gtoppcop
Member
Good Memorial Day to all of you!
I thought I'd post some pics of my 39-2 prior to going to the cemetery to pay my respects to our fallen heroes.
I traded into this 1975-vintage 39-2. It's my third one. The first one was traded away in a moment of weakness. The second is currently "vacationing" at Karl Sokol's farm in West Rutland, Vermont.
I just couldn't live without another 39-2, as I find them a near-perfect compromise betwixt capacity (more on that later), handling and performance.
Since getting her home, I've done the following mods to her:
--3rd Gen trigger (thinner and better geometry for me)
--3rd Gen Disconnector (the stainless type with the wings instead of the old type's cross pin)
--Polishing the underside of the slide (the dicsonnector's travel area)
--Polishing of the feed ramp (duh!)
--New Wolff springs: 14lbs XP recoil, 17 lbs RP hammer, 2.5 lbs RP trigger return and 6 lbs XP 5906 extractor (with tiny S&W "helper" spring inside)
--Polishing of the sides of the sear
--Polishing of the safety/decocker lever's barrel surfaces, detent and slide-safety aperature for a deliciously smooth "snick" when actuating the safety/decocker lever
--Install of the factory 39/59 firing pin (from MidwayUSA) with new Wolff XP firing pin spring (for additional safety)
--New KSD grips (I love 'em!)
--New grip screws
--3rd Gen plastic hammer spring cup (for smoothness)
I plan to do the last few remaining items on her in order to "modernize" her, whilst keeping with the timeless flavor of the Model 39:
--Aggressive 18-degree reverse muzzle crown (done by Mag-Na-Port), polished and cold blued
--Addition of dovetailed SDM 1911 .180" Gold Bead front sight (slide will be reblued in high polish blue by Amerigun)
--Install of backordered S&W factory Model 439 blued steel backstrap (has better angle, checkering and no lanyard ring)
--Install of new S&W factory rear .160" White Outline blade
--Mag-Na-Port "Combat Trigger" modification (trigger is radiused/polished) for DA use (I do it to my revolvers) and will be high-polish blued to match
The sight mods and muzzle chamfer are to excise the Nth degree of accuracy from an already-accurate platform. The great inhibitor to accuracy in these guns are the sights. They are way too low. The front sight is around .125" high, which translates into grouping 1.75" high at 35 feet. The addition of better sights will exploit the gun's accuracy potential. I chose the SDM 14K Gold Bead sight to keep the gun's classic appeal, while enhancing the sight picture exponentially.
Many of you will see the "weird" magazine baseplate. That's because, I have previously done the following to the original magazines (on my previous two 39-2s...):
--Used the guts from the 3906 magazines on the original mag bodies (it gives a flush-fit 9+1 capacity, while enhancing magazine insertions/extractions) and feeding with the new follower (red) profile.
A quick added aside is that I'll soon send off two new stainless 4566 TSW recoil spring guides off to Novak's with an exemplar 39/59 recoil spring guide for them to trim the TSW guide rods down to. The TSW guide rods are the latest H/D guide rods and are a 2-piece affair with a redesigned plunger and plunger spring. They also have a bit more weight to them, which helps the balance somewhat. When they're back, I'll give them to my local Cerakote guy to blacken, so they look original.
I'll of course keep you updated on things as they occur. The 59 project is also going along splendidly. I will post the latest mods/plans to her thread as well.
I thought I'd post some pics of my 39-2 prior to going to the cemetery to pay my respects to our fallen heroes.
I traded into this 1975-vintage 39-2. It's my third one. The first one was traded away in a moment of weakness. The second is currently "vacationing" at Karl Sokol's farm in West Rutland, Vermont.
I just couldn't live without another 39-2, as I find them a near-perfect compromise betwixt capacity (more on that later), handling and performance.
Since getting her home, I've done the following mods to her:
--3rd Gen trigger (thinner and better geometry for me)
--3rd Gen Disconnector (the stainless type with the wings instead of the old type's cross pin)
--Polishing the underside of the slide (the dicsonnector's travel area)
--Polishing of the feed ramp (duh!)
--New Wolff springs: 14lbs XP recoil, 17 lbs RP hammer, 2.5 lbs RP trigger return and 6 lbs XP 5906 extractor (with tiny S&W "helper" spring inside)
--Polishing of the sides of the sear
--Polishing of the safety/decocker lever's barrel surfaces, detent and slide-safety aperature for a deliciously smooth "snick" when actuating the safety/decocker lever
--Install of the factory 39/59 firing pin (from MidwayUSA) with new Wolff XP firing pin spring (for additional safety)
--New KSD grips (I love 'em!)
--New grip screws
--3rd Gen plastic hammer spring cup (for smoothness)
I plan to do the last few remaining items on her in order to "modernize" her, whilst keeping with the timeless flavor of the Model 39:
--Aggressive 18-degree reverse muzzle crown (done by Mag-Na-Port), polished and cold blued
--Addition of dovetailed SDM 1911 .180" Gold Bead front sight (slide will be reblued in high polish blue by Amerigun)
--Install of backordered S&W factory Model 439 blued steel backstrap (has better angle, checkering and no lanyard ring)
--Install of new S&W factory rear .160" White Outline blade
--Mag-Na-Port "Combat Trigger" modification (trigger is radiused/polished) for DA use (I do it to my revolvers) and will be high-polish blued to match
The sight mods and muzzle chamfer are to excise the Nth degree of accuracy from an already-accurate platform. The great inhibitor to accuracy in these guns are the sights. They are way too low. The front sight is around .125" high, which translates into grouping 1.75" high at 35 feet. The addition of better sights will exploit the gun's accuracy potential. I chose the SDM 14K Gold Bead sight to keep the gun's classic appeal, while enhancing the sight picture exponentially.
Many of you will see the "weird" magazine baseplate. That's because, I have previously done the following to the original magazines (on my previous two 39-2s...):
--Used the guts from the 3906 magazines on the original mag bodies (it gives a flush-fit 9+1 capacity, while enhancing magazine insertions/extractions) and feeding with the new follower (red) profile.
A quick added aside is that I'll soon send off two new stainless 4566 TSW recoil spring guides off to Novak's with an exemplar 39/59 recoil spring guide for them to trim the TSW guide rods down to. The TSW guide rods are the latest H/D guide rods and are a 2-piece affair with a redesigned plunger and plunger spring. They also have a bit more weight to them, which helps the balance somewhat. When they're back, I'll give them to my local Cerakote guy to blacken, so they look original.
I'll of course keep you updated on things as they occur. The 59 project is also going along splendidly. I will post the latest mods/plans to her thread as well.
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