3rd gen DAO guys, please step inside.

[Arik]

I have a few HKs. Love em but even their LEM have differences. My USP 9 LEM is VERY light. I've held some that were heavier. My P2000 40s&w is technically a LEM but I wish it were a little lighter. Regardless, great guns. I'd be a HK fan boy if it weren't for some of their prices. 45acp mags $60ea.....common! As it stands I'm a Glock fan

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[pmosley]

My search for the more "rare" 3rd generations led to a 6944 and 4054. Later an early flat slide release 3953 was added.

The half-cock function of the early 6944 is heavier than any Revolver I own. The 4054 and 3953 triggers are quite nice. For pleasure shooting I prefer DAO revolver shooting to any of them.

That said I like the aesthetics of the slick side 3rd generation.


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[mbliss57]

I have become more of an admirer/accumulator of all the 3rd gen variations. The variation on a 59xx or 45xx is almost astounding when you start going through a catalog. My shooter/ carry 3rd gens are specific, 4513TSW 3913, 4506, 5906, 6906. But my accumulation of 3rd gens and I do shoot them all is starting to expand. I have a 1086 I really like. I was looking through the SCSW today..50xx 5903, 5903TSW, 5903-SSV, 5904, 5905, 5906, 5906NS, 5906 Super 9, 5906TSW, 5924, 5926, 5943, 5943SSV, 5943TSW, 5944, 5946, 5946TSW, 5967 plus the RSR transitional. ALL started within about a 5
year period. And that is just the 59 series...who can wrap their head around all that!
BTW I did get my hands on a 5924.. LNIB...I had never even seen one in real person..some of these were made for 1 year maybe 2.

 

[davek610]

I have a single stack 4053. My only .40. I should get rid of it but I can't bear to part with it.
As nice a trigger as my S&W 66 shooting DA. Maybe better.
Eight rounds in the mag, totally reliable and accurate.
The single stack 4053 (and 4054) is built on a frame intended for .45/10mm. Not quite as skinny as the 9mm frame but not bulky since there are no controls protruding from the side.
I hate DA/SA, perferring a consistent pull.

 

[Erich]

3954s are rare, as you know. I've had a 6946, John, and it was utterly reliable. As down on the "no second strike" design as I was (Why?), the gun never once needed a second strike.

 

[TNDave]

I carried a 3953 for many years. I consider it to be one of the finest auto pistols Smith made for carry. It has a "fast action" meaning the hammer is already half cocked when you start to pull the trigger. The early forged parts guns have better trigger pulls than the early MIM guns. The later MIM guns are OK.

Forged parts are silver. MIM are black. Early 3953's have a serial number that starts with T and don't have the later, more open ejector port. They seem to work fine.

I wish I had kept a 3953 as they have dried up. The only bad things about them are no parts and the mags are getting harder to find. They are good guns though.

 

[18DAI]

Thanks all for all the input, information and advice.

I purchased a NIB 3954. I'm going off duty in a little while and driving over to pick it up.

I will clean and lube it tonight and try to shoot it Sunday at the local indoor range. I will of course post a range report with my impressions of the 3954 some time next week.

I'm hoping that it shoots as good as it looks and feels. I will probably put a set of Hogues on it as the Hogues make the 39XX feel as though they were made for my hand.

This gun was part of a large collection that a collector decided to divest himself of. IIRC 28 different S&W revolvers as well as some 2nd and 3rd gen semi autos - ALL UNFIRED SINCE THE FACTORY. Looking at all those guns felt like I was standing in a time capsule.

Before y'all ask or PM me, sorry, they are all spoken for as of this AM. I was just lucky. Right place, right time type of thing. Regards 18DAI

 

[Fastbolt]

Congrats on the older 3954.

Post pics.

 

[rwsmith]

I wasn't ready

I carried a 3953 for many years. I consider it to be one of the finest auto pistols Smith made for carry. It has a "fast action" meaning the hammer is already half cocked when you start to pull the trigger. The early forged parts guns have better trigger pulls than the early MIM guns. The later MIM guns are OK.

