• Smith And Wesson 5906 Serial Number Lookup Model
• Used Smith And Wesson 5906 For Sale
• Smith And Wesson 5906 For Sale
• Smith And Wesson 59 Series Magazines
• Smith And Wesson 5906 Forum
• Smith And Wesson 5906 Serial Number Lookup Us

Smith & Wesson PC 5906: wrap up. More than 20 years after the debut of the S&W 4-inch PC 5906, the model appears as a pleasantly high-quality 9mm Para pistol that, with the right choice of ammunition, shoots excellently. Even today, this 9mm Para pistol does not belong to the old irons in its size and weight class. Partnership with Horace Smith & Daniel B. Wesson was from 1856–1874. Family owned by the Wesson Family from 1874–1965. Smith & Wesson became a subsidiary of Bangor-Punta from 1965–1983. Between 1983–1987, Smith & Wesson was owned by the Lear Siegler Co. On May 22, 1987, it was sold to R.L.Tomkins, a British holding company. Smith Wesson 5906 Serial Number Date Of Manufacture Code Today, Smith & Wesson is mostly known for revolvers and their growing line of M&P pistols. Despite the rapidly growing popularity of these polymer-framed striker fired semi-auto pistols, there’s also a lot of buzz around the former metal-framed S&W pistols that were discontinued a few. Search: Smith And Wesson Serial Number Search. If you are not found for Smith And Wesson Serial Number Search, simply check out our links below. Once a very popular model with law enforcement and military units in the United States, the DA/SA 5906 has been superseded by polymer-framed striker-fired models from Glock, Heckler & Koch, SIG Sauer as well as Smith & Wesson's own M&P line of polymer framed handguns in both 9mm and.40 calibers.

Very nice example of a 4046 – Wait a minute now – whats a 4046??

Remember this chart from a previous post?? Lets work our way through all the numbers

It is a four digit number – so it is a third generation – _ _ _ _

The first two are 4 0 _ _ – so it is in 40 S&W –

The third number is a 4 – _ _ 4 _ – so it is standard size ( 4 inch barrel ) and Double Action Only

The fourth number is a 6 – _ _ _ 6 – so it is in stainless steel

Confused yet?? Again??

Smith And Wesson 5906 Serial Number Lookup Model

The third gen 4000 series pistols are really neat – they were designed by Smith to fire the 40 S&W cartridge and do a great job of mitigating muzzle flip and felt recoil – sheer size and mass helps smooth things out.

Here we are with a Glock 17 – very similar in size

However – when you put them on the scale – the similarity thing comes screeching to an abrupt halt!!

Glock 17 is just over 22 ounces empty weight . . .

Smith 4046 is just over 37 ounces empty weight !! It is actually quite pleasant to shoot full up 40 S&W loads in it – the sheer mass really settles things down.

Breakdown is simple enough – line up the notch – push the pin from the right and pull it out – comes right apart

Typical Gen 3 Smith – built hell for stout

Underside of the slide

Looking down the magwell

Yes I know it’s a little dirty in spots – simply have not had time to strip it and detail clean

The 4006 and it’s variants were used by many agencies in quite a variety of “flavors” including tactical models with an attached anodized rail as well as a super cool tactical model with an integral rail – I believe the only agency that coughed up the money for that one was CHP

Mark at Summit Gun Broker ( I grabbed these pics off his site ) has 3 different models available – click through to his sight and look under used handguns

Smith & Wesson 4006 TSW – serial numbers start with CHP – now that’s cool – and notice the rail is machined out of the frame – not added on

Smith & Wesson 4013 TSW

S&W 4043TSW

These range in price from 329 to 395 bucks – and you will more than likely never wear them out – they are built like tanks – and no I am not going to explain each model number to you – scroll up to the chart!

The double action only ( DAO ) on these is pretty neat – when you chamber a round you also pre-cock the hammer – shorter trigger pull – the trigger is very similar to firing a S&W revolver double action.

And I have seen them around in pawn shops occasionally as well – if I get a chance to run it I will get some pics or a video clip – all I did was run a function check with it – I just don’t have the time to run 2 or 3 hundred rounds through every thing every time – reality is a bitch!

Used Smith And Wesson 5906 For Sale

These old S&W third generation pistols just have more “personality” than the polymer framed guns – not to knock all the fantastic plastic out there ( and I own my fair share ) – but these are just cool!

Have Fun – Run the Gun – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

April 11, 1986 Miami, amidst the nation wide crime wave of the 80s, two murdering bank robbers were on a crime spree. If you want to see the face of evil do some research on Michael Lee Platt and William Russell Matix. The fact that people like this exist in the world is the reason most police officers are never unarmed, even off duty.

