There's a thread on Arcom, there's always a thread...
Someone thinks that S&W should make a 4th Gen of the 59/x59/59xx pistols. Basically a 5906 with a rail on the dust-cover.
I think that would be cool too.
BUT!
We would have to accept several givens along the lines of, "we're all given super powers and limitless wealth," for it to happen.
Reality is a bitch, after all.
People forget that the 3rd gen was in production all the way to 2006.
That was the greatly simplified Model 910.
I don't think they're thinking of a 4th gen version of that gun.
Even the "remove as much cost as we can" 910 was too expensive to compete with Glock and their own Sigma/SD or M&P lines.
A fully machined and pretty 59xx 4th gen would have to cost a princely amount today and the market for such a bauble would be very small.
It'd be outperformed at every metric for, probably, 1/4 the price because at the end of the day it's a complicated and difficult machine to make.
Let's be honest, if the design could be altered enough to remain economical AND retain the cachet of the 59 series; the Custom Shop would still be cranking a few out here and there.
And all of this ignores that you can get a Model 59, 659 or 5906 for much less than a grand. The secondary market sucks all the air from the room for this endeavor.
The idea of a 4th gen intrigues me, though.
There's got to be a custom smith whom could graft a rail to the dust-cover to a 5906 to give us a simulacrum of what-if.
Still outside my price range, dammit.
I believe that the last order of 3gen 59xx's was to the CHP DAO in .40S&W had an accessory rail attached.
ReplyDeleteShoot Straight had a bunch a couple of years ago as LEO trade ins.
Apparently, it was the 4006TSW.
DeleteThe commercial version had a pinned on rail and the CHP an integral one.
My wife has a 5906. It is a big hunk of stainless. She likes it but it is heavy. And in today's market you are correct they probably couldn't sell enough of something as expensive as a modernized version of it would be to make it worth the effort. 1911s sell because of nostalgia reasons if nothing else, even though they are pretty expensive to build.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, and the used market does kill much incentive to make new ones. It isn't hard to find a used 5906 at a reasonable price, and they are often lightly used. And built like a tank, so even ones that have seen a lot of rounds or miles of carry often show surprisingly little wear. Stainless with no finish to wear off often looks new on these and even the grips hold up pretty well and can be replaced relatively easily even if they did have damage. New factory grips were still readily available, possibly as NOS at least a few years ago.
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