My first S&W was this 39-2.

[GF]

In Indiana you can get a CCW permit at 21 years of age, that's been the case for decades. I turned 21 in 1983 and had to own a gun in my name before I could apply for the permit. You can bet that the first day off from work after that landmark birthday, I was in a gun shop looking for a pistol!

And so it was that I found a used 39-2 for, I believe, a $189 dollars. I remember to this day how nervous I was buying it. My Dad wasn't the one buying me a gun, I was doing it on my own!

I have a few more guns now but few mean as much as the first real carry piece that road with me through 40 miles each way to work, in six different pick-up trucks, for twenty-two years.
I had a Safariland shoulder holster and later added a basketweave belt holster. I took the picture with a box of 115gr HP's because that's what I carried in it back in the day. This was before "Black Talon" & "Hydra-shok" you know! I also dug out the original grips and put those back on.

The Glock 19 I have now just ain't got the soul of this old gun. And it'll get sold off long before this one ever would. Do you remember how it was to have one gun and you prized it and cleaned it even when it didn't need it? That was me, hell it still is, even though I have more than one gun!

GF

 

[j38]

Thanks for the great story. That's a sweet 39-2 and a very good looking rig to carry it in. I especially appreciate the sentiment of back when we only had one gun.....

Jerry

 

[mgo]

My favorite concealed carry pistol is the 39-2. Nice to see somebody else who appreciates these classics.

May we always "have it but not need it"!

 

[4864]

Yes. A great story and a great gun. Wish I could find a M39 for a price like that!

 

[mlk18]

You could have done much much worse in a first gun (bought on your own), but I doubt you could have done much better. Thanks for sharing.

 

[GyMac]

IMO, the Model 39 is the nicest looking and best feeling pistol out there. I wish I had one and someday maybe I will.
Chris

 

[bflobill69]

Its still a beauty... old guns just feel better, hell to me anyway

Bflobill69

 

[Racer X]

My first was/is a 439.

 

[357larry]

Great looking pistol you have there. Earlier today a friend of mine was showing me his nickel 39-2 he just bought. So I drug out my 639 and we popped a few. Great guns. I don't think I will ever sell my 639. My son can have it when I'm gone.

 

[TACC1]

Great piece, great story, Nice pics, too. Thank you.
TACC1

 

[onie41]

GF-- Great story. Unlike you, mine wasn't my first pistol, but its one of my favorites. They are a neat little pistol for carrying in the truck, car or RV. I carry mine in a nice lined zip up case.

 

[akviper]

Quality leather, wood, and blue. Those were the days. I wish I'd kept my original 39. You have an heirloom to pass on.

 

[preventec47]

You may not realize this but I just found out that the mod 39
is a more concealable pistol than all the others I have ever
owned and has become my primary concealed carry pistol.
It has the potential for the thinnest handle of any pistol
out there I think and the slide itself is already decently
narrow. I took the grip panels off a beat up 39 to make the
handle only 3/4 inch wide. Believe it or not the handle now
is thinner than a KelTec 380. What I did was apply shrink
wrap around the handle to preserve the thinness.
It aint pretty but it was a cheap project gun, shoots a
whole lot better than anything else on the market with
as thin a handle as mine now has.
see attached