vigil617
US Veteran
Here's one you don't see every day.
Call it a 356 Shorty, or more properly, a 3566 Compact. Caliber is 356TSW, a short-lived round developed for the Team Smith and Wesson (TSW) shooting team in the early 90's for reasons more adequately explained on other threads.
Either 200, or more likely, 300 of these were made by the Performance Center for Lew Horton in 1993-1994. They were the compact version of the 5-inch barreled 3566 Limited, of which less than 150 were made. (The extra 1 1/2" of barrel in that model will cost you mucho dinero, by the way.) EDITED 9/7/2019 to correct production numbers: 386 of the Compacts, 517 of the Limiteds.
Came with 12-round 356TSW mags with finger extensions, but mine is pictured wearing its Grip Plus Two on a 5906 14-rounder, which fits the compact frame too.
All the nice Performance Center "Shorty" perks come with it -- spherical bushing, extra wide rails, sweet trigger, and to top it all off, this incomparable black-and-polished-stainless-steel body. It's an all-steel frame, so it's a tad heavy (especially carrying 14 rounds) but it's heavy in the way a 4006 is heavy -- in other words, in the good way.
I scored the Haugen leather holster just this week (thanks, Dave!), and this 3566 will hot-rack it with my Shorty Forty in there. (If you don't know what hot-racking is, ask a sailor.)
Ammo is still available, though scarce, and I've shot 356TSW Federal FMJ 147 grain and Cor-Bon BHP 125 grain (1400 fps -- zowie!) through it, along with Fiocchi 9 x 21mm FMJ 124 grain. (Nominal size of the 356TSW is .356 (same as 9mm) x 21.5mm.)
I learned a lot about this from the guys on the Forum who own or have owned pistols in the 356TSW series, and who have posted about their experience and advice. Thanks guys; you know who you are.
__________________
Call it a 356 Shorty, or more properly, a 3566 Compact. Caliber is 356TSW, a short-lived round developed for the Team Smith and Wesson (TSW) shooting team in the early 90's for reasons more adequately explained on other threads.
Either 200, or more likely, 300 of these were made by the Performance Center for Lew Horton in 1993-1994. They were the compact version of the 5-inch barreled 3566 Limited, of which less than 150 were made. (The extra 1 1/2" of barrel in that model will cost you mucho dinero, by the way.) EDITED 9/7/2019 to correct production numbers: 386 of the Compacts, 517 of the Limiteds.
Came with 12-round 356TSW mags with finger extensions, but mine is pictured wearing its Grip Plus Two on a 5906 14-rounder, which fits the compact frame too.
All the nice Performance Center "Shorty" perks come with it -- spherical bushing, extra wide rails, sweet trigger, and to top it all off, this incomparable black-and-polished-stainless-steel body. It's an all-steel frame, so it's a tad heavy (especially carrying 14 rounds) but it's heavy in the way a 4006 is heavy -- in other words, in the good way.
I scored the Haugen leather holster just this week (thanks, Dave!), and this 3566 will hot-rack it with my Shorty Forty in there. (If you don't know what hot-racking is, ask a sailor.)
Ammo is still available, though scarce, and I've shot 356TSW Federal FMJ 147 grain and Cor-Bon BHP 125 grain (1400 fps -- zowie!) through it, along with Fiocchi 9 x 21mm FMJ 124 grain. (Nominal size of the 356TSW is .356 (same as 9mm) x 21.5mm.)
I learned a lot about this from the guys on the Forum who own or have owned pistols in the 356TSW series, and who have posted about their experience and advice. Thanks guys; you know who you are.
__________________
Attachments
Last edited:
they show what appears to be a very good condition 356 Shorty.
