Picked up this well loved 40 cal performance center from the Uncle Ted Auction last weekend. I have seen several shorty 40's and a few of the Lew Hortons , I have never seen one like this . Anybody have any idea's besides just a straight up custom order ? its the 4006 size , extended mag release , and the barrel porting looks a 100 percent factory .

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A Recon is the closest thing but with the PCZ serial prefix, it may be something they did just this one of. That decock lever is something I’ve never seen, the way it’s all dished out in the middle. The Bomar rear sight is an interesting choice for what is set up more like a duty gun.

The script on the slide is also extremely odd. It’s a neat pistol. I can say that I’ve seen MANY from the Performance Center but not one like this. Pretty cool.

The PCZ serial number prefix pretty much nails it down as a non cataloged item from the Performance Center, either as a "one off" proof of concept prototype or part of a pre-production sample run to show to distributors to drum up sales interest.

It certainly has an interesting conglomeration of parts... the oversized mag release and rear sight looks like they fell off a 945-1.

I have a 4006 IDPA model made by the Performance Center with a PCZ prefix. From the information I was able to glean, there were 4 of these that were sent to Lew Horton, mine was one of the four (verified by Lew Horton - Earl Minot).

The 4006 IDPA was to be the "kissing cousin" to the successful 5906 IDPA, except... .40S&W in not a popular round for shooting IDPA and interest was insufficient to warrant production.

I did a factory letter on my gun, other than when it was shipped to Lew Horton, there was not any other significant info.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Anyone else notice the lack of a model number? I agree, this may be a one of a kind pistol, possibly a proof of concept or experimental piece. Something like this deserves to be cared for and you might be well advised to pay S&W the $100 for a letter of authenticity.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I agree that it mostly resembles a Recon.

plantmonkey,
Is the lever on the slide a hammer drop safety or a spring-loaded de-cocker?

Half of the Performance Center's autoloaders do not have model numbers on the frames.

If you look at a Recon 45 or Shorty 45 nowhere is it marked 4513, Shorty 40s are not marked 4006, etc.

Traditionally, if the gun has a NAME, no model number is on the frame


Call customer service and ask for the product code for the firearm in question. Then ask if the serial number before it and after it are the same product code.

So it is pretty easy to tell if the gun is a one-off, but if the before and/or after product codes match, it is very hard to tell how many there were without some information that could be in a Factory letter.

On a tool room sample or a one off, do not worry that the product code assigned to that serial number describes another model. The Factory does not assign unique Product Codes to tool room samples. For example, my Titanium SIGMA's product code says it is a two-tone

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"Acta non verba"

It’s quite possible that there was a private buyer who put in a special order for this model. A few employees like the concept and decided to make a few extra. With no association to the original Special Order, these extras needed a prefix and their were given the PCZ prefix.

I would say that there are others.

Does it have a steel or aluminum frame?

Joe

After another look at the photo, I think it’s aluminum. Up and down serrations, not checkered. Though there was a few steel frames that had just up and down serrations.

In the 92-93-94 era, the Dept I headed was issuing 5906s, all bought in a group before 1990. These autos started to failure to eject at an alarming rate. My armorers were getting nowhere with Smith & Wesson. I sent a message to every police department in the USA asking about similar problems. Lo and behold, we were not the sole location with a similiar issue. I shared the results of my survey with S&W and stated we were seeking a replacement handgun that would NOT be a S&W but would probably be 40 caliber. Suddenly we were undated with factory techs and regional representatives. One of their sales/regional reps had a firearm similiar to the blued one above. Two of my firearms instructors and I retired to the range with a case (1000 rd) of 40. Not surprizingly, the look a like ran like a Swiss watch. In a later conversation with the regional rep, he let me know that the blued look a lik was limited production and would not be produced to outfit a whole dept but would be "made avaiiable" to a ranking officer or two that ordered 4013, 4066, or 4006s. At that time no explanation of the failures to eject had been made.

I was dismayed at what I saw as very questionable ethics and said no thanks. We soon bought Beretta 96s had no problems with them. I later learned that a number of depts had a contact from factory service folks had with new ejection springs to replace a a bad batch from a parts supplier. Sorry for the long post.

