Just put some money down on a Smith & Wesson 3913 TSW pre rail. I might have paid a little much for it but it's a hard to find piece IMO.

I'm a fan of any Smith and Wesson auto, so I would pay top dollar for one as well.

I want a 1076 something fierce.

Were you buying it for the rarity/rollmarks or just because it was a 3913?

I've heard great things about the 3913 and it's pretty hard to find it anywhere but a gunshow through my experience. It's also the TSW pre rail version which from what I read is hard to find as it was only made from 1998-2000 so I grabbed it. However background check is supposed to take up to 2 weeks with how backlogged the state police is with the gun rush and all.

http://picturearchive.gunauction.com...actical9mm.jpg

not my picture

I'm on the fence with whether or not to get a 3913 or a 6906 myself, since the 3913 has better ergos but the 6906 holds 4 more rounds in the mag, and the older versions have the exquisite looking square guard. Perhaps the one benefit of living in Florida's humid climate is the abundance of stainless Classic S&W Autos too, since although you and Shooter seem to have a hard time finding them, I trip over them whenever I go to any gun store here.

The TSW is cool in a few respects I'll admit. S&Ws laser etching isn't quite as traditionally cool as stamping, but it looks very clean, and the TACTICAL as part of the rollmark sort of helps the gun mesh up to current trends in the practical shooting world. However I only think it does so in appearance and not in function. Being pre-rail, it isn't functionally TACTICAL and it's more or less just a word they put on the slide for marketing purposes. Being a later production 3913, it also has the blued small parts (I'm not sure whether or not they are cast as opposed to forged, or if that matters) which is an accent some like and some can do without. I prefer the stainless parts myself for aesthetic and corrosion resistance purposes.

I will say that one feature that makes this gun TACTICAL is the recessed beveled magazine well which you don't see on standard 3913s. I'm not sure if yours is the same but it's definitely interesting. I'm not sure I like it though since it means proprietary magazine, and since 3913 mags are relatively hard to come by to begin with, that may pose a problem. The mags are 7 rounders to accommodate for this too as opposed to the regular 8, and they don't make the butt any shorter for added ease of concealment as you'd expect.

I know why you bought it though, and no, I'm not going to say it was the TACTICAL rollmark and you buying into stupid marketing for a joke at your expense, I'm not that cruel sir. You got it for the same reason Predator bought the 4505 and why I bought my 92SB. It has some of the mystique and functionality of it's relatives and a peculiarity all its own from it's rarity and different (not necessarily better) features. You probably wanted a 3913 as well, and this was the only thing available, and it was damned interesting at that. The divide between the 4505/92SB and this though is that this is a gun one buys for a highly functional purpose, concealed carry, as opposed to it being a collectible plinker. The inhibitions of the functional peculiarities therefore mean more. You wanted change for a five and you got three ones and then a two dollar bill. It's weird, it's probably not as functional as five ones, but there's something about having it that makes you feel... special, I guess.

From what I've read S&W CS9 Magazines are also compatible with the 3913 TSW pre rail. I also fits a niche in my gun collection that has not been filled, that being of an easily concealable handgun.

The 3913 would conceal a lot better, too



I have a hard time finding "stainless Classic S&W Autos" because people who have them around here don't want to sell them

I don't see how it would conceal so much more easily solely because of less than a quarter of an inch of width subtracted. With a similar holster, you'd do just fine in theory at least. It would be heavier I suppose, but I could deal with it. I carry so much stuff with me anyway, I could cut down to compensate for weight.

Just got a Browning Hi Power the other day! 1968 T-series that took forever to ship (I'm assuming because of the hysteria). I'm lucky I have a dad cool enough to buy nice stuff like this for me... He got it at a pretty good price too, although it is a beat of a beater. I'll probably have it refinished.

Oh indeed. Is it one of the Israeli/military surplus models that have been coming in, or just a well seasoned Browning import? I'd really like to see pictures of it. Welcome to the club sir.

Honestly, I am unsure. I'm not an expert in these, but I see no markings that seem to identify it as Israeli. However, it is Belgian marked (not Browning) and I noticed that it has no import markings. I don't know the implications of this, but I'll try and get some pictures of it up this weekend.

If it came from Cole Distributing. http://www.gunbroker.com/All/BI.aspx...Sellers=979927 It's likely an Israeli surplus. I got my Mark II HP from them, many times there are no special markings.

I shot mine this weekend, ran great. With yours being an older T-Series it may not run well with hollowpoints. Since you don't know the history of it, I would buy a complete spring kit for it. You can replace everything but the mainspring without completely stripping the pistol.

The hollowpoint thing is what I'm afraid of; I already polished the feed ramp pretty good, but only running some hollowpoints will really show for sure. Do you thing it will run all right with a flat point/TMJ type bullet? I handload them and have around 800 rounds on hand so...

Not sure, you'll just have to test them. There's been cases of some older HP's with the humped feedramp feeding hollowpoints, but it's probably not the norm.

In that case, would you recommend a whole new barrel? Or perhaps a throated chamber (or something along those lines)? I got the feed ramp pretty slick, but I won't know how it runs until I have the chance to shoot it; that may happen this weekend. I'll post my findings if I do.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/m...%20to%20do.htm

I would still shoot it beforehand, then see if it needs to be worked over.

FWIW, I have shot roughly 2-300 basic hollow point bullets (Remington L9MM1 and Federal 9BP 115 gr JHP) through 2 1970's vintage Hi Powers and not had a problem. The second of the two, the one I have now, looks like the feed ramp has been worked over and polished, though it still retains a humped shape (and proper headspace, thankfully; the work looks amateur, but still safe). The angle at which the magazine feeds is important to reliable chambering as well, so be sure to use quality mags, if not just for the sake of general reliability. Mec Gars should do fine.

