rw229

I've seen a few PD trade-ins that seem to be reasonably priced. Can anyone share their experiences with them?

I think there were a few different generations of the 5906. I'm not sure what these are, but these have Novaks, arched backstraps, stainless hammers, and no hook on the trigger gaurd.

• I'm interested in:
  Relability
  Durability - How do they hold up?
  Accuracy
  What would be a reasonble price to pay w/ 1 hi-cap?

Thanks.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: rw229 on 2002-03-07 18:42 ]</font>

Dwolf00

I think there were a few different generations of the 5906. I'm not sure what these are, but these have Novaks, arched backstraps, stainless hammers, and no hook on the trigger gaurd.


Well, I can't answer all your questions, but I'll do my best. The 5900 series are 3rd Generation S&W Autos. Within the 3rd Generation there has been several "upgrades" or style changes to the gun. The original 3rd Gen had square trigger guards and then they went to the round trigger guards and the most recent (The TSW - Tactical Smith & Wesson) have the round trigger guards and an accessory rail.

I recently bought a 5904 (blued version of the 5906). I payed between $350 and $400 for mine. I had the rounded trigger guard and traded it in for a squared one (both had hi-caps). I knew several people who had carried the 5906 and really liked them. They shoot pretty good and are comfortable in the hand.

My experience is that they are pretty accurate, as far group size I couldn't tell you off hand, I need to it down to the range and shoot it a bit more (been too busy shooting my 1911's). S&W Stainless Steel guns hold up really good. I have several SS revolvers that were former carry guns, and other than a few minor scratches they are in really good condition.

I would recommend getting the 5906, good luck with it.

rw229

Thanks for your insights.

Is there any reason I should be wary of a PD trade-in?

These were made in the mid 90's and are advertised to be in excellent condition.

Dwolf00

I've bought police trade in revolvers before, but not autos, at least I don't think so... Anyways, if you're worried about the condition of the gun, see if the dealer is willing to break the gun down and let you check the internals. I would look for rust and excessive wear inside. If you're not sure of what all to look for, if you know someone who is a handgun person and knows a lot about them, I would take them with you to look the gun over.

kanak

Im sorry to have posted to this so late but here goes...My department here in Honolulu, Hawaii uses the 5906 as its issue weapon. I have the rounded trigger guard but some have the squared trigger guard, both perform the same.

I too, when first issued the weapon, was concerned about reliability, durability, etc. but have long since forgot about it. These weapons are unbelieveably reliable. I go to the range about once a week and put over 200 rnds thru the weapon each visit. I have never experienced a jam, even during much rapid fire, they just keep going.

In terms of accuracy, our issue weapons have adjustable trijicon nite sights and are plenty accurate if I do my part.

I wouldn't worry to much about buying a used police weapon. My issue 5906 probably has been in service for a long while before it was recycled to me and it performs extremely well.

The only complainant I have about the weapon is that it the ergonomics aren't so great. It is uses a double stack mag and the grip design is blocky. Im not sure on the weapon price wise so I won't comment on that. If you end up getting it, it will provide you many years of enjoyment.

Branspop

The thing with police guns is that some of us shoot a lot. Most of us only shoot at qualifications. Some of us take real good care of the weapons and most don't. If you check it out real good and it doesn't appear abused, I wouldn't hessitate. I have bought a trade in revolver and it worked out great.

My Dept used to carry the 6906, the little brother to the 5906. I got mine used from another officer. Round trigger guard/Novak sights. It looked like he/she had hung it out of the car and drug it on the ground. When I 1st cracked it open, the inside was so dirty that you couldn't tell it was stainless. I was sure I was going to hate the little gun. A little TLC and lots of elbo grease and it cleaned up real nice. It has the BEST trigger I have ever felt on any DA semi-auto. No reliability problems at all. Great accuracy. When we upgraded to Glocks, I was able to purchase mine and still have it/like it. It sits in the safe most of the time, but it is the 1st hangun I ever took into harms way. I was totally confident with it.

bobbeh

I agree with Kanak. I, too, used the 5906 as a duty weapon while in the HPD academy. our class qualified two times during our training. Hundreds of rounds shot, no malfunctions or jams!!

I later bought a '95 5906 and it is identical to the duty weapon I used. This one, with 1500 or so rounds, no jams or malfunctions.

kanak mentioned the blocky feel of the gun. I have small chunky hands, even though I'm 6'3". I found the round backstrap a nuisance. I swapped in a 4006 straight backstrap from the 40 cal smith and it is soo much better.

Unfortunately, this pistol is for sale at a local gun shop. Did not want to part with it but i had to.

You cannot go wrong with the 5906. It is the most accurate 9mm I have ever shot (match grade) and very dependable. if you can live with the weight of the gun, this is the one to go for.

