39-2 vs. 59...***BOTH FOUND!!! .Help me make the choice! ***PICS ADDED***

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policerevolvercollector

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Considering that the condition is basically equal, which should I get?

I have a 459,5906, & 915. So, magazines would interchange w/ the 59.

The 59 is priced @ $290 and the 39-2 is $325.

Each comes w/ 1 factory magazine.

As my list indicates, I don't have any 1st generation guns. However, many years ago, I had a 39 that I bought new and liked it very much. It was sold/traded probably 25 years ago.

I am putting this out there for input from y'all. Which one should I get? At present, the "gun fund" is such that both are not an option.

Thanks!!

Charles
 
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I love my 39-2. Bought it new back in 1977 or so. Slim, and comfy. Lower mag capacity, but slimmer and more original. Both nice, but I love my slim waisted beauty!! Hope you find what you wish for.
 
I would suggest that you might consider the Model 39-2 over the Model 59. Personally, I prefer wood stocks on a metal firearm. I was never fond of the nylon stocks that S&W put on their handguns.

Additionally, I can envision a longer life for a single stack handgun over a double stack. If I am traveling where my CFP is honored, I don't want to have to change handguns prior to crossing a state line.
 
At those prices I would buy both !

If its down to just one and you already have a 459 get the 39-2.
The 59 and 39-2 share the same barrel / slide assembly but the 39-2 has a slim grip frame and a round butt that fits my hand much better.

 
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You could go either way; the 39-2 is probably a better deal for the price. I think it's one of the classier guns around.

However, having all three generations + the value line in double stack is a neat group.
 
The 39-2 is the better deal as long as conditions are comparable. 39 series>59 series for me all day long, but that's just a personal preference. Go get it and post pics! Buy the 59 if it's in great condition too.

SVT28
 
Well, I really hope that someone votes for the 59 cause it's kinda making me sad. However... not sad enough to vote for it! ;)

Ergos on the 59 are not fantastic. If you can bring your 915 in to the shop and pick up the 59 and 915 within moments of each other, you'll have a fantastic appreciation for the work they put in to 3rd Gens.

Meanwhile, 39's and 39-2's are just sweethearts. I've got three and love 'em like favorite dogs. :D
 
39-2 would be my choice. In my opinion, it's the prettiest auto S&W produced.

This is based on the presumption that you aren't carrying the pistol you choose, due to the pistols you own already.

It would be cool to have all 3 Gens, though, so I vote both, as well. That eliminates you wondering later if you made the wrong choice! You could always sell the 5906, so they all match.
 
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I actually carry my Glock 30 .45 most of the time. The only one of the current herd of 9mms that I carry at all is the 915.

You guys are the worst bunch of enablers that I've ever seen! ;)

I'm still deciding.... I'll announce my choice this weekend.

Keep the posts coming!
 
Yet another vote for the 39. Had both and thought the slimmer grip of the 39 felt more comfortable overall. Had a 59 and it was the one I did not regret trading. By the way the price on that pair is very cheap. thought $450 would more likely be the going price.
 
It really depends on what you'll use'm for. The 39 is easier to carry, the 59 is better if you'll face a horde of bad guys. I have owned both, years apart. I can't tell much difference in carrying either but I'm not an averaged size guy.
 
Get Both

For the prices you have quoted, buy both of them. You won't ever have to second guess yourself if you do. Both are fine pistols worth having.
 
Model39 said:
For the prices you have quoted, buy both of them. You won't ever have to second guess yourself if you do. Both are fine pistols worth having.
Click to expand...
Well, the OP stated clearly that the budget will simply not allow for this to happen.

So, if we're going to go outside the lines with suggestions, I have a suggestion also:

OP, if you can't possibly pull off both of these...
Buy neither. Put the cash in the safe and let it grow.

Yes, this is a serious suggestion and the reason I say so is that 39-2's and 59's were produced by the absolute truckload. These are perhaps two of the easiest to find/replace S&W pistols ever made.

You may find the price soften if you don't jump on one of them now. Or you may simply find something else you'd rather own. This is easy for me to say, of course :p but it is a suggestion nonetheless.
 
I think you need to get the 39
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Bring balance to the force! :cool:
 
Easy - Get the 39-2

The choice is easy, get the 39-2. You can always find another 59, but the 39-2's are getting picked up fast now and held by guys like you who had one and sold it and regretted selling it. If the 39-2 is in great shape you can't go wrong for that price. Like was said before, it's slim and if you travel to a state that only allows 10 rounds, you won't have to leave it home. My 39-2 has never failed me in all these years, ( since 1976). It's a sweet gun and real pretty too. The 59 looks like a robot.
 
I own and love both the 39 and 59. However I'd also recommend getting the 39. It was noted above at how plentiful these guns are. Well they might once have been but I'm not seeing that many, anymore. Especially ones in superior condition. Sure wish you could get 'em both as they have very attractive prices. Good luck.
 
Haha, while it is true that we all see whatever it is that we see, it is NOT reality in my world that 39-2's are scarce. And I will notice every single metal 1-2-3rd Gen in any room, I don't accidentally overlook them.

Pick any S&W 1-2-3rd Gen model out of a hat, go do a Gunbroker search. Now, do a simple 39-2 search.

Mr. Jinks said nearly 400,000 of these were made. They are not scarce in most any way we might typically argue the relative definition of "scarce." And for every guy who regrets the one he had way back when who bought one yesterday to rectify that... there is a widow that just dropped one off at the local gun shop.

I'm emotionally attached just like you guys -- just not to the point that it clouds reality.
 
My guess regarding prices- things will always go up, and I think that it will go up more for the 39-2. I don't think there was ever a real problem to correct, that the 2nd and 3rd Gen fixed, for the single stacks.
For the 59, there were issues, and the newer gen's addressed it.

While that isn't relevant as a carry option since you won't be carrying these, it will figure into demand.

I'm not sure you will find a lot of 39-2's at the price you listed, but I think you will find more 59's at that price.
 
The 2nd Gen single stacks definitely addressed a problem-- lack of a firing pin lock and some reports of hammer block failure. Was it an epidemic? No, not in any measurable way, but I don't believe it was non-existent either.

I totally love my 39's and one of them gets a lot of use, but I wouldn't choose to carry one, either.
 
Carried this one for over 7 years, always reliable, factory refinished her, George Maynard did some accuracy work as one if the engravers did the engraving.

410255337.jpg


Wore out the shoulder holster I made for her, need to make another. Had two, but one disappeared as they sometimes do.
 
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The decision is made.

I searched the gun auction sites and found several other 39-2s & 59s that will be even less expensive than the pair I was looking at originally. So...I can actually get BOTH. ;)

But, y'all knew that was going to happen anyway...right??!! :)

Pics will be posted when everything gets here.......

Best,
Charles
 
policerevolvercollector said:
The decision is made.

I searched the gun auction sites and found several other 39-2s & 59s that will be even less expensive than the pair I was looking at originally. So...I can actually get BOTH. ;)

But, y'all knew that was going to happen anyway...right??!! :)

Pics will be posted when everything gets here.......

Best,
Charles
Click to expand...

Always the right decision, if you can swing it. Congrats.
 
Here's the 39-2. .I got it @ $255 + tax. (It is not the original one I posted about earlier. That one was already sold.) This one was in an online auction that was posted by a dealer about an hour away. So....no FFL fees or shipping costs. :)





I'm still deciding on which 59 I'm going to get. There are several out there at decent prices.

Best,
Charles
 
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