559 Pros or Cons
- Thread starter chuck8388
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IRONVIC52
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- Joined
- Jul 9, 2009
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If I had an opportunity to buy a Model 559, I'd snap it up. I picked up a Model 659 (stainless version) at a pawnshop a couple of months ago and over the past two weeks have had an opportunity to take it to the gravel pit and shoot it a couple of times. I love Smith & Wessons and the 659 shoots like a dream. The guns in this 2nd gen are heavy beasts, but you'll never worry about recoil, especially since the 9mm is a relative pussycat anyway. I found the accuracy to be excellent, no failures to fire and I like the good looking design.
All things being equal, I would not hesitate to buy a 559.
All things being equal, I would not hesitate to buy a 559.
AzRedleg
Member
I purchased a 559 (adjustable sights) NIB about two years ago. I am impressed with the fit and finish on the example I purchased. I think I paid about $450ish for it. Slide to frame and barrel to slide fit are tighter than other S&W autos I have owned minus my PC autos. I have probably fired about 500 or so rounds with it since new. It feeds anything I have fed it including semiwadcutters. I don't recall a single failure to function. Shoots about 2.5 inch groups pretty reliably at 25M which is very good for a service pistol.
Downside (or upside) is it is pretty heavy and chunky. I have large hands so this is not a problem for me. I replaced the factory springs to achieve a lighter trigger pull but have done nothing more than that.
I like the ergonomics of the 3rd gen pistols more than the 2nd gen pistols but the 559 is still very fun to shoot and would buy again if given the opportunity.
Not sure why people think these are obsolete, I certainly wouldn't feel disadvantaged if it was what I had available.
Downside (or upside) is it is pretty heavy and chunky. I have large hands so this is not a problem for me. I replaced the factory springs to achieve a lighter trigger pull but have done nothing more than that.
I like the ergonomics of the 3rd gen pistols more than the 2nd gen pistols but the 559 is still very fun to shoot and would buy again if given the opportunity.
Not sure why people think these are obsolete, I certainly wouldn't feel disadvantaged if it was what I had available.
The 2nd gen pistols, especially the later ones, have more in common internally with 3rd gen pistols than what most people realize, so I wouldn't classify them as "obsolete".
Novel? Yes
Heavy? Just a bit ( 41 oz. versus 38-39 oz. for a 5909)
I have a 459 and a 559, the thickness of the grip frame is my main dislike, but not enough to make me want to get rid of them... I bought them after my 3rd gens while in a bit of a nostalgic mood.
A 459 was my first semi-auto pistol (purchased new in 1983) and I sold it a year later after catching the .45acp bug and wanting a Colt Gold Cup in the worst way. I've been wanting to have a 2nd Gen pistol again so I picked up an adjustable sight 559 that was in my LGS display case when I went in to pick up a 4516-1 that came out of the CA 10 day waiting period. A nickeled 459 identical to the one I got rid of came up for sale on another forum a few months ago and I snapped that one up too.
I think had it been the other way around and I still had the 2nd Gen pistol when the 3rd Gens came out, I probably would only have bought a 3rd gen initially to have a .40 cal pistol, and not so much as them being that much superior.
But I also freely admit too... I am a 3rd Gen junkie.
As others have said... if the price is right, buy it... shoot it and enjoy it for what it represents, a bit of S&W history, as you would with an older S&W revolver.
Novel? Yes
Heavy? Just a bit ( 41 oz. versus 38-39 oz. for a 5909)
I have a 459 and a 559, the thickness of the grip frame is my main dislike, but not enough to make me want to get rid of them... I bought them after my 3rd gens while in a bit of a nostalgic mood.
A 459 was my first semi-auto pistol (purchased new in 1983) and I sold it a year later after catching the .45acp bug and wanting a Colt Gold Cup in the worst way. I've been wanting to have a 2nd Gen pistol again so I picked up an adjustable sight 559 that was in my LGS display case when I went in to pick up a 4516-1 that came out of the CA 10 day waiting period. A nickeled 459 identical to the one I got rid of came up for sale on another forum a few months ago and I snapped that one up too.
I think had it been the other way around and I still had the 2nd Gen pistol when the 3rd Gens came out, I probably would only have bought a 3rd gen initially to have a .40 cal pistol, and not so much as them being that much superior.
But I also freely admit too... I am a 3rd Gen junkie.
As others have said... if the price is right, buy it... shoot it and enjoy it for what it represents, a bit of S&W history, as you would with an older S&W revolver.
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Pro- Great piece of S&W History, shoots very straight, reliable. Mine is a collection gun but I shoot it. Doesn't have some of 3rd Gen upgrades (Grips)
Con- heavy as a boat anchor. Doesn't have some of the 3rd gen upgrades.
Con- heavy as a boat anchor. Doesn't have some of the 3rd gen upgrades.
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