S&W 6906 Questions

[bluedsteelnwood]

I recently bought a S&W 6906 on impluse which for me is unusable with out my researching a firearm, as I'm a revolver guy. Can someone tell me what the general review of this model is, in terms of reliability any problems with etc. Also it came with two ten round magazines but I'm intrested in a higher capacity one and recently saw a fifteen round magazine for the 6906 which was a police turn in. I would like to know if these magazines are a flush fit with the bottom of the grip and if being blued instead of stainless is of any significance.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

The 6900 series guns were excellent. I've had 2. Let one go in a fit of stupidity. Got another and it's not going anywhere. Both of mine were utterly reliable. These guns had a standard 12 round capacity (I've seen some 13s also - maybe S&W changed the capacity later on). However, 5906 (15 rounds) could be adapted for use in this gun with a special magazine spacer. I have 3 or these and 3 12 rounders. The 15 round mags are not flush fit. They add about 3/4 of an inch to the butt of the gun and gives you the feel of a 5906 frame with the shorter barrel and slide of the 6900 series. You really have to keep your eyes peeled for these spacers, they are hard to come by. You should be able to pick up the 15 round mags with the adaptor for somewhere around $30-40. You might also contact S&W and see if they have the adaptors available - they used to supply them to PDs and civilians. If you can secure a few adaptors, just mosey on over to www.cdnninvestments.com and pick-up a few pre-bans.

 

[Steve in PA]

I carry a S&W 6906 as one of my off-duty weapons. I've had it for several years, and only have about 2,000 rounds through it. I shoot my Beretta and Sig .45 more, but the S&W is great.

Goes bang every time I pull the trigger, is very accurate, etc. I only have the 10-round mags for mine. I've seen 13-round mags, but never more.

 

[Tecolote]

The 6906 is realible, accurate and well made. My one pet peeve is the large mag base plate. It adds too much height, but you can easily replace them with flat 5906 base plates.

I thought that preban mags held 12 not 13 rounds?

 

[Jiml3]

The S&W 6906 is an excellent gun. Mine has been totally reliable in every sense. It's a gun you can trust your life with. What more can you ask for?

JimL3

 

[The Reverend]

S&W 6906

Like most of S&W's line up in the 3rd generation of 9mm pistols, the 6906 has proven itself to be a great performer. Reliability, accuracy, along with easy maintenance make it a top choice in compact 9mm pistols.

This is one case where your impulse purchase will probably work out in the end as if you are like most, it will soon becom a favorite in your collection.

God Bless!

 

[rde]

Mine came with 2 12 round mags. One of the police trade in models that I stumbled across at a local shop. Actually looked brand new and even came with a warranty card with the enclosed paperwork. Not a single problem of any kind. Accurate. Have no complaints. None at all. Like it so well I bought the value line 908S carry package recently which is also works perfectly and is quite accurate as well. Did note that mine (6906) prefers the 124 grain bullets over the 115 grain. The 124 grain bullets seem to be more accurate in mine. YMMV.

 

[bluedsteelnwood]

Folow up Question on S&W 6906

Thanks all for your feed back on the 6906. Since looking over the pistol more carefully and reading other posts on different sites, I know I made the right decision to take it in a trade for a shotgun I haven'tused a long time. I would like to know if it is easy to replace the magazine base plate that has been mentioned in the posts. Is it that I would want to switch out the 5906 for a 6906 magazine base plate or the other way around. I have looked carefully at the magazines, ten rounders, that came with it and it's papers in the blue plastic box, and I can't figure out how to take the base plate off. This is the first semiauto pistol I acquired and having been into revolvers, M1 Garands and M14 clones know little about this area. I usaully don't buy on impluse but the 6906 looked so well made and is like new in box that I couldn't pass it up in trade. Also being my first 9mm, I bought at the gun show a box of Federal Premium 147 grain ammo for self defense purpose and plan on buying some less expensive ammo for target shooting and familiarizing myself with this pistol. What are tihe issues between the lighter grain ammo like 119 or 124 grain that some prefer and the 147 grain which has it's advocates?. Thanks Again

 

[Tecolote]

The postban mags are a pain to disassemble. You'll need a long punch to push in the mag insert. While pressing down on the mag insert move the base plate forward.

The postban 5906 base plates are too long for the postban 6906 mags. But the base plates for the preban mags work great. They make the 6906 a lot more compact. I remember reading somewhere that the 6906 was at one time a very popular off dury carry piece with some LE agencies and that officers would switch the mag base plates to make them easier to carry.

 

[Al Thompson]

Also being my first 9mm, I bought at the gun show a box of Federal Premium 147 grain ammo for self defense purpose and plan on buying some less expensive ammo for target shooting and familiarizing myself with this pistol. What are tihe issues between the lighter grain ammo like 119 or 124 grain that some prefer and the 147 grain which has it's advocates?.

When the 147 s first came out, they were meant for suprressed submachine guns. Expansion seemed to be secondary. IIRC, several departments adopted the 147s and had some problems with that load. I'm very unsure of the facts about the actual results, lots of hype there.

I prefer the 124 Gold Dot for my 9mms. IMHO, the best of the bunch for carry and use are the ones loaded by Georgia Arms. Being in FL, you should be able to find them at local gunstores. Last batch I purchased ran 12.50 per 50. Cheap enough for practice (check POI/POA) and very effective. I've popped several deer and hogs with that load and it works fine.

The best best on cheap practice ammo is the 100 round pack of Winchester at Wal-Mart. It's slightly under 12 bucks here.

 

[Big Mike]

I think very highly of the 6900 series pistol. Below is the 6906 and 6949. I only sold the 6906 to finance a GP100. Still have the 6946 for CCW, daily. I think it is the perfect DAO 9mm carry gun...