Shorty 40 Letter

[Shorty4T]

I was just browsing GB and ran across a 1st generation Shorty 40 that was listed. The guy's discription is BS, please read...

I purchased this gun between 1989 and 1991. The accompanying letter from Smith & Wesson is dated, October 5, 1992. This gun is the 1st Shorty 40 that was ever marketed. It is in stainless steel. The Lew Horton blued Shorty 40 and the Smith & Wesson Shorty 40, were marketed much later. This is one of the original Shorty 40s. It is a limited edition Smith & Wesson Performance Center Shorty 40. It was specially made for Lew Horton Distributors. It comes with 8 Performance Center magazines. The low serial number is PCS0036. The gun is in new condition. All reasonable offers will be considered. I accept USPS money orders. High bidder pays shipping. All federal and state laws apply. Thanks for looking.

Please note: this is a special Lew Horton Shorty 40 that preceded Smith & Wesson's Shorty 40. There is no comparison to the Lew Horton's Shorty 40 and Smith & Wesson's. Lew Horton's gun was expensive to buy and not too many were manufactured.

There was only one Shorty 40 distributed in different series to my knowledge, I've got a 1st and 2nd generation. The first would be in the batch of these pistols. I seem to remember these pistol coming out in late '92 and all of the Shoty 40s of this era were Lew Horton Distributor pistols. I'm not sure after the 3rd generations but I suspect they are LH pistols too.

He may be confusing the later 4013 double stack as the "S&W Shorty 40".

Here's my question on this, the guy also posted the supposed S&W letter for the pistol. Here is the image...

My issue with the letter is #2...

The basic format for the Shorty Forty is a Model 6906 frame with a Model 4013 slide.

The issue I have with this is that during this time period the 4013 hasn't even been thought of. Secondly I seem to remember that the 4013 uses the same slide as the 4516, which is bigger than the slide used on the Shorty 40. The Shorty 40 was built entirely with 6906 parts that I could tell, chambered up to 40. I'm just curious if anyone else has the S&W letter for their Shorty 40, does it also discribe the pistol in the same way? I havn't got letters on either of mine.

Cheers,
Sam

 

[SW CQB 45]

Sam, you may want to contact a forum member who I have not seen in a while on the board.

he was last known working for Pistol Dynamics and he was working for SW when PC guns were being developed.

He should be able to tell you yes or no on the letter.

WES, something was his handle.

maybe WESHOOT.

Or Grinder!!

I remembered! WESMAN. his last activity was in May 09. Hope he is OK. Last time I spoke with him, they were snowed under with work.

 

[orangehole]

Well when it comes to the Performance Center, it always seems like the regular S&W folk are always misinformed. I have been sent parts for my PC guns that did not fit and it was ordered through regular customer service. If that letter was sent from a regular S&W employee who did not work with the Performance center, I would not be surprised to see errors.

I am sure Wesman or Grinder can set things straight. My Shorty 40 does not like regular 6906 leather so I don't know if it was built entirely from a 6906. I bet the frame is 6906 but the slide seems a little different to me???

 

[Shorty4T]

Thanks Guys, I was hoping Grinder might show up. I'm sure he has some of the letter with his many PC guns.

Orangehole, I don't have any problem with 6906 leather for my Shorty 40. That being said I only carry the first generation gun, the second generation gun is NIB, while the only cosmetic difference in the two pistols is the front strap and the elongated beavertail. I would guess that there isn't much if any difference in dimensions as far as leather is conserned.

I know the Shorty slide is machined a little different, but the basic dimensions of the slide fall in line with the 6906 more so than the bulkier slide of the 4516.

Cheers,
Sam