Is a S&W Model 410S a good buy

Looking for any information of this semi-auto .40 S&W caliber gun. I like the older stainless steel frame guns and since I already have several M&P's in this caliber it would be a great fit. It's SS so I know it's durable. I'm looking for any first hand knowledge about accuracy, dependability and ammo likes and dis-likes. Does anyone make an adapter so I can swap out the rear sight for a red dot? Anything else to know about it?

I have owned one for years and also have a blued 410. I use one for a truck gun and the blued one I keep well hidden at my lake house. They were not very expensive at the time I bought them used. They are accurate and dependable. They were discontinued before the red dots came along. There are several places you can have the slide milled but I don't know how practical that idea is. They were a plain jane version of the full size police 40 duty gun from the mid 1990s (4006?). For example, they lack the ambi safety of the 4006. I used the Winchester 180 grain JHP. It was a great round but newer better ones have been developed They shot a lot like my 4013 single stack that was my last duty gun. A picture of that 4013 is attached. The city had it engraved and gave it to me when I retired. I don't have one of the 410s and my son in law is driving my truck.

My 410 was a good shooter. I traded it for a 4053 because I need a 3.5" to comfortably carry IWB, and I wanted a DAO pistol for my EDC.

The 410S frame is aluminum alloy and not stainless steel like the 4006 model. The 410S weighs 28.5 vs 38 ounces for the 4006. Both are good range guns.


There is a great example on a 410S for sale of GB until about 1010h 12/26/23.

there is another thread i believe see "5906.... again" discussing the 410/411 and their sisters 910/915. As I recall the 410/910 variants are slightly less desirable than the earlier 411/915 which are essentially the same as 4003/5903. All are aluminum frames as opposed to the 4006/5906 stainless steel frames.

IIRC this was one of the "budget" series pistols.

Did this one have the plastic recoil rod like the CS series? I think they did, but I might be wrong.

SS?

The 410S is perfectly durable even though the frame is not stainless steel. It has an alloy frame. Genitron.com shows the weight at 28 ounces, compared to an all steel 4006 which weighs 38 ounces. Just bear in mind to lubricate the rails with grease instead of oil.

Here I quote scooter123 who comments on the issue in 2011:
"Keep it clean and use enough grease that's formulated for good retention and wetting properties. On a Sig Sauer the recomended (sic) practice is to run them quite wet with grease, enough that when the slide is assembled to the frame the excess oozes out and has to be wiped off."

From the same thread I quote Deuce Caboose his alloy framed pistol:
"Carried the 6946 for years and noticed that if the slide was relatively free of burrs, the alloy frame did not wear too badly, if, as others have mentioned, it was lubed properly. When burrs and lack of lubrication were found, the frames suffered with uneven wear and gauling (sic). Oddly enough, accuracy of each was not that different."

Please note with alloy frame 3rd gens the camming lugs will wear to a point of equilibrium and stop. Fastbolt has written regarding this on our forum. You may wish to leave a note in the box regarding this with the pistol for your great grandson when he inherits the pistol. The departed comrade 18DAI has also written about this.

My personal opinion is that the extra 10 ounces of the 4006 is not something I can feel on my hip. I cannot relate myself, YMMV.
The lighter pistol is said to recoil more, but I can't see it or feel it. I cannot relate to that at the range. Maybe if you shoot one and then immediately shoot the other one you could feel a difference comparing them, but does that affect your score? Your split times? YMMV.

The barrel will give out before the frame does.
The principle of equilibrium also applies to polymer framed pistols. The release of plasticizers from the polymer follows an exponential decay curve. The older it gets the amount of plasticizer that is outgassed reaches near zero. If you leave a Glock to your great, great grandson, you might want to include a note about that too just to set his mind at ease about shooting it.

You will love that 410S, Cougar.
Kind Regards,
BrianD