Forged parts are silver. MIM are black. Early 3953's have a serial number that starts with T and don't have the later, more open ejector port. They seem to work fine.

I wish I had kept a 3953 as they have dried up. The only bad things about them are no parts and the mags are getting harder to find. They are good guns though.

I had plans to buy a 5900 series 15 rd mag but had a lot I needed to get first. I saw one in the store last week for too much money but I bought it anyway. I don't see anything in the future except more scarcity and cost going up.

 

[S&W1006]

I love the 3rd gen dao pistols. I own a 1086 and a 5946. I prefer the dao to the traditional da\sa triggers. It might be because I shoot revolvers so much but the da pull on the 3rd gens is very short. If I run across a 3953 or 3954 I will have to get it. I have a 3913 but the safety adds bulk to a carry gun. I prefer the slick slide of the dao Smiths.

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[Ascension]

I own a 4043 and it's my normal carry pistol right now.
Took a little getting used to the DAO trigger as my other 3rd gen Smith is a 1066 and I also have a SAO Browning High Power. I like shooting the 4043 now that i have gotten used to the trigger a LOT. I swapped in a 16lb hammer spring and then spent some time dry firing it to get the feel of the longer DAO trigger. At first with the stock hammer spring I had to take my time or I pulled low but now shoot very well with it. I like the thought of having that consistent pull and a longer more deliberate pull if I find myself in a defensive situation where my adrenalin is really going is not a bad thing.

 

[Detective_Special]

DAO

As a long time revolver shooter with lots of trigger time, I can't think of a better concept than a compact 3rd gen pistol with a revolver like trigger. The only problem is I have never shot , or even handled one. Closet thing I have to a DAO, or in this case a consistent trigger pull, is a Glock 19. I've had a G17 and G21 and shoot Glocks very well, which I attribute to maybe being the consistent trigger. Unlike my friends south of the border, up where I live, 3rd gen Smiths are not that common and DAO models are quite rare. I'm keeping my eye out for a 3953/3954, but realistically I may have to look at other Smith DAO models. I'd love to put one through the grind and compare it to my 3914, 6904 and G19. As much as I love my Smiths, for reasons like being metal framed, having a hammer and grip angle, I won't be giving up my G19 unless I can find and test a DAO Smith. I'll be waiting anxiously for 18DAI's range report on his new 3954, Congrats on a great find by the way !!!

 

[BigCityChief]

I own a 3953TSW. It is one of the finest pistols I own (and I own many fine pistols).[emoji2]


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[DanP7]

That second strike is a nice feature to have.

But being trained continuously in the tap rack clearing drill, its sort of ingrained in me.

So lack of a second strike doesn't really present any problem, to me.

Those 3914DAO's are nice pistols. The folks who are offering them on Gunbroker seem right proud of them.

If a used one without the Houlton ME laser etching came along.......... Regards 18DAI

Bad rounds are bad rounds. No amount of second striking will set them off.

Dump them ASAP.

Second or third strikes are first and second hits of return fire.

IMO "second strike" is the marketing department taking advantage of a mechanical coincidence.

As you point out, tap, rack, bang. No better method.

 

[kaveman]

My thoughts exactly on the second round strike thing. Every time it's mentioned I'm forced to think of the only situation where it seems to fit,................B grade movies from the fifties. The SOP seems to be "click" "click" "click" and then our hero throws the gun at his aggressor. I'm not trained to do that.

Makes sense from the standpoint of a DA revolver where pulling the trigger a second time brings a fresh round under the pin, but in a semi-auto pistol? Since *most* semi-autos don't have second round strike capability it's probably wiser to adopt a method that works with *all* semi-auto pistols.

