September 21, 2005

SPRINGFIELD, MA -  Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (Amex: SWB), parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp., the legendary 153-year old company in the global business of safety, security, protection and sport, announced that it has secured an order from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Armament Command ("TACOM") to provide 12,000 pistols for shipment to the Afghanistan Border Patrol. The order, which was received yesterday and is valued at approximately $3.4 million, is scheduled to ship in its entirety by December 2005.

Michael Golden, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "This order for the U.S. Army represents a new milestone in establishing Smith & Wesson as an ongoing supplier of domestic, high-quality firearms to the military branch of the federal government. We established a strategy at Smith & Wesson early in calendar 2005 to increase our efforts in supplying pistols to the U.S. government and military segments. To that end, we have established a sales organization dedicated to that objective and have now won our second order in just five months. We intend to maintain our efforts to continue growing this aspect of our business by supplying firearms to our government and to our allies abroad. In addition, because our pistols are manufactured entirely in the United States, this order represents an opportunity to provide our government with products that help to support jobs here at home."

This order is the second shipment of Smith & Wesson pistols to be provided to the U.S. Army for ultimate delivery to Afghanistan security forces. The first shipment, completed in May of this year, was shipped through the U.S. Army Security Command (USASC) to supply the Afghanistan National Army. For both orders, the U.S. Army selected the Model SW9VE, a double-action-only pistol constructed with a durable polymer frame and a through-hardened stainless steel slide and barrel. Unique features of the 9 mm pistol include simple operation procedures, tool-less disassembly and state-of-the-art ergonomic design.