PCs vs 3rd Gens

[RedCardinal]

I have an 845 and a 745 also a 45 Recon and a 4513TSW. I have not shot any of them. I use my 4516-2 with the decock only modification for the most of my 45 shooting followed by my 4506-1 with the decock only modification. Age is forcing me to reduce my collection, but I struggle to decide if I want to keep the PCs to look at or the 3rd Gens to use. What are the most important considerations in making the choice?

 

[JohnHL]

Age is forcing me to reduce my collection, but I struggle to decide if I want to keep the PCs to look at or the 3rd Gens to use. What are the most important considerations in making the choice?

Based upon your stated criteria, IMHO, there are only two considerations:

(The present) Which ability do you enjoy most, fondling or shooting?

(The future) Which ability will you lose first, fondling or shooting?

Your answer in the present can only be guided by your concept of the future.

John

 

[4T5GUY]

Po

Age is forcing me to reduce my collection, but I struggle to decide if I want to keep the PCs to look at or the 3rd Gens to use.

Hey "J" you are NOT "that" age to even think about it. I suppose at some time we all need to consider about it but you are NOT at that point. Of course your boys are a positive influence.

Did you get that 4040 pd yet? No? I sure hoped you'd would have got the birthday 4040 back then. I think you might still be looking for one.

Sorry but you're not"done" yet.

Jim

 

[colt_saa]

If the question is which to sell, I am of no help

However when folks tell me they want to sell, I ask two questions.

Do you need the money for something?

If you do not need the money, is there a place that are going to put this money where it will grow faster than your Firearms investment.

My collection is only a savings account that I get to enjoy until I need money.

BTW, while that 845 is a scarce firearm, they are such a joy to shoot. The 845 is the proper successor to the Model 52. I am so thankful to Lew Horton for forcing Smith & Wesson go forward and build this firearm

 

[RedCardinal]

Let me answer some of the questions.


As to fondling or shooting, I have always preferred the operator position. Or as they say, action speaks louder than words.


Do I need the money. No, but may need it in the future and would not want to be liquidating when I need it.


I am not at that age? I am approaching 86 and want to be in good mental condition when I sell.


What about my sons and grandsons? They are shooters, not collectors. I have already loaded them up.


AAA+ on the 845. I have owned 3 of them. This is the one left and is the Model of 1998. As a retired LE officer, I never got into shooting single action pistols.


As for the investment, collecting PCs has been great. I have owned one or more of every PC made that I knew about except a comp model. The total was approx 45 with only 5 left. Buyers are easy to find. The problem is selling one or two and then buying another.



What about the 4040? Yes, I got one. It was not in good enough condition and was sold. Then bought one like new and still have it.


Maybe I need psychiatric help.

 

[RedCardinal]

Soooooo! I decided to make a Donald Trump decision, a Win/Win decision. I will sell the PCs and 3rd Gens that I would not shoot and keep the PCs and 3rd Gens that I would or have shot. That way I would WIN and potential purchasers would win a rare source to new or like new PCs and 3rd Gens for sale. Then I can do the same with my S&W Blackie Collins Knives. This is the Art of the Deal, right?

 

[Shutthefrontdoor]

RedCardinal,

It's been awhile, but I finally found an 845 to shoot not being able to bring myself to shooting the one I bought from you. I'm so glad you found a Win/Win! We had such a lovely conversation during our (Are you worthy of my 845) call that left me hoping we would hear more from you in the forum. You Sir, have some fantastic stories that would be enjoyed by all who read them.

Please, do tell; this is the place…

Sincerely, Shutthefrontdoor.

 

[RedCardinal]

Shutthefrontdoor has been vetted by RedCardinal and found to be worthy of adopting one of his PC firearms, the 845 Limited. Is he being overprotective by buying another to shoot or is he just having his cake and eating it too? Maybe he should just adopt my 845 Model of 1998 to complete the family.

 

[RedCardinal]

And don't forget, the 3rd gen is the basis for the PC models. In 1994, I bought my first PC pistol, a Shorty 40, and the S&W sales rep. was at the gun shop promoting the new PCs. I asked about any feedback on actual use. His reply was that S&W didn't have much because most of them were purchased by individuals who didn't want to shoot them because it would depreciate the collector value. Proper maintenance notwithstanding, the PC upgrades over the production 3rd gens is where the Performance part comes in. The articulating spherical bushing and the close slide fit will allow the pistol to operate smoothly thereby eliminating wear caused by looser fitting parts. Just shoot a PC and you are hooked. However, the 3rd gens were not left behind with the introduction of the TSW models. The CHP proved this with the use of approx. 10,000 TSWs updated to their specifications. I like the CHP model because it can be further updated to 9mm and 357 Sig with a barrel and magazine change. The 357 Sig is the 9mm TSW barrel chamber bored to 357 Sig by BMCM. The 357 Sig uses the original 40 S&W mags and 5906 9mm mags finish the conversion. These two pistols have a lot in common, and the conclusion is that I will keep my PC 40 Recon with its extra Bar Sto 357 Sig barrel fitted by BMCM and the CHP with the extra 9mm and 357 Sig barrels until my sons inherit them. And that is a WIN/WIN decision.

