Below is a partial gathering of my S&W "39 family," pictured: (top, left to right) a "No" and a 39; (middle, L to R) 39-2 and 439; and, (bottom) a 539 and 639. (The below is stored originally in my S&W Forum pictures album where, one supposes, the images can be manipulated a little better to see more detail).
"What the recoil is like?" Very controllable, especially as compared to a .44..
539 v. 639 differences:
Production - The 539 was made over about a two-year period (1981-1983); about 8,300 produced, according to the Blue Book of Gun Values. The 639's introduction overlapped a little, 1982-1983, but production lasted about six years until 1988.
Finishes - The all-steel 539 was available in blue and nickel finishes; the 639 in all-stainless steel, only.
Action - The 539 is a double action (DA), only, whereas the 639 opens with DA, goes to single action (SA) following a fired first round; generally expressed as DA/SA. The 639 is DA/SA, only.
Capacities - The 539 and 639 are 8+1; eight rounds in a single-column magazine (cartridges are stacked one directly above another) plus one round in the chamber.
Key Notes:
Please remember that Smith and Wesson served customers and thus would "personalize" guns to the extent allowed. Thus, while S&W produced standardized product lines, within limits it also produced, well, what the customer wanted. Such is one reason for "The Box" (usually silver-on-blue or the reverse for nickel-plated guns) being important to some folks, usually collectors, because on it was a label on the box that told most, if not all, about the making of the gun within.
The 539 and 639 series are considered second-generation S&W guns. The 639 was produced with ambidextrous safety levers (at the slide's rear) for the final two years (86-88) of production; left-side-only for the 539 (but for which a customer could special-order left and right levers). Both were produced having single and adjustable sites: The 539 had a very short run of fixed-sight slides and are considered rare; the 639 had both types of sights, but those having adjustable sights are slightly more desirable on that model.
Should the first- and second-generation "39s" have an Achilles Heel it would be the extractor. Thus seen in the first-and-second generation guns were three types: long, medium and short (brilliant, huh?). The "long" is most easily seen in the Model 39. The medium in the 39-2 and the "short-wide" is something you want to hold onto, in whatever S&W. Of its roughly 8,000-gun production a couple-hundred-or-so 539s (like its double-column sister 559) were produced with the short-wide extractor before production returned to use of the 39-2, or medium-length style. Similar production numbers reportedly exist for the 639. An example of the short-wide extractor is seen pictured on the lower-left 539 and in the middle row on the right-side 439.
"What the recoil is like?" Very controllable, especially as compared to a .44..
539 v. 639 differences:
Production - The 539 was made over about a two-year period (1981-1983); about 8,300 produced, according to the Blue Book of Gun Values. The 639's introduction overlapped a little, 1982-1983, but production lasted about six years until 1988.
Finishes - The all-steel 539 was available in blue and nickel finishes; the 639 in all-stainless steel, only.
Action - The 539 is a double action (DA), only, whereas the 639 opens with DA, goes to single action (SA) following a fired first round; generally expressed as DA/SA. The 639 is DA/SA, only.
Capacities - The 539 and 639 are 8+1; eight rounds in a single-column magazine (cartridges are stacked one directly above another) plus one round in the chamber.
Key Notes:
Please remember that Smith and Wesson served customers and thus would "personalize" guns to the extent allowed. Thus, while S&W produced standardized product lines, within limits it also produced, well, what the customer wanted. Such is one reason for "The Box" (usually silver-on-blue or the reverse for nickel-plated guns) being important to some folks, usually collectors, because on it was a label on the box that told most, if not all, about the making of the gun within.
The 539 and 639 series are considered second-generation S&W guns. The 639 was produced with ambidextrous safety levers (at the slide's rear) for the final two years (86-88) of production; left-side-only for the 539 (but for which a customer could special-order left and right levers). Both were produced having single and adjustable sites: The 539 had a very short run of fixed-sight slides and are considered rare; the 639 had both types of sights, but those having adjustable sights are slightly more desirable on that model.
Should the first- and second-generation "39s" have an Achilles Heel it would be the extractor. Thus seen in the first-and-second generation guns were three types: long, medium and short (brilliant, huh?). The "long" is most easily seen in the Model 39. The medium in the 39-2 and the "short-wide" is something you want to hold onto, in whatever S&W. Of its roughly 8,000-gun production a couple-hundred-or-so 539s (like its double-column sister 559) were produced with the short-wide extractor before production returned to use of the 39-2, or medium-length style. Similar production numbers reportedly exist for the 639. An example of the short-wide extractor is seen pictured on the lower-left 539 and in the middle row on the right-side 439.
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