S&W Model 39 9 mm

My 39-2 was my first 9mm back in the 70's - it still has the price ($119) on the S&W label. Bought it from a hardware store back home. I've fired it some but I've never holstered it. It'll be my last 9mm (of, admittedly, only a few) that I'll depart with. It's a shame S&W no longer offers, AFAIK, the gloss blue anodizing on aluminum frames.
 
Yes, I am a bit of a fan of the 39 series. I've owned a 39, multiple 39-2s, 639s, 3906, 3913, 952 and 952-1. The 39 and 39-2s were most reliable with ball ammo, but much as I liked them didn't seem totally reliable with any type of ammo. The later 639s, 3906, 3913, 3914, 952s, etc were reliable with any ammo. I wish they were still in production too. I certainly did my part to support the 39 series. While they were in production, all that I owned were purchased new.
 
The fact that it's only an 8 shooter bothers me not at all. I think it's a great gun and really wish I had one. To me, it's the most handsome gun ever made
 
FWIW I'm a fan of the 2nd-gen x39 series because they have various design improvements, a RH-side ambidextrous decocker/safety can be had, and SS finish was available, yet they still have separate screw-on grip panels. I used to own a 3rd-gen M3904 and I never quite warmed up to the skinny and slippery 1-piece grip.

IMHO two of the best enhancements on the 2nd- and 3rd-gen guns are a trigger actuated firing pin block and an improved fixed rear sight. The M39 decocker/safety locks the firing pin in the SAFE position but the design relies solely on an inertial firing pin in the FIRE position- not the safest option for DA safety off carry. The M39's screw adjustable rear sight blade has a reputation for shredding cover garments and for breaking easily if the pistol is dropped.
 
The Smith & Wesson Model 39-2 is about the only semi-auto pistol I really like.

It's nice enough to almost be a revolver. :D
 
I really like the 2nd Gens also, but until now, I didn't know there was a difference in the firing pin, so thanks for that!

I want to add a 639. Love the stainless
 
S&W Second Generation

S&W 639 is a fine pistol, it fits my hand perfectly. The only thing that somewhat bothers me is the trigger guard finger rest. They ruin the line of the gun totally. I do wish I could find one with a fixed sight too.
 
I think the 39-2 is a real handsome pistol. I've held a couple at the gun counter and almost brought one home, but didn't, a few years back. I've always kinda wished that I had, though.
 
Prefer the 3rd Gen S&W's...much to love :)
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The 39 was my first center fire handgun, I bought mine back in the early eighties. One night while coon hunting I shot a coyote in the head at 60 yards. That thing went down like someone hit it in the head with a sledge hammer, pure luck of course. It was a nice accurate gun though, I miss it.
 
______ seems to have died the death of a thousand cuts caused by so many corporate policy changes and lawsuits.
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Umm, did you say Remington? Colt? Winchester? Ruger? Browning? Marlin?

Bah, forget it. :(
 
Isn't the current M52 a pretty direct descendant of the 39?
I'll occasionally scroll through gunbroker, looking at 39-2s and 439s.
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The Model 52 is a 38 Special Wadcutter version of the M39. It shoots like a house afire. The 52 was in response to the Clark conversions of the 38 Super Colt auto to 38 Wadcutter for target shooters. I have better luck shooting with the Model 52 than the Clark - Colt 38 Special.
 
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One interesting difference between the M39 and M52 is the trigger mechanism. The M52 no-dash uses the same basic trigger as the M39, but with a set screw that allows the shooter to lock out the DA function. However, competition shooters complained that the SA stage of the DA/SA trigger mechanism was not adequately crisp, so S&W changed to a M52-specific SAO design in the M52-1 and the later M52-2. IIRC the SAO trigger is reportedly derived from the one originally designed for the then-moribund M44.

[The Model 44 was a 9mm SAO pistol designed together with the M39 ca. 1948, but it did not enter production, reportedly due to inadequate buyer interest. IIRC fewer than 10 M44 prototypes were made; it is the rarest S&W automatic.]

Another interesting tidbit is that there was never a 2nd-gen or 3rd-gen version of the M52; the same basic 1st-gen design was produced right up until the end in 1991.
 
It's apparently not too difficult to remove the hammer-drop aspect of the slide-mounted control lever, allowing SA, cocked-n-locked use, though I don't know that I'd want to spend much time conditioning myself to working the up-to-fire safety.
 
though I don't know that I'd want to spend much time conditioning myself to working the up-to-fire safety.
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Obviously, each individual shooter is going to travel his own way down this path, but the up-versus-down safety discussion seems to generate a lot of passion and nearly as much loathing.

I have my own ideas & plans and I carry an ugly, striker fire pistol with no manual safety but the other 95% of what I own is all for fun, enjoyment and skill building, so I don't dwell a lot on what I could train or condition myself to do, but I do accept that this is a genuine point of interest and discussion for others.

I'll say, however, that when I wrap my hands around a Smith & Wesson 1st, 2nd or 3rd Generation pistol, my thumb over thumb firing grip puts my strong hand thumb right in the channel that the Smith & Wesson safety lever occupies when the safety is "ON." For me, a proper & familiar grip is partially blocked by the safety when it's deployed. In this way, it seems mostly 'natural' to me to sweep that safety out of the way, which is up.

And the large lever seems to point the direction the bullets are headed which also seems natural to me when the safety is off.

The "opposite direction" safety lever on S&W pistols has long been it's most-attacked feature, it seems to me, at least in discussion. I'm not sure if it's quite as large an issue in use. But it's definitely a very personal thing and likely varies an awful lot from shooter to shooter.
 
I've had my 39-2 for 27 years. It was the first handgun I bought myself after graduating from college. It has never failed to go bang no matter what ammo I have run through it, and I trust my life to it more than any other gun I own. Even with a friend's petite wife limp-wristing it, it still fired and cycled rounds. The casings did hit her in the forehead, though.
 
vkeith said:
Even with a friend's petite wife limp-wristing it, it still fired and cycled rounds.
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FWIW I've found that S&W metal-frame centerfire autos, in general, are just about as categorically immune to limp-wristing as can be hoped. :)
 
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