3913TSW Range Reprt

[0849]

So I made it to the range today with my all time favorite 3913TSW and a new Clinger Stingray holster. I typically bring along Winchester white box 115 or 124 gr, Hornady Critical Defense or Critical Duty, Fiocchi 115 gr, and various Corbon that I am trying to use up as it is getting old, for range trips. Today, I brought several boxes along of the old standby Winchester 124 gr NATO ammo which I have found to be good ammo and also one box of Magtech 115 gr which I had never before tried. The 3913TSW functioned flawlessly and extremely accurately as is normal for that pistol. While it cycled and shot the Magtech without any function problems, I could not help but notice that approximately every other round would produce an incredibly large muzzle flash and an associated increase in recoil, seemed, at least to me, like more or different powder charge in some of the rounds, so I decided to stop after 10 rounds.

I would be interested in hearing any experiences anyone has had, good or bad, with Magtech ammo.

 

[TTSH]

I would be interested in hearing any experiences anyone has had, good or bad, with Magtech ammo.

I don't ever buy or use Magtech after a friend ran into some serious weirdness with Magtech rounds. It was a while back and I forget the details (sorry, elderly senility), but it was serious enough that I just didn't care to run into similar issues so I've stayed away. Not very fair of me and YMMV. For handgun ammo, I stick 100% with the popular American brands.

 

[GeoJelly]

0849 - Good info - Thanks! I hate to admit that I have Magtech 115-g JHP's sitting in more than a couple of 9mm's. I bought it at Quantico a couple of years ago when h/g ammo was still on and off here in NoVA. Now, I'm going to rotate it out and take it to the range - I think (hope!) my P-94 can hold up pretty well to some possible overcharges ...

 

[lhump1961]

Now, I'm going to rotate it out and take it to the range - I think (hope!) my P-94 can hold up pretty well to some possible overcharges ...

You didn't say how much more flash and recoil but 9mm is relatively inexpensive to replace vs. guns and fingers. Perhaps not using the ammo in question is another option.

 

[0849]

Update

During the course of disassembling the frame for a thorough cleaning, I located the allusive matching numbers on the frame and slide that have been mentioned over the years on the forum when discussing the TSW models, thought there may be interest in exactly where the numbers were found to be located on this particular TSW.

 

[gasaman]

0849- How do you like that Clinger holster? How long have you had it?

 

[0849]

I purchased it just a couple of weeks back. So far so good. I bought the Stingray molded for the standard 3913 and modified it to accommodate my rail version of the 3913TSW; the CS9 also fits in it nicely.

 

[Ascension]

On your Magtec ammo not a fan.
Bought a 250 round pack of .38 Sp in a lead round nose and that stuff was foul! Looked like an old western scene every time you fired a round due to the HUGE cloud that surrounded you as a shooter. Filthy beyond belief the stuff was!!

 

[Cossack]

I'm excited to see your pistol report, as I just ordered a Police trade-in 3913tsw from Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore. I'm a little suspicious that they ran out, as they showed out of stock soon after I ordered, and they haven't shipped after a few days (they had my dealer's FFL on file), but it is a crazy time of year...

I'd always regarded Magtech/CBC as decent ammo, but I haven't used tons of it. Most of what I have is 7.62 NATO. Maybe I'll read up on it before I go shooting it or counting on it.

I don't just rely on US makers; in fact, I find European manufacturers such as Fiocchi and Sellier and Bellot to be excellent, and are usually cheaper than the US equivalent.

 

[0849]

Good Purchase

While I have never actually purchased anything from them, I would be comfortable buying from them as I have been watching the Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore inventory for the past year or so, and I have called them several times to have them pull a pistol out of their storage and look at it so they could answer my questions, which they were always happy to do. I saw those 3913TSWs listed on their website last week and was seriously considering purchasing one but was gone the next day when I went to their website, but I am very glad it went to someone on the forum, you most likely got the last one they had. From what I have been told from their workers when I called in, they get just a very few police trade-ins sometimes and depending on price and interest they sometimes sell out quickly. They had told me that they do take several days to get a pistol shipped out so I would not worry about a bit of a delay, as you say, this is an especially busy time of year.

