439 question

[Racer X]

How common is a clear anodized frame, blued slide 439? All the 439s I see here are blued and something dark on the frame.

BTW, mine has the adj rear sights, and the round trigger guard.

 

[armorer951]

I believe the 439 series gun frames were all either anodized in black, or nickel plated. Perhaps your example has an aftermarket coating?

 

[DCW]

The 4th Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (SCSW), Pg. 354, says the Model 439 has: "...blue or nickel finish..."

The one (many?) you saw evidently has been, um, *******ized. It's a relatively easy thing to do with the first through third generations of S&W semi-automatics inasmuch as the slides and frame rails pretty well match up from one firearm to the next, even to the point of mixing a relatively shorter slide to a long-railed frame.

Should one not be interested in getting duped, the relatively cheap (~$30) and newly published 4th edition of the SCSW is money well spent.

Later.

 

[Racer X]

I've owned the 439 in question since the mid '90s. It looked at least 95% when I purchased it, so other than some wear on the heel of the Pachmayer rubber grips, I suspect it was carried a lot, shot a little. I really prefer the 2 tone look actually.