Anything bad about the S&W 5906?

[TennJed]

I have a new to me S&W 5906 that I got today. I have read lots of good things about this gun.

What are the bads(other than weight and size)? Are parts hard to come by b/c it is not in production? Does it have any recurring issues?

Thanks

 

[wow6599]

Are parts hard to come by b/c it is not in production?

Yes. S&W told me last year they would stop producing parts for 3rd gen guns soon......

 

[Jed Carter]

I would change out the recoil spring just to help it shoot as well as it can. I bought a used S&W model 59-2 that had more than a few feed and ejection issues until I replaced the spring. Enjoy your "new" pistol it is one of the best buys going right now. I believe that any 59 series magazines will work and CDNN or Centerfire Systems may be good places to check.

 

[tazbigdog]

Only issues was you need to clean it regularly. Fouling seems to impede firing ability. Also the manual safety lever needs to periodically tightened. At least on the one I had.

 

[GRIZ22]

I was issued a 659 back in the 80s. It never malfunctioned and AFAIC the extra weight is a benefit allowing you quick recovery for follow up shots. We had 59s also in the inventory but after trying both everyone wanted one of the all steel guns. This was an investigative agency and most found no problem carrying it concealed with a proper holster. This was the first semiauto the agency went to from revolvers and there was some doubts by some regarding reliability. We had everyone clean and lube the new gun before the training which was about 800-900 rds without anymore cleaning. Virtually all went through the training with zero problems and the few there were were early on before the guns were broken in a bit.

The only caveat I have is to change the recoil spring about every 3000 rds or so and flush out the firing pin channel. People would clean the slide by having it upside down in front of them, slop solvent all over the inside, wipe it down, and put it back together with all that slop in the firng pin channel. eventually the firing pin would lock up and require minor surgery (slide dissassembly and cleaning) to get the gun back in action. This problem is not unique to S&Ws as I've seen it happen to Glocks and other semiautos. Please note, flush out the slide with Gunscrubber or other solvent. There is no need to take the slide apart on a regular basis.

 

[41]

Also the manual safety lever needs to periodically tightened. At least on the one I had.

How do you go about tightening the safety lever?

 

[JTQ]

This may be a helpful link.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson2/upload/other/PistolPartsList_Retail.pdf

 

[243winxb]

S&W 5906 jammed Link

Test fired many, good guns. Never had this happen. > http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7196776

 

[W.E.G.]

Good guns for that era.

Still good shooters.

Extractors, ejectors and firing pins are all good candidates for spares if you plan to shoot the gun a lot.

Spare springs are always a smart idea.

Holsters can be hard to come by without spending some goodly $$$

I have a Gen 2 (model 659) that doesn't like Mecgar mags.
Mecgars are 0.005" FATTER than S&W factory mags.
Before some whittlin' and polishin', the clearance for the drawbar was close enough that the drawbar would hang on the Mecgar mag, causing the gun to "skip double action." Dunno if that issue got solved when they went to Gen 3.

 

[tazbigdog]

I can't remember if the safety lever or decocker had a hex screw that worked its way out or a retaining clip that came off. Either way, I took it to the Smith armor and he fixed it.

 

[isc]

I've owned 3. Still own 2 of them. It is the most accurate 9mm I have ever owned. Magazines are cheap and common, and used in alot of other 9mm guns (camp 9, sub 2000, P11, 915/910).

They are a bit of a hassle to disassemble/reassemble the first time though.

I never had an issue with recoil springs, I think most of the people that replace springs do it as a precaution without any evidence that they need to be replaced.