S&W ASP 9mm conversion value

[Murdock]

I have been approached by someone who has expressed an interest in purchasing my ASP. I'm not confident that the Blue Book reflects current value, and would like to come up with a reasonable price for the gun.

The gun was modified by Armament Systems & Procedures in Appleton, WI. It appears to be a late series gun, probably done in the early 1980's, and was converted from a M439. It's an easy 95%, and the lexan grips are not cracked anywhere. The "Guttersnipe" sight is non-metallic and does not have tritium inserts.

With the gun are a Seventrees magnetic magazine holder and an OWB holster, both by Ken Null. There are also three ASP magazines, per the original issue. The magazines are original and marked "ASP" on the floorplates.

As for provenance, the gun was owned by an airline pilot, and sold as part of his estate. The gun was clearly carried, as there is very minor holster wear on a few of the gun's high points, but I don't know how the gun may have been employed by its original owner. I have no further information about his professional background, (for whom he may have been employed prior to becoming and airline pilot, for instance). Armament Systems & Procedures no longer has records of these guns, so tracing it further through them was was a dead end.

I don't carry the gun, and my collector interest lies more with S&W revolvers than with autos. What's a reasonable selling price?

 

[Raider]

I own an original ASP with magnetic mag holder, no holster and 5 extra marked magazines. I've looked on several auction sites and other places for several years without much luck. The few that I have seen sell have gone from $1200 (poor condition) to $2000+ (pistol only). You might try placing it on Gunbroker with an extremely high reserve. That would give you a ballpark idea of what people would pay.

Mine doesn't eat anything so its not for sale at this time but thats what I would do first if I wanted to sell.

Charlie

 

[koz5614]

ASP Value

I agree with Raider about the price. Two years ago, I sold my ASP, along with the double mag pouch, 3 mags and reprint of the instruction booklet for $1800. Mine was well used, but the grips and bore were perfect. It is a "niche" gun, and requires a special collector. Good luck.

If you have any pics of your ASP. I'd like to see them.

 

[oramges]

Those prices all sound very steep to me. Makes sense though, as I do not own an ASP, but desperately want to. $2K seems a bit pricey, lots of people I have spoken to have found ASPs in shops randomly for $450-$900. There was a limited run of 100 "Quest for Excellence" models which I think are the ones that bring the biggest money, more like $3K.

On that note, if anybody has an ASP and wants to haggle over it, I'm more than game. I'm slowly finding out it's a rough habit, trying to find one of these things.

-Will

 

[Raider]

Most people who own ASP's aren't likely to let them go cheaply. I'm thinking - maybe wrong - that the cheapies found in gunshops were misidentified as butchered Mod 39's; either that or they were crapped out junk.

Good luck with your quest for an ASP. I'm sure that you will find one but probably not cheap.

Charlie

 

[Murdock]

Most people who own ASP's aren't likely to let them go cheaply. I'm thinking - maybe wrong - that the cheapies found in gunshops were misidentified as butchered Mod 39's; either that or they were crapped out junk.

That's exactly how I got mine. They had it entered in their bound book as a "customized S&W."

 

[Model39]

I collect Model 39's and have and ASP and DEVEL in my collection. I pay close attention to any/all ASP'S that come up for sale. The last ASP (standard model) I saw for sale (which sold) on GunBroker went for $3995, thats right $3995. The last "Quest for Excellence" ASP sold for $5695. Both the ASP and DEVEL are very important, as they paved the way so to speak for S&W and other gun manufacturers to create small guns, which eventually put both ASP and DEVEL out of business. Here is a picture of my two guns.

 

[Rockster]

S&W 39-2

I have 3 of these guns, 2 of which are in excellent condition and 1 still in the plastic bag from ASP. I have one one Gunbroker at this time and have seen little movement.

 

[JumpinJack]

I had an ASP some years ago that i bought used from Kittery Trading post. i don't know if it was the gutter sight or the gun it's self but that thing wouldn't group worth a damn. I liked the slim profile of the slide but I wouldn't trade my plain jane 3914 for a new one today.

 

[cdsdss]

I've got one as well, and have been musing with buying a second one and trying to keep an eye on prices. Looks like, for a 95-100% gun you can get between 2 and 3K depending upon the motivation of the buyer.

