Thanks to a very helpful source at Lew Horton Distributing this morning, I have been able to answer some lingering questions about production numbers of the Performance Center 9mm compact pistols collectively known as the "Shorty 9" series.

First, confirming what member jfd reported by Jinks letter in a separate post, the Performance Center "5906 PC-9" produced for Lew Horton's from late 1993 to 1994, with product code 170030 and alpha prefix PCV, totalled 611 pistols in the series PCV 0001- PCV 0611.

(These pistols were shipped in boxes labelled 5906 PC-9, despite the fact they were built on 6906-sized alloy frames with blued carbon steel slides, 3 1/2" barrels, fixed Novak rear sights, single-sided safeties, and the Performance Center features of Briley barrel bushings, oversize rails, and PC triggers. These are the pistols described on page 370 of the SCSW, and were not otherwise marked with model numbers on the pistol itself.)

Second, the other compact 9mm Performance Center for Lew Horton is what is called the Shorty 9 Mark III. Horton's records show it was produced and sold from 1995 to 1997, with product code 170067 and alpha prefix VPC. A total of 345 of these were built, with serial numbers VPC 0001-VPC 0345. Horton's records also show that the pistol was shipped with a Zippo lighter marked with the Performance Center logo.

(The SCSW appears to contain two different Performance Center listings that, together, accurately describe this single model. The first listing (p. 370) describes the "6906 Compact" with product code 170076 and alpha prefix VPC. The second (p. 368) describes the "Shorty 9 Mark III" with alpha prefix VPC, but with product code 170030, the one used for the original run of PVC pistols, and which cannot be correct.

(Taken together, the listings describe a 9mm, blued slide and natural alloy frame compact with ambidextrous safety, Novak adjustable Low Mount rear sights, and the Performance Center rails, bushing, and trigger. These also are the pistols that have the "Shorty9mm" etching on the front right of the slide, though some examples do not have this, presumably because the marking was removed or, possibly, was not on a particular pistol to begin with.)

The two listings in the SCSW of the same gun apparently are due to the pistol having been shipped in boxes labelled "6906 Compact" to correct the previous labelling used on the first run guns.

The SCSW does not list the 6906 Compact being a Lew Horton model, and Horton's records only show the Shorty 9 Mark III as having the product code 170076 and alpha prefix VPC. It therefore appears that the "Shorty 9" series is comprised of two models only -- the 5906 PC-9 and the Shorty 9 Mark III.

The Lew Horton rep will be emailing copies of some product literature on both of these that I'll post to the thread when I receive it.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Bump to the top -- questions answered!

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Very interesting! Looking forward to the letters.

Great info...... will have to cross reference mine and .......


print you post as an "insert" for my SCS&W

Excellent work sir! When it's complete we should definitely nominate it for sticky status.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

Thanks, Tim. I'll keep at it. In the meantime, I've passed along to skjos so if he wants, he can update his spreadsheet Complete Third Generation Performance Center Pistols, which has sticky status already. It's a fantastic resource; I use it often.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

NICE WORK CHIP!!!! Great info to have. Thanks for all of your tenacity and hard work.

You were a big help too, Jeff; I appreciate your contributions and helpfulness in this effort! Getting your Jinks letter for your PC-9 and the crucial information on your Shorty 9 Mark III box is what steered me in the right direction and documented for us all what had only been speculated up until now. You da man!

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Thanks vigil617 for doing the great work on this topic!

I never imagined there were that many Shorty 9's made. Best regards, 18DAI

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7 +1 Rounds of hope & change

We need some pictures in this thread that's so full of stats and words!

Here are a few I found online, in the public domain, that are posted here just to illustrate the differences between the Shorty 9s. EDIT: See also post #41.

First up, the 5906 PC-9 in what I am calling the "Mark I" configuration, assuming half or so of the original 611 pistols were set up this way. This is PCV 0099:

Model 5906 PC-9 PVC 0099_zpsh4vi06zz.JPG

Next, a 5906 PC-9 in what I think might be the "Mark II" configuration, the only difference being the black rear side of the magazine release button, instead of silver. (If you note any other differences, chime in!) This is PCV 0410.

