Anyone here USING 3rd gens?

18DAI

18DAI

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So are you buying, collecting and talking 3rd gen pistols or are you using them? I was struck by two thoughts this past week. A friend posted on another board that I carried and used 3rd gens daily - which is true and an old fella wandered into the shop I work part-time in looking for a new holster for his carry gun - a pristine 4563TSW. Which he purchased new and has carried in the fall/winter for twenty years.

Those two things made me wonder, are there others here who use these guns daily? Or are your 3rd gens more for occasional range use or collecting?

I continue to use them daily, for serious purpose, for a few reasons. One, they are what I shoot best. I can get "A" hits out to 25 yards with the ones I carry. Fast. And I am able to shoot DA/SA as well as anything else because I came up shooting revolvers and I practice regularly. While I no longer shoot as much as I have in the past, being semi retired, I still shoot 200 to 300 rounds a month. More if I am testing customers guns or giving a lesson.

But other than myself, I don't know anyone who uses these fine pistols regularly. The three folks I know who are S&W fans, all carry either HK, Sigs or Glocks. Two of those folks are collectors, the third is just too lazy to practice and prefers a light weight plastic gun to carry. To each his own.

I prefer a solid platform to shoot 45s from. The 45 being my preferred round for miscreant control. Reliability is my chief concern - and these guns are bet your life reliable. Weight is not a concern, to me. Because I own a gunbelt and good holster and my loaded 4506-1 weighs within an ounce of the vaunted 1911. Which I hear is the gun of choice for "professionals". ;)

And often I carry an aluminum framed version, the CS45, 457 or 4513. All use the same manual of arms. Controls are the same or similar. And all are minute of felon accurate.

So I am curious. Anyone else here using these fine guns daily? Occasionally? Or just buying/collecting? Thanks! Regards 18DAI
 
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Yes indeed. My constant companion lately has been a late model 6906. It was a more difficult pistol to learn how to shoot well, but well worth the effort. Great balance between concealability, weight, and capacity. I'm actually very interested in a 4513 or a 4506 to add to my rotation but finding holsters for these guns is sometimes challenging.
 
Yes I am carrying a M4040PD right now. I added a set of XS Standard Dot night sights and it shoots lights out. I love it so much, it’s actually my favorite carry pistol ever. I also do like my Kahr PM9 for 9mm carry, since it’s so small and light. But it also has a DA trigger. I wouldn’t carry a SA gun or Glock-style SA striker gun


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Holsters can be problematic. I have an additional problem when holster shopping - I am left handed!

I have found that holsters for a Sig 220/226 work well for the 4566. Sig 229 holsters work with the compacts - 4516/4513. Glock 30 holsters work with the 457. And some Glock 27 holsters work with the CS45. A kind member here made my a very nice IWB for my CS45, so that one is covered.

The 4506 holsters are the hardest to find. I have had MTR Custom leather make me a few holsters over the years. Nice product that they are very proud of. ;)

Murphs Cutom leather is a fine holster maker. He does the local gunshows and makes superior leather at a reasonable price. I used one of his holsters on duty for 15 years and still use it. Very durable and well made.

Non fitted holsters for a Beretta 92 sometimes work for the 4506. And Alphonsos leather in Hollywood CA still makes 4506 holsters. LAPD guys put me on to them. They have both duty and off duty leather.

Aker is another good holster maker for 3rd gen guns. But I don't think the currently offer one for the 4506. Ebay often has some old new stock Aker holsters. I use their Flatsider pancake with my 4506. Great leather to conceal a fairly large gun with. :) Regards 18DAI
 
Sure; I've been carrying the same 39xx,69xx and Performance Center Shorty-9 since the early 1990s.................a 3913NL is my EDC here in the Burbs of the Burgh....... I tend to go to a 6906 when I'm going out of town.

I accumulated my carry guns, back-ups and back-ups to the back-ups in the safe over the past 25-30 years.......

Holsters..... custom from Milt Sparks, MTR and Kirkpatrick out of Texas.

Currently looking to get a IWB holster for my newest carry a Squidsix custom 6915. Anyone with one in their Big Box-O-Holsters they want to sell drop me a PM...... before I call M Sparks next week.

