The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is the largest state police agency in the nation and they have begun the 2.5 to 3 year process of switching over their 2006-2007 era 4006TSW to the M&P Gen 1 platform. As the 4006TSW’s are replaced they will become available for public purchase, with the first batch of pistols being offered in June 2017.




4006TSW (CHP) Features
Integral rail – in lieu of the riveted on rail used by most 4006TSW's, the CHP specified an integral rail.

Decock-only safety lever (spring loaded) – this keeps the firearm in a ready to fire state. The decocker body is unique in that it does not have a hole for the safety lever plunger/spring. Instead, the body has an indent on the far side that a plunger installed under the rear sight clicks into. If the decocker lever spring ever fails the decocker can be manipulated to operate as a manual safety.



Bobbed hammer – this prevents thumb cocking, and was specified as a safety measure to reduce negligent discharges by inadequately trained officers.

No trigger play spring - reduces maintenance associated with replacing a non-essential part of the trigger mechanism, and eliminates the potential for a malfunction caused by broken spring debris.



Scalloped front strap - if a magazine failed to drop freely the scallop at the bottom of the front strap could be used to manually strip the magazine from the pistol.

Machined barrel recess - this feature is machined just forward of the feed ramp and seems unique to the CHP pistols; its purpose is unclear at this time.



Magazine disconnect - the trigger will not operate the hammer unless the magazine is installed. This safety feature can reduce negligent discharges, and can be used to disable the firearm if there is a risk of losing it during a physical confrontation.

Non-alloy recoil guide rod - increase guide rod robustness and service life.

No night sights - To remedy this odd omission on a duty gun, many officers would place photo luminescent paint on the front sight and charge it during low light patrols by blasting it with a flashlight while the pistol was holstered.

Unique serial number - All pistols have a CHPxxxx serial number. A forum member who works within the CHP as a gunsmith reported that the serial number range is CHP1018 – CHP908A. However, a serial number has been observed slightly below this range (CHP1009).



Earlier CHP serial numbers were used on guns like this limited edition CHP 1006.



Typical TSW Features:



Convertible slide - pistol can be converted between TDA and DAO by swapping the trigger, hammer, and sear release. Not 100% sure this can be done with a spring-loaded decocker.

Loaded chamber indicator - a small hole in the back of the barrel hood allows for visual confirmation of a loaded round.

Tighter frame-to-slide fit - the frame and slide were produced as a matched set. The tighter tolerances reduce the amount of vertical slide movement during recoil, reduces friction, prolongs pistol life, increases accuracy and reliability.

Reversible magazine catch - magazine catch can be orientated on either side of the pistol to accommodate left and right handed shooters.

Oversize frame and slide rails - increased robustness relative to the pistol's non-TSW counterpart.

Delayed lock time – this keeps the barrel and slide together longer reducing stress applied to the frame, extending the gun’s life and producing less felt recoil.


History
The Smith and Wesson initial contract with CHP was for 9,736 units, with deliveries to take place over a 1.5 year period starting in June of 2006. The CHP paid $683 per unit, but received a $170 credit for each of the older (early 1990’s) 4006 turned in.

There was some controversy over the no-bid contract awarded to S&W. SigArms had a competing bid to replace the agency’s weapons with the Sig P229 for 40% less than what was granted to S&W.



The first 3,000 guns delivered were reworked to replace the sear, and there was some quality control issues noted on the first deliveries including failure to feed and the slide locking back prior to the last round, these were resolved with updated springs.


Parts List



Part Commonality
The following list shows those parts that are common with other 4006 models. This is strictly based on Smith and Wesson part numbers, other parts may be compatible.



Ready to Purchase?
A large number of the 9,736 to 9,900* units will become available to the public during the transition, however those past their serviceable life or purchased by agency officers will reduce the overall quantity (thread CHP 4006TSW post #50 suggested approximately 5,250 were purchased by officers). This may seem like a lot of pistols, however it is a fraction of the total number of 4006’s produced and only one of four models with an integral frame rail, the others being 4566TSW, 5906TSW, and 5946(-M).

*The original order was for 9,736 pistols, but the reported serial number range indicates around 9,900 pistols.


The following pictures illustrate what you can expect to receive; I ordered three pistols so this should be a good representation of the average condition. None of these pistols were cleaned, they are exactly as I received them.

Packaging:


Left Side:


Right Side:


Barrel Wear, including a manufacturing anomaly at the end of the barrel. The CHP received many of the barrels with this irregularity, it does not impact the function of the pistol:

CHP4082


Hammer mark on the frame:




Magazines (five of nine marked "RESTRICTED: EXPORT, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND GOVERNMENT USE ONLY", three of nine had numbers inked on the back - I assume this is an unofficial means of tracking the magazines).

You may receive a magazine with a red bottom, this indicates it was used for live fire training; black bottom magazines were used for patrol duty and cycled yearly:





These pistols are currently going for a great price, and I would anticipate that they will appreciate once the supply has dried up. If you have any additional information please share it and I will update this post. Thanks to those who have help me make updates to this post, especially those within the CHP.