Smith & Wesson NRA and NSSF over the issue of smart guns, thousands of retailers and tens of thousands of firearms consumers boycotted Smith & Wesson. CEO Ed Shultz, who negotiated the deal, was forced out in September of that year. By December 2000, the company's stock price was 19 cents per share. Smith & Wesson dropped its smart gun plans after nearly being driven out of business. On May 11, 2001, Saf-T-Hammer Corporation acquired Smith & Wesson Corp. from Tomkins plc for US$15 million, a fraction of the US$112 million originally paid by Tomkins. Saf-T-Hammer assumed US$30 million in debt, bringing the
Smith & Wesson Model 78G Smith & Wesson Model 78G Smith & Wesson models 78G and 79G are vintage models of air-powered pistols. Each model chambered either a .177 or .22 caliber pellet. The Smith & Wesson G-series pistols were designed with attention to accuracy and weight, making them ideal in developing short-range marksmanship skills while using a less-penetrating, air-driven pellet as the projectile. They were designed to imitate the Smith & Wesson Model 41 target pistol. Both models are equipped with target style adjustable sights. These airguns were manufactured from 1970 to 1978. They are single shot pistols, requiring manual reloading after each shot.