HeiloMan

One thing you must look at is the barrel feedramp of any 5906 you are considering purchasing used. If the side "walls" of the barrels feedramp are chipped or rough. The inside of the frames locking surfaces could be battered and/or gashed. I had seen a few guns with soft frames that formed fairly stress risers on the locking surface. This causes pressure loss/and or headspace problems. If the barrels feedramp is not chipped on the sides, good sign. (This is the area where the barrel would drop down into when out of battery should also be defined and free of any burrs or gashes).

fastbolt

I've carried either a 5903 or 6906 since the late 80's. As one of our firearms instructors & armorers I quit keeping track of the number of rounds I've sent downrange, and watched sent downrange, over those years.

Most malfunctions I've seen have been shooter induced, caused by improper cleaning and maintenance ... How about NO cleaning? ... NO lubrication? ... improper manipulation and handling ... loading the wrong caliber ammunition ... you name it. Did you know it's easier to load rounds into a magazine pointy end first??? It makes it easier to load against the pressure of those pesky springy things in the magazines. Of course, the rounds don't feed well that way ...

L/E types aren't necesarily "gun people", and I've seen many weapons that hadn't been cleaned and/or lubricated for a long, long time. Dog saliva WILL cause solvent residue, lubricant and cosmic dust in the atmosphere to congeal into green goo inside the pistol ... At first, I suspected this was where superglue might've been first conceived ... never mind ... :roll:

It's a tribute to the reliability of the "3rd generation" 4-digit pistols that they function reliably under even L/E abuse.

When S&W started using more CNC machining in the production there were some noticeable changes. First, the earliest pistols had breech faces cut so that the case bases fit up into the rounded recess in the breech face, and the barrel tabs were narrow. In later production, the breech faces were cut straight, and the barrel tabs were wider. These respective barrels & slides had to remain consistent, obviously.

The newer pistols also made use of the MIM technology. The previously flash chromed hammers & triggers went away ... and EPA thing, if I remember correctly. Ejectors evolved in shape slightly ...

The newer slides were precut for the Novak style Low Mount rear sights, while the earlier ones had the standard, narrow dovetail.

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with L/E turn-in pistols, as long as they were inspected by an L/E armorer or gunsmith. Springs should be replaced ... all of them ... because they age and get tired after a decade of use, or so. Since extractors can become "work hardened" it's not a bad idea to inspect them and consider replacing them after a lot of use. I actually broke one once, many years ago. We see something like a little over a thousand shooters a year come through our qualification courses, the sigificant majority using S&W issued and personally owned pistols. I think we've seen less than a dozen, or so, broken extractors in about 15 years. I actually replaced one once when I saw some minute chipping during a routine inspection ... it was still functioning perfectly reliably at the time ... I replaced it because I could, and I wanted to make sure I remembered how to do it, not because the chipping had reached the point where it was causing any malfunctions to draw the shooter's attention.

I even wore out a sear release lever once, after an embarassing number of thousands of rounds fired and the appropriate number of involved decockings, as well as dry firing and decocking. That was fixed with about a $.30 part ... These are just machines, in the final analysis, and machines can suffer parts breakage, after all ...

Of course, this isn't intended to represent a guide to shopping for a L/E turn-in pistol. Talk to your favorite licensed gunsmith and he'll steer you straight, I'm sure.

I'd buy one though ... as an armorer for S&W pistols I often feel a lot of empathy for the TV Maytag Repairman ... :wink:

Larry Pomykalski

I once carried a 5906 as a duty gun, and never had a bobble in many, many rounds fired. If you don't mind the DA/SA transition (I did), you will find it a reliable and reasonably accurate gun.

I would point out that S&W had a recall on the plastic grips soon after the 3rd Gen autos came out, so you might want to check that the gun you're looking at is not affected or has had the grips changed. If I recall, the grips somehow mount or secure the mainspring, and their failure would be serious.

Just something to be aware of.

Larry

fastbolt

Absolutely right about the grip upgrade ...

You can tell if the grips are the upgraded ones by looking at the bottom of them, either in front or in back of the small cutout behind the magazine well. There should be a small dimple, or "dot" pushed into the grip at one of these spots. That indicates the upgraded grips.

They were upgraded because apparently there were a (very) small number that developed cracks from being dropped.

harrydog

Anyone know if the frame and slide in the 5906 is cast or forged stainless?

Larry Pomykalski

I'm ALMOST sure that it's forged. S&W operates a huge industrial forging company that makes both firearm and non-firearm parts. (I know they've forged parts for Kimber in the past, among others.) Just like Ruger sort of 'defaults' to casting frames, S&W 'defaults' to forging.

Larry

harrydog

Thanks.
I'd always heard that the 5906 was a very robust gun. That's why I was suprized to hear someone mention a cracked frame.

AndABeer

Not quite the same model but the 5926 has become my favorite 9mm of all I own. Over SIGs, Berettas, a CZ, a Walter, and a couple 1911s.

caz223

The frames don't crack, the polymer grip does.
That grip secures the mainspring in the back and is pinned on at the bottom rear, so a hard drop where the gun lands near the rear of the butt could cause the grip to crack, and lose the mainspring retaining cup.
That would be bad.
The gun would be dead in the water.
I replaced my grip with a hogue, and I can't see how this one could break.