Love the 3rd gen DAO. I didn't know such a thing existed prior to a year ago but have been accumulating them since the discovery. 3953, 3954, 4053, 4586, several 6946's and many 5946's and 4046's. I've noticed that the duty sized pistols generally have better triggers than the compacts, but none are bad. I'll have to check to see if I can sense a difference in trigger quality between the forged and MIM parts. My two faves so far are the 3953 and the 5946. The only one I'm not yet sure I'm happy with is the 4053 which seems on first blush to be 'too much blaster,.....not enough grip'. Haven't shot it yet but I was puzzled by the fact that neither magazine would activate the slide lock when hand cycling. Finally traced the problem down to 'personal weakness',..........the double nested recoil spring requires that you REALLY FORCEFULLY rack the slide and that's not easy to do with the shortened grip. I'm betting it works just fine live firing but I'm seriously considering swapping uppers between the 4053 and one of the 4046's. The longer slide and reduced recoil spring will make the shorter grip manageable and the larger grip of the 4046 will give me better leverage against the double recoil spring of the short upper. It would be much like my favorite S&W DAO of all,...........a 5946 frame that I slapped a 6946 slide and barrel on. Here I thought I had invented a completely new model until I learned today about the SSV versions.

 

[Dave_n]

I have a 3913,14 and 53. I must admit that the 53 is a very nice pistol but my real love for a DAO is the Browning BDM. I have two and the ability to switch between TDA and DAO is delightful. All you have to do is to turn a screw head with a penny, Their safety is one that I have never seen on any other pistol. You simply move a double-sided (left or right side) up with the knuckle of your thumb. Very easy to do as you draw. Dave_n

 

[VictorLouis]

the Browning BDM. ..safety is one that I have never seen on any other pistol. You simply move a double-sided (left or right side) up with the knuckle of your thumb. Very easy to do as you draw. Dave_n

Frame-mounted for your thumb to move UP to fire, and DOWN to safe...entirely counter-intuitive to generations familiar with 1911, BHP, and all manner of .22 pistols using a like safety.

 

[GaryS]

You bring up a good point about the second strike. I guess that means I'll have to start looking for a 3953/54.

That second strike is a nice feature to have.

But being trained continuously in the tap rack clearing drill, its sort of ingrained in me.

So lack of a second strike doesn't really present any problem, to me.

Those 3914DAO's are nice pistols. The folks who are offering them on Gunbroker seem right proud of them.

If a used one without the Houlton ME laser etching came along.......... Regards 18DAI

 

[Badkarma 1]

Personally I like the one trigger pull for each shot. Ingrained in me by my early days with a 1911 or Hi-Power.
18, you know damn good and well that shooting a DA wheel gun effectively is a lost art today, but once mastered is nothing to sneeze at!
That said I spent a good number if years behind a SIG P226 and like you learned the DA to SA transition. It wasn't till I picked up an old 5946 that everything clicked. Its short, smooth 7-9 pound pull thrilled me. On the range it's no slouch, tending to hold 2-3.5 inches at 25yds as long as I maintain my trigger control and follow through. The lack of a safety/decocker much improves the lines of the piece, and makes slide manipulation easier without worry of activating the safety.
I recently (thanks to you Brother!) bought a links new 4046 Melonite that I call "NIGHTMARE" and yes its trigger is almost as smooth as it's older 5946 brother.
To me they simplify the manual of arms, and aid in the reholstering process by having a place to put your thumb on, the hammer.
Dale

 

[Ascension]

Spent a good bit of time on the range yesterday with the 4043. This is the first real range day with it since I have swapped in the lighter 16lb hammer spring. At first I was a little inconstant with it but started taking my time and focusing on being smooth with that DAO trigger. After I got 20 rounds or so down the pipe I got the feel for the trigger and found that I began grouping really well with it.
I honestly think having this DAO 3rd gen is forcing me to really work on my trigger control and making me a much better shooter as a result.
By the end of the day much to my amazement I was shooting as constantly with the DAO 4043 even as far out as 25 yards as I was with my old Browning Mk III High Power that I have owned for several decades.
Trust me that is saying something!