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13 Comments

  1. Yes sir. I’m normally toting a Browning High Power, because of the extra capacity BUT my no-dash Model 39 shoots like a laser and eats everything I’ve ever fed it. S&W clearly hit a home run with this one.

    1. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the M39 and M59 was my duty weapon. I have always marveled that no officers were killed due to the unreliability of those guns.My department
      ( because of liability concerns) finally went to real quality side arm.The Beretta 92-F or a .357
      magnum wheel gun.
      The best that can be said about the early Smith 9mm. autos is that if you had enough of them in gunny sack with a rope you then had a dandy boat anchor.

  5. Back in 78, a friend loaned me his Model 39 for a camping/hunting trip in the mountains of Arizona. I liked it so much that when the Army announced they were going to transition to a 9mm, I went out and bought a Model 59, which I expected to win the competition. Now that the M92 is being replaced, I still carry the M59 whenever I need to keep a round in the chamber.

  7. This was a fun read. I remember when the Illinois State Police adapted the M39. Few others flipped to the semi-auto during the 70s.
    My local department adapted the SIG P230, a DA/SA .45 ACP. The SIG is a fine pistol, and I even carried one for a time but my short fingers never could properly access the trigger in DA mode. The DA/SA trigger was a solution in search of a problem, since with a bit of training, the SA Only auto pistol is safely carried cocked and locked. I carried the Government Model 1911 every day for 19 years this way and no one died. No furniture of flooring got hurt, either.
    Back to my local department. The training officer was an idiot and eventually shot one of the officers dead in a locker room prank…but he taught his officers to dump the first round into the ground on the draw to get rid of the arduous double action pull and then raise the pistol to sight plane. I’m writing this with a straight face. So many officers had trouble with the transition from the two pull weights that this reckless solution was selected. Eye rolls are appropriate here.
    The other feature I dislike about S&W’s 39/59 series pistols was the maladroit safety/de-cocker location. Like the Browning Hi Power, it is very inconvenient to use. Gaston Glock solved the trigger transition problem, as well as the manual safety issue.
    For some time, the Federal system insists on pistols with striker firing system, no manual safety, and polymer frame. How long did it take Uncle Sugar to adapt a modern system? What, 25 years? I took me only 15 years to realize all the advantages of the Glock and my 1911s now gather dust in a safe place.
    I am glad the huge shoplifter went along quietly. He could have snatched Pat’s pistol away and created a different ending to the story. Maybe he didn’t want to upgrade the shoplifting charge to murder. Now days, disarming techniques are widely taught, both in the prison yards and in decent pistol courses. Never poke your weapon where angels fear to tread. Especially long guns.
    I do own a Model 28 Highway Patrolman. It is a heavy, bulky revolver! I can’t imagine ever carrying it all day. I now have TWO S&W revolvers that have suffered broken parts in the clockwork. Yes, revolvers CAN fail. Both broke right in the middle of classes, being used in battlefield pickup drills. I thank the Lord above that they broke in a place where it was safe to fail.
    In the last quarter century of pistol courses I’ve attended, both as a student and assistant instructor, I have watched the 1911s fade away and nearly all students show up with Glocks. We get the odd XD every few years. I’ve only seen ONE Beretta M92…and it’s been our service pistol for over 30 years. I’ve still yet to fire one.

  9. I prefer the Taurus G3 or G2C as my EDC! I have never had a FTF or FTE after 100’s of rounds fired with 115 grain JHP, 124 grain+P, and 147 JHP! Pat would you please review these great pistols!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. My late father had one of these, not sure the exact model number but I definitely recognize the pistol from the pictures here. Unfortunately he had a dud, it was a jam-o-matic and I never found any ammo that would work reliably. Seeing that pictures sure brings back memories though, thanks for the article.

  11. I BOUGHT A 39-2 SOME TIME BEFORE 1972, and carried it as a security guard while working my way through college. It was one of my favorite guns to carry. My daughter decided she liked it and when she married, it went with her.

  12. Pat ,,,,,,back again ,,,,,,,you either love or hate a 39 ,i carried one 3 years in nam Off and on ,the steel one was a heavy thing ,i was in water alot and it was not happy , in all fairness it did as well as a 1911. I still have a aluminum frame that I was issued ,lost and to made to pay for. Yes I have a receipt ,it eats anything ,ww2 ball ,super vel hollow point ,chi com steel ,squib most of the time down to about 600fps, think the longer threaded barrel helps with that ,,
    Like the feel ,and I know I can trust it with my life ,Like a 1911 too ,hard to beat a real ‘old’ colt,
    Just for fun have a 1911 in 9mm again a ‘colt’
    I guess a Glock is ok but don’t feel right.

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