At the local range where I shoot, up on the wall is one of those large promo type photos that features an attractive woman shooting an S&W third gen pistol. Every time I see it, it makes me smile.
At the local range where I shoot, up on the wall is one of those large promo type photos that features an attractive woman shooting an S&W third gen pistol. Every time I see it, it makes me smile.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
In the 1990s throught the early 2000s, I owned some interesting TDAs; SIG P220, SIG P225, P228, P229 (with both .40 and .357 SIG barrels), Sigpro 2340 (with both .40 and .357 SIG barrels), Walther P1, P5, P5C, P99, Ruger P85, P89, P94, P97, Beretta 92 Compact L Type M, CZ83 (inboth .380 and 9 x 18 Makarov), CZ75B, and a Browning BDM.
Out of that list, the only one that I've kept is my Ruger P89. The only ones that I really regret not hanging on to are the Walther P5 and the Sigpro 2340. It's not that the others were bad, or without desirable features or performance, it's just that to me the juice they provided, for various reasons and at various times simply didn't warrant the squeeze. And improvements in polymer-framed platforms (in my case, Glock and HK) essentially obsoleted them for my purposes
While it may be a bit of an aberration with it's exceptional accuracy (primarily as a beneficiary of a company-wide product improvement program in 2007, which the P89 was a short beneficiary of before Ruger ended their commercial marketing later in 2007) I can honestly say that my Ruger P89 provides me with an exceptionally accurate, durable, reliable and decently ergonomic TDA. And one with a decent (albeit long) DA triggerpull, and a reasonably crisp and short-resetting SA. Magazines are easily available, and Ruger actually increased their quality during the P89 production cycle (as they did with several other components, noticeably the safety levers and grips, and barrel-to-slide fit). And the P85/P89 guns were significantly over-engineered with the goal of success with the XM9 and XM10 trials; the P85 never made it to the XM9 trials, and the later variant submitted for the XM10 trials performed well and in short order became the P89, but the Beretta M9 performed sufficiently well to prevail as the XM10 trial winner, retaining the DoD contract).
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 11-20-2018 at 02:08 PM.
I need to get a P89DC. I have a P94, 95 and 97, all decock only.
Originally Posted by MattyD380
Look for a 305- or later serial#; they're the ones with the improved barrel-to-slide relationship. The breechblock protrudes slightly above the slide plane at the rear of the breechblock. Also make sure that you get the appropriate magazines in relationship to the serial #; in mid-production cycle, Ruger modified the magazines, so the newer ones sit a bit higher in the receiver, enabling a slightly straighter magazine-to-chamber feeding. The Ruger website provides the proper magazines by serial #; just go to shopruger.com and check out the P85/P89 magazines.
Best, Jon
SW CQB 45, Yes, bottom gun is a 1026.
This is on the wall at the Memphis FTU.
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I've read the thread and had a few thoughts on the idea of resurrecting the 3rd Gen S&W guns. First, look at what people are enthused about that is different from traditional SA and striker fired guns, and what is different about the modern/custom SA/DA guns. People want a gun that feels good in the hand, which means a high grip, undercut trigger card and a trigger guard that doesn't wear a sore spot on your middle finger after shooting it a short time. Where there is a real or perceived advantage to a DA first shot, it isn't because it is a heavy trigger, it is because it is a longer trigger press. The goal should be something like the Langdon or Wilson Combat Beretta triggers. 7lb DA, smooth, no stacking, minimal overtravel. I've got an old Walther P1, the aluminum framed version that replaced the P-38 of WWII. The DA trigger is heavy and there is a lot of overtravel that causes the muzzle to jerk to the side. It sucks, but it's still better than my neighbor's 1945 P-38. I also have a 39-1 sitting in my bathroom drawer and it's better than the P1, but still not up to Beretta standards. So improve the trigger pull, give it a narrower, polished and rounded trigger. Get rid of the magazine safety!!!! Better checkering on the front and back straps. Dovetail front and rear sights, AND make it C.O.R.E. It doesn't cost that much to mill the slide as a production standard and RDS is becoming the standard. Almost forgot the most important change! De-cocker only, not a safety. Think Beretta G model. The Sig style decocker didn't go over well, but that was one of the things I liked about Sigs. At least you didn't rip up your hand or put the gun on safe trying to do a fast malfunction clearance. Front cocking serrations as well. Dehorn the gun. That's about all I can think of. Make it classy.
That was a big benefit of the TSW guns...
A lot came with a decocker only setup, like a Beretta G model, but there were ones with a safety. Whichever one you got, buy the other control, and you can convert it (check decocker timing, though).
My 1006 slide was recently milled for the TSW cut, and the gunsmith installed the decocker only setup. Love that setup, as all my Berettas are G models (from factory or converted).
Is it weird to say that I'm slightly aroused by that picture?
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Came across this deal and it made me think of all the TDA Smith fans here. CHP 4006 TSW decock-only for $385 with 3 mags
http://www.summitgunbroker.com/?redirect=false
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