 

[KSDeputy]

I am retired, and as I was trained on 3rd generation .45 pistols, I still carry one, have one by the bed, and the 4506, with 50 rounds through it, rests in the safe. I have lots of other guns, but these 3 are my favorite and I suspect they always will be.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Been carrying a 3rd Gen since their introduction of the 3913 in 89/90?
Have accumulated "several" more, full size and compacts, over the years in 9mm and .45.

Never caught the .40 S&W bug!



Got my first PC gun "used" from a friend; an all stainless steel SD-9 in 95/96. It's a stainless steel 6906 frame with a stainless 4 1/4" barrel/ slide.We both used it in USPSA with 15rd mags w/ +2 adaptors.

Added a couple of un-marked "Shorty-9s" around the same time; one of which became my primary double stack concealed carry.... the other a backup/safe Queen.

Finally a DPA-5906 (w/ decocker only "safety") which was going to be a "gaming gun" but ended up another Safe Queen.

 

[Sevens]

And don't forget, the 3rd gen is the basis for the PC models.

I absolutely agree with this as long as we make a very noteworthy exclusion for two completely amazing, stunning, top shelf, top-drawer elite models... the Performance Center 952 and the Performance Center 945.

The 952 is obviously a modernized version of the classic Model 52 pistol, chambered for 9mm.

The 945 is a hybrid design, taking the basic layout of a 1911 and deviating with the trigger/sear relationship of the typical S&W 1-2-3rd Gen design, but using a top-end that is much more related to the S&W design using a linkless barrel and adopting the PC barrel bushing with the Briley system.

It isn't lost on me that these two models which arrived well after the advent of the 3rd Generation make use of old school two-piece wood stocks. One could make a strong argument that of all the fantastic upgrades of the 3rd Generation of S&W, they may have dropped the ball when they moved to the one-piece delrin grip.

 

[RedCardinal]

Of course we agree. I had 8 of the 945s and qualified with a 945 compact. Pure PC smile when I finished. I also had one of the 17 952s made with the six inch barrel but never had a 52. My first S&Ws were the 39 & 41 purchased from Gil Hebard in 1965. I do have a 2nd Gen 639 which I upgraded to a decock only because of the phillips head screw on the right decock lever. It works flawlessly and shoots like an all steel 39. You bet it is a shooter and a keeper.

 

[Sevens]

Man, if you were a fan and customer of Gil Hebard and yet you did not ever own a 52... you were an outlier! What an amazing gun, you would absolutely appreciate one even today.

Imagine a PC Limited semiautomatic in your hands... more than three decades before the PC was formed!

 

[RedCardinal]

Well, I never owned one, but several of my shooting buddies did. So I have shot them, and like you said, a PC pistol before the PC was organized. I did try to purchase one, but they were scarce, especially with more than one magazine. They are great shooting pistols.

 

[MikFinkel]

Sorry. Am kind of new here. As in I don't spend a lot of time in this forum. What does PC stand for?

 

[Ringerman69]

Sorry. Am kind of new here. As in I don't spend a lot of time in this forum. What does PC stand for?

Performance center

 

[BLUEDOT37]

...an all stainless steel SD-9 in 95/96.
It's a stainless steel 6906 frame with a stainless 4 1/4" barrel/ slide.

I see on skjos chart that the SD-9 came out in 1994.

Of course all of the standard production 6906's had alloy frames & 3-1/2" barrels.

Interesting related fact is that the 1997 pre-rail 4056TSW is the only standard production medium frame 3rd Gen compact (3-1/2") that had a stainless steel frame (37oz).

.



.

 

[cmansguns]

I gotta quit looking at these post's!!

Dang it, here we go again..........when I joined you all mentioned that this S&W stuff is a "slippery slope". What you did NOT mention is the fact that it is more likened to an active volcano, and the slippery slopes are more like the lava rivulets (see pic)

With me getting burned all the way down. Having slid now down several rivulets (K22, K38, 357/44 Magnums, 36, 60, 637, antiques & 22-32 HFT, Model 1899 Army...) and enjoying the heat along the way..........NOW Thanks to this post there is a whole new one for me to slide on!!!

I thought my acquiring (and shooting) Model 39-2, Model 639, Model 745 would suffice for S&W Semi's....but just gaze again at those beauties posted above.....Gotta go now and get in the hunt!!!

 

[RedCardinal]

Originally posted by cmansguns
I thought my acquiring (and shooting) Model 39-2, Model 639, Model 745 would suffice for S&W Semi's....but just gaze again at those beauties posted above.....Gotta go now and get in the hunt!!!

You are welcome to hunt my preserve!