Model 5906 PC-9 PCV 0410 right_zpse7zeib8x.JPG

And last but not least, the Shorty 9 Mk III. This is VPC 0027, not a great photo but one of the only ones I had -- and it doesn't show the front right slide where, on most of these, the "Shorty9mm" is inscribed:

Shorty 9 MkIII VPC 0027_zpspkqblzjy.JPG

And another, with its VPC prefix and correct product code 170067 confirmed separately, but serial number unpublished. This shows some of the MkIII models did not have the "Shorty9mm" inscription on the front right of the slide:

Shorty 9 MkIII VPC xxxx_zpsv4sjk0lh.JPG

The MkIII models shipped with a Zippo lighter engraved with the Performance Center logo. Might have looked like this, but I don't know the source of this particular Zippo:

Performance Center engraved Zippo lighter_zpsqb0vbcuk.JPG

Feel free to add photos of your own, especially MkIII models, or email them to me and I'll post them, keeping your identity confidential of course.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Note that Vigil's MarkIII photo of VPC0027, also shows a checkered front strap......

as does mine Serial# VPC0065; but mine does not have "Shorty9mm" marking on the right side of the slide!

I'll pull the other out of the safe and add info here..........[

Added; Like the picture above it is a reverse two-tone; PCV 0460 has a single sided safety, non checkered front strap, black magazine release button front and back ........ night sights.

It came to me used but anib; the box was lost at the LGS...... this is the one that came with 2PC 15 round mags along with one 12 round. ]

As a footnote; both of mine came with one 12 round PC marked magazine; additionally one had one PC marked 15 round magazine with the +2 adaptor the other had 2 15rd PC mags w/ the +2 adaptors.

Very nice work Vigil!

Thanks, Graham. I can now spot a Shorty 9 at 100 yards and tell you if it's a Mark I, Mark II, or Mark III!

Only trouble is, now I wants one.

I'll have to hold out for a Mark III, I guess -- if I can ever find one for a decent price. I like the "Shorty9mm" on the front...and the longer beavertail....the ambi safety/decocker...the adjustable sights....and the rarity....

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

My "Shorty" whatever........ has been one of my 2 highcap concealed carry guns since the mid 90s..... when I bought it from a good friend I got it as a shooter/carry gun....

Back then many.... OK .......an affluent few..... bought a new gun and sent it off to Novack, Wilson or whomever to be "rebuilt"......into what it "should be"....

I thought it was "cool" that S&W was building a semi- custom guns from "scratch"......

In the late 80s you had to buy a Smith for $400-500 then send it off to be chopped and improved into an ASP or Devel for another $1000-1200...... now Smith was offering the same guns at $1000 msrp .... or $700-800 OTD.

I was able to get a couple "used" ..... OK ....ANIB for $500-600.... and d--- it I was going to use and shoot them.......


At the time I was a "Shooter" not a collector/accumulator....... never even thought about how many were actually made...... always assumed a "few thousand" of each..... never thought that maybe only a few hundred were produced...... shot my SD-9 and carried ( still do) my "Shorty something" 9mm......

They are great guns..... lucky to have them!!!!!!!!!


It's a shame to have one and not shoot it......

This is my example. Note the box label doesn't reference "Shorty 9" but it most certainly is! It has the checkered front strap and adjustable rear sights. Came with two 12 round PC marked mags, little sight adjustment tool, allen wrench, trigger lock and paper work. Alas, no lighter.

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	Shorty 9 002.jpg (60.9 KB, 200 views)

Sorry about the lighter, Norm.

Seeing your box label, it's easy to understand why there was confusion about how to identify this model and what to call it, based on what was in the SCSW. "6906" on the label, and "9mm Compact" as the features description, and no reference anywhere to a "Mark III" or even a "Shorty 9". Wow.

But I guess all's well that ends well, and now it seems we've nailed the product code and the alpha prefix to these, for posterity.

Hey, just out of curiosity: on your rear sight, does it say "Novak" anywhere? Or perhaps, "LPA"? These are billed as being Novak Low-Mount adjustables, and they may be, but they do resemble LPA's.

Thanks for all your help on the project, too. I appreciate it!

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

The rear sights on my Shorty 9 are LPA marked, low profile adjustable? Same on my Shorty 40. Some came with fixed and others adjustable so a person could suit themselves I assume.

One thing I've learned over the years is that S&W isn't always consistent in the way they do things nor do they always know exactly what they've done in the past!

That's quite true, and since the LPA style rear sights were commonly installed on the Shorty 45 MkII and Shorty 40 MkIII and MKIIIS models, it stands to reason they would have been on the Shorty 9 MkIII like yours. I can't say that I have seen any Novak adjustables on the Shorty 9 models, so what's in the SCSW might have been taken from engineering specs that had later been changed in actual production.

Thanks!

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

[Boldface emphasis added] A good guess, Norm, but from what I've found online it appears "LPA Sights" is an Italian company that's been making sights since 1974. They never say on the website what the LPA letters mean, but they're bound to be some group of Italian words or initials, since LPA makes all different kinds of sights for handguns and long guns. There are a bunch of 'em on S&W semi-autos among the Third Gen PC models, that's for sure.

