Is there such a thing as a "bad" S&W 3rd gen?

[albanian]

From what I have seen and owned (3913, 6906 and 5906) there isn't. I guess I am comming a little late to the party but these 3rd gen Smiths are very good. They are accurate enough, 100% reliable and made well. They also have features that show that money was spent on them. But the best part is, they can be had for a song if you buy used.

BTW, I don't include the SIGMA as a 3rd gen. I don't know what that is called but by 3rd gen I am talking about the steel and alloy framed pistols not the 1911s or plastic guns.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Nary a trifle with my 5906, 4006, 1006 or 4506.

 

[ShelbyV8]

Be careful everybody will start buying them and run the price up. I don't have all I want yet. 645, 4506, and 4516 all 100%.

 

[Z_Infidel]

I have three different models in .45ACP and they're all good pistols:

457
4516-1
4563TSW

 

[Coronach]

Define "bad."

They're unergonomic as all heck, and often larger than they really "should" be. The high bore axis contributes to muzzle flip, but they're actually pretty controllable due to their great weight.

That said, the things seem to run like a top. My 4506 has been basically flawless.

Mike

 

[gulogulo1970]

They are ugly. Aside from that I've never ran into someone who said that their's didn't work.

 

[RON in PA]

My 5906, bought used, has never failed to go bang when the trigger is pulled. Boringly reliable like a Ruger P95 or BHP.

 

[albanian]

"Define "bad.""

I guess what I mean by "bad" is a dog. Is there a 3rd gen S&W auto that is just unreliable, inaccurate and generally lousy? From what I have seen and read, there doesn't seem to be. There doesn't seem to be a really great one either but they are all very good.

As an example, I think the Kahr K-9 may be the best production pistol you can buy at a reasonable price right now. It is everything I look for in a compact pistol and the quality is outstanding. By contrast, the P-9 that I had was just a few steps up from Kel-Tec quality. For the money, it was a dissapointment. I can't believe they came out of the same factory.

 

[Coronach]

I think their accuracy is so-so. They're certainly combat accurate, but out of the box I don't think they'd scare a decent 1911 for target shooting. Their ergonomics sometimes make them difficult to shoot accurately and fast.

However, mechanically innaccurate? No. Unreliable? No. At least, not that I've seen.

Mike

 

[only1asterisk]

My experience mirrors Coronach's. I'd by a police trade-in 3rd Gen S&W over a brand new Ruger any day.

David

 

[isp2605]

We were issued S&W autos until 1999-2000. I put a lot of rds thru 3rd gen S&W. Many thousands of rds over the years. They are very durable and reliable. My 5904 will do 2" at 25 yds if I do my part, sometimes I'll get a shade better group.

 

[MikeJ]

My 5906 that I bought in the 80's has been ultra reliable. As far as ergonomics are concerned, I find the 5906 with the curved backstrap to fit me perfectly.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Let's see here:

5906
5946
5943TSW
6906
4046
3913TSW
4013TSW
457
4616-2

I think that's all of them. I've shot all but the 4516-2 and they've all performed well. I find that the factory grips are uncomfortable for me for all except the 6906 and 4013TSW, so I've replaced them with Hogue rubber grips. The only time I had a hiccup with any of my 3rd generation guns is when I was using aftermarket, non-S&W marked magazines (never, ever use Eagle magazines...unless you want to practice clearing jams ).

My dad did have a very early 5906 that gave him trouble with 147 gr FMJ & HP loads. Cleared right up when he switched back to 115 gr standard.

 

[Alan Fud]

They are ugly

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think that they are the nicest looking autoloaders around and with the possible exception of some Beretta's, there isn't any other autoloaders that I would rather own.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Well, as far as aesthetics go, they're not the prettiest guns ever produced but they're far from just plain ugly. It's a matter of taste. I happen to like them. Popularity is declining though, everybody seems to want plastic fantastics. Every year S&W drops a model or two, so that now there's only a few left. I'm going to be forced to buy my dad's 4506-1 from him pretty soon since that model is gone and I've got the hots for one. Can't get a 1000 series (10mm) new anymore and that's just plain wrong. The passing of the 6900 series is also regrettable. I was hoping that S&W would bring them back now that the high capacity ban is gone, but it doesn't look hopeful (they still make that frame size - 4013TSW, so it would be a matter of producing the slides). It's a pity they never produced one of 4000 series in .357Sig. We're just left with Barsto conversions as the only option.

 

[Commissar Gribb]

my mod 645 (older model same idea as 4506) works great. fairly innacurate, handles recoil well, operates without incident.

my Dad's old 10mm 3rd gen I disliked. Overly large, small capacity, didnt handle recoil especially well.