Much appreciated Rogue. I will wait to make any decisions til I've ha it to the range.
I have a 659 that looks a lot like that first pic...

The S&W 915 is an outstanding pistol with the exception of the pre-Novak style rear sight. The Trijicon SA04 will literally transform the pistol. I have owned two 915s and neither came with any plastic parts.

I had the 915's brother in 40 SW, (forget the model#), even being a economical version, it was really nice, and even being a large pistol, was easy to conceal.

I put a set of arched SW factory grips on it, a factory 2 dot rear sight, and a spurless hammer on mine. Mine was flawless and very accurate, and mild recoil even with the 40 SW.

Later, SW dropped the 915 , making the 910, which was not as asthetic in my opinion.

I tried to buy it some roommates last night, but no dice.
I will look into the Trijicon that was mentioned above as well.

Ad says early to mid 90s production, so I may luck out and get Novaks even though the stock photos are of the earlier style sights. Does anybody make replacements that aren't night sights? Preferably black rear and black or fiber front.

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
I had the 915's brother in 40 SW, (forget the model#)

S&W 411

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
I had the 915's brother in 40 SW, (forget the model#)

S&W 411

Thank you. I had fogotten.

The Value Line models followed a certain naming scheme: caliber and capacity.

915 was 9mm with 15 round magazines
910 was 9mm with 10 round magazines
908 was 9mm with 8 round single stack magazines
411 was .4(0) with 11 round magazines
410 was .4(0) with 10 round magazines
457 was .45 with 7 round magazines

That 457 is a nifty little piece. I have one that was a deputy's back up or off duty gun. Carried a lot, but in good shape. Little snappy, but accurate enough for me at the ranges I would be using a short barrel .45. Mags ain't cheap though. Yeesh...

I'm looking at a nice 910 locally - but folks on SW Forum said to stay away from 910's. The 915 looks better (below - less plastic) but the mag release situation sounds pesky ...

Yeah, the later 910 and 410 Value Line models were cruder than their pre-ban brethren.

I'd definitely take a 915 over a 910.

quote:

Originally posted by GeoJelly:
I'm looking at a nice 910 locally - but folks on SW Forum said to stay away from 910's. The 915 looks better (below - less plastic) but the mag release situation sounds pesky ...

According to the S&W parts list, the 915 and 5904 share the same magazine catch parts - no plastic-

107680000 MAGAZINE CATCH (RH)
902060000 MAGAZINE CATCH NUT - BLUE
068290001 MAGAZINE CATCH PLUNGER
105790000 MAGAZINE CATCH SPRING

The 910 has different part numbers and no plunger -

239160000 MAGAZINE CATCH
239090000 MAGAZINE CATCH NUT
239010000 MAGAZINE CATCH SPRING

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
The plastic magazine release mechanism and button parts are apparently no longer readily available. Mine is either broken or worn out, and doesn't reliably retain a loaded magazine when the pistol is fired.

The plastic magazine catches and nuts are currently available from both Brownells and Midway.
I have read that at some point the plastic mag catch may have been changed to an MIM part for the reasons you describe.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Yeah, the later 910 and 410 Value Line models were cruder than their pre-ban brethren.

I'd definitely take a 915 over a 910.

That was the motivating factor for my 915 purchase back when; the upcoming ban. Later I tried the 908 and 457, couldn't get them to run reliably...traded them.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbethel:

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
The plastic magazine release mechanism and button parts are apparently no longer readily available. Mine is either broken or worn out, and doesn't reliably retain a loaded magazine when the pistol is fired.

The plastic magazine catches and nuts are currently available from both Brownells and Midway.
I have read that at some point the plastic mag catch may have been changed to an MIM part for the reasons you describe.

Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

Smith 915?

An "economy" version of the Third Generation. Its equivalent in that line would be the 5904. Less fine finishing, a SIG-like barrel lockup (square chamber shoulder instead of two locking lugs, so the slide is more "blocky" instead of round-topped) and some plastic parts. With the two magazines and original packaging, that is a, if not spectacular, decent price.

No - you are thinking of the 910. The 915 has the same barrel and locking system as the 5906... See GeoJelly's post, above. The 915 does not have a plastic magazine button.

It does, however, have a slightly unusual (compared to other late 3rd Gens) rear sight. I sent my 915 to Novaks in WVA last year and they installed a classic (standard) Novak sight, by re-cutting the dovetail, for a very reasonable price.

Mine is an excellent, quality gun. Many people like them because they are robust like the 5906 but, having an aluminum frame like a classic Sig P-series, they are lighter than the 5906.

FYI, a bunch of them (trade-ins from Israeli police, I think) recently hit one of the major auction web sites and you can still find some there. But most of those have a fair amount of external wear.