noticed was that it ejected every shell casing right back into the middle of my forehead. No matter how I adjusted the ejector, same thing. I quickly developed a flinch that absolutely destroyed my usually excellent marksmanship. Then I noticed that already the notches in the plastic magazine bodies had peened to the point that the magazines no longer seated all the way up.

I know that Glock has undoubtedly long since remedied such problems, but I'd lost all confidence in that 17, and never carried it for a single day.

My 39-2 held up well over the years, but after several thousand range rounds, it began to get finicky. So I rebuilt it (you'll recall I'd received some informal traning in this regard) - new main and recoil springs, a fresh hammer and sear, fitted a new barrel and bushing that mated up tightly, but not too much so. Voila! All the functioning woes were gone, never (yet) to return. Near the end of my carrer, my department decided to start issuing +P ammunition. This increased the felt recoil substantially, but the 39-2 otherwise handled the more energetic diet just fine.

Like me, my 39-2 is now honorably retired. These days, it resides in the nightstand, because I'd still stake my life on it.

Attached Images

39-2.jpg (27.8 KB, 429 views)

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