S&W 3913 Questions

[disruptorgun]

There is a S&W model 3913 on consignment at my local shop that "belonged to a Sheriff". Their asking price is $425 for it (no box or paperwork, just one magazine included). Are there any glaring issues I should be aware of with respect to purchasing this on consignment with no original paperwork? Does this seem too good to be true? Features appeared to function fine in-store. I would love to know what other questions I should ask before purchase. This will ideally become my concealed carry firearm.

Any advice and discussion will be greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly!

[Quiet]

It's a good deal for a 3rd gen S&W compact pistol.

Name the store, so I can go buy it.

[Fishwishin]

If I remember correctly the 3913 had an alloy frame and a steel slide. Some frames developed stress cracks from the steel slide being banged into after heavy diets of +P ammo being fed through it. I would check for that and if its clean I would not hesitate to buy it. I would then only shoot standard pressure 9's through it (they really are enough).

[beerman]

They are fine guns, why are you typing? Go buy that gun. Price is very fair,btw.

[Quiet]

If I remember correctly the 3913 had an alloy frame and a steel slide. Some frames developed stress cracks from the steel slide being banged into after heavy diets of +P ammo being fed through it. I would check for that and if its clean I would not hesitate to buy it. I would then only shoot standard pressure 9's through it (they really are enough).

What he said.

Also, finding quality (factory S&W) magazines for it will be a expensive endeavor.

ProMag still makes/sells cheap magazines for it, but I don't trust ProMag for anything beyond range use/malfunction drills.

[disruptorgun]

If I remember correctly the 3913 had an alloy frame and a steel slide. Some frames developed stress cracks from the steel slide being banged into after heavy diets of +P ammo being fed through it. I would check for that and if its clean I would not hesitate to buy it. I would then only shoot standard pressure 9's through it (they really are enough).

Do I need a flashlight and magnification to detect stress cracks (I have a 10x loupe)? For a 20+ year old firearm, I was rather impressed with the external appearance. No cracks were eye-visible. But I was considering taking a loupe to the surface.

[socal m1 shooter]

I have some familiarity with S&W 2nd- and 3rd-generation pistols. I hope you are OK with an aluminum frame.

On the plus side (from my perspective) it is not striker-fired. I prefer an exposed hammer for CCW.

Certain parts for these will become increasingly hard to come by. Gunparts Co. has some extractors (IME, good idea to buy one), but no magazines at the moment. You can find them on eBay and maybe elsewhere.

I mention this because I have a 2nd generation S&W, and the extractor broke. Took me a while to find one in stainless. I also have a 3rd generation 10mm, and I very stupidly declined to purchase a reasonable number of extra magazines for it back in the day. So I have searched, and I was able to purchase some, but it took patience and time to accumulate a few extras without paying the eye-watering eBay prices.

Also, I've not searched for this particular model, but because this gun has been discontinued for a while, there are not many holster sources anymore. If you are patient you might be able to locate vintage holsters, but they may not be exactly what you are looking for. For example, if you want a kydex IWB holster, Vedder doesn't make a LightTuck for this model. You may find someone else who makes one, but I do not know.

Finally, there is a little bit of a weight penalty with S&W 2nd- and 3rd-generation for CCW use. If you compare something with similar capacity and a polymer frame, some (most) will weigh less.

Hope that helps...

[morrcarr67]

Buy it, you'll like it. I have the poor man's version, the 908. I carried it for 4 years. Like has been said, it is heavier than all the plastic fantastic guns out there.

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[cnj]

If I remember correctly the 3913 had an alloy frame and a steel slide. Some frames developed stress cracks from the steel slide being banged into after heavy diets of +P ammo being fed through it. I would check for that and if its clean I would not hesitate to buy it. I would then only shoot standard pressure 9's through it (they really are enough).

This. And replace the recoil spring.

[Mr. Beretta]

Great price on a great gun.

Buy it or tell me where I can !

Plus call the FFL tomorrow morning right when they open and tell them you'll be be there asap to buy it !

[deadcoyote]

So we used to use 3rd Gen SW pistols at work, I loved them, and we had multiple frames blow from diets of 100% +p+ ammo (after many years). All the frames cracked in the same place between the two pin holes in the frame. I made you a crude photo to help.

[smle-man]

I have a 3913 TSW that is very accurate and 100% reliable. The magazines go around 50 each - genuine SW magazines. I have it as a back up carry pistol

[Sailormilan2]

I h ad one as my EDC gun for years. I gave it to my daughter when Covid and the PNW riots started. If you don't want it, let me know where it is, and I'll got get it.

[DanGunner]

I have the blued version 3914 and it's a very sweet gun, so sweet that I off-loaded my other 9 mms except, of course, for classic Model 59. If it's structurally sound you cannot go wrong. You can occasionally pick up factory mags on ebay, albeit costly.

[JTROKS]

I’d buy that in a heartbeat if it checks out fine.