SW 59 ? were they any good ?

[triaxle]

I have been looking at a mint in the box sw 59 one blue one nickle . I know they are an older gen gun were they any good or a jama matic ? A old beat cop here use to pack a blued 59 He was the only uy here that did he was not a gun guy but said if never gave him a problem .After a lond love affair with the 59 he got a beretta 92. Some have a short extractor and some a long thin type . Are they any good ?

 

[triaxle]

I have been looking at a mint in the box sw 59 one blue one nickle . I know they are an older gen gun were they any good or a jama matic ? A old beat cop here use to pack a blued 59 He was the only uy here that did he was not a gun guy but said if never gave him a problem .After a lond love affair with the 59 he got a beretta 92. Some have a short extractor and some a long thin type . Are they any good ?

 

[blairgarber]

Personally I always shot the 3rd Generation guns (59xx 39xx) better than the older 59s. They should work though. After all the IL State Police carried 39s and 59s for years. There was just a thread on how rare and undervalued Nickel guns really are. So if you could just take one... for collectors value I'd go with the Nickel.

/b

 

[larryf1952]

I have a blued 59 that I bought new in '79. I haven't shot it in probably 10 years or more. I ran 115 grain JHP hanbdloads through it, and it was reasonably accurate and never gave me any problems. It was Smith's first hi-cap 9mm, so it holds some nostalgic value for me. Plus, it was the gun that Starsky used in the original "Starsky & Hutch" show of the late '70's, which is why I wanted it in the first place.

Personally, while I like the look of stainless guns, I don't like shiny chrome-like guns, so a bright nickel finish would not appeal to me.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Alameda County CA SO had first generation smith's for a short while and got rid of them. Extractor problems.

 

[john traveler]

Cheshire and Perez (west coast S&W warranty center) in Monrovia, California for a few years in the early 1980s did brisk business reworking M59 guns with extractor and magazine feed problems.

They were the first of the S&W "wonder nines" and considered desirable guns back in the late 1970s, but fell by the wayside to the Beretta 82SF after the US Government service pistol trials. S&W wesson 2nd and 3rd generation auto pistols are considered product improvements on the basic M39/M59 design and became the sidearm of choice for departments that did not select the Beretta or later Glock.

 

[Mortech]

I have one I got a pretty minty one in a trade last year , has preformed flawlessly . The grip is not as ergonomic as my 39-2 but I do like the way it looks .

 

[triaxle]

Yea I remember Starsky and Hutch I know some older smiths were jamers I see some 59 with the newer long extractors some had short ones .

 

[sdrct]

I recently bought a used 59 and it is a great pistol. Very accurate and flawless in function with a wide variety of ammunition. Even though it is a little heavier than my (normal carry) M&P9c, I frequently carry this pistol.