S&W 5906

[L1011]

Erik,

I'm glad you clarified the difference between the Performance Center and Standard/Police issue models.

The standard 5906 has had it's share of field issues (reliability). Most are also very picky about what you feed them.

The consequences in a firefight can be a life altering experience.

[Flexmoney]

Can you actually GET a 5" PC 5906?  I've never seen one listed for sale or advertised.  Do I have to know the password to get my hands on one?

That is the "Equipment Race" question.

Our current (red book) stipulates that there needs to be 2,000 produced to meet the USPSA requirement for Production.

The new book...only has a list.

[john flentz]

Hey, sports fans!

I guess I should jump in on this…

What initially attracted me to the S&W 5906 for production was the all steel frame (makes 9mm feel like a bb gun) and excellent accuracy. Forget about that 1975 model 59 you once gagged at - all the current guns are excellent. And if you move up to guns from the Performance Center, you’re really talking about a hand fit gun. The tolerances and accuracy are as good as anything made by anyone.

For all the excellent attributes of the gun, the trigger is what really sets the Smith apart from anything else in Production. The single action and double action operations are mechanically separate. The single action uses a sear, which though a different shape than the 1911 sear, works the same way. So you can get a single action pull as good as a 1911, with about as good a reset. The double is really amazing. The third generation autos were designed using a computerized pull gauge which charts the most minute rise and fall in pressure up to the point the hammer is released. The result was a completely smooth pull with no stacking.

After a little work, my single breaks at 1.75 lbs on a pull gauge, but feels like a pound and a quarter because of the leverage advantage of the pivoting trigger design. My double is under seven pounds, glass smooth. Any third generation Smith can be set up for competition this way.

For an off the shelf or refurbished four inch, I'd suggest the 5906 TSW, which has a light rail and extra wide frame which adds stabilizing weight right where you want it. For a 5”, call the Performance Center!

[Steve Moneypenny]

John, Welcome! thanks for the great imput.

What does the PC gun cost? I have yet to see any TSW's out there refurbished.

[Duane Thomas]

I had the opportunity to try the trigger on John's gun at the last Factory Gun Nationals. It makes an out-of-the-box standard 59-series S&W look sick. It was sweet. Trust me, until you've fingered one of these, you have no idea.

[rhino]

Must ... have ... 5906 ... and send to ... performance center ... for trigger job ... can't reach the ... kryptonite ...

[L1011]

Hey Rhino,

What ever your sniffing . . . . I want some . . .

[rhino]

Oh, you want some o' this? Some o' THIS??!!!

[Nate]

I take it that with the change in ownership that all is forgiven with S&W politics of the late 90's?

[Steve Moneypenny]

Pretty much so, the owners were british i believe now the owners are American. if my memory serves me correctly

[EricW]

The new owners are HQ'd in Scottsdale. Hard to be much more gun friendly than that.

[Steve Moneypenny]

Slight update i purchased a police surplus 5906 from KY imports.... I love the gun, it rocks and i will have it or one similar for USPSA production next year!!!

a special thanks to John Flentz for his help on and off board.

[John Thompson]

I've had a PC 5906 since 1998 or 99, I can't remember. DA is 7.5lbs, SA is 3.5.

[UPSguy]

Hey, sports fans!

I guess I should jump in on this…

What initially attracted me to the S&W 5906 for production was the all steel frame (makes 9mm feel like a bb gun) and excellent accuracy. Forget about that 1975 model 59 you once gagged at - all the current guns are excellent. And if you move up to guns from the Performance Center, you’re really talking about a hand fit gun. The tolerances and accuracy are as good as anything made by anyone.

For all the excellent attributes of the gun, the trigger is what really sets the Smith apart from anything else in Production. The single action and double action operations are mechanically separate. The single action uses a sear, which though a different shape than the 1911 sear, works the same way. So you can get a single action pull as good as a 1911, with about as good a reset. The double is really amazing. The third generation autos were designed using a computerized pull gauge which charts the most minute rise and fall in pressure up to the point the hammer is released. The result was a completely smooth pull with no stacking.

After a little work, my single breaks at 1.75 lbs on a pull gauge, but feels like a pound and a quarter because of the leverage advantage of the pivoting trigger design. My double is under seven pounds, glass smooth. Any third generation Smith can be set up for competition this way.

For an off the shelf or refurbished four inch, I'd suggest the 5906 TSW, which has a light rail and extra wide frame which adds stabilizing weight right where you want it. For a 5”, call the Performance Center!

I know this is a very old thread but I am supposed to be taking delivery of a new PC5906 and I want to know what it takes to get a great trigger pull out of it?

[38superman]

I started in IPSC with a 645 in Lim 10 division.

I actually did pretty well with it and would probably still be shooting it except for the 8 round magazine handicap.

The Smith autos are relatively accurate, cheap and although the DA pull takes a little getting used to, the SA trigger is excellent.

After a couple of years in IPSC it would be interesting to go back to it just to see how I could do with it.

Tls

[Tony S45]

Hi UPSguy:

May I suggest that you shoot the gun for at least 500+ rounds first. My 4" PC5906 trigger is so smooth I haven't bothered to borrow a trigger guage yet to measure it. Thought that I would shoot mine in IDPA until the end of this season and then evaluate the trigger pull to see if anything further is needed. May also shoot it in IPSC Production but currently having too much fun with my 5906 Super 9 in Limited!

