3rd gen smiths?

[45dotACP]

So what is the general consensus on them? How's the trigger setup, reliability, and accuracy? I know they are devilishly affordable (part of the attraction, as a 350 dollar pistol is cheap enough to become a gun and a replacement gun :D ) But another major concern for me is the availability of parts and holsters. I'm looking at a 6904 but Obviously if the gun snaps an extractor claw and there is no way to find a replacement I am left with a 350 dollar 9mm door stop. Would it just be a better call to save up the 700-800 bucks and pick up a single Sig 226 (which has the benefit of a light rail, an established aftermarket and being currently in production)

[warbird]

I personally am very fond of them. Own a 4506 and have owned a 457. Tough as nails and will feed and fire anything. Parts are still available and most any smith can work on one. I probably have not owned my last. Always looking...

[SteveK]

Dude...DUDE...welcome aboard. I'm a huge fan of Smith autos. I've been issued one for the last 17 years as well as owned several personally. They are my favorite guns. I've seen thousands upon thousands of rounds go downrange through various models with very few issues. Parts are still available so you should be able to throw together a spare parts kit with a little effort. The only thing I've ever seen fail on a Smith 3rd gen auto is the trigger return springs. Our early run 4006s broke them regularly and we replaced several. We replaced them eons ago with the 4563 and have never had a problem since. Their trigger reset is the best hands down and their grips are just dead comfortable to me. They are as accurate as any pistol out there and their reliability is excellent. I'm starting to replenish my own collection, I have a 3913 and a 645 on the way. Looking to add a 69 series compact when my wife gives me my fun money cut from our taxes. Magazines can still be found at reasonable prices and most holster companies still can hook you up. Milt Sparks will make you anything you want and that's where I usually start. I wouldn't have any misgivings about picking one or two up, load up on magazines are a few spare parts for peace of mind and shoot the hell out of them. My personal favorite is the 5904, basically feels like a lightweight, DA Browning Hi Power to me without the hammer bite.

[Stephen]

Despite having never even handled one, and not even knowing much about them, I'm attracted to the 9mm Chief's Special. Having a solid little TDA to carry in restrictive environments or with a tucked in shirt would be awesome. I'd dump my Shield for one in a heartbeat. I'm just not too keen on adopting a long discontinued gun for carry.

[jetfire]

Science Fact: 3rd Gen Smith & Wesson autos make you irresistible to women. See also: Sonny Crocket and his sweet, sweet 4506.

[LeonardRockstein]

So I guess it safe now to come out of the closet now and say you love 3rd gens just because they have massive style? I agree with caleb's views above.

Sometimes I am resentful that Sig still has a market for similar pistols but S&W had to discontinue the 3rd gens.

[Trooper224]

One of the shooters in my Monday night league started using a 645 he got from his father. I told him he to go for style points and show up in a pastel suit without socks. He wouldn't go for it, big baby. :p

[SteveK]

No guts, no glory. Proven fact that 645s and linen suits makes women's clothes fly off.

[JonInWA]

And with a moody techno-rock musical backdrop...

Best, Jon

[landsharkleather]

I carried a 1076 10mm for several years before my agency switched to sigs. I can not recommend the 1076. It's big and heavy with a heavy trigger. However ix do love the 3rd gen s&w my personal favorite is a 3913. I wish I could find one for $350 !
But as to your questions they are heavier then most guns today but also thinner so it's a trade off. They are reliable for the most part
But our 1076s did have issues. As to triggers they can start out heavy but can be worked on and are very smooth after say 500 rounds. I do not like the mag safety's or the decoder safety but I can live with them. As to parts they are still out there but I think but could be wrong that you need three hands to work on them. Hope that helps.

[Rich]

I like the 3rd gen 5906 and 6906.
And if in LE I would want to carry one ! 2nd would be a M&P40cal with the same safeties.

My Sig P229 and the Beretta 96 I had for a few days had a better trigger.
But that's not saying the S&W trigger is BAD. I didn't have any problems with it. I would say it equal to my P30S V3 9mm! And I don't have a problem with the P30 trigger either.

I like shooting the 5906 over the 6906.
and for some reason I had a bit better accuracy with my 6906.

