Comments on: Are The Smith & Wesson Gen 3 Semi-Auto Guns Overrated?

By: PDWS

PDWS — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 03:00:26 +0000

In reply to tsbhoa.p.jr. The trigger is really easy to work on (coil springs). It's the best of both worlds IMHO (1911 ergos without being an exact replica of all the superseded first-generationisms). The DWX is close, but 3+x as much, and much less concealable.

By: tsbhoa.p.jr

tsbhoa.p.jr — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 19:37:01 +0000

they are kinda pugly cool. but slide safety and it goes the wrong way.
hi- power. cz75c.

By: tsbhoa.p.jr

tsbhoa.p.jr — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 19:17:17 +0000

In reply to PDWS. i've really thought about those.

By: Specialist38

Specialist38 — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 05:09:10 +0000

I don’t know if they are over-rated. That’s a personal decision.

There were several that good carry guns for the times. (The 669 comes to mind).

I think the nostalgia comes form the their proliferation as cop guns. They were everywhere!

Now people see them and think – that would be a cool gun to have.

I did like the original 39 as a shooter. Easy to use and mostly ergonomic. The 59 was chunky in a bad way and harder to shoot well.

My favorite to shoot was the original 645. Very reliable with a “meh” trigger. But I shot it better than a Sig 220 of the time.

I never warmed to the plastic panels in the later generations. Prohibited a firm grip and moved around in the hand.

If I were to carry one, it would be an original 669. But I can shoot my Beretta 92 much better.

By: Tec's Dad

Tec's Dad — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 19:36:25 +0000

As stated earlier S&W has no Gen 3 support; I was carrying a Gen 2 659 in 1986 it was heavy but shot well, I traded it for a new Glock 17, I still own that Gen 1 G17, it is in mint condition. I carried the G17 for a couple of years doing prisoner trannsport. The S&W da/sa pistols were a good gun, they were heavy accurate and all steel or alloy. They never had a very good trigger pull but that can also be said of the Glock. The only S&W da/sa pistol I now own is a 39-2, I like it.

By: Dude

Dude — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 18:18:54 +0000

There’s always a tipping point with value. The same thing happens with certain used automobiles that have emotional appeal.

By: .40 cal Booger

.40 cal Booger — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 18:09:02 +0000

“Are The Smith & Wesson Gen 3 Semi-Auto Guns Overrated?”

Yes.

I have one in my collection, got it in a trade years ago now. Occasionally I will take it out and fire it some to remind me how much I appreciate my other guns.

Its not what I would call a ‘great gun’, but if its all that I had in a moment of need it would be the greatest gun in the world in that moment.

By: 10x25mm

10x25mm — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 17:41:05 +0000

S&W stopped supporting their Generation III autoloaders with parts and service ten years ago. Aftermarket parts are few and far between; mostly from stripped, turn in guns. Gunsmiths still work on them, but only subject to parts availability.

You are buying an orphan which may become an expensive paperweight.

By: PDWS

PDWS — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 17:04:01 +0000

In reply to I Haz A Question. Amen to your last statement! I have a CSX (which came with a really heavy trigger) and it's the best trigger job I've ever done. The only problem was that they never made an option for my big hands, and now they do! They even do modularity the way I prefer (grip sleeve attached at the backstrap so mags drop free).

By: I Haz A Question

I Haz A Question — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 16:23:40 +0000

I was one of the tens of thousands of people affected by last month’s SoCal wildfires, and under mandatory evacuation order along with the rest of my neighborhood. I’ve lived here my entire life and been affected by a dozen fires and evacs, and a person grows to learn when an evac is tentative, and when it’s definitely wise to leave your house…these fires were no joke due to the heavy winds and this was a time to evacuate. As Mr.s Haz and I began prepping (no pun intended) our vehicles with items we intended to take with us as we would eventually vacate our home, the first things I handled was the guns & gear, simply because I wouldn’t want any possible looters getting their hands on them if I had otherwise chosen to leave them behind. But as I was packing, I mentally selected which ones I’d choose if the situation were even more dire and we only had a short amount of time to grab things and go….which two handguns would I take with me (in addition to my selected long guns)?

One of them would be an all-metal 1911-style model manufactured in the ’70s that feels and shoots as nicely today as it did when I first handled it as a young adult long ago, when my father first allowed me to shoot it. Polymers are fantastic and my other selection would be my favorite P80 build in my collection, but the all-metal model just has a certain feel to it nothing else can match.

I’m glad to see some modern all-metal models coming back into the market. Options, options, amirite?