What Happened To the S&W 459?

[Stargater]

After seeing the thread on the FBI 459, I began to wonder about what happened to the 459 after the military trials. It was one of those guns that just kinda got lost in the dust after the trials (in which they performed admirably). At the time, there was a controversy among the shooting community regarding the longevity of the aluminum frames versus those of steel (plastic guns had not caught on yet). The Beretta slides also had not yet begun flying off the frames and the gun was considered the most robust of the aluminum frames because of its massive size. But then the Sigs and others came on the scene followed, first by the 559s, then by the 659/639s, and before I knew it, the 459s were just...gone.

The second-gen pistols were every bit as reliable as the third-gen pistols and, if anything, the latter had a few corners cut, though most users prefer its sights and ergonomics. I have one of each and like them both, but I prefer the looks of the 659 over the 5906. The later two-tone models, however, have too many cut corners. The black hammers and triggers look plastic and the mixing of black and silver leave me cold! Most shows' producers seem like Sons of Anarchy, Lie To Me and others like the looks of the earlier guns to the point that I was beginning to think everyone on both sides of the law were using 659/5906 pistols! (When actually the different characters are most likely using the same guns from episode to episode!)

But what happened to the 459s? They worked great, were much lighter than the steel models, and were virtually bug-free following the problematic 39/59s. I very rarely see one for sale (and don't even know what they sell for), but I wonder if there was a problem with the frame and it's durability. In one of the first military trials, the 459 came in second with an average malfunction every 952 rounds. The Beretta came in first with a 1:2000 malfunction rate. And though the Beretta came in first with an incredible score (plus one extra round), the 459 was far more reliable than even most gun makers could dream about.



The model 659 (bottom) and the 5906. The second generation models were vast improvements after the problems that plagued the first-gen 39/59s. One magazine editor and his staff (below) were so frustrated with their attempts to get any of several model 59s to work that he published an article saying that the $50 Raven .25 was a “better gun“ than the 59 because “it worked,“ while the 59 did not.

 

[TTSH]

The second generation models were vast improvements after the problems that plagued the first-gen 39/59s. One magazine editor and his staff (below) were so frustrated with their attempts to get any of several model 59s to work that he published an article saying that the $50 Raven .25 was a “better gun“ than the 59 because “it worked,“ while the 59 did not.

Don't want to hijack your thread but your post brought back a lot of memories re: Phat Phil Engeldrum and his various publications, especially "Handgun Tests" magazine. Those were the days! It was quite a feisty magazine. I think I've still got some of those early copies somewhere. That was before a cheating wife and a crazy costly divorce forced me to take a 25-year hiatus from collecting and the shooting sports. It took our current president and a forced early retirement to get me back into my preferred hobby.

One of the last guns I bought before my 25-year alimony-induced sleep was a very late production Model 59. Supposedly, it was late enough production that all the bugs had been worked out (or so I was told/convinced). Mere days later, the 2nd Gen guns began to appear and the rest is history.

I decided that my late production Model 59 should remain "unfired-in-original-box" and that's how I've kept it all these many years... so I can't say for sure whether the damn thing actually works reliably or not.

The article you quoted is out of the 1979 edition "Handgun Tests" magazine. I sure hope my Model 59 was made long after the one that was tested for that article.

 

[Stargater]

The article you quoted is out of the 1979 edition "Handgun Tests" magazine. I sure hope my Model 59 was made long after the one that was tested for that article.

I understand that the bugs were pretty much all worked out by the end. The thing about the S&W 59/39 is that if you dropped them, they could fire. You had to carry them either without a round up the snoot, or with the hammer drop safety engaged.

If yours is a later version 59, it's possible that S&W fixed these problems. After all, they were tooling up for the 459/559. I don't know what effect putting a box of ammo thru it would have on the value of the gun, but if I were a perspective buyer, I'd feel a lot better knowing that the gun had been checked out. Finally, if I recall correctly, the 59/39-series had aluminum frames, not steel.

BTW, does your 59 sport a nickel finish? Do you have any photos?

 

[12string]

I picked up a really nice 459 shooter from Gunbroker.com just before Christmas 2014. $227.00 plus shipping,just a little mussel wear from holster I assume, a really great firearm! It came with the black plastic grips but I prefer the aftermarket wood grips.



The one on the upper right is my unfired 439 I inherited from my father in-law.

 

[Doug M.]

Remember that this is a fighting pistol. The needs and goals are very different, and cosmetics are a distant consideration, if one at all. The 3rd generation models had a lot of improvements that came from the really brutal testing work done by the Illinois State Police as they moved from the 39 (39-2?; I think they had both at different times) to the 459, to the 5904 I think it was.

The ammo ISP eventually ended up using after going through a lot of evolutionary change (Winchester 115 +P+ and then 127 +P+) was hot, and really hard on the pistols. They shot a relatively high amount, and had pretty good success in OIS when they got to that ammo. In reality, ISP was more or less a de facto R&D program for S&W.

I was never a fan because of the lousy positioning of the safety/decocker; slide mounted and upward movement is unnatural and even less user friendly if one has smaller hands or (later in life) arthritis. I was issued two (a 1076 and a 4566) later. They were pigs. The 1076s were not merely breakage prone, but fragile. (Mine died with 600 rounds on it and had to have gunsmith attention.) While my 4566 never presented any problems, I regularly saw serious malfunctions and breakage on the range (not IA drills, but deadline/gunsmith type stuff), and that decocker (ours was DA/SA, decocker only) was horrid to use. The moment we were able to buy our own pistols, I did. I do not recall hearing of such problems with the 9mm platforms, but did not have a lot of exposure to them.

