Anyone here have a S&W 3913/3953? Opinions on this single stack 9mm?

I have a like new 3913. It is one of the very finest carry pistols, ever. Ultra reliable and excellent accuracy.

The 3913 is one of the best 9mm single stack handguns. Great pistol.

Tough to find a nice one. Very reliable as mentioned above. Probably not the best pistol to take to 10,000 rounds but otherwise perfect for regular use. Just saw a near-NIB 3913 go for $625-ish on GB ...

Have a 3913, had a 3953. Love the size and reliability. Hated the trigger on the 3953, so I sold it.

I've owned a 3913's 3913LS, and 3953 all over the years. Super reliable. I found them mediocre accuracy wise for me, but accurate enough for self defense work. My only concern would be a lack of support from S&W for parts or a cracked frame.

I’ve got an NIB nypd melonite 3914DAO. it’s a nice pistol same size just no safety decocker

Just picked up my second one a couple months ago. Never should have sold the first one.
Got it for $400, cruising GB at just the right time and bingo.
It does have a couple scuffs on it but that's not really much of an issue. Feed ramp and breach face are immaculate.

What's the size compared to, say, a P225?
Anyone got pics?

IMO they are okay. Have a 3914. The first gun I ever owned was a 539 back in the mid 80s which i traded for a BHP in the late 80s.

My 3914 is easily the least accurate of all my 9mm pistols. My 239 is far superior in terms of accuracy.

High bore axis if that matters.

The thing that bothers me the most is - with the slide forward - it is EXTREMELY hard to seat a fully loaded (8 round) magazine into the gun. You must push really hard - way too hard IMO - to get a fully loaded mag to seat.

Very reliable though - which is a big plus. Manual safety means you can carry with the gun 'on safe' which is a nice feature if you are looking for that.

The fact that they really are 'old tech' and likely hard to repair / service I wouldn't pay a premium for one honestly.

Not a BAD gun... just better options these days.

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A 3913 was my first off duty carry gun. Great carry pieces, for the time.

Unfortunately, they've been surpassed by the various compact/subcompact polymer guns. Same size, less weight, and higher capacity.

In addition, S&W discontinued support several years ago. That means no parts, and no warranty work.

I love the 3913/3953, but they're no longer the best choice.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
What's the size compared to, say, a P225?
Anyone got pics?

Roughly equivalent. Here's a 3913 and P225/P6 side by side. They're the middle two pistols in these comparison photos, with a G19 and BHP on the outsides.

http://photobucket.com/gallery...media/grips.jpg.html

http://photobucket.com/gallery...91cnRvcHMuanBn/?ref=

I have a 3914 I still tuck in the waistband when I’m running out to check the mailbox, but yeah... it’s not all that smaller than a glock 19. The advantage is just the DA/SA with a safety so I really can just tuck it in the trousers without hooking up a holster. Not something I’d try with a glock!

I do love me some pre-plastic S&W goodness though....

Bill R

I loved mine - a LadySmith, no less! - when I had it. (Don't ask.) A little on the tall side, taking it out of the range of a truly compact pistol, but thin, rounded and light. Very smooth DA trigger. A couple of people who I let shoot it remarked on this as well. 100% reliable.

I replaced my 239 with a 3913 several years ago. Both super reliable little pistols. The 3913 just fit me better....ymmv

I carried a 3913/3914 off duty and on court days for over a decade. Probably the finest single stack compact 9mm made. By anyone.

I carried them in retirement on days where a thin light weight 9mm made sense. Until I got my 9mm Chiefs Special, CS9. Now my 39XX series guns are parked.

As far a parts and support go, I've not ever broken anything on a 39XX series gun. In many thousands of rounds. And at this point I dont expect to. And if I do, Midway, Numrichs, Gunbroker and even Ebay have me covered. That is if my spares box doesnt have whatever it is.

And there is nobody currently working at the current company posing as s&w who could do anything fora 3rd gen gun. Other thsn offer to replace it with that plastic junk they peddle.

39XX series guns are great. Buy it, shoot it, love it. Regards 18DAI

I have a 3953. Great little gun. About the same size as a 239 but thinner and lighter. Never had a problem and it's plenty accurate as a self defense gun.

I have a 3953 and just picked up a P225 yesterday. The 3913/3953 were (IMO) great pistols that S&W never should have dropped. But, understand they can make more money with $15 injection molded frames - and those frames are lighter. The P225 is noticeably larger than either the 3913 or the 3953 - but it is less top-heavy than my P239 and feels better in my hand than the P239. As-NIB 3913's, et al, are getting harder and harder to find. I missed one on GB last week when it went over $600. At great risk of ridicule, I will tell the truth: I like to sit around and polish and admire my 3rd Gen's and metal-framed SIG's, but I have a Ruger EC9s and LC9s that are much smaller, just as reliable for me, and lighter. Plus, a CTC laser on the EC9s ...

I had a 3913 and the P225 together, once, but I don't have any pics. Both of those guns are excellent for ccw or h.d.. I found the 3913 a little smaller/slimmer for ccw,(with the factory plastic grips), than the p225 but I shot the p225 better. The only real problem I had when I had mine, about 2 years ago, was that finding magazines was near impossible without paying $50-70 for a used one if at all. I wound up getting some other S&W single stack mags,(can't remember which model uses similar mags), but they would stick out of the bottom of the gun a little too far for ccw. I wound up selling both eventually. Before you buy one, go to Numerich Gun Parts and see what they have available for parts you may need in the future.

Had a mint one. Carried as a off duty for a while but I never liked it that much. Recently sold it a few months back.

If they do break, S&W will not repair even with the Lifetime Warranty. Frames are long gone.

We had several 2nd. Gen frames break and S&W didn't offer anything in response.