Nickel 59

[Web Design Guy]

Prior to picking out a daily carry gun i shot and researched a ton of guns, i'm a bit ocd when it comes to something like this.

After my research I knew I wanted a DA/SA, really liked the 1911 but not for daily carry, i also did not want a sub compact. I wanted a double stack mag 9mm, and black in color and simple.

Well i stumbled across a Nickel plated model 59, initially i hated the nickel but then i shot it and had it checked out by a gunsmith and it has a good bit of custom work, trigger is awesome, it fed everything properly. So despite the plating i bought it because it was the best thing i had shot recently.

Over the next few weeks i tried to find someone that could remove the nickel but that is a bit harder than i realized.

So now i have a model 59 nickel that i daily carry, i wish i could say the nickel has grown on me but it hasn't. The gun shoots so well that i still carry it. I wanted a set of wooden grips as i think that will make it look better but i did not want a set of the typical hogue grips so I have started up a side business to produce high end wood grips, a previous client has a 3 axis CNC so machining grips is quite easy we are just starting with very high quality woods and engraving logos and such into them with matching presentation boxes.

Well that is a little about me and my model 59, i know a little but would like to know more, so if anyone has info on this gun please share it. BTW mine is an A602XXX serial. Also i have went through a few thousand rounds and not a single jam, probably 300 of those were a variety of hollow points as i read that it was likely to have feed issues, i have not seen this at all.

A few may be wondering what i have shot to come to the conclusion that this dinosaur is the best so far. But here is a quick list..

number of glocks (dont like at all)
Sig p220 p226 (dont like at all)
Taurus 809 (very nice but not as good)
Colt Commander (awesome but prefer DA/SA)
Browning Hi power (another awesome one but prefer DA/SA)
Ruger SR9 (really dislike)
Ruger p95 (felt really cheap but shot ok)

 

[mbliss57]

That 59 is the 1st generation 9mm with high capacity mags dubbed the "Wonder Nine" In Nickel it is somewhat rare or at least scarce.. please don't have the Nickel removed... You can find plenty of blued 59's for $300. The 59 was made from 1972 -1982 and was replaced by the 659 from 1982 until 1987 and then the 3rd gen 5906 from 1988 until 1999. . I have both The 59 in Nickel unfired and the 5906 which is my best shooting semi auto..actually tied with my .45 auto 4506. So if your 59 shoots like the 5906 then no wonder you like it. Most of the Model 59 variants have a very faithful following. I think rightfully so.
Other semi- auto's I/we own
CZ 75B 9mm OK shooter (wife's)
Ruger SR9C accurate but I don't like the feel of it... will trade
S&W M&P .45 OK but traded for the 3rd gen 4506
Springfield 1911 Mil spec Excellent
Ruger Mark III Lot's of FTL's but accurate
Bersa 380 Thunder Very nice shooter (wife's)
Beretta 21A Bobcat .22lr Fun but highly inaccurate (Wife's)

 

[Slufstuff]

I have one also in factory nickel. It is a bit too shiny for my taste, but still an impressive looking handgun. Here is a quick snap shot of mine.

 

[Web Design Guy]

Well i found out that the tolerances for the nickel plated guns are a bit different so removal of the nickel could mean the gun wont go back together quite the same. plus the only company that i am comfortable handling it for me will charge $350 to remove the nickel and duracoat it. Thats a bit more than i want to pay.

i think the nice wood grips will make a big difference. We are almost ready to start machining the grips, it has taken a while to get the new 3d cnc software figured out to cut the grips and cut emblems and such into them. We ran the first test batch today, not sure how those turned out but if they are good i will have my new grips and presentation box by the end of the week and i will post the pics here.

 

[waffenmac]

number of glocks (dont like at all)
Sig p220 p226 (dont like at all)
Taurus 809 (very nice but not as good)
Colt Commander (awesome but prefer DA/SA)
Browning Hi power (another awesome one but prefer DA/SA)
Ruger SR9 (really dislike)
Ruger p95 (felt really cheap but shot ok)

If you dont mind me asking what did you really dislike about the sr9.
And as far as the 59 series pistols go I have a 559 659 and a 915 and all are highly accurate and to me are still about the best automatic pistol ever made and if you get your grip project going you could sell many of them,I know I would buy a couple of sets.

 

[Web Design Guy]

The SR9: I did not really like the trigger pull and the gun itself felt cheap, like the glocks kinda. Its hard to explain i know Glocks are not cheap but they almost feel like a toy and that was the same thing with the SR9. It actually shot fine from the times i shot it but i put less than 2 mags through it before i knew i didn't like it.

I will most likely replace this as my DC with one of the newer 59 series smiths, but i dont like paying retail so i will wait for one to come around at the right price, and then hopefully i can take the old one along with the later model to a gunsmith and say "make this one feel like this one" and they can do it...lol i really don't know what what has been done exactly, but im sure they could figure it out.

The grips are working now somewhat having an issue with the current tool that we were using for checkering, its working fine but the tool is getting dull way too quick so we have to find another tool that's larger and will last longer. Ruining a $40 tool to make a few sets of grips doesnt sense. But we will have the 1911's,model 59, colt single action army, and a couple more will be the first ones we can do. We have bought a tool that will scan a 3d object with lasers and replicate that 3d object on a computer screen, that is coming from the UK so once it gets here we are considering offering a "send us your grips and we will reproduce them from whatever material you like" type thing. Im not sure how productive that will be, just got to test the waters for now, if it flops i still have some cool toys to make stuff.

 

[waffenmac]

I agree insofar as the polymer guns dont really feel like a gun,thats why I love the smiths from early 80s to early 90s.I do have an sr9 which I have put a couple of boxes of ammo through and it shoots well but I agree the trigger leaves something to be desired and the same could be said for my glock 19.Thats why I will always carry a S&W of some sort as my carry weapon.At times I am worse than a woman switching from my 4566 to my 410 to my 659 depending on how I feel that day.Im glad that after all the research you have done you chose a smith.

 

[Model39]

Nickel Model 59

Here's my nickel Model 59 (yes again), this time with elephant ivory grips on it.

 

[amazingflapjack]

The S&W model 59 is the second S&W I owned, and I bought/traded for it almost 30 years ago. I believe it came out of law enforcement/military use, and was probably tweaked a little. I have fired an awful large wheel barrow of ammo of every kind through it, and I don't remember any kind of malfunction. In fact, it will fire as fast as I am able to pull the trigger-as fast as a slow fully automatic (I was much younger when I got it). I have 2 of them, one that is NIB-both Nickel. Don't let your OCD lead you to do something that will ruin the gun. Nickel is good for carry, and that gun has a stainless steel slide, and an alloy frame, and weighs about 30 OZ's unloaded. Be careful not to get your grips too thick, as this gun is a hand full as it is for many folks. The general history on this piece, as I understand it, is that it was developed as a high cap alternative to the model 39 for the Seal Teams, who were using the the 39 as what became known as the "hush puppy." Of course, theirs were not the nickel ones! Hush puppys were suppresseed and used sub sonic ammo in order to accomplish their mission of "quieting" the village dogs that the teams encountered when endeavoring th snatch a prisoner durring the night. It is the anchor of my "civil unrest" preparations, coupled with a Marlin Camp 9 that uses the same magazine, albeit, 30 round ones. In my view, you have made a great choice. The gun fits an endless set of scenarios. Flapjack.