As a Hi-Power owner it's almost a must to check Stephen Camp's website, especially since I'm not sure how much longer it will be around since his passing was not too long ago, may he rest in peace, but it's a great resource to any Hi-Power owner, old or new.

Getting a new barrel is expensive and may require fitting, and in the end it's mostly a way of eliminating a possible statistical zero in terms of reliability. Predator's advice is the soundest; test the gun and see how well it does feeding your loads and go from there. Be careful making home alterations too, they could end up costing you more than the new barrel in the end if you aren't totally adept. I've derped many a project myself and it's not a great feeling.

Good luck and enjoy your new Hi-Power (especially 800 rounds worth). As I said before, welcome to the club.

Thanks for the advice! Like I said (and I'm trying not to sound like a broken record) I'll try to get out and limber this thing up this weekend, but no guaruntees there. When I first took the gun apart, I noticed that the feed ramp was black as charcoal, so I just carefully took a small bit of 600 grit sandpaper and polished it up pretty good (no Dremel action- that could have gone bad pretty fast). I know what you mean by jacking up home projects, I've had some of those myself. Stephen Camp's website is a great source of knowledge, and I was pretty sad when I found out he had passed away. RIP Mr. Camp.

Stephen's widow still has his books available to buy, so I think that helps keep the site running. I have several of them and all are great reads.

This arrived at my FFL today. It was bone dry when I got, had to oil the hell out of it. Been wanting one of these Talo Edition 38 Super Commander's since they came out last year. Doesn't have quite the same features as the Wiley Clapp, but I'm real pleased with it.

While I was there, bought a Heritage Arms Rough Rider .22 with the convertible cylinder.

http://www.imfdb.org/images/9/90/COL...ander38SUP.jpg

sold my 33 round happy stick for 65 bucks, ought it for 34. Ill just get another when panic dies down, it was a novelty anyway

Just put in an order for a 1936 Tula TT-33 pistol, refurbed but matching with holster & two mags. No safety added, not necessary under our laws. I was waiting for a wartime TT-33 for awhile to come up at a decent price, but a Canadian dealer openned up a crate of 40 and found a good mix of prewar & wartime Tula and Ishevsk. I originally asked about a prewar gun and I'm absolutely thrilled that he found me a 1936, it's the first year of production.

I'm going to try to sell my Waffen Werks '74 this weekend. At this point, I'm 100% certain that I'm not going to be able to do anything with it any time in the foreseeable future unless I pay 2-3 times as much as I should to get ammo and magazines (if I can even find any) for it. I regret even buying the damn thing, and if I had known that this whole experience would suck this bad, I would have just looked around the local pawnshops for a decent SKS

I got a set of Uncle Mikes boot grips for my Model 60 in the mail, as well as my Concealed Weapons Permit. The 4 weeks of the 4-6 week window is up, so it shouldn't be too much longer. I hope the picture isn't complete shit.

I'll have to get some carry ammo for the revolver pretty quick, does anyone have any advice or recommendations? Not really sure whether or not to go +P since the gun isn't technically rated for it, or if I want to go lead vs. jacketed for cleaning reasons.

i always get jacketed ammo, well, i do shoot my glock mostly now....

My cwp has no photo, its not even laminated, laziest ever, each municipality heres allowed its own.

That sucks man. I got mine a little bit before yours. I didn't have any trouble getting ammo (at that time) but mags were a pain. I ended up having to get them from Gunbroker. My best luck on getting a good price was 4 at a time. AIM Surplus has some Bulgy Circle 21s right now but they are $40 apiece.

You should get a good price for it though, that's one silver lining.

Finally picked up my S&W 3913 after waiting over a month for the state police to finish the bg check. I'll upload pics once i fix my camera.

One of these, because I wanted it


http://cdn2.armslist.com/sites/armsl...s_ak_m_640.jpg

Came with a 40 rounder

At least the thumb hole stock i this sporter model looks nicer that other models

if you don't mind my asking, how much did that cost post panic?

$799, very good condition and with 40 round magazine

I probably could have gotten one off of gunbroker for a little less, but not in this condition or without it being bubba'ed

You also have to keep in mind that, since about 2005, there seems to only be like 4 SKS' that aren't tore-up hunks of crap for sale during any given year in the whole of both Galveston and Harris county

Eh, that's not too bad at all.

I remember there was an untouched Chi-Comm SKS of some sort at the local pawn shop, still had the bayonet, grenade launcher, and grenade tangent sight.

Stayed at the pawn shop for about a year, $400 price tag.

Thought about it a bunch, and never got it. Gone within a day after Sandy Hook.

This thing looks like someone ran a few mags through it and then stuck it in the back of their closet until they needed some money and figured that they could stand to part with it.

Yeah, it looks good, for a thumbhole stock.

I would have gotten said SKS if I didn't already have a WASR-10.

The pic I posted isn't mine, it was just the best one of that rifle that I could find. The thumbhole stock on it is unergonomic as hell, but I don't really care. At least it's decently comfortable for a leftie like me to use, unlike some thumbhole stocks

Ah, gotcha.

Are those thumbholes replacable?

Damn import bans.

I think so, but I probably won't swap it out. The redneck in me thinks that this is the coolest thing ever.

Ah, yes. The inner redneck.

my inner redneck, who apparently is of the methmaker type, thinks his Tec-9 is probably the coolest gun he has.

The redneck in me thinks that stuff like that Norinco is awesome; the coon-ass Cajun in me thinks that it's awesome, too, and that he and the redneck in me should go get some beer