Gen 3’s are Coming back !

[Goblin]

Perhaps the first one will be chambered for 30 Super Carry.

 

[Thinman]

Have a couple old 3rd gen pistols and like them. However, if Smith does start making them again, there are a few improvements that are sorely needed, at least in my view. The 5906 could be competitive in IDPA Stock Service Pistol if it had a mag well and an oversize mag release button. The grips lack texture, so an update there would help, too. Of course, the magazine safety needs to go away. If you've ever shot competition, you know what a pain it is to unload, show clear and drop the hammer on a stock 5906.

Older design, metal pistols are still selling. Sig P226 and Beretta 92 are examples. 1911's go on forever and now the Hi Power has made a come back. Engineering was done on old Smiths a long time ago and CNC machines don't care anyway. Alloy receivers are easy to machine, and the market might not care if everything is forged steel. Mim parts are used in lots of guns. Times change but good designs can be refreshed and re-released. The 5906 had a great trigger with really short reset, and the pistol was super reliable. Good design.

 

[BlackLion]

S&W should be introducing a Gen 4 to recapture the market share forfeited to other manufacturers of steel frame guns. I'm very fond of the Gen 3 guns. The company's failure to further develop the lineage is a travesty. If this rumor is true, I don't see these guns selling well to anyone but collectors. I believe most people will not want a gun with a slide-mounted safety/decocker.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Once again, I am not most people, evidently.

 

[Trooper224]

S&W should be introducing a Gen 4 to recapture the market share forfeited to other manufacturers of steel frame guns. I'm very fond of the Gen 3 guns. The company's failure to further develop the lineage is a travesty. If this rumor is true, I don't see these guns selling well to anyone but collectors. I believe most people will not want a gun with a slide-mounted safety/decocker.

Apparently, all those people buying Berettas don't share your view.

 

[Trooper224]

I'm on another forum with Massad Ayoob. Due to this discussion he contacted Smith & Wesson. Short answer: "not happening".

 

[BlackLion]

Even Beretta moved the safety to the frame on their latest offerings.

 

[Jamesatrange]

They'll probably be made in the free state of Tennessee. I would like to see some of the Performance Center 3rd gens come back even though the Performance Center isn't the same as it was I'd still enjoy them.

 

[mikeruns]

A....nope.

 

[MattyD380]

A well-known and reliable source in the industry participates in another forum I'm a member of. He contacted Smith & Wesson on this subject…

Sorry. Doesn't look like it's gonna be a thing.

Damn.

 

[Dan Zulu]

I saw fresh .356 TSW ammo on the shelves today.

 

[Frank Black]

A well-known and reliable source in the industry participates in another forum I'm a member of. He contacted Smith & Wesson on this subject…
Sorry. Doesn't look like it's gonna be a thing.

Sooo, that only guarantees it's in the works for sure.

 

[MattyD380]

Sooo, that only guarantees it's in the works for sure.

Haha. Hope you're right.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

No company-industry likes to do backward production.
They usually discard the machining, dies, molds, forms, etc.
Like when the Vegas Engine Builder stole my Buddy Clive's Lotus Elan Motor.
He filed a claim with USAA and away they went.
Lotus apparently didn't have a block and didn't cast their blocks.
Their Casting CO said they didn't have the molds for that version but could cast a later version.
So eventually, almost 2 years later, he was speeding along with a higher Horse Engine.

 

[Jon651]

We've got plenty of choices in plastic handguns. I'm looking forward to steel framed TDA. I need no more striker-fired polymer guns. The market is awash with them.

I agree. Not every gun I buy has to be light because I don't EDC with every gun I buy. I enjoy shooting something heavier, and I am willing to accept more weight for quality (at least what I consider heavier weight and higher quality to be). Even if S&W never bring back any, my love for 3rd Gens will remain!

 

[Sevens]

The 5906 could be competitive in IDPA Stock Service Pistol if it had a mag well and an oversize mag release button. The grips lack texture, so an update there would help, too. Of course, the magazine safety needs to go away. If you've ever shot competition, you know what a pain it is to unload, show clear and drop the hammer on a stock 5906.

The 5906 has a decock lever. It is simple to show clear and drop the hammer on a 5906 even if a goblin stole your magazine and jumped on a train out of town. The decock lever will drop the hammer regardless of the magazine.

And if you flip the decock lever down BEFORE you show clear, it will drop the hammer automatically as soon as you close the slide.

With that said...
The situation you describe is exactly correct for the Model 52 and the 952 and it's exceptionally annoying. No possible way to lower the hammer on these pistols unless you have a magazine that you can insert.

 

[mauser9]

Some good comments here concerning marketability and going back. Still It would be nice to see them come back. Still I don't consider they "built a better mousetrap" with some of the current models. Cheaper but somehow not as desirable.

 

[MattyD380]

Doesn't seem like it's gonna happen.

Still…

The interest on this forum and another show that certain consumers are hungering for something that Smith's current offerings aren't delivering. Namely, something DA/SA, all metal and a bit premium. I think the M&P Metal is a step in the right direction, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. Though if they expand the options/variations on that (compact, safety, etc.)… maybe.

 

[dav2no1]

It'll probably be some ugly polymer version? And of course I see this thread just as I'm considering selling my like NIB 6906. Gotta buy some heating oil for winter..

 

[POC]

I hope they make them just so I can get a decocker kit for my 3913.