I bought the replacement barrel and I was surprised at how different it was than the barrel that came in my 5906tsw. My pistol’s serial number starts with VJC and was made in 2001. The barrel has grooves along the sides of the feed ramp, and the cut to accept the guide rod is very shallow.

In contrast, the new production barrel doesn’t have the grooves on the side, and the cut to accept the guide rod is much deeper. Idk if this is a tolerance issue or an intentional engineering choice, but when the newer barrel is in the slide, it’s much easier to reassemble the pistol, and less downward pressure is required on the firing pin safety lever and sear release lever to pass the slide over them.

There are other smaller differences too, like 9mm vs 9mm Parabellum, and what may be a different finish (or it may just be the result of 18 years of wear).

I’ll be sure to post pictures later.