 

[mag318]

I has a stainless one and a standard black ASP, I regret selling them years ago. The stainless version was heavier with the steel frame but definately the rarer of the two. These are investment grade pistols now.

 

[Racer X]

I remember decades ago when John Gardiner rebooted the James Bond books, James carried an ASP with Glasers.

 

[kscardsfan]

Try Novak sight systems. Wayne Novak is something of a collector of ASP pistols.

 

[Mike M.]

I think a lot of the value would depend on the accessories...and the grip condition. My own ASP is in great shape, but the grips have the usual cracking around the screw holes. On the other hand, I've got three spare mags and a Ken Null holster. I would expect to get at least $2500, probably more.

And no, it's not for sale.

 

[Model39]

Try Novak sight systems. Wayne Novak is something of a collector of ASP pistols.

**Note** Wayne has one, of if not the largest DEVEL (not ASP) collections going. It is on display on his website. It's worth taking a look.

 

[kscardsfan]

**Note** Wayne has one, of if not the largest DEVEL (not ASP) collections going. It is on display on his website. It's worth taking a look.

I knew that, but he also had several ASP pistols for sale at one time. I can't remember the details of them now, seemed like he was selling them for a friend to raise money for Chemotherapy or something, but I could be way off on that.

 

[cdsdss]

Mine...

Got it as a curiosity, but now I'm sort of obsessed with it. It's got great ergos and looks sweet as hell...

 

[Murdock]

Guttersnipe sight

Out of curiosity I did a side-by-side comparison of my ASP and my H&K PSP one day in my backyard range. These are both "cult" 9mm pistols, if you will, with strong niche followings. The ASP was significantly more comfortable in the hand when actually firing the gun, due to its melted contours, and of course a bit lighter due to the alloy frame. The PSP was easier to reliably group with at 10-15 yards.

Regarding the ASP Guttersnipe sights and "poor grouping," it must be understood that these guns were meant to be used with maximum speed at very short distances (closer than the often mentioned 7 yards). They are not for bullseye work by any means. They will not perform as well as Patridge sights at ranges greater than 10 yards. However, they are very fast at "bad breath" range and slightly beyond. They were/are a no-compromise, adaptation to a dedicated, extreme close range, weapon.

When one considers the era in which these weapons were developed, the modern technique of the pistol was still evolving. Shooters were still transitioning from the time when hip shooting was the norm for close range gunfighting, but visionaries like Cooper were becoming more widely accepted. There was great controversy about the use of aimed fire versus "instinct" point shooting. Cooper taught that sights could be used quickly to fire a bullet to good effect, and that to not use sights was irresponsible. Others just couldn't believe that, and wanted to just point and shoot. The Guttersnipe was an attempt to combine speed with combat-effective accuracy during that era. This is one of the reasons why the ASP is so historically interesting.

As a collector who finds these guns compelling, I think the ASP would have been just as good for extreme close range with no sights at all, as long as the gun is brought to eye level. I question whether the shooter really gets a peripheral, almost subliminal flash picture with the Guttersnipe, as stated in the owner's manual, or just expediently uses the profile of the rear of the slide to index the weapon. (See Jim Cirillo's Guns, Bullets and Gunfighting for information on this technique). In candor, my own experience suggests that to have Patridge sights on a self-defense gun is wise, as long as they don't interfere with the draw or with malfunction drills.

And if you don't use Patridge sights at very close ranges, simply shooting past them, so to speak, they are just as fast as the Guttersnipe.

 

[stfram1]

If anyone is interested, I've got scans of:

A 4-page ASP (Appleton, WI) brochure. This brochure was also delivered with two ASP magazine review reprints (American Handgunner and Law Enforcement Communications).

An 8 page DEVEL brochure.

I was talking to a friend at my local shooting range, and we were talking about the "good old days"...70s, 80s.

Turns out in 1981 or so, he had sent off for information from ASP and Devel with regards to their conversion services...and he still had the brochures!

He let me borrow them, and I immediately scanned them in.

I've got jpeg versions of the scans, and if someone could put them into a PDF format, that would be wonderful.

 

[kscardsfan]

That would make for an awesome thread if you could get them posted up on here somehow.