3953 Consignment SCORE!!! [PICS]

[8200rpm]

The S&W 3953 recently piqued my interest. However, being discontinued by S&W and not listed on CA's "safe handgun roster", I figured I had a slim to none chance of getting my hands on a 3953.

During a recent visit to my LGS, I discovered this gem just tagged for private party consignment. It's certainly a lucky find for me... sort of a four leaf clover or needle in a haystack considering the circumstances in my state.

The fit and finish on this 3rd gen S&W is pretty impressive. Without the slide-mounted safety, it's a very slim gun.

Only put 100 rounds of WWB through it so far, but it's a pleasant gun to shoot. Next up is function testing with a few boxes of 147 gr. Golden Sabers and a lighter Wolff mainspring.

 

[8200rpm]

The S&W 3953 recently piqued my interest. However, being discontinued by S&W and not listed on CA's "safe handgun roster", I figured I had a slim to none chance of getting my hands on a 3953.

During a recent visit to my LGS, I discovered this gem just tagged for private party consignment. It's certainly a lucky find for me... sort of a four leaf clover or needle in a haystack considering the circumstances in my state.

The fit and finish on this 3rd gen S&W is pretty impressive. Without the slide-mounted safety, it's a very slim gun.

Only put 100 rounds of WWB through it so far, but it's a pleasant gun to shoot. Next up is function testing with a few boxes of 147 gr. Golden Sabers and a lighter Wolff mainspring.

 

[Stu454]

That looks to be a super-clean 3953 with the desireable (to me anyway) hard chromed hammer and trigger.

Hang on to that one. It's a jewel.

 

[Big Mike]

Great pistols.

 

[hberttmank]

Nice score. The 3953 is one of my favorite CCW guns.

 

[681ismyfavorite]

i love my 3953 enough that i would have no problem if the "command" were to take our G17s away and issue those instead.

mine has the blued trigger and hammer, but i like the chromed style better.

this gun is certainly one of S&W's better ones....thin, relatively light, easy to control, few manipulating gizmos and just plain old sweet.

 

[Sourdough]

This is a very nice looking piece. Shooting 147 gr rounds, is it a 9mm?

I haven't kept much track of the development of pistols but thought they all had some sort of safety or decocking device. Is the 3953 without a safety or is it just hard to see?

 

[Erich]

Wow, that's neat - no manual safety, Fred. The idea was it would be easy for people trained in DA revolvers to switch to. It's a 9mm.

 

[varoadking]

Originally posted by Sourdough:
This is a very nice looking piece. Shooting 147 gr rounds, is it a 9mm?

I haven't kept much track of the development of pistols but thought they all had some sort of safety or decocking device. Is the 3953 without a safety or is it just hard to see?

It's DAO...

 

[Sourdough]

OK, got that, thanks. Takes a little gear shifting after all the years of seeing pistols with levers and doo-hickies sticking out all over!

 

[tocohillsguy]

Congrats. Looks to be in great condition. I'm curious; having never shot a DAO 3rd generation, is the trigger the same as the DA pull on a DA/SA or do they lighten or smooth out the trigger?

 

[Erich]

I had a 6946 - my feeling is that the DAO 3rd Gens have a somewhat lighter trigger (and slightly shorter as well, due probably to the pre-cocking required for the mechanism's function) than the standard 3rd Gens. I don't believe they're necessarily any smoother than the standard 3rd Gen DA, though the one that I had was quite smooth.

 

[Jon96]

That is a nice score to be had here in Kali.

For those who don't know CA has a list of "approved" handguns. The only way to get off-list ones is through Private party sales or be a sworn peace officer.

 

[8200rpm]

Originally posted by tocohillsguy:
Congrats. Looks to be in great condition. I'm curious; having never shot a DAO 3rd generation, is the trigger the same as the DA pull on a DA/SA or do they lighten or smooth out the trigger?

I've never handled a 3rd Gen DA/SA. So, I can't comment on how the DAO trigger compares. However, I can say that the trigger is quite similar in smoothness and a bit shorter in travel than the trigger on a 686P that I used to own...

I recently sampled the DA trigger on a Beretta 92 and the "stacking" was significant. The trigger increased in weight throughout travel and exhibited couple points of noticeable resistance.

 

[Jim H]

I found that after an afternoon with a rental S&W 617, shooting cheap .22lr and using only double-action, the DAO trigger on my 3953 and SW40F had both 'improved' considerably. Hmmm, maybe the trigger finger had improved?

 

[Dueeast]

Congrats on your find! I have a 4053 and love mine. Good luck with yours, and safe shooting!