The two well armed robbers were engaged in a shootout with FBI agents who were attempting to apprehend these murderous felons. When the smoke cleared, the two felons were dead, five agents were seriously injured and two had been killed. There were a lot of gunfighting lessons learned in that gunfight, one thing had been settled outright: It was time for Law Enforcement to universally accept the semiautomatic pistol. The lack of revolver capacity and difficulty in reloads were seen as a a major contributor to injured agents that day.

Some agents had been armed with semiautomatics that day. Agent Grogan, and Agent Dove both were armed with Smith & Wesson 459 semi-auto pistols. The pair were closest to Platt during the shootout. Platt shot and killed both armed with a Mini-14 semi-auto rifle. Dove’s 459 was struck and disabled during the gunfight by a .223 bullet fired by Platt.

With the two semi-autos taken out of the fight as it began, the remaining agents lacked the firepower to immediately stop the two murdering bandits. As the firefight progressed Agents struggled to load single cartridges into blood covered revolvers.

Out of the Ashes…

Smith & Wesson has been arming American Lawmen for a long time. It is notable that every single agent in the Miami gunfight had been armed with at least one Smith & Wesson product.

The FBI was evaluating cartridges and wound ballistics desperately trying to learn from two dead agents, and five others wounded.

A debate had raged over autos and revolvers for decades. Smith & Wesson had been marketing both varieties. The Illinois State Police adopted the Smith & Wesson Model 39 in 1967. While autos were gaining popularity, first generation S&W 39s and double stack 59s would not feed hollow point ammunition reliably without modification.

The second generation Smith & Wesson autos were only produced from 1984-1988, these included the 459s used by agents during the shootout. These updated 59s were more reliable but aside internal modifications the guns the firearms are nearly identical.

Smith & Wesson re-designed their semiautomatics in the form of a 3rd generation of guns that would accommodate a number of calibers including 10mm which the FBI decided on for their new cartridge.

The 5906 was born, designed as a state of the art stone dependable auto, it’s heritage was clear. It bears resemblance to it’s predecessors the 59, and 459, but it is clearly a new generation of handgun.

The 59 to end all 59s.

The 5906 became Smith & Wesson’s flagship 9mm service pistol. 3rd generation Smith & Wesson’s are distinguished from previous generations by their four digit model numbers. There are a lot of other 3rd generation Smiths with different configurations, for example the 5904 with its blued carbon steel slide and aluminum frame, the 5903 is the same but with a stainless slide. The 5906 is the all stainless DA/SA with a slide mounted ambidextrous safety/decocker.

5906 handguns were used by police across the country. They were produced from 1989 to 2004 when the classic Smith & Wesson metal framed handgun line was discontinued.

The 5906 along with other 3rd generation Smiths has significant slide and frame redesigns that distinguish it from 2nd generation pistols. The barrel bushing is fixed in the slide and is not removable. The barrel has obvious taper that allows the barrel to be removed for cleaning and maintenance. The frame accommodates a wraparound grip that replaces the grip panels and dedicated mainspring housing from the previous generations.

Smith And Wesson 5906 For Sale

Shooting the 5906

The 5906 is a dream to shoot. Personally I prefer single action autos carried cocked and locked. Considering this is a double action the 5906 has a good double action trigger pull. The trigger is long but smooth. The single action pull is short and crisp. Trigger reset is short.

Recoil management is a dream, and it aught to be this gun is heavy, 38 oz! At the time of this article I have not been able to conduct benched accuracy testing for the 5906 I’m testing, however the practical accuracy is excellent. If I do my part I feel like it places the bullets exactly where I want them to go.

Obtaining a 5906

Smith And Wesson 59 Series Magazines

The 5906 entered production 30 years ago. It is a classic pistol with plenty of history riding in a lawman’s holster fighting crime. It is overbuilt and robust, it is also out of production.

Smith And Wesson 5906 Forum

If your looking to obtain a 5906 you’re gonna have to find one on the used market. A “nice” 5906 is gonna run you north of $500 used. There are plenty of 5906 police trade-ins out their. Live-Red-E’s test gun is one of these police used guns. When we got it it had rusted sights, and the grip was marred from repeated seat-belt buckle impacts.

It took a fair amount of scrubbing to get the pistol clean. The sighs needed some cold blue and paint, and I replaced the recoil spring, hammer spring and grip. The result is a pistol with plenty of life left in it, cause this thing is built to last. These well used 5906 pistols can be found in the $300-$350 range.

An Artifact of History.

Smith And Wesson 5906 Serial Number Lookup Us

Police used guns tend to have lots of holster wear, along with plenty of dings and scratches from bumping into things. Not only does the design have along history serving Law Enforcement through it’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations, but each police trade-in has a history.