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SWCA 3417 HF 642 NRA-TC

Decock lever seems to be the same as the one in the 3566 Limted with two slides. Also the rear sight seem to be the same...

link to the thread (by colt_saa)
3566 Limited

The Safety is a Hammer drop and its a steel frame , thanks all

Thank you for the answer. It appears my guess was wrong.

Joe

Ok, 4006 full size steel frame similar to that of the PCD 40 tactical and PCE 40 comp. Both had up and down serrations on the front grip of frame and not checkered.

Shorty Forty 4006 compact aluminum frame has checkered serrations. SD(compact) and Limited(full), both checkered and steel. I don’t think PC made a full size aluminum 40 frame, did they?

Joe

Dear lord another odd duck .40 PC nonetheless, I love it !

The script reminds me of some guns that were half PC kinda production guns that went to the PC for a trigger job or something and marked as PC....

This is a wild one, certainly looks like a PC gun and everything as such, ill also agree with the above that sound like a bunch of fellas said hey let's make our own up....

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This is the way....

Good point about the script. S&W added some script and “PC” to some pistols that were definitely not real PC guns, I have no damn idea what they were thinking with those. This one here is absolutely PC, the serial prefix and Briley bushing ensure that.

More than anything, I wanna know what the heck is the story behind the oddball dished decock lever? Colt_saa, you have one of these levers, what is the deal?

Maybe this is a one of one pistol that was made up of leftover parts. Or maybe a one of one from someone’s special order that was their dream gun.

I’ve never seen anything like it. Tough to say with no model number and with the PCZ prefix. It would be interesting to see what’s to come.

Joe

The gun certainly looks used, also front sight is a NS, maybe an after thought by the Original owner...

The barrel "comp" looks significantly deeper than and further forward than the recon.45s.(the only one I ever had so maybe not a good compare)

It's such a shame that this um let me say "relm" doesn't exist today in this very market(we all have our opinions of today's S&W), with all the hand fit guns available now its crazy that S&W is not in the game, but I digress...

What do we know ? At the very least in close comparison 3/4 DPA4006s were made ? Maybe leftover parts? I did see a pcz 4006 pc maybe a dpa? sell a year or so ago at auction and that was all black!

How come in today's information filled era we have non on these guns ?

We are not at all likely to get more info either unless someone has Tom Gordon as a friend, or literally knows someone else that actually worked hand in hand with those guys.

I’ll bet a beer that the kids working at S&W right now don’t have access to any records that will tell them specifics and it’s long ago established that nobody there has the knowledge base or experience to comment on these.

I'll bet you a beer and a wisky that you ask one of thoes "kids" don't know nothing about a 4006 or a PC 4006

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This is the way....

Wasn’t the Uncle Ted’s auction Ted Nugents? Was personal or collected things auctioned off? Could this have been his personal?

More to come about the pistol shortly.

Joe

Some info to add... "This looks to me like a "one of" that someone in the PC put together for a friend. This gun seems a bit conflicted with target rear sight and oversized mag release but a DA/SA trigger that would suggest a duty gun, also no magwell. The beat up finish on the SS frame looks like the inhouse blackening, "Black Magic", that doesn't hold up well vs melonite. The recessed de cocker is just a quick custom touch. That lever is same as on single action pistols and may not provide decock function, only hammer block. The PCZ prefix says it is generic gun not anything built for a distributor. Kind of a "Frankengun" to me. It was not a part of the PC model mainstream. I'm sure it is a good shooter and was properly fitted the same way all others were, just an unofficial special built as a favor for someone."

Joe

Lot number 244,

TED NUGENT COLLECTION AUCTION | Burley Auction Group, Inc.

Joe

I wonder if I can reach out to Mr.Nugent and get some deets on her!?

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This is the way....

Well this thread just got a lot more interesting... if the covered up last number of the OP's gun serial number is a zero, it's the gun from the auction.

It would not surprise me at all, that's it's a "one off" that someone he knew at S&W said, "Hey Ted, I've got one for you.... since you collect/accumulate guns".

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

It is very much the one from the Auction , and from the personal collection

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Wow... have you tried asking the auction house if they know or can contact Nugent to get the backstory on the gun?

This could be worthwhile having a factor letter done... but it's a toss up too. When I lettered my PCZ prefixed 4006 IDPA, all I got was a synopsis of the 4006 model, when and where it was shipped to, and the comment "The company records do not provide good history on the newer units".

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222