Why did S&W cease production of their entire line of semis except for the 1911s and what the custom shop does?
It had nothing to do with their triggers. Or with any other "weaknesses" of the older designs.
It had to do with a revolution that began with the AR (most handgun things begin with long guns) and came to fruition with Glock. It was the use of new materials and production techniques that led to increasing the rate of return for the manufacturers. For a smaller cost of investment they received a greater profit. The cost of maintenance and spare parts dropped dramatically. This revolutionized the industry.
So S&W dropped a whole line of pistols that had been in the holsters of law enforcement across the U.S. It dumped them. It banked it's future on the line of M&Ps and ARs.
Outside of being a single action pistol (which mostly excluded it from being a leo gun in the 1980s and 90s) the place of the BHP has nothing to do with the particular mechanical features of the gun and more to do with the story of handguns in the U.S. Of it's history.
What was the MSRP of a BHP in 1979? Here's a page from "The Shooter's Bible" of 1979.
Get an engraved one?
What about an H&K?
Now look at the price of the S&W M39
A Colt pistol
What gun will a working man buy? Tariffs raised the cost of imported firearms and with the exception of Spanish piece, Star, Llama, and some others made quality guns more expensive than their U.S. made counterparts during those years.
tipoc