The 3913TSW and 3914TSW pistols are the S&W models I like best, I think you will be very happy with yours. They are very comfortable to shoot, light recoil and extremely accurate, I have no problem completing a qual course shooting at ranges from 2 yards all the way out to 25 yards. My 3913TSW will even feed and fire the old Corbon ammo I still have that has a very short and flat hollow point nose to the cartridge.

There are many holsters available for them when they do not have the rail installed, and there are still holster manufacturers out there that have excellent holsters that do work with the railed version, such as Alien Gear and Ted Blocker, and a relative of the well known holster maker Greg Kramer told me they have the mold for the 3913TSW with rail and can make a holster for it.

 

[StateDirector]

Cossack

FYI. Lot of Fiocchi manufactured in US

 

[0849]

FYI. Lot of Fiocchi manufactured in US

I have had very good experiences with Fiocchi, very accurate, and buy it occasionally at Sportsmans Warehouse and Cabellas as they both seem to get very good deals on it. It feels, very subjectively, at least to me, like it might even be loaded a little hotter than the other brands of range ammo I use.

 

[Cossack]

Thanks for the comments, 0849. I'm excited about this one. One clarifiaction - the TSW that you have and that I ordered (the railed version) takes the same mags as the standard 3913/3914, correct?

I used to have some 3913 mags, but sold them. My old 3913 had the worst trigger of any S&W Auto I've ever encountered. Loved it otherwise! But it was no fun to shoot so I got rid of it. When I saw the SOS deal, I couldn't pass up trying the TSW at their price. I hope my experience is more like yours.

 

[0849]

Thanks for the comments, 0849. I'm excited about this one. One clarifiaction - the TSW that you have and that I ordered (the railed version) takes the same mags as the standard 3913/3914, correct?

I used to have some 3913 mags, but sold them. My old 3913 had the worst trigger of any S&W Auto I've ever encountered. Loved it otherwise! But it was no fun to shoot so I got rid of it. When I saw the SOS deal, I couldn't pass up trying the TSW at their price. I hope my experience is more like yours.

Yes, the 3913TSW and 3914TSW take the same mags as the 3913 and 3914 pistols. My experience has been that the trigger action on these has been great and seems to get even smoother the more they are used. The 3913 you had may have had a problem somewhere in the trigger mechanism or maybe some grit got in there. The one time I experienced a problem with the trigger not being smooth, it turned out to just be the trigger play spring needing to be adjusted a bit, I suspect someone that had the pistol before me got a bit over zealous while cleaning and bent it. I was able to correct in a few minutes using info that Fastbolt had posted here on the forum. We are very fortunate to have some excellent forum members with armorer knowledge such as Fastbolt and Armorer951.

There seem to be plenty of mags for this model showing up on the auction sites for reasonable money, so you should not have a problem finding extra magazines if you need them. Also, plenty of aftermarket Hogue grips as well. Some people prefer the stock hard plastic grips, I personally prefer the softer synthetic rubber Hogue grips, typically sell in the $15 to $20 range.

 

[0849]

Larger White Dots on Novak Adjustable Sights

One other thing that may be of interest, the Novak adjustable sights I installed on the 3913TSW have larger white dots than the stock sights, as can be seen in the comparison photo of the 3913TSW (on the right) with the Novak adjustable sights next to the 3914TSW (on the left) with the stock S&W sights. I like the larger white dots.

 

[Cossack]

I picked up my 3913TSW ("fair" Police trade-in from Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore) yesterday. While it's obviously seen some use, it just shows in cosmetics: it's dirty, and it has quite a few scratches in the frame that go through the finish. I shot it in the back yard today. After a few rounds I was able to spin the 5" gong at 25' or so pretty regularly. The trigger is much better than my first 3913. All-in-all I think I did well with it, and after a few more shooting runs, I suspect it will join the regular rotation, and I'll have to shell out for good leather to carry it.

Mine also came with night sights, which still have some juice in them.

I still can't stand that it says "tactical" on the slide, though....so tacky!