6906 with Intermittent trigger issues

Hi Gang,

I have a 6906 I purchased a while back as a replacement for a 469 that was stolen back in November, 2009. The 469 was a great little gun. I had 0 issues with anything for thousands of rounds. No FTF, FTE, Failures of any type. I thought these little pistols were the Holy Grail!

Then I got this 6906 as a replacement. Decided to go stainless this time around. I thought I had heard some scuttle years back that the newer pistols were made to NOT work with older generation magazines. I spoke to a service rep at S&W and they claimed, "No, that is not true, ALL S&W 469, 669, 6904 and 6906 mags work in ALL models". Good enough, right from the manufacturer's mouth.

When I got the gun to the range, I immediately had trigger issues. The gun would shot a round or two, and then, with loaded chamber, and hammer in cocked position, the trigger would act as thought it had been "disconnected"! At first, I thought, maybe the stories are true, and I need to restrict my mag choice to JUST later model mags. I tried a number of different mags and slowly discovered that it was not the mags from what I could tell that were causing the issue. In fact, I STILL don't know what is causing the issue!?

Some mags will run a whole 12 rounds with NO failures to fire. Others times (no relations to the mag itself) the gun will shoot a round, then have this "trigger disconnect" issue. I have to drop the mag, clear the round, load the chamber from the reinserted mag, fire a round, have another "trigger disconnect" and repeat the process. I have had the SAME mag fire a 12 round string, then I would reload the mag, and find that I had this trigger disconnect trouble!

Sometimes it will do it a few times, and then fire the remainder of rounds just fine. Sometimes it will do it almost every other round. The first round will always fire from a chambered round, but then the subsequent round will have all the appearances of being in the ready to fire mode (chamber loaded, hammer cocked, trigger forward) but the trigger "goes limp" on me and actuates NOTHING! It acts as though the mag is out of the pistol, but the mag is in the pistol and seated.

I have been looking over the threads and have seen no one with this similar issue. A buddy suggested disabling the magazine disconnect, but I don't think that is the problem? Anyone have any ideas, or should I just call S&W and send it to them.

My confidence is now shaken on an otherwise fine gun. I miss that 469. I would stake my life on the 469. I can not trust this 6906 right now. Is there something between the first Gen and these Gen 3's that causes issues?

Perplexed.

The magazine catch could be worn (or simply out of specifications), thus permitting the ejector-depressor to engage the disconnector 'fingers' a bit too early. The disconnector could be out of spec. or damaged. The 'tail' of the disconnector could have been bent slightly down or crooked when someone substituted brute force for finesse on reassembly. S&W should be able to diagnose and fix the problem if it is beyond your comfort zone.

I would first hold the ejector-depressor down with the slide off and an empty magazine inserted, then slowly allow the magazine to move down in the well to check the disconnector function. Partially pull the trigger in DA mode while doing this to see when the disconnect actually engages. Do not allow the hammer to slam against the frame if you try this - it could peen the front of the frame's hammer opening.

If you are comfortable with a detail strip and have access to the correct parts, a careful comparison with your pistol's relevant parts might show you the problem. Then, it becomes a simple matter of replacing the offending part. Test fire for confirmation. If the magazine catch is OK, but the magazine is still too low, the frame may be defective - back to S&W.

Hope this helps...

Welcome to the forum. I cannot help you but if you ask this in the gunsmithing section there will be plenty of help for you.

Thanks for the help guys. That was fast! I am sorry if I have placed this question in the wrong section. I am not the best "forum" member. Not really sure of all the rules that govern proper placing of questions, issues, observations, etc. Could this thread be moved into Gunsmithing? Should it be moved?

I will try the mag and disconnector observation, but at this point, sounds like I should just send it to S&W. They have all the right tools, knowledge and replacement parts. I hope they can restore my confidence in these little guns. I do like the "envelope". Not much on the market I consider in the same category.

Almost considered one of those really compact Glocks, but I already know I like the fit of this Smith in my hands over the Glock. And I do own a Glock, just not a compact version. Have a model 31. Great gun, but doesn't carry as well as the 6906 for me. Thanks for your help!

Guns are like any mechanical devices out there, things can break and malfunction (even Glocks break on occasion). Overall the 6906 is a very reliable pistol, but it sounds like yours needs to take a trip to S&W. They can make it right.

I am getting that impression. I appreciate the collective knowledge that is present. Thought this might be a reoccurring occurrence, but it looks like most 6906 owners are very happy like I was with my 469! A call to S&W will be on my list for Monday. Thanks all!

I am certainly no expert on gun repair, but as was said above it could be an issue with the magazine disconnect. Also, you might want to have the trigger draw bar checked. I had a 6906 break during a range qualification, mercifully, and it would not actuate the hammer at all. Just a sort of mushy feeling, and a clicking sound. The armorers detail stripped it and found a crack in the metal at the rear corner of the trigger drawbar. The drawbar was stainless steel, apparently became brittle, and cracked. It was replaced with a blue steel one, and no other problems were encountered. This was one of the early generation 6906's with the squared trigger guard. Just something to consider. Regards, SR78

Smith Model 469 Ambi Safety removal Help !

Hello , Im new to the Forum, like what Im reading. A lot of good info. So a pleasure jumping aboard.
While Im here, Reguarding the Mod, 469 ! Can anyone describe to me how to remove the Ambi Safety from the slide ? I need to replace it.
Thanks !

once you get it ship shape you'll love it. my first smith was a stainless early model 6906. was carried by a local police detective since he bought it brand new in the early 90's . when i turned 18 and got my CCW he gifted it to me and said it kept him safe for a number of years. i still have it and cherish it as my first semi-auto.i carry it from time to time and have had 9 years of reliability with it

I'm with MWB on this one.
I bought a Promag for a 469 I had...( I know...BAD move! ).
Any way, It worked fine in the 469.
Then I sold the 469 and eventually got a 6906.
The Promag magazine worked intermittently, just like you described.
It was as though the magazine disconnect wasn't working all the time.
If I pushed up on the mag with my pinky everything worked fine.
I took the slide off and did the test MWB suggested.
It turned out that the Promag magazine wasn't pushing the mag disconnect far enough up... The gun thought there was no mag.
Since it only happened with the Promag I just threw it away.
All my S&W mags work fine.

I'd look there first.
By the way I love my 6906.

Good luck.

My suggestion is as follows:

Call S&W Customer Service and tell the representative: "Hello. I need a call tag (a prepaid shipping label) for my 6906. All of a sudden the pistol is in battery with the hammer cocked and trigger is just mush. It's like the trigger is not connected to the hammer or something." That should do it. If you say it like that, it appears that you've had the pistol a long time so the "original owner issue" should not come up. Do not say, "Yeah, I just bought this pistol and it ain't working." Some (not all) of the representatives might point out that the life time warranty only belongs to the original owner and make you send it in on you dime.

In the letter that you'll send along with the pistol be as specific as you can so the service tech will know what's going on. They'll take care of it and get it back to you a couple of weeks or so.

Good luck, FWIW.