poll 5906 sw VS ruger p95 best gun under $400

The police trade in Smiths are normally shot to hell. Rode hard and put away wet.

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I don't believe that is the norm...In my experience, the average weapon sees less than 1k rounds a year, is required to be cleaned after every shooting session whether it's a day of qualification or to dispatch an injured animal. The weapons get inspected for cleanliness by superiors often and get an annual check up by a qualified armorer annually.

But when they stop passing inspection isn't that when they get traded in????

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No. Most of the po-po trade ins are from when a department swtiches to a new gun.
The stereotype is that a department was using the 5906, and then traded them in on the Glock 22/23.

So then you have all those issued S&W 5906's sitting around. Might was well sell the batch of them to Summit, or CDNN, or some other outfit. That's where they get turned around and sold on the civilian market. They were all guns that were kept current, and riding in cops holsters until the department traded them in. It has nothing to do with being beat up beyond serviceability.

But when they stop passing inspection isn't that when they get traded in????

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No. If they don't pass an inspection, the armorer replaces the parts needed replacing and puts 'em back in service. Most of the trade-in guns are on the market because agencies swapped brands/calibers.

Nope. They get properly maintained until "the powers that be" place a contract for a new format. Then the old format tends to get sold (i.e.: "traded") out en-masse.


edit to say... well... not one but two beat me to it...

...What they said...

You can always send the 5906 in for the performance center 3rd gen action tune, which I believe includes spring replacement. Then your $299 gun is new again for $150. I've done this with my 5906 (from CDNN) and 910, and if I tried to tell you how pleased I Am with the results you'd probably think I was just another 14 year old liar on the Internet. It's every bit of an $800 gun for half the price though.

Marine 97-03, thank you for your service.

I think the Ruger P95 is a great buy for someone who isn't comfortable buying used. The 3rd gen S&Ws are slimmer, and much more refined than the Ruger P series. The all steel 3rd gen Smiths are truly heavy. Thankfully, they made steel slide / aluminum frame 3rd gen pistol. The 5903 is the aluminum frame version of the 5906. Throw a 4 in place of the 0, and you have double action only versions of either. The 4006, and 4003 are the steel & aluminum frame .40 S&W versions of the 59xx series. The .40 S&W 3rd gen pistols were 11 round capacity, but hopefully that's still high cap enough. Summit Gun Broker has the lightweight DAO S&W 4046 for $295.

In the last few months I have purchased two Stoeger Cougar 8000 Fs and one Bersa Thunder Pro 9 UC. One Cougar was purchased for over $400 but the other two firearms was under considerably. All three have been flawless, very accurate, easily maintained, excellent triggers (the Bersa has just about the best trigger I ever pulled), and worth every cent I paid for them.

I am not slighting the S&W or Ruger at all for they are fine weapons. Just throwing out there two more options to consider.

Both are great guns,
But I voted for the S&W. I just like them better.
Looks and feel.

I love Rugers

But my S&W 5906 is a steal at $299.



I carried a S&W 4506 on duty and thought it was heavy , but a fine gun.

Last month I saw the deal on CDNN and bought it ..

I've cleaned it up and really enjoy shooting the old S&W again.

I owned a P95 and it's quality was lacking to say the least.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldnoob
Ruger is miles away from even the economic line of s&w (ie: 910/915..etc), let along 59xx series.

You are comparing $400 new currently in production pistol to a $650+ no longer in production pistol.

That being said. S&W 3rd gen semi pistol did lost in arm race to Sig/Beretta/HK. Which is why S&W came back with M&P and compete with inexpensive polymer pistol.

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As an owner of a Sig 226 and a 5906... I don't know how Smith lost. They're both excellent guns. I honestly couldn't tell you which is better. A loser denotes... a loser. And the 5906 is no loser.

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Agreed. No loser at all. I had an HK USP, still have a 92FS stainless. I prefer the Smith to either of them, it's a much more solid gun. Don't get me wrong, I love my Beretta...........but it's not my test platform for over book loads, the 5906 is.

As for the USP, it got sold at a loss to buy a LNIB 1006 and I never looked back.

I don't get it. It's a shame that line was discontinued.

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It is a shame, but the reason was production cost vs. market. The thrid gen guns were expensive to make, and since the LE market was S&W's bread and butter with the 3rd gens and they were loosing it to Glocks that cost half as much, they focused on a new weapon that could compete price-wise. The Sigma flopped, but the M&P does that well, and has taken a sizeable share of LE sales back from Glock.

No experience with the Ruger but lots of time behind "third generation" Smiths. The Model 5906 is one of the most unappreciated, reliable, well-made, accurate 9mm pistols ever made, imo. As a bonus, at the prices you can buy them for now, they are one of the best values in the market today. Get one while you still can is my advice.