Could you tell me what I have: S & W 6904

[Climb14er]

Could you tell me what I have: S & W 6904

I was given this semi-auto by a friend and it looks like a decocker 9mm with three twelve round mags. Is it a DA/SA? What type of trigger pull in lbs, approx? The mag springs appear to be weak and will need replacing or is that how the springs 'usually' appear? There are Trijicon night sights but these appear to be on the dim side.

I believe this pistol was a trade between my friend and his LEO buddy some five years ago. I figured I'd ask the forum about this pistol rather than my own friend as he had a closed head injury and has difficulty remembering the intricacies of the pistol.

Please share with me any thoughts, concerns, positive/negative about the pistol and afterwards, I'll do some routine maintenance, lube, clean, possibly change out some springs, etc. Was it a popular pistol? With the thick grip and high capacity 9mm, anything I should do to this aftermarket to bring it up to speed?

Thanks.

 

[stans]

The 6904 has a blued carbon steel slide and black anodized aluminum receiver. These make nice concealed carry 9mm pistols. They are usually extremely reliable and pretty accurate as well. The decocker is on the slide, in the up position the gun is ready to fire as long as the magazine is in the pistol. With the safety in the down position, the hammer will safely fall and the firing pin will be blocked and locked in position. The mag springs may very well be on the weak side, especially if the pistol has been used a fair amount.

 

[Ala Dan]

S&W 6904

9 m/m traditional double action, with a 3.5" barrel and blued
finish, alloy frame and carbon steel slide, 12 round magazines
with a 20 round magazine available. Fixed rear sights with
two white dots; post with white dot front sight. .260" bobbed
hammer, .365 smooth trigger changed to .304" in 1990. Black
Xenoy one piece wraparound grips with carved backstrap.
Weight = 26.5 ounces Produced from 1988 to 1998.

Worth? NIB 525, EXC 450, VG 390, GOOD 335, FAIR 275

*FootNote: Possibly less than 200 guns shipped with 6904
features, but marked as model 469

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[isp2605]

My issued carry gun for a few years was a 6904. Mine was a pretty good shooter, never had any problem with it. Groups were tighter with it than my issued 5904. Pretty decent trigger. Never put a scale on my trigger. SA was fairly light and no creep. DA was smooth and no stacking.
If yours is a 6904 then it's DA/SA.
The mag springs may feel weak compared to other makes but they tend to feel "weak". As long as it feeds OK I wouldn't worry about it. Could be what you feel as weak is normal.
The trijicon sights might be weak. We traded our 6904s because after 12 yrs the sights are noticeably weaker. I suspect if yours is a police trade then the sights are getting past 1/2 life and need replaced.
They're a pretty decent gun. Lots of them out there.

 

[Brigrat]

Since the half life of tritium is aproximately 12.36 years, it is safe to assume that the night sights would be half as bright 12 years after the gun was made.

 

[Erich]

Fantastic gun!

You can send you slide to Trijicon, and they will replace the lamps in your sights for $55 ("a buck a curie"), delivered back to you. Great service.

 

[Morgan]

My Dad has the stainless, SIG-like, decock only model of the same gun (6912? - I don't have my S&W decoder ring handy).

Good gun, never a problem, shoots nice.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

My Dad has the stainless, SIG-like, decock only model of the same gun (6912? - I don't have my S&W decoder ring handy).

Do you think you could get a picture of this? I'd like to see it.

I love the 6900 series guns. I had an early 6904 that I foolishly traded away. Just recently got a nice used 6906 as a replacement. I'll never part with it. When I get a "new" used gun, first thing I do is replace the mag springs and the recoil guide rod and spring. Just to be safe. I do so hate troubleshooting a malfunctioning gun. 9 times out of ten these two steps have taken care of the problem.

p.s. Please don't take my question as disbelief. I'd truly like to see a picture of it since it has got to be one of the rarer variants out there. S&W put out so many variants of just about every gun they made during that period, I'm sure it's possible that they don't even know the variety that's out there.

 

[Erich]

I was also intrigued when you posted this yesterday. I was not aware the S&W made a 6900-series decocker. I always liked these little things, ever since the 469s came out in the mid-80s. I owned a 6946 for a while (until the friend I'd bought it from asked me to sell it back to him - I had to do it out of decency) and really think this is a terrific series of guns.

 

[Erich]

So, Morgan, is it the blued 6924 or the 6926?

 

[Morgan]

Okay, I found my Decoder Ring, and it is a 6926.

The only photo I have was sent by the seller before I purchased the pistol as a gift for Dad:

That little black lever below the slide release is the decocker - works just like a SIG. Neat little gun - if they made 'em with a proper (frame mounted, C&L capable) safety I'd have one of my own.

Next time I'm up at Dad's place I'll get some nice photos.

 

[Erich]

Oooooooh!

Neat, neat, neat! I want one!

 

[stans]

Sweeeeet! Those were only made in 1990 and 1991.