Novak, on the other hand, bills its product as "LoMount Carry" sights in a mix of fixed, adjustable, tritium, fiber optic, and more varieties.

Looks to me like Smith must have planned originally to use the Novak LoMount Carry adjustables on the Shorty 9 Mark III, but then later opted for the LPA brand.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Now this thread makes me wonder if those grips would fit on a CS9?

I am a little confused by the following product numbers: 170030 which is listed in the SCSW as the Shorty9 and 170067 which is listed as 9mm Compact. The photos in post 10 and 15 agree with the SCSW. Is it being stated that they are used somewhat interchangeably in the different runs and that some Shorty 9's are not marked as such?

Also the 9mm Recon has not been mentioned. As far as I can discern, it is identical to the Shorty 9, but with a fixed rear sight. They were numbered in the NRCxxxx series. They were marketed by RSR. Any idea as to how many were produced.

CJ, I don't think the two product codes for the Shorty 9's are used interchangeably. 170030 is for the 5906 PC-9, and 170067 is for the Shorty 9 Mk III. The SCSW was wrong about the Mk III's product number. The only thing that's curious is that so many of the Mk III examples don't have "Shorty9mm" marked on the right front of the slide. Was it a too-easily removed marking, or was it left off some of them at the factory, or was there some variation within the MkIII production run? I don't know.

What is clear is that the Shorty 9 -- the subject of the thread, since the 9 Recon was a different and several-years-later gun, though quite similar -- can be easily recognized by the rear sight from the factory.

The duo-toned 5906 PC-9 guns had fixed Novak sights from the factory, and the duo-toned Shorty 9 Mk III's had adjustable rear sights. Other differences in the guns are there, but less obvious unless photos can be examined closely.

The SCSW says the duo-toned 9 Recon was produced in 1999-2000 for RSR as an "enhanced" Shorty 9, and can easily be recognized by its "9 Recon" billboard and Hogue wraparound grips. It has a serial number of REC and product code 170140. I don't have any production numbers on them, but here's a picture that shows there were at least 164. (click to enlarge) And a dean of this Forum, Grinder, has reported in the past seeing up to #204.

Model 9 Recon NRC 0164.jpg

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the drift of the thread now and I agree with what you have said. However, I see the product code in Post 10 for the Shorty9 as 170030 and the pc in Post 15 for the compact as 170067, which do agree with the SCSW. That is part of my confusion.

I have both the Shorty9 and PC-9, but no boxes for either one.
The only differences between them as you pointed out are the rear sights, safety, color of the magazine plug and the Shorty9 has a longer beavertail.

The only "enhancement" I have noticed with the 9 Recon is the presence of forward serrations, everything else except the fixed rear sight is identical to the Shorty9.

My girlfriend has a 9 Recon and she'll be excited to know there are possibly only 204 total.

Great work and post Vigil617. I also talked to a Lew Horton rep for the 1st time this week on another subject He was very helpful and sent an email right away of the gun I was interested in with numbers produced etc.
They seem very willing to help those with questions about the older PC guns. This is helpful as it is much quicker than trying to get a letter from S&W plus it is free. There is only 1 Roy Jinks. There seem to be a bunch of Lew Horton reps.

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

Thanks, Bliss. The rep at Lew Horton with whom I have corresponded is actually also a member here on the Forum. With his permission, since as he says, looking up the information on Horton's "special order" guns is part of the fun of his job, he said he would be fine with being contacted by any others. His name is Earl Minot ([email protected]) and his handle here is ERMinot.

Earl, once again, I really appreciate your help and your friendly, informative, and prompt correspondences with me on this project!

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

CJ, I probably contributed to that confusion by referring to both pistols collectively as "Shorty 9" pistols. That's the way they seem to come to have been known today. Both the 5906 PC-9 and the 6906 Compact/Shorty 9 Mark III are known as "Shorty 9" pistols. In post 10, the box for the PC-9 shows the 170030 product code and the features description "Shorty Nine", and while neither of the Mark III's that are pictured has a box label with it, the information on both of these pistols was confirmed separately as having product code 170067, and some of these are marked as "Shorty9mm" on the right front of the slide. Their boxes, though, don't have the words "Shorty Nine" on them, as shown in lhump's post of his pistol and box. Does that help?

