Something’s missing here..

S&W people.. what am I missing? 

If you can find one…a 745….

Whaaaat!!!!? I didn’t know such a thing existed! I must learn more!

Hello Tim:H11,

You definitely need a model 952.

Jim

952? For a good one - take out a second mortgage! Or talk sweetly to Len V - he has got a beauty!

I tried to play this game too - then gave up - my hands don't fit an N frame and a good SIG, or 1911 38 Super, or several others will shoot just as good as a 952 at a fraction of the current price. And I never could get a model 52 to shoot really good at 50 yards anyway - but maybe I did not persevere.

Good game though!

952's are cool as hell but not sure the juice is worth the squeeze. If you're a S&W fanatic you gotta get one. Personally I would like a 52 with a flat back strap instead of the odd humped deal they came up with.

K-32

I think Wobbley had it right. I need a 45 auto to complete the puzzle.

From what I understand the beauty of high end SW large calibers (and the price) lies in the Briley spherical bushing...which is not on 745. In 45 caliber it is on 845 and 945. In 9mm it is on 952 and 5906 PC9 (few other variants). In 40 it is on shorty 40 and 4006 DPA (stands for IDPA). May be some more variants.  Out of those 945 is drastically different design from the rest and likely the slimmest. Others are based on 5906-ish kind of design.  Never held most but I assume they hold large. Having read about briley bushing guns being superbly accurate I spoke to someone that had few 952's and they were extremely non-accurate. He gave them benefit of the doubt with various loads but they just never grouped.

Tim:H11 wrote:I think Wobbley had it right. I need a 45 auto to complete the puzzle.

945 likely best bet, or 845 if you don't mind fatter

A 7" Model 41.

A couple pre- model versions . Like the legends of old used to set records.

845 IS WHAT YOU NEED. THIS IS THE ONLY ONE MADE WITH AN ARISTROCRAT 3 POSITION REAR SIGHT FOR PPC. JP

Jp, what you got there is some kind of special variant similar to 5906 PPC9 / PC9.. Regular 845 do not have aristocrats.

JP have something special...................NAW it NEVER happens...................LOL

PPC 9

Yep!

You got to get the Grandparent of all those.  Like this one about 98 years old. 

Ok, I'll play.
952-2 A must have. Needs to be loaded hot.


Model  41 long barrel. A series only.


1911 sc.  What, why? They make the best conversions. 

Here is a 945. Has the spherical bushing. Similar to 1911 with different grip angle.

Tripscape wrote:From what I understand the beauty of high end SW large calibers (and the price) lies in the Briley spherical bushing...which is not on 745. In 45 caliber it is on 845 and 945. In 9mm it is on 952 and 5906 PC9 (few other variants). In 40 it is on shorty 40 and 4006 DPA (stands for IDPA). May be some more variants.  Out of those 945 is drastically different design from the rest and likely the slimmest. Others are based on 5906-ish kind of design.  Never held most but I assume they hold large. Having read about briley bushing guns being superbly accurate I spoke to someone that had few 952's and they were extremely non-accurate. He gave them benefit of the doubt with various loads but they just never grouped.

I agree the “fun factor” in the accurate S&W semi autos is all in the Briley bushing. I have owned eight S&Ws with the bushing and all were very accurate but not as accurate as a well tuned 1911. They are semi custom guns; not custom guns specifically made for 50 yard shooting. But to call 952s “extremely non-accurate” seems harsh. I did a test at 50 yards with a 6 inch 952, 5 inch 952, 6 inch PPC and 5 inch PPC. All could hold under 4 inches at 50 yards with the right factory Ammo. I prefer better accuracy in my bullseye guns but 9mms are notoriously hard to group at 50 yards (at least that is what I read). Hand loading could probably help here. But that is pretty damn good for a gun you could just buy and take to the range. Also the 952 is built sort of on the 39 frame so it is a single stack and not wide in the hand. It is thicker than a 1911.

You are absolutely right about 952 being second slim contender along 945. At the time of writing it did not pop into my head. Accuracy is experience of a friend shooter, he had 2 x 952's and relayed his experience when I told him about interest in obtaining one of those. He said he could never get them to group well (at 25 yards they were many inches apart), under any circumstances with any load, and subsequently had to get rid of both, though he liked the ergonimics and everything else on the gun. He is one of the best shooters around in our area, so I took it at face value. Other guns sing in his hands.

To add, another shooter at the range has 1911 Performance Center. Purchased brand new it is hands down the most terrible inaccurate gun ever. Tight enough in all the right places, but I assume barrel crown is off somehow causing extreme accuracy issues. Haven't seen him in a while, but he was yet to send it to SW. I mean shots can easily be 20 inches apart at 25 yards, worst ever. Lesson here is maybe these guns all had barrel crown issues?

Tripscape wrote:You are absolutely right about 952 being second slim contender along 945. At the time of writing it did not pop into my head. Accuracy is experience of a friend shooter, he had 2 x 952's and relayed his experience when I told him about interest in obtaining one of those. He said he could never get them to group well (at 25 yards they were many inches apart), under any circumstances with any load, and subsequently had to get rid of both, though he liked the ergonimics and everything else on the gun. He is one of the best shooters around in our area, so I took it at face value. Other guns sing in his hands.

To add, another shooter at the range has 1911 Performance Center. Purchased brand new it is hands down the most terrible inaccurate gun ever. Tight enough in all the right places, but I assume barrel crown is off somehow causing extreme accuracy issues. Haven't seen him in a while, but he was yet to send it to SW. I mean shots can easily be 20 inches apart at 25 yards, worst ever. Lesson here is maybe these guns all had barrel crown issues?

S&W circles don’t speak of crown issues on the 952s, PPC9s, 945s or 845s. Now most of those shooters are not bullseye shooters so…. Also S&W 1911s are not really spoken highly of in comparison to the other performance center guns. The true performance center ceased to exist about 10 years ago. Yet S&W is still cranking out pieces with that moniker on the side. BTW 20 inches at 25 yards??  I didn’t know that was possible.

I swear to that spread!!! We could not believe it either. Several people tested. We thought it was an issue with sights, so he went from irons to Docter to Vortex. All same results. Some shots were hard to spot as they went so far off center. Picked up my 1911 and landed within inch or two spread with same ammo.
Now the gun does not feel premium, but good enough and not bad at all. For about the same price I have Dan Wesson and it beats PC hands down in fit, finish and function. However, PC is tight in all the right places and finish is fairly good.  It should be performing much better than it does.

This is what my 952 can do with my eyes from a sandbag. Stock.

Yes, they were shot without being sideways...urgh