My only S&W .45 is a 4566..... to meet my .45 carry needs I switched to a Sig 245 in about 1994/95

Another old gun seeing more use lately is a Beretta 92F Compact with "thin" G-10 grips, night sights and the new Mec-gar 15 rd flush fit magazines.

My carry revolvers also date to the 1980s three inch 65s and 66s.

As I've posted before..."new is new.... new doesn't mean better... just different". Experimented with different carry guns for about about a dozen years 1978 to 1990. Since then never seen a reason to change.
 
Carrying? No. For me, carrying is all about weight and size and metal guns are just heavier. I carry a Ruger LC9S or a Shield. Ruger is slightly smaller and lighter so Shield doesn’t get carried much. Every ounce matters so I’m considering a SIG 365MS.

But my home defense gun is a 5903. Everything I like in a non carry gun.
 
Strongly agree BAM-BAM! I examine all the "new" latest and greatest every week at the gunshop. Absolutely no interest in any of them.

Ugly designs with lousy triggers and exhorbitant price tags. I see absolutely no reason to change. Regards 18DAI
 
Those two things made me wonder, are there others here who use these guns daily? Or are your 3rd gens more for occasional range use or collecting?
Click to expand...

Range use mainly. Unfortunately, for the calibers i like to carry, no 3rd Gens have the round capacity i prefer.
For carry i use a Glo** 29SF that holds 16 rounds of 10mm.
 
I carry mine frequently, it has seen all kind of use from hiking, hunting, kayaking, traveling, daily outings, and two trips across the entire continental U.S. and back in a car. It’s not the only gun I carry, but it is one I use regularly. It is large, but open carry is legal in my state and most of the ones around me, so I wear it proudly if the situation allows.

For holsters, I’ve found success with leather holsters made for the Glock 19. They start off a tad small, but if you dampen them up and stuff a third gen (in a bag, of course) in it overnight, by morning it’s usually a perfect custom fit.


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All I use are generation three S & W pistols, and revolvers. I have carried a CS 45 for over 20 years. I keep a 4513TSW by the bed, and a 4506 with only 50 rounds through it, in the safe. It was my last duty pistol. I do not like striker fired pistols. I require a safety even though I only use it for de-cock. I never carry with the safety on. I love these handguns. The absolute last revolver I would ever sell, the ever versatile, Model 63.
 
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Week days I carry my .40 shield or my .38 model 640 no dash, as I can conceal those best while at the office. On the weekends, or on my day off, as I drive my wife or daughters to the store, I carry my 457 or 6904, as the cold weather allows me to conceal them with heavier coats. Also, if I had the 457 at the range that week, I will be more apt to carry it all weekend. Next week I may take the 6904 to the range, so I will carry that for running errands that weekend.
 
I have tried at times my 5904, 5903tsw 5906 tsw, and even my 686 a couple times. i always went back to my 4506 no dash IWB.I dont know, but i guess it is the slimmer width. So it has been clear after all these years, no more efforts to try to use something else..Why improve on the best choice anyway?
 
I would really like to say I do carry one of my S&W 3rd Gens daily, but I don’t anymore. Sometimes but not daily.

I’ve went from the whole progression of 4506, 4516, 4513, CS45 because I started wanting smaller/lighter, (the same with SOME 9mm’s too.) I keep getting “new” examples that I think I’m going to carry but I don’t for various reasons and excuses. Mostly the condition of them.

I shoot them all and take great care of them, but as they’ve multiplied I’ve realized Im actually creating more of a reference library than a collection. I’m starting to appreciate them for more than just “tools.”

I hate to admit it here but my daily carry is one of my PM series Kahr’s, (.380, 9’s, or .45.) I’ve had them for years and am very confident in them. The plus thing too is if something DOES happen, I would not be amiss if one of them were locked up for “evidence.” I would be very bummed if my Shorty 45 MKII was thrown in a metal cage. :eek: (Yep I know, NOT a 3rd Gen but..)

Jim
 
My EDC is Tupperware but I end up with the S&W 469 on me more often. It is of course a 2nd Gen and not a 3rd Gen.

When it comes to a high round count and piling up scorched brass, it tends to be from my S&W guns much more than all the others I own combined.
 
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