Ghost Tracker
Member
Whew, a SIG 210! Shot a friend's once, amazing handgun. Never really got over it. Personally owned favorite 9mm single-stack? As a wise poster has already said...Kahr T9 is a pure peach.
PRETTY!
I had an absolutely pristine 39-2 that I foolishly traded away. Found another, but not as nice, that I'm holding on to. It's a keeper unless I find a better one!
That gun looks like it has a crack in the frame right above the grip...or is that something else?
. I thought the S&W 59 was the original Smith auto. I literally learn something new here everyday.
I think the "original" Smith and Wesson semi-auto was the S&W .35 caliber pistol.
Designed in 1912 and introduced in 1913, it failed to catch on due to the odd cartridge.
That is one of the most beautiful handguns I have ever seen! I've never seen a S&W 39 before. I thought the S&W 59 was the original Smith auto. I literally learn something new here everyday.
It actually predates the 59 by 17 years, first introduced in 1954. It was first created in response to the US military's then proposal for a new sidearm, but this didn't work out. Some time in the 1960s, the Indiana State Police adopted it as their sidearm, one of the first large LEAs to do so in a time when revolvers dominated. Reputedly, deficiencies they found in both guns and ammunition of the time precipitated improvements in both. Its descendants, the "Third Generation" series, are one of the most reliable pistols (IME) out there.ATBackPackin said:I've never seen a S&W 39 before. I thought the S&W 59 was the original Smith auto.
It was Illinois State Police, not Indiana.It actually predates the 59 by 17 years, first introduced in 1954. It was first created in response to the US military's then proposal for a new sidearm, but this didn't work out. Some time in the 1960s, the Indiana State Police adopted it as their sidearm, one of the first large LEAs to do so in a time when revolvers dominated. Reputedly, deficiencies they found in both guns and ammunition of the time precipitated improvements in both.
The Smith and Wesson Model 39 was the first U.S. designed double action (DA) semi-automatic pistol marketed in the United States. The German Walther P38 DA pistol impressed American ordnance personnel during World War 2. The Army Ordnance Corps issued a proposal for an American equivalent to the P-38. In 1949, Smith and Wesson began development of the Model 39 DA semi-auto in caliber 9x19mm Luger. Smith and Wesson began selling the Model 39 commercially in 1955.
The Illinois State Police adopted the Model 39 in 1967, an action which helped ingratiate semi-automatic pistols with law enforcement. This publicity helped commercial sales and set the stage for the more acceptable Model 59 with its high capacity magazine at least in undercover or detective police use where the DA feature (and the larger magazine capacity) was considered by many to be superior to single-stack semi-automatics and revolvers of the time period.[1]
The Model 39 was used by Naval Special Warfare units during the Vietnam War.[2] The Model 39 was issued to officers-in-charge (OICs) of MST-2 detachments as their sidearm. SEAL Teams used either the Model 39 without modification or a modified version, the Mk 22 Mod 0, which was called the "hush puppy".[2] The modified pistol had a suppressor with a slide lock (which kept the slide from moving backwards upon shooting, thereby reducing the number of moving parts, as well as reducing sound and recoil.) The Mk 22 Mod 0 also had raised iron sights, to provide easier sighting over a bulky suppressor. The gun's purpose was to eliminate sentry dogs or guards without alarming the main target.[1]