Thursday, February 25, 2010

S&W 'Shorty Forty' is subcompact pistol that may change my mind

Every time I post guns on gunbroker.com for my gun shop, my head gets turned quicker than a gawker at a red-head beauty contest.

But this time I will resist for two reasons, I can't afford this one, plus it's a .40S&W, which is one of the few pistol calibers I have yet to fall in love with, believe it or else.

Here's the full description:
Like New In Box: Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 4006 Mk. 3 "Shorty Forty" .40S&W Double-Action/Single-Action Semi-Auto Pistol, Lew Horton Exclusive, 3.5" stainless-steel barrel and guide rod, hand-fitted titanium barrel bushing, blue carbon-steel slide with low-mount 3-dot adjustable sights dovetailed front and rear, blue-alloy beavertail frame with precision-checkered front grip-strap, hand-honed double action, ambidextrous safety/decockers, checkered black composite wraparound grips with embossed S&W logos, (1) 9-rd. magazine with finger-rest extension, (1) 11-rd. magazine. Ships in factory hardcase with sight adjustment tool, Allen wrench, S&W manual, S&W PC manual and warranty. Serial number is KPC0366.
It's a mere $1200, so I'm sure somebody will just have to have it, but not me.

I draw the line at pistol calibers between .22 and 9x19mm, or larger than .44 Magnum. The sole exception in that range is .40S&W because I bought one and liked it until I shot it one-handed with an identical Steyr MA1 in .357 Sig in the other hand.

It was a revelation that .357 Sig is easier shooting than .40S&W. And then I compared it to 10mm and found the same thing, even though .40S&W is a shortened 10mm cartridge, the shooting pleasure is less than 10mm, not more. So I swapped the .40S&W for a 9mm subcompact Smith & Wesson.

But after handling this S&W Shorty Forty, I gotta admit it's tempting. I can't afford it and I haven't shot it and won't, for the same reason, but I will admit it is possible that someday, I might just buy another .40S&W, if I could find one like this that I could actually afford.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a shorty forty that I bought brand new. I have owned many guns and this one is one of the most fun shooting guns I have fired. It has bearly any recoil, double action is great for sport or fast shooting, burless hammer makes it even more functional. Great gun. I would never sell this one.

Anonymous said...

I also have a Shorty Forty I bought brand new. I wouldn't sell it for sentimental reasons, but I wouldn't recommend it either.
In the beginning, I had to send it back to SW Performance a couple of times, because it kept jamming.
It's never been very accurate, no matter who shot it, I think due to the trigger action. It's never felt very comfortable to shoot either.
In retrospect, I wish I had just bought something stock and much cheaper, but I wanted an accurized, US-made,DA pistol with this gun's features...

Anonymous said...

I have a Shorty 40Mk3 and love it. It is extremely accurate and a pleasure to shoot...looks great doing it! The owner of the one in the prior post should contact me and I will relieve him (her) of that terrible Shorty so they don't have to suffer any longer!

Anonymous said...

I also have a shorty 40mk3 and a shorty 9 and a shorty 45. All performance center guns.Yes expensive but you get what you pay for.I have owned and shot many guns over the years.In my opinion you will never find a more accurate shooting gun than these.Will keep them and pass them on to my sons.