I was going to give my 6906 to my 16yrs Daughter but decided she would be better off with a newer model because of lack of parts later on in her life.


With all the custom kydex holster makers out ? a 3rd gen S&W should be a easy find!


I would rather have 2
MK25 /P226R
P30L /P30
Beretta M9 A? 9mm with a rail

[feudist]

No guts, no glory. Proven fact that 645s and linen suits makes women's clothes fly off.

"It is known, Khalisi."

[Chuck Haggard]

We issued, and I carried, 3rd gen S&W 9mms for almost 20 years at my job. I started with a 5906 and a 6906 as a BUG, eventually carried a 5903 and then a 5903TSW, had several 3913s and a 3953 and a 5943. All were highly reliable and solid guns. Way easier to work on and/or detail strip than a Sig or Beretta in my experience.

The extractors break very rarely in my experience, if you don't go retard and drop the slide onto a chambered round.

[jetfire]

5903TSW

I'll be in my bunk.

[Rich]

Science Fact: 3rd Gen Smith & Wesson autos make you irresistible to women. See also: Sonny Crocket and his sweet, sweet 4506.

+1 my X wife loved them. Harleys and S&W3rdgens such a biker tramp.

[Chuck Haggard]

I'll be in my bunk.

I had three of them, all three with Ed Brown extended safty levers. Carried two at a time when I was on our team and was driving a shield during entires. Very, very nice DA trigger, butter smooth.

I had to recut the rail groove to hold a light that would fit a Glock, and wasn't the stupid M5 or whatever it was that was the only light made for those guns.

On entires I ran a 20 round Mec Gar magazine. Was a nice set-up.

[BobM]

We carried the 5906 for 16 years. I liked it well enough that I bought a pair of 3913s (I used to carry them in RH and LH IWBs!)and a 4506 for off duty and IDPA use. I bought my 5906 when we traded them in. I was under the impression that the parts supply has been drying up. I need a right side safety lever, spring, and plunger for my remaining 3913 if anyone knows of a source.

[SWAT Lt.]

I have had about a dozen 3rd Gen DA/SA autos of different flavors and all were reliable. We issued the 6906 for 8 years until going to G22s. At the time our dept. was 750 sworn and we had no real issues with the 6906s. We saw some that were not properly lubed not run until they were. Saw some FTFs with +P or +P+ ammo (we issued standard pressure ammo) if there was a weak recoil spring in place (ran fine with that ammo with a new spring installed). Had a few broken drawbars in weapons issued to officers that shot quite a lot. The S&W 3rd Gen DA/SA guns get a thumbs up from me.

[jlw]

I carried an issued 4006 the first seven years on the job. I developed an appreciation if not an affinity. I absolutely DO NOT see TDA as any sort of handicap in the least. I will say those dang things got heavy in a 070 holster on an 18 hour day.

I had one of the single stack 4013s briefly. It now resides safely with a former member of that agency.

I also had a 5906TSW for a while that I traded away. I loved running that thing on steel.

[JSGlock34]

My first pistol was a S&W 5903 purchased around 1990. I purchased it because I wanted a pistol that had a similar manual of arms to my issue M9, and the gun rags of the time had convinced me that Beretta slides disintegrated if you used harsh language. It proved reliable and accurate, and while the DA trigger could've used some attention, the SA was quite good. I ended up selling it to buy a Glock.


Science Fact: 3rd Gen Smith & Wesson autos make you irresistible to women. See also: Sonny Crocket and his sweet, sweet 4506.

A friend of mine has a minty 4506 complete with a Galco Miami Classic shoulder rig. It's a sweet shooter. I'm first in line if he decides to part with it. Cause, you know...

http://www.imfdb.org/images/5/56/MVS5_14.jpg

[SteveK]

Smith 45s have been the cool Tv cop guns for decades. Crockett used both the 645 and 4506 and Vic Mackey also toted a 4506. Reason enough to own one.

[GardoneVT]

Good thread.

Unfortunately, I must be one of those people forever doomed to suck with a Smith third gen. My first metal frame gun was a 4506 police trade in, and boy did I try hard to like it. Yet, the weight of the DA trigger and my long fingers meant I just couldn't keep the DA shots on target. The pistol literally twists in my hands during the pull, no matter how I hold it or how slow or fast I work the trigger.I can literally shoot every gun I've ever fired better then a Smith 3rd Gen. Years later I bought a 4566 , thinking some training made a difference.

