Does anyone have experience with changing fixed rear sight on the 2nd gen. 659 to Novak adjustable rear as found on a 3rd gen. 5906.? Novak says the front sight MUST be cut off and dovetail cut for new front sight change to make the gun accurate. Factory front sight is part of the slide and will make the gun shoot very high.. Maybe Novak is not the answer. Any suggestions... ?? I would like to keep front sight factory. Thanx

In this case, Novak is correct.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Check on LPA. I know they make a rear for gen 3's that doesn't require a new front sight.

How can Novak be correct when Novak says no..

What is LPA..???

Correct in stating that it's a no-go.....

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Thank you...I read it wrong...thought u ment Novak is the correct sight.....

LPA is a sight maker. Website is here:
Production sights and rear sights for sale over the world

It is a brand of replacement sights. Google is your friend.

We have some terminology getting mixed up here.

Most 3rd Gens with fixed rear sights have a Novak (the earliest 3rd Gen pistols had a standard fixed rear exactly like the 2nd Gen fixed sight your 659 has now)

The ADJUSTABLE sight that was available for the 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen pistols is not a Novak sight and it requires an extremely large cut at the rear of the slide to install. It would be a very long route to use that OEM adjustable sight from S&W to get what you want.

If you would rather avoid any labor associated with drifting out the original sight and drifting in a replacement LPA or similar aftermarket sight, a fine option would be to find a replacement top half... either a 2nd or 3rd Gen would work, already configured with the original S&W adjustable sight. It needn't be ANY particular model, simply a 9mm top end should work.

Price on such an item can vary wildly. A place like Numrich would have the upper end on a price, but these top ends appear on Gunbroker a lot.

Stevens,
From what I understand from research, members here on this board have stated that a 5906 3rd Gen. slide will not fit a 659 2nd Gen frame.. am I wrong in my thinking ?? Thanx...

Sorry.. SEVENS... Not Stevens.. Sticky key..

Haha, well I can't say that I have tried it. I can tell you that you cannot use a 1st Gen and 2nd Gen and mate them as the 2nd (and 3rds) use a firing pin lock and have a milled area to accommodate that.

Functionally, the 2-3rd Gens are the same. Barrels are different as the full size 2nd Gens use a removable bushing while the 3rd is pressed in place.

Let me just say that if I get a chance this weekend, I'll try doing some swaps with my 2-3rd Gens. I'll report back if I can and if I learn anything.

Sevens:
Thank you for all your help regarding my question regarding the use of a 3rd gen slide on a 2nd gen. frame, especially the idea of trying the actual swap.. Thank You AGAIN for your help.
I have found that the prices of a used 2nd gen slide with oem adjustable rear sights is a little less than 1/2 the price of a decent 659.. LPA adjustable rear sights are approx. $95.00 ....do you know anyone who might have a 2nd gen. slide for sale.?? Best: George K.

Okay, I attempted a swap today. Took my 2nd Gen Model 639 and swapped top ends with my mid-90's 3rd Gen 5906.

Both slides fit nicely on each different frame. Both felt perfectly fine & predictable on each pistol. The one operational difference that I found immediately was that the slide stop cutout on the left side of the 3rd Gen slide was longer than the cutout on the 639 slide.

An empty magazine in each frame would happily lock the slide back as expected. And thumbing down the slide stop with the mag out was not a problem. However... pulling out the magazine and sling-shotting the slide when using the later 3rd Gen/5906 slide on the 639 frame would not engage and push down the slide stop.

If I get another free minute I'll see if I can try another 2-3rd Gen swap and report again.

Sevens,
Thank you for your experiments on slide install and fit... Any help is appreciated... I will wait until you try again.... I'm grateful for your belp....
Best:George K.

Okay, now today I picked two different participants and got a different result.

I went further apart in production. A TAR54xx S&W Model 659 for a 2nd Gen and a very late production 5906, a VJB-prefix with the laser etched lettering and logo on the left side of the pistol. So figure an early 80's 659 with a mid-2000's 5906.

The 3rd Gen slide seemed to be built to tighter specs and simply would not start on the 659 frame. I couldn't even fake being a gunsmith but it seemed as if the cuts in the newer slide were simply too shallow for the slightly taller frame rails of the 659 to enter them. I would try to describe it this way:

If I actually -WERE- a skilled guncrafter, I think this might be a decent couple of parts to mate because it was going to take fitting of both before they would agree to work together.

Almost expected... the much older 659 top end did fit on the much newer 5906 frame, but it definitely didn't feel as tight, smooth or "proper" as it's own slide did.

My only other two 2nd Gens are 745's and I don't own a 4506 to try a swap. So unless I try to mix the other pistols from my previous post, I guess the test ends here.

I have an early model 639, fixed sights, round trigger guard. I bought a complete top end off of ebay from a 5906 which has adjustable sights. Sent it to Doc44 for a rework and it functions great on the 639, so it can be done. I am not sure what all Doc had to do to it, but it works.

__________________
Expect no quarter.

Sevens, I am in the midst of mating a 69xx (or 594x) SS slide (the serial number or production date unknown) with a M5906 frame (SN prefix = VCT), in pursuit of essentially the same goal as stated below; this mucker's intent being to produce a hi-capacity but shorter, or more compact pistol on at least one plane of the three which generally play a role in concealment.

Although I've regularly broken down and reassembled first-through-third generation S&W pistols this is my first, um, well, compilation (such word being used in the stead of another which is found, "upon further review," to have earned multiple asterisks in the place of individual English alpha code).

Today has been yet another day of research (among which discovered and recognizing as well as now heeding the advisability of not mixing MIM late-model parts with forged and, of course, necessarily hand fitted prior-generation parts (so I'll go all S&W MIM from my parts bins).

In the pursuit of that and whatever other knowledge (believe me, there are "others" but the list is long and the day of all involved, short) came many and cogent thoughts from a member we all know and love: "sevens."

Way too cool!

Later.

Haha, I almost went to Babelfish to sort that out but there is no setting for "wordsmith" so I just read it four times... slowly... Heh.

Much thanks!

I thank you all for your knowledge and time put forth on this matter..
I think the easiest way to solve the adjustable rear sight change is to buy a LPA sight, remove the fixed sight, install the new LPA adjustable sight and be done with it....Another possibility is a purchase of a second Gen 2 slide with adjustable rear OEM sight. It's all about the $$$...
Best to all: George K.
Thanx again....

As an owner of multiple first-through-third generation Smith & Wesson semi-autos - and at long-ago times dumb enough to try things like an improper sight switch - I am wit Sevens.

Later.