Would also suggest that we only allow the very best of pistolsmiths (perhaps the Performance Center) to work on our PC guns because they are very well made as described above. In other words, don't screw up a good thing.

[SiG Lady]

Not relevant to IPSC, but I indulged in a PPC9 (5") last year and not only is the trigger reset freepin' awesome, the heft and comfort level of the thing is also freepin' awesome. Accuracy City! They come with 6" barrels... A friend of mine has one of those. The compact model on the left is the 3913, the recently-acquired carry piece.

[UPSguy]

Hi UPSguy:

May I suggest that you shoot the gun for at least 500+ rounds first. My 4" PC5906 trigger is so smooth I haven't bothered to borrow a trigger guage yet to measure it. Thought that I would shoot mine in IDPA until the end of this season and then evaluate the trigger pull to see if anything further is needed. May also shoot it in IPSC Production but currently having too much fun with my 5906 Super 9 in Limited!

Would also suggest that we only allow the very best of pistolsmiths (perhaps the Performance Center) to work on our PC guns because they are very well made as described above. In other words, don't screw up a good thing.

Who else would be good enough other than the Performance Center?

[Tony S45]

UPSguy:

Novaks in WV has a good reputation. After a 500+ rd break-in, measure the trigger pull weights of double and single action and then change the hammer spring to a lighter Wolff and remeasure. My experience has been that the lighter hammer spring is the most cost effective way to reduce the double action and to a lesser degree the single action pull on a Smith.

SiG Lady:

Nice guns. IIRC the new PPC guns have full dust covers now. Why are your comments not relevant to IPSC? You can shoot the PPC in Limited and/or Limited 10. Here's a Smith trio:

Edited April 6, 2006 by Tony S45

[Poohgyrr]

OK, my PC TDA trigger on the 4" DPA5906 is a lot!! better than the standard production TDA triggers I've tried on 5906s & 5904s. A smooth trigger pull all the way through.

Sooo, if I want to send in a standard 5906 frame for a trigger job, the PC shop is the place to go? Has anyone here done that & can share how much better it is??

And I'm still looking at those Super 9s....

Edited April 29, 2006 by Poohgyrr

[Tony S45]

And I'm still looking at those Super 9s....

Hi ya Poohgyrr! Fancy meetin' you here.

You can look at the pictures of my two Super 9s if you wish but I must tell you that they are HARD to find for sale. The last one that come up on one of the gun auction sites had a starting bid of $1 100. I'm not a collector, but I'm keeping the Super 9 LNIB shown above for posterity. Don't really know why. I shoot everything that I own except for that one because I have it's twin in duty for IPSC Limted.

We are very fortunate to have a qualified gunsmith who mantains a consistantly excellent reputation here in central Virginia. The 6906 trigger pictured in the trio above was smoothed and tweeked by him when I bought the gun because the trigger bars were dragging. As you know, it's far more cost effective to have a QUALIFIED local gunsmith do your work than to send it to S&W primarily because of the shipping costs. I would only consider S&W if I needed other internal work and/or warranty work completed on a standard 5906. If you don't have a qualified gunsmith local to you, then your options are at least about four different nationally known smith shops including S&W.

My PC5906 is smooth as well and with a 17# hammer spring (20# is stock) doesn't need a thing except more range time.

Edited April 30, 2006 by Tony S45

[sgtis108]

I'm a LEO armorer and I have a pile of 5906s. I've been to the S&W school and know these guns inside and out. I'm also a production shooter.

In production I shoot a Glock 34. I guess it is just the difference in how the triggers operate, but I hate the 5906. Almost every trip to the range at some point I stop shooting cause I didn't feel the trigger reset. My brain says MALFUNCTION!

The reset is short but too light for my taste.

The weight does soak up some recoil but shooting minor, come on. The weight slows down my transitions.

These are duty guns I have expirence with, nothing from the PC. They should be different animals.

SGT

[Tony S45]

Different strokes for different folks, SGT.

[rishii]

well from one sgt to another,

my back ground with the 5906 is similar, factory trained armorer, spent alot of time taking them down for inspection. although my certification expired a long time ago.

it's my current duty gun, and in the early 90's I shot it box stock in limited.

when uspsa added production class, it was a no brainer for me what gun I would shoot. I got a dealer sample gun from cdnn. used the knowledge I learned from S&W and a bit of experimenting to do a trigger job. add a bladetech holster and my old safariland pouches to finish my production rig. got my M card in march.

I love the feel and heft of the gun, and the single action trigger re-set is short, just about the same as my caspian raceguns. on short hoser stuff, my splits are about the same as my raceguns.

tried a glock a couple of times, and I would pull half the shot into the ground when I tried to shoot them at speed.

like tony said, different strokes

[mnshootr]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum, and have some questions. I was thinking of picking up a 5906 for a cheap ammo, marksmanship practice gun, and maybe try some IDPA down the road with it. What are the best sights the factory offered for target shooting? Standard? Night? Adjustable night? Are the factory Adjustable sights legal in production class?

Thanks a bunch!

Jay