Nope.The first DA round went into the left top corner of the target PAGE at 7 yards...while the other seven rounds in SA made a nice 1 " group .:(

Just ain't meant to be, I suppose.

[SteveK]

Good thread.

Unfortunately, I must be one of those people forever doomed to suck with a Smith third gen. My first metal frame gun was a 4506 police trade in, and boy did I try hard to like it. Yet, the weight of the DA trigger and my long fingers meant I just couldn't keep the DA shots on target. The pistol literally twists in my hands during the pull, no matter how I hold it or how slow or fast I work the trigger.I can literally shoot every gun I've ever fired better then a Smith 3rd Gen. Years later I bought a 4566 , thinking some training made a difference.

Nope.The first DA round went into the left top corner of the target PAGE at 7 yards...while the other seven rounds in SA made a nice 1 " group .:(

Just ain't meant to be, I suppose.
The Hogue wrap-around grip makes the 45 series pistols a completely different gun. They are wider, tackier and fill the hand in all the right places. I prefer the look of factory grips but the Hogues are by far the way to go.

[CCT125US]

My first gun was a 915 gifted to me around 17 or 18. I had been shooting my father's 92sb and revolvers up until then and was never told that DA/SA was hard. A huge reason I prefer the P30 v3 to this day.

[Chuck Haggard]

You guys are making me wish I had kept one or two of mine.

[Totem Polar]

May as well chime in: my favorite go-to-class gun is a plain jane 3953, with blackened (sharpie) sights, and a whole bunch of spare mags. Simple, reliable, thin. Plus, with AIWB carry currently en vogue, the light weight DAO exposed hammer 3953's time may have actually come.

If I can find someone to make me an AIWB holster for the thing, that is...

Any tips from old-time users (Chuck Haggard) on these guns?

[45dotACP]

May as well chime in: my favorite go-to-class gun is a plain jane 3953, with blackened (sharpie) sights, and a whole bunch of spare mags. Simple, reliable, thin. Plus, with AIWB carry currently en vogue, the light weight DAO exposed hammer 3953's time may have actually come.

If I can find someone to make me an AIWB holster for the thing, that is...

Any tips from old-time users (Chuck Haggard) on these guns?

For some reason, I have always loved the bobbed hammer on a TDA style gun. Completely irrational, as I have few concerns about "snagging" but from an aesthetic standpoint, I think they're rad.

As for guns that make the panties fly off, I'm surprised the 10mm fanboys haven't called out the Bren...

[Chuck Haggard]

May as well chime in: my favorite go-to-class gun is a plain jane 3953, with blackened (sharpie) sights, and a whole bunch of spare mags. Simple, reliable, thin. Plus, with AIWB carry currently en vogue, the light weight DAO exposed hammer 3953's time may have actually come.

If I can find someone to make me an AIWB holster for the thing, that is...

Any tips from old-time users (Chuck Haggard) on these guns?

The only real issues I ever saw were from guys who thought they needed to use solvent on pistols. The little flecks of brass would turn to goo inside the firing pin channel and cause fails-to-fire due to light strikes. Sometimes guy would let too much gunk build up under the extractor and they'd get a fails-to-extract.

Other than that, it was guys thinking they could detail their own gun without the benefit of going to an armorer class. I had a number of guys show up with a bag o' gun wanting me to put it back together for them.


I'm surprised the 10mm fanboys haven't called out the Bren...

I'm more surprised no one has brought up the 1006 or 1066, those were rather nice.

[Trooper224]

No guts, no glory. Proven fact that 645s and linen suits makes women's clothes fly off.

I told him he should shoot it with a stuffed alligator tucked under one arm, but no bueno. This is making me want to pull out the Miami Vice DVD set. :D

[SteveK]

I told him he should shoot it with a stuffed alligator tucked under one arm, but no bueno. This is making me want to pull out the Miami Vice DVD set. :D

Elvis, the rubber alligator sits in the floor over in the corner of my office. No kidding. He's been passed down through the department since the 80's.