In another thread about a 1076, I reminisced that my first foray in to a semiautomatic made by S&W was actually a 1006, handling and shooting one in the summer of 1992 and later buying that same pistol from my buddy some time in 1994.
That's right around the time when the first PC guns were hitting the scene and very close to when my SD-9 was built (but I have only had that for a year)
Back at that time I was absolutely a harcore handgunner and handloader and totally dedicated to the shooting sports but I wasn't making a lot of money and I was living a typical lifestyle for a 23-24 year old guy. Suffice to say, a high-dollar, high-end and supremely built target pistol like the guns about to come out of the PC simply did not appear on my radar at all. I honestly did not know that the PC existed or the iconic pistols that would soon be let loose in the world. By '97 I had gotten married and by '99 I became a father and though I still loved handguns and shooting, I was in no position to buy new guns.
By the time I actually "discovered" the true Performance Center pistols... the PC was snorting it's very last gasps of air. I had heard of the 952 and the 945 and I saw some of the 1911 pistols that S&W was now making but I had no idea that they were so elite, I only "saw" high price tags. Like many, I had set an artificial limit on what one handgun should cost any rational person and for me that number was probably $500-$600.
Bottom line? Up and down the entire catalog of purely fantastic pistols from the PC, very nearly every one was made and shipped before I actually had any idea of what they were and the joy one could bring to an enthusiast.
The first PC pistol I handled was in a local gun store in the spring of 2015. It was two of them, actually, a first-run 845 and a no-dash 945, 5" model. Myself and my nest shooting buddy handled each and we both agreed that we had NEVER felt any S&W that handled like these and we also agreed that between the two... well, the 945 was surely nice and gorgeous but it was an echelon below that 845.
Fast forward maybe a month and that same shop had sent it's crew and a bunch of great guns to our favorite gun show and both of those guns were there. With a fat wad and a willingness to part with it, my buddy made a play for that 845 and we were both geeked at the prospect of shooting it. I remember vividly that the pistol just felt amazing but STILL, I could not see myself spending that kind of money.
Two aisles over in the same show... another guy was offering a second run "Model of 1998" 845. Unlike the fantastic pistol my buddy just bought... this one was gun only, one non-PC marked magazine. Nothing else. We handled it, it too was inspiring, and we left it there, both wholly satisfied. My buddy liked his purchase and I couldn't see the justification in that money.
That night, I set about on the computer to learn more. It seemed like my buddy got a great buy on an amazing pistol. And one week later we got together for a range day and the first chance that either of us had to shoot a PC pistol.
Honestly, I almost felt just plain SICK to my stomach about the 845 that I fondled, handed back and thanked the dealer a week before. I was... horrified, honestly, that I walked away from that pistol.
It was a full SEVEN weeks before the next show at the same place. And that dealer STILL had it. And now I own it. And though I have had a whole lot of great luck in guns... that feat may take the cake.
So my first PC experience was two 845's and a 945. I finally tracked down a 945 of my own a couple years ago and it's a phenomenal pistol, but I still place it under my 845 overall.
Sorry for the extreme length of this story!
