S&W 915 Thoughts

[TX_1821]

Hello yall!!

Really looking into getting my first s&w firearm.
Already have a hk p30, colt commaders 1911, and walther ppk.
Also carry commanders, concealed.
Am old school and try to stick to all metal framed firearms.

Anyways looking for a plinker/vehicle handgun and settled onto the 915.
Has a high capacity, full size, 9mm, black finish, and its cheap!
Would be shooting cheapest 9mm ammo, probably steel case russian. Will put a few thousand rounds through it.

Anything I should be aware of on these models??
I'm looking at one on gunbroker for bout $300, looks +90%.


Thanks for any comments, concerns, suggestions, thoughts, feedback, or any other info.

 

[BAM-BAM]

915 for $300 is a steal...........................I own 3 at $300 I'd own 4

 

[mdwiese]

Good solid guns, no frills. They were considered a less expensive version of the 59xx pistols similar to the later 910/410 models. However the 915/411 guns retained the metal mag catch, guide rod, and standard sights. The later 910/410s switched all these parts for plastic.
Overall great guns, and in my opinion give nothing away to the more "expensive" models.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

It is my favorite 9mm. Very under rated.

 

[NevadaBob]

Are you looking at the GB selection offered by GDI Sales out of Kentucky? Bought one of his 6906's back in December for $290. It was accurately described, good pics, and the transaction went smoothly. I think these are LE trade-ins. I got a great gun.

 

[sheepdawg]

My favorite 9mm. in the safe, everything you need and nothing you don't. Only downside is the finish on them doesn't hold up very well.

 

[Big Cholla]

Don't dawdle.....Buy it now! Great price on a very underrated S&W product. Your grandchildren will be shooting it someday while they say, "Grandpa sure knew good guns."...........

 

[digiroc]

Pair of 915s ...

One for the range and one to carry.

915 are fine guns, the alloy frame makes them better for carry than the all steel models.

I have the 5906, 5905, 5946 in all steel and prefer the 915 to those models.

digiroc

 

[Sevens]

Good solid guns, no frills. They were considered a less expensive version of the 59xx pistols similar to the later 910/410 models. However the 915/411 guns retained the metal mag catch, guide rod, and standard sights. The later 910/410s switched all these parts for plastic.
Overall great guns, and in my opinion give nothing away to the more "expensive" models.

This describes the 915 very well although I would part ways a little bit with the opinion at the end of the quoted post. I would say that in the case of either the 915 -or- the more expensive production models, you get fair value either way you go.

To be more clear, I am saying that if you want the extras that a 5904 brings (or the more common 5903 and 5906), buying a 915 won't bring those upgrades without genuine (and very costly!) custom work.

The 915 simply has to be the BEST value in the long history of the S&W 1-2-3rd Gen family, but if you want a genuine Novak rear sight, ambidextrous decock lever, stainless finish or all-steel frame, there's no way to make the 915 work for you without flying far past the price of a 5903, 5904 or 5906.

Another way I tend to describe is that the 915/411 was S&W attempting to make a cheapened-down version of their phenomenal pistol -- but they FAILED at it, simply because they didn't lower their costs enough. And the two most obvious results from that failure is that the 915 ended up being a much better pistol than it's original target goal. And the 910/410 is the obvious answer for what S&W actually intended.

915 was made only two years but -wow- they made a slew of them. I would rather have one 915 than a pair of 910's.

In my opinion, the biggest deficit of the 915 is that the black finish is no manner of durable. Otherwise, it's a fantastic pistol.

 

[Old_Cop]

I agree that the finish is fragile, that's why I'm not going to shoot the in the box one that I have.

 

[Dogmann]

Does the 915 have a decocker ?

 

[KarmannGhia]

Yes, decocker/safety