Yesterday (as I type these words), 19FortyFive published my article on the Smith & Wesson Model 4006 pistol, which made history as the handgun the California Highway Patrol — the largest state police agency in the U.S — chose back in 1990 for its transition from double-action revolvers to semi-automatic pistols. That firearm also got the ball rolling for the .40 S&W cartridge to usurp the 10mm Auto cartridge as The Next Big Thing in autopistol cartridges.
It should be remembered that a big part of the .40 S&W cartridge’s appeal was the fact that it could fit a big bore bullet — anything .40 caliber or higher — in 9mm-sized handguns. As such, a firearm could maintain nearly the same ammo capacity as the Wonder Nines in a reasonable frame size.
With that in mind, let’s now take a look at the “Wonder Nine” predecessor of the M4006, that being the Smith & Wesson Model 5906.
S&W M5906 History & Specifications
The stainless steel S&W M5906 made its debut in 1988 as part of Smith’s so-called third generation series of double-action (DA) autopistols. for purposes of easy identification, the third generation Smith DA autos carried four-digit model numbers, while the company’s second generation guns such as the Model 459 bore three digits, and first generation semi-autos like the Model 39 and Model 59 were two-digit.
Specifications for the 5906 include a standard capacity magazine of 15+1 rounds, a weight of 38.3 ounces, an overall length of 7.5 inches, a barrel length of 4 inches, and a height of 5.5 inches.
What got the Smith 5906 some degree of good publicity is that it was approved for duty carry by the Los Angeles Police Department when that prestigious organization transitioned from revolvers to autos in the latter half of the 1980s. Granted, the overwhelming majority of new LAPD officers back then chose the Beretta 92F instead of the Smith, but the latter gun still made its way into the duty holsters of L.A’s Finest, along with numerous other law enforcement agencies around the United States, including Chicago PD, Colorado State Patrol, and Puerto Rico PD.
Production of the M5906 ended in 1999.
Personal Shooting Impressions
I experienced the joys of shooting a rental Smith 5906 in March 1991 at the Los Angeles Gun Club in Downtown L.A. I appreciated the handsome look of the pistol, as well as the ergonomics, trigger pull in DA and single-action (SA) mode, and the high visibility Novak three-dot sights. Accuracy at 7 yards was good though not spectacular.
What really impressed me the most about the 5906 was how soft-shooting it was in terms of felt recoil and muzzle flip, even for a 9mm. Granted, the 9mm Parabellum cartridge is not a hard kicker to begin with — unless you’re using a higher-pressure loading such as the Federal +P+ 9BPLE 115-grain jacketed hollowpoint whose ballistics closely match that of the 110-grain .357 Magnum load — but out the 5906, it felt more like I was shooting a .22 LR. I fired a total of 50 rounds of the range’s full metal jacket reloaded ammo.
Impressions of Fellow L.E. Veterans
Some of my fellow law enforcement veterans who carried and fired the Smith 5906 more recently than 1991 were less than enthused about it. For instance, in 2006, when I was getting ready to transition from the military to civilian law enforcement, among the departments I applied with was St. Louis County PD. My recruiting officer informed me that her department was issuing the 5906 at the time, and that they were having breakage issues with the guns. In fairness, it should be noted that the SLCPD’s pistols were at least 17 years old at that point in time and were most likely nearing the end of their service life. As “Brad” (no surname given) of Sharpshooter Society noted in his review of the gun, “Don’t be surprised if most of the 5906s that you come across are heavily worn. These handguns often saw a lot of use due to the line of work they were in.”
Fast-forward four years to when I was going through the Criminal Investigator Training Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center en route to becoming an Immigration & Customs Enforcement Special Agent. One of my classmates was a former Honolulu PD officer who had carried the 5906 on-duty, and he spoke none too fondly of the piece.
Those above-listed complaints aside, most of the assessments of the Smith 5906 that I’ve heard or read have been positive.
Want Your Own?
True Gun Value states that “A SMITH 5906 pistol is currently worth an average price of $654.54 new and $567.69 used. The 12-month average price is $651.27 new and $625.33 used.” GunsAmerica currently shows three available. One is on the low end of the price scale at $650, while the other two are at the far opposite extreme of $1,100 and $1,300.
Author Expertise and Biography
Christian D. Orr has 33 years of shooting experience, starting at the tender age of 14. His marksmanship accomplishments include: the Air Force Small Arms Ribbon w/one device (for M16A2 rifle and M9 pistol); Pistol Expert Ratings from U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP); multiple medals and trophies via the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) and the Nevada Police & Fires Games (NPAF). Chris has been an NRA Certified Basic Pistol Instructor since 2011. In his spare time, he enjoys (besides shooting, obviously) dining out, cigars, Irish and British pubs, travel, USC Trojans college football, and Washington DC professional sports.