I bought two cases of the 115 +P+ off the state contract not long before leaving Illinois ($160/case, if that doesn't make you want to cry) and carried it on duty both there and here. I still use and trust the 127 +P+. I would not carry it in every 9mm, but it does well for a pistol round.

 

[TTSH]

BTW, does your 59 sport a nickel finish? Do you have any photos?

My Model 59 is aluminum-framed and blued.

No pix to post (unfortunately) and buried too far back in one of my safes to pull it out at this moment, but I should take the time to haul it out one of these days if for no other reason but to check the serial number with S&W and confirm for certain its birth date. Won't I be shocked if it's not the "very late vintage" gun it was represented to me as?

But in regard to your main question (What happened to the S&W Model 459?), I think you've more or less answered it yourself. 3rd Gens happened and the 2nd Gen guns... which, rightly or wrongly, I always viewed as transitional... seem to have been quickly forgotten.

Frankly, I'd love to know more about the subject myself... i.e., why such a short life for the 2nd Gen products? By that time (late-80's), I was already deep into my 25-year "deep sleep" and barely half paying attention to those nifty S&W semi-auto products that I could no longer afford.

 

[Engine49guy]

Purchased my first hi cap 9mm S&W back in 1985 (IIRC).

Never really cared for the squared trigger guard or the large winged rear sites on many of the 459 series guns,

That gun was stolen and replaced with a nickel Model 59 of late 70's production, never had an extraction problem with that gun and it got shot alot and mostly with Winchester silvertips.

Although I do have a Model 639 and 539 my preference is still for the lines of the older 59 , 39 and 39-2 series guns.

On a side note my 459 had a short fat extractor that briefly appeared in the mid 80s then disappeared rather quickly prior to the introduction of the 3rd gens which seem to have the thin one again.

Edited to add: just noticed that 12 strings 459 has that short fat extractor I was talking about in the above picture.

 

[ispcapt]

The 3rd generation models had a lot of improvements that came from the really brutal testing work done by the Illinois State Police as they moved from the 39 (39-2?; I think they had both at different times) to the 459, to the 5904 I think it was.

That is correct. The 39-nothing were the first issued in 1967 with everyone getting theirs by 1968. The 39-nothings remained in service as the 39-2 came out with the 39-2 being issued as needed. I still have my issued 39-nothing that I bought when we went to the 439.



Not long after we were issued the 439 those of us on SWAT were permitted to carry a personally owned 459. I carried this one until about 1988 when I went into investigations and was issued a 469.



I carried the 469 until we moved to the 3rd gen guns and I traded the 469 for a 6904. I was also issued a 5904 for uniform wear. When we transitioned to Glock I bought my 6904 and 5904.

The ammo ISP eventually ended up using after going through a lot of evolutionary change (Winchester 115 +P+ and then 127 +P+) was hot, and really hard on the pistols. They shot a relatively high amount, and had pretty good success in OIS when they got to that ammo. In reality, ISP was more or less a de facto R&D program for S&W.

In the 1970s we issued W-W 125 gr SP. Then the Federal 95 gr SP and for a very short time the W-W 115 gr Silvertip. Then we went with the Federal 115 gr BP and later 115 gr BPLE. Our range guys worked with Olin to come up with the W-W 115 gr loading which later was warmed to the 115 gr +P+. We carried that rd until we went to the Glock in .40.
We never issued the 127 +P+ and it was not authorized for duty carry.
We were told by all kinds of 'experts' that the 5904 would never hold up to the 115+P+ loading. One of our range officers decided to shoot his 5904 with nothing but +P+ until it broke and document the number of rds. At 50,000 rds he replaced the barrel as the rifling was wearing and accuracy was fading. He replaced the springs but I don't recall how often. When he retired he had documented 80,000 rds of +P+ thru the same 5904. He bought that 5904 when he retired and continued shooting it. Not to say that every 5904 would go 80,000 rds. His was just a randomly issued gun and not some special gun hand picked or beefed up by S&W.

 

[shawn mccarver]

The original question was, "what happened to the 459?" The short answer is that it evolved into the 5904.

 

[Stargater]

That the second gen guns were transitional is true. It primarily addressed the reliability and safety issues. The guns ate anything they were fed (*BURP!*) and the guns' safety problems were fixed. The safety was simply for dropping the safety, and the guns could then be carried with a round in the chamber without your having to worry about it going off if you dropped it on the pavement. The third gen guns were then designed for better ergonomics. It also cost a bit less to produce because the barrel bushing was eliminated and the grips redesigned. The sights also were improved.

I have both the 659 and the 5906 and like them both. If I had to pick, though, I'd take the 659. Both are winners, though. I also have a 645 and a 3906. Those were the CLASSIC days of the S&W autos. Before the second gen guns, S&W was known for having great revolvers, but lousy autos (except for its .22LR target models). The 39/59 autos had a bad reputation, and when gun reviewers saw how closely the second gen models looked like the first gen, the outlook wasn't great. But when they appeared, they were flawless in their operation -- which was great because I'd always wanted one of the 59s. The later two-toned 5906s, on the other hand, had so many corners cut on production costs that I determined the CLASSIC AUTO period was at an end.



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