Your girlfriend has excellent taste in pistols! I'm glad we could shed some light on those for her. It's quite possible there aren't many of these, and they're fine, Performance Center products. The forward serrations were a feature of the 40 Recon and 45 Recon as well, which were RSR pistols too. One great thing on all three of those, too, that was an enhancement was that the ambi lever is a spring-loaded decocker, based on the SCSW description as well as conversation on here from owners of these.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Thanks, that did help a lot. My PC-9 is #301 and has the frame colored magazine plug, so I take it to be a "Mark I".

Many Thanks for the great information.

Thanks for all the great information. A very informative thread.

This thread really helped me identify the pistol I got recently, it's one of the 611!!! Awesome find!!!!!

I have a two tone pistol with a 3-1/2 inch barrel, the pistol box is labeled as a Model 5906, Shorty 9, serial number PCV0028, Product Code 170030. The factory letter shows the gun shipped to Lew Horton on Oct 29, 1993, total production was 611 units, serial number PCV0001 TO PCV0611. I hope this helps.

Now have the lighter...package complete.

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DSCN2044.jpg (98.3 KB, 78 views)

Too cool!

Where'd you find the lighter? That's a needle-in-a-haystack kinda thing, isn't it?

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Maybe needle in a hay field! I'd never seen another that I recall (or I would have bought it) until this one popped up on fleabay a while back. I've seen pics of the PC lighter with the Shorties before so I knew it was the correct lighter (many S&W lighters out there) in the correct box in mint condition...soooo there it is. I felt lucky to come across it.

edit: I'm not sure these weren't available outside of the Shorties but since they were shipped with some of 'em I figured it fit.

Both mine are from the early production run and did not include the lighter.
Second pic below (three M14's) shows one of the lighters discussed above, which I purchased years later, so I'm pretty sure they were available via S&W as an accessory.

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.............SmithNut

Smithnut never ceases to amaze ..................................

I have always had a "thing" for the Shorty 9 and the Model 39. One day..

I would assume they used LPA adjustable sights on the MK 3 Shorty 9's.
I can tell you for certain that some of the MK 3 Shorty .40's came with LPA adjustables because mine did and I have seen one more first hand that is new in the box unfired that did.
My MK3 Shorty .40 and both of the Mk 3 Shorty .40's I have seen have a #3 not the roman number III on the slide BTW. My Browning Highpower's used the roman designation as did my Ruger .22 for the different Mark series but the .40 Shortys did not so would assume all the shorties did not.
Small detail but historically important.

The .356TSW version....truly a 9mm (9x21.5) is virtually identical. I had mine reconfigured at the Performance Center with a Briley bushing 9x19 extended barrel to allow "silence". 3566 Shorty 170027, Aug 1993


http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/{7C26EA72-BE3C-4DCC-AAC4-5922B7D48411}

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Terry
SWCA, SWHS, IWLA, NRA

Not sure if this is the right spot as someone just sent me the link to this. I have 2 of these brand new in the box I am looking to get rid of. PM me for details.

Old thread, I know, but I finally found a good photo of the Shorty 9 MkIII showing the right front slide marking. This is VPC 0236, product code 170067, and as you can see, its box was labeled as a "6906" and "9mm Compact".

SHorty 9 MkIII VPC showing front of slide logo.jpg

Shorty 9 VPC 0236 box with label.jpg

Shorty 9 MkIII front of slide logo.jpg

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

By the way, there is a Shorty 9 in the "Mark I" configuration for sale right now on another site. The gun looks very nice, though it doesn't have the original box, and the price is not bad considering what these usually go for. I'm not a 9mm guy, or I'd be all over it. If you are interested, PM me and I will give you the information. It's not my gun or anyone I know, and I have no interest in the sale other than as a fellow Forum member who'd like to see a nice Shorty 9 in another member's hands.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Great info all around. I have recently taken some interest in this gun and it's manufacture history since I have been the owner of one since new. I was a fan of the 6906 series S&W and had carried one for a few years. In fact, my first 9mm purchase was the S&W 469 which came out before the 6906 and may of been considered the first high capacity (at that time) compact 9.

I purchased my Shorty 9 back in '94 and up until this thread didn't know as much about it as I do now. I knew that it was a Lew Horton run, and knew all the information about it such as is listed in the picture above posted by Smithnut of the brochure. The hand fitting, match barrel, assembled together, trigger, titanium barrel bushing, yadda, yadda.

I never knew the true production run numbers though and didn't know there was more than one series run. I vaguely recall that the total numbers were in the 900 range and I think I got that from a S&W rep years ago after taking a spill on a motorcycle while carrying it and slightly damaging the slide / frame (gun still functions perfectly). I had called to see if they could repair.

