Red 6904
- Thread starter Bunker
- Start date
Value line - cut some corners on design (especially sights) and quality of finish to try and compete costwise with Glocks and others. There were also subtle cost savings on slide geometry and reduced machining cuts. The initial 3 digit pistol variants were the 411 and the 915 in 1992 followed by others starting with the 909 and 910 in 1995 and the 410, 908, and 457 in 1996.
Solid pistols and significantly less model variants - also simpler numeric coding. Blue or Silver plus limited run 457 TwoTone (1997 only Blue over Silver but no unique model designation). All TDA except limited run 457D, No 10mm. Supposedly some Two Tones 411 (1996 only) and 410 (1999 only) though I have never seen one.
4xx = 40S&W, xx = Number of rounds; 411, 410, 410S (all full size double stack)
45x = 45ACP, x = Number of rounds (7); 457, 457S, 457D (all full size single stack)
9xx = 9mm, xx = Number of rounds and configuration; 908, 908S (compact single stack 8rd), 909 (full size single stack 9rd), 915, 910, 910S (full size double stack)
Add D suffix for DAO (rare 457 only?))
Add S suffix for Silver finish (S suffix on late production pistols only - not so marked before 2003?)
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Too Cool!
457 was a compact .45, like the 4516/16. There was also the two tone Zander 457.
There was a CS9 DAO gun as well, but I don't know about the other Chief Special guns.
As pointed out the other day, the 915 wasn't a Value Line, it was S&W's first attempt to reduce production cost to compete with Block, I mean Clock, I mean Glock.
There was a CS9 DAO gun as well, but I don't know about the other Chief Special guns.
As pointed out the other day, the 915 wasn't a Value Line, it was S&W's first attempt to reduce production cost to compete with Block, I mean Clock, I mean Glock.
There was a time when authorized dealers were given a magic decoder wheel to try and spec out a gun. You would line multiple wheels for features and then a magic box would appear with a model number.
The Wiz Wheel! Or Whiz Wheel? Either way a pretty handy tool. Thanks for giving me an excuse to find mine amongst the catalogs, manuals, and whatnot.
Todd
Thanks Gary for the correction
Agree - my error on 457 size - corrected
As to the Zander 457, I believe the 457 Two Tone Product Code 130120 is what sold as the "1997 only" Zander 457, though there appear to be at least some that did not go thru Zander channels. There were at least 6 s/n prefixes of the Two Tones starting with VKN, VUV, VYZ, VZD, VZE, and VZT.
It is not clear to me that all of those were 1997 or that all of those were Zander pistols - or possibly there was a surplus of Zander 457s which were sold thru other channels. All (10) that I have seen box ends and a couple i have gotten feedback from SW show Product Code 130120.
I can account for 1 of the VYZ group which was dated by SW as 1996 and 1 VZE dated by SW as 2011. There is also a single earlier VDK circa 1996 but I can not confirm it was originally Product Code 130120 - possibly a Frankengun?
Agree 411 and 915 were earlier than official Value line, but they represented the beginning of the effort to cut costs with poorer sights and other cost cutting measures compared to their 4 digit equivalents.
As to the CS pistols, CS9, CS9D, CD40, CS40 Two Tone, CS40D, CS45, CS45D
OP, are you certain it's anodized? I'm no expert, but could it be Cerakote instead?
Like I've said many times before, don't drink while anodizing.
