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 59 was an updated version of the Model 59 with adjustable sights and checkered nylon grips. This model was discontinued in 1988. 803 units were produced in a brush finish with special grips made to FBI specifications. Smith & Wesson Model 59 The Smith & Wesson Model 59 was a double-action pistol introduced in 1971. It was developed by Smith & Wesson from the earlier Smith & Wesson Model 39 by adapting a 14-round capacity stagger-stack magazine. It was designed for the U.S. Navy as a large-capacity version of the S&W Model 39, the basis of their Mark 22 "Mark 22