A slightly funny if not stupid story: A buddy has the shorty 40, he's out in the garage doing something with his bike, leaves the gun on the back bumper of his truck while working. Has to run to the parts store and recalls the gun on the bumper while going down Westhiemer in Houston (an 8 lane wide blvd). Stops, the gun isn't there for course, goes back, sees it in the road, parks, runs to get it just as two cars run it over... thunk! thunk!... thunk! thunk! AHHHH!!!!

Can't even work the action on it. Calls S&W and they say "send it in, we'll see what we can do." It comes back perfect! Like NIB! I scratch up the slide and frame on the front right side, action still works perfectly and they tell me "Nothing we can do." WHAT??!! Oh well, it works and I've lived with it as a motorcycle tank bag carry gun and occasional CCW. I bet I don't have 800 rounds through it though.

So, I'm off track a bit here, but I think I've found someone that might be able to somewhat repair the gun. Some tig welding and recoating. We'll see. I'll post up some pics and if anyone has an idea what I could do to get this thing back to looking new, or knows someone that does that type of work, that would be nice to know. I've always loved this gun, a factory hot rod of the 6906. Just wish now I had taken better care of it instead of having it as a CCW duty gun for a few years. Started looking around for another one, found one that was NIB that sold last year on Gunbroker for $1900. Yeow! Don’t know about that, but wouldn’t mind having one in ANIB condition.

I still have the factory box, the two PC marked mags that came with it, the paper they were all in and the label. My label also states 5906 (which I don't think I ever really noticed), serial PCV04XX and product code 170030, but lists the gun as a Shorty 9 which differs with the information above I think. Thanks for all the info on production numbers. Great info!

Pictures of the gun and damage. Again, if anyone knows someone that can heal this thing up, please let me know.

Thanks,

Thanks for sharing, Inlaw1, and welcome to the S&W Forum!

A Shorty 9 with road rash!

I understand your desire to fix it up cosmetically, but since the gun still performs perfectly, I think the scrapes give it some true character. Also they are a testimony to a well-built pistol with the scars to prove it!

Looks like yours is what I called the "Mark II" version with the black-backed slide release button and in the PCV 04xx series, it would have been the latter part of that group of pistols. How nice that you still have the original PC mags and the labelled box too.

Glad the thread provided information that was helpful. You're right that some of these guns are going for high prices on GB if they're in outstanding condition with all the bells and whistles. They can be had for less under the right circumstances if you're ever looking for another one to go with your Purple Heart gun!

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

I like the way you think! A little "patina" to go with that Shorty?

If I could find one in ANIB condition, for the right price, I would like to get another. I'm starting to peruse the sale boards to see what may pop up. Been looking for a Para P12 Limited also to go with the Para P12 I bought the same day I bought this Shorty. No luck there so far.

Thanks for the reply. And again, if anyone knows someone that may want to tackle the cosmetic repair of this gun, I'd be interested in a contact.

Can we resurrect an old thread here?

I've recently acquired a shorty 9 and I'm curious about what sights would have come on the gun? I've requested a Lew Horton letter I don't know if this will be so spfic as to sights... in my readings I've found it can be 2 possibly 3 options.. the LPA Adjustable sights the standard low mount white dot sights, and the biggest one in question is the Novax low mount Adjustable sights.

How does one find out what the gun originally had? And what MK it is ?

P.S. the gun currently has trijicon night sights..

Erocksmash, I can't speak to the Trijicon sights issue, but I can speculate about which "Mark" your Shorty 9 is. Based on the serial number, I would guess it is a "Mark II," and you could confirm this yourself by looking at the right side of the pistol and seeing if the back of the mag release button is black. That's the only difference I had noted in pictures of the two that distinguished one from the other. Keep in mind also that the terms "Mark I" and "Mark II" were my own, as only the "Mark III" had that official designation in the name from Smith & Wesson. (Just like the Shorty 40s.)

The reason the serial number is a guess is that there were 611 total of the "Mark I" and "Mark II" pistols, and we don't know exactly how that number broke down between the two. I hope perhaps your letter from Lew Horton will help nail that down, and if it does, please add that information to this thread for "posterity."

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Yes sir, I absolutely will update the post ... the last owner has noted that the night sights were added in 2016, as to what was on that before??? Nobody knows...

Honestly would like to bring it back to its orgional configuration, hopefully the Lew Horton letter will elaborate.

Vigil617, confirmed by BMCM that the back of the mag release button is black so back to not knowing what Mk it is... hopefully the letter will tell.

Some pictures for the thread, still nothing from Lew Horton...

Hope I get the letter before the closing

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This is the way....