What seems so long ago, I purchased a new Gen 1 S&W 5906 with the intention of having my wife get interested in pistol shooting. She shot it a few times and that has been the extent of her shooting interests.
The pistol out-of-the-box was a disappointment: ejection was feeble, accuracy poor and the DA trigger pull was heavy and gritty. I contemplated dumping it not long after purchasing but decided to send it back to S&W with the list of my complaints and expressed that as a competitive shooter, my dismay on how they could let something this bad out the door.
About a month later the pistol came back. Based on the serial number it was certainly the same 5906 I sent them. Their list of work included a new barrel, adjust extractor/ejector and polish the trigger group. Though not stated on their paperwork, it seems it made a visit to their custom shop for the attention it needed: the DA pull is smooth as my tuned K-frames, SA pull crisp, the ejection strong and if I did my part, could print some mighty small groups. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.
The pistol didn't get much use over the next 15+ years and remained a nicely-tuned safe queen. Then in 2011 I had an opportunity to attend a Rob Pincus training here in NH and for grins and giggles, decided I would pull it out the safe and use it for the class. Before going to the class, I sent the slide to have a set of Chip McCormick night sights installed, the same style the Gen 2 models were available with. Other than Rob making comments about "they guy using a DA/SA pistol" (everyone else was using striker fired or a 1911) the old 5906 acquitted itself well and I was pleased with the learning experience. After a thorough cleaning, it went back into my storage safe.
There's something about this well-tuned, all metal pistol that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Compared to my G17 and PPS, the trigger pull (especially SA) is amazing - and it shoots better than both of them. After all of these years it's still in pristine condition and brings a smile to my face when ever I dig it out. I'm glad I decided to keep it.
A few photos from this morning of this gorgeous safe queen;
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Originally Posted by Cypher
