Smith & Wesson Tactical Pistols

American Handgunner, May, 2000 by Charles E. Petty

With upgraded features formerly found only on custom Performance Center guns, the new Tactical Pistols are a step above.

Smith & Wesson has added considerably to its line of Third Generation pistols with a Tactical Series that includes guns chambered for 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.

The Tactical models have features formerly found only on guns from S&W's Performance Center. Foremost of these is a change in the slide and frame that provides full length contact between the two parts. The second is a change in the barrel lockup geometry that delays unlocking for a tiny fraction of a second longer.

Neither of these features is immediately obvious and without comparing an old barrel with a new one, it would be impossible to tell.

S&W claims that the slight delay reduces felt recoil. Since most evaluations of this type are subjective, I really couldn't tell whether there was a difference or not, for there was no way to do a true apples-to-apples comparison since a pistol of the same weight-- without the changed lockup-- was not available for testing. Nobody that shot the pistol complained about recoil or remarked that it was lighter.

The Tactical Series has a total of six models, two each in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Each caliber is available with either traditional double-action or DA-only. The model numbers follow S&W's standard format with the addition of "ISW."

All have a stainless steel slide and aluminum alloy frame. This combination seems ideal for concealed carry pistols, and Smith has finally begun to offer .45 ACP pistols with alloy frames. In the past you could only get the heavy 4516 in a compact .45 but then they introduced the budget priced 457 which has an alloy frame. The new 4513 TSW is an improvement on that one. Good move.

Raging Compact

Compact guns are the rage right now, and generally that means both barrel and grip are shortened. And so it is with the TSW pistols. This is both bad and good. When S&W came out with the 457, it was a real winner because it felt right in the hand.

The 4513 TSW sacrifices one round of magazine capacity -- down from seven to six -- but that matters not at all except for the fact that the grip is now so short that shooters with average or larger hands will find their little finger looking for a place to rest.

Smith thoughtfully provides a spare magazine baseplate with a small finger curve. For smaller hands this will probably be the most comfortable, but for mine the flat base -- even though my little finger has to curl underneath -- is more comfortable.

To permit the use of the shorter magazine, Smith chopped off a half-inch segment of the frame forward of the mainspring. As a practical matter, this is harmless unless you try to do a speed reload and forget to move your finger. A magazine capacity of six rounds is typical of most compact .45 pistols.

Test Guns

For this report we tested two: a 4013 TSW and a 4513 TSW. The 4013 TSW continues the wide body design of the firm's other .40 caliber pistols with a

nine round magazine capacity.

Both pistols were function fired with a wide variety of ammunition, both ball and hollowpoints. It was boring. For years a recount of what sort of malfunctions, and why they happened, was standard test report fare. Since there were no malfunctions of any type with either pistol, we can save lots of time.

That is a very important statement and an indication of how things have changed for the better. It is really rare to have a jam with any good quality pistol these days.

And the guns got plenty of shooting to establish their reputation for reliability. Each was fired over 500 rounds including accuracy testing. Accuracy was absolutely fine, given the intent of the guns. These are defensive pistols designed for concealment and comfortable carry. They aren't target pistols.

Both single-action and double-action trigger pulls were smooth and crisp and the guns shot to the sights. In short, other than an extensive reliability check required of any new gun, these were ready to go to work when they came out of the box.

SMITH & WESSON 4013 TSW
AMMO                           Velocity Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Average
Federal BallistiClean 135 gr. 1,064 fps  3.72"   2.83"   3.56"   3.37"
Pro Load 165 gr.                993 fps  2.57"   3.11"   3.76"   3.15"
Rem. Golden Saber 165 gr.     1,026 fps  4.02"   4.12"   3.37"   3.84"
Speer Gold Dot 180 gr.          931 fps  3.17"   3.34"   2.98"   3.16"
Win. SXT 180 gr.                928 fps  2.94"   2.57"   2.89"   2.80"
Overall Average                                                  3.26"
SMITH & WESSON 4513 TSW
Federal BallistiClean 165 gr.   990 fps  3.37"   3.64"   3.03"   3.35"
Rem. Match 185 gr.              775 fps  2.66"   2.48"   2.15"   2.43"
Rem. Golden Saber 230 gr.       882 fps  2.76"   2.82"   3.44"   3.01"
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr.          832 fps  3.36"   2.66"   2.68"   2.90"
Win. SXT 230 gr.                794 fps  3.74"   3.71"   3.29"   3.58"
Overall Average                                                  3.05"
Notes: Accuracy results are the average of three
10-shot groups at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.
Velocity is the instrumental average of 30 shots
as measured by a PACT Professional Chronograph.
                        SPECIFICATIONS: SMITH & WESSON TSW
MODEL                   4013 TSW           4513 TSW
MATERIAL:          stainless/aluminum stainless/aluminum
CALIBER:                 40 S&W             45 ACP
OVERALL LENGTH:          6 7/8"             6 7/8"
BARREL LENGTH:            3.5"              3.75"
WEIGHT:                 29 ozs.            28 ozs.
MAGAZINE CAPACITY:         8                  6
TRIGGER:               Conv. D/A          Conv. D/A
SIGHTS:               Novak fixed        Novak fixed
GRIPS:              curved backstrap  straight backstrap