Oooooo... Shiny.
It’s a tactical gun. I know that because SW put it on the slide in great big a$$ print...
Oooooo... Shiny.
They were considered by many top of the line back in their day.
(BG) Before Glock , there were Smith and Wesson gun of the month clubs formed as S&W seemed to produce so many variations starting with the model 39 9 .mm .
I had mdl 39/59/459/ 639/659/ .5903/5906 then came Glock.
Glock is like the S&W of old with all their new models.
Good solid guns (IMHO) my son has the 5906, and all the others I had are now long gone.
They were considered by many top of the line back in their day.
(BG) Before Glock , there were Smith and Wesson gun of the month clubs formed as S&W seemed to produce so many variations starting with the model 39 9 .mm .
I had mdl 39/59/459/ 639/659/ .5903/5906 then came Glock.
Glock is like the S&W of old with all their new models.
Good solid guns (IMHO) my son has the 5906, and all the others I had are now long gone.
SW rested on their laurels with the law enforcements agencies. Between losing the Army contract to Beretta in an ugly fashion and not being able to compete with Glock in tupperware, the all metal SW's semi-auto fell by the wayside.
OP: Just for conversation sake, SW submitted the 459 which is an alloy frame version of the all steel 659 for the military trials. It was rejected (along with everyone else but Sig and Beretta) due some controversial rounding of the data leading to adoption of the Beretta 92.
The military trials where held before the Third gens came to market.
Third gen production went from ~1988 to ~2010. Second Gens from 1978 to 1988 and the First Gens were manufactured from 1954 until 1982!
They were considered by many top of the line back in their day.
(BG) Before Glock , there were Smith and Wesson gun of the month clubs formed as S&W seemed to produce so many variations starting with the model 39 9 .mm .
I had mdl 39/59/459/ 639/659/ .5903/5906 then came Glock.
Glock is like the S&W of old with all their new models.
Good solid guns (IMHO) my son has the 5906, and all the others I had are now long gone.
Smith & Wesson 3rd generation pistols are excellent shooters! In addition to being very reliable and durable, they were the first DA/SA gun with a really short reset for the trigger in single action. I suspect that if you measured, they still have the shortest trigger rest of any factory standard DA/SA pistol. A used 5906 with a trigger job and some good night sights would make an excellent defensive tool.
1. Appreciate you chiming in!
2. It is further complicated b/c the guy said he was flexible and would come down to $400.
3. I have a notion to go for it.
I can't tell you if its a good one or not; but $400 sure isn't a bad price.
Found a 5906 fairly close by (better than the guy who wants to buy my Ruger Blackhawk that lives North of Ft. Wayne).
I put in a call. $500.
I member here put me onto one online for $400 +shipping +taxes (now) + FFL fees ($30+28+25 = $83 +$400 = $483).
I'd rather get one local and be sure of it's condition.
1. We have been having a dialogue off and on for the past hour+.
2. At this point, with the 2nd mag and the holster and sights that still can be seen, it's just concerns I have about its veracity.
3. If he would have put 3-4 boxes of ammo through it w/o any FTF or FTE issues: I'd jump on it, but I have had to replace parts on a used gun before and it's demoralizing since the sea is full of working used guns.
4. I'm wondering if I should just be content with my Ruger P95 that has been wonderful, instead of replacing it with this "unknown" but reputable 5906.
I am going to take a chance and buy it tomorrow after work: thanks everyone for your processing.
He seems totally honest, so I'm taking a chance on the gun living up to its reputation; my sense is that he is not hiding anything.
He has had the slide off and it looked good.
Comes with holster and 2 mags.
I just hope when I put it through its 200 round trial that it does well or I will wish I'd just stuck to my Ruger P95.
I'm hoping this is my last hurrah, but it seems I always find something to chase after due to the bad influence of the threads here.