I got the go ahead by she who must be obeyed to buy myself an unexpected Christmas present... A 4566 Melonite, in excellent shape with all of the original paperwork, box and 3 mags.

Did the paperwork today and now I have to wait for 10 loooong days (stupid law) to go pick it up on 01/03/12... what a great way to start the New Year.

I've always wanted a 4566 and finding one here in CA is tough unto itself, but a Melonite one to boot... that is whip cream with a cherry on top.

I'm stoked

So... is Melonite a comparable finish to the Glock "tennifer" finish on their slides?

Attached Images

	2011-12-03154538.jpg (131.5 KB, 370 views)
	2011-12-06004012.jpg (136.6 KB, 410 views)

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Nice Pistol! I'm jealous!

Wow! That thing is pristine. Is it decock only? Apparently you were VERY good this year.

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Un-Reconstructed Southerner

Congrats, sir...that is one nice pistol!

More pictures please?!

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John F. - recovering Statist

4506517... Yes, it's a decocker only. I'm going to need to get used to that compared to the hammer drop safeties on my 4506-1 and 4006.

John Fritz, I'll be able to take and post more pics after I'm able pick it up from the LGS after the 10 waiting period completes... the ones I posted were quickies before being spirited away into the shop's storage safe.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

is that the non performance center version of the cqb?

Nice! Congrats on that catch!

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July 4, 1776 not Jan 30, 1909

Stunning! You definately don't see those everyday.

Great find. I just picked one up as well. NIB!! Had it at the range last week. very nice.

She is a beauty! Please follow up with pictures after she makes it home and let us know if you get a letter on it. I wonder if it was a law enforcement order over-run or if it made it to a PD but was never issued.

Does it have night sights?

Glock stopped using tennifer when they started making guns in the US. EPA regs and all that. Now, they use a Nitron coating that they claim is 97% rust proof and as hard as a diamond on the Rockwell hardness scale.

Forsmithers... I don't know much about it, the person I bought it from was the 2nd owner, and as you can see, he didn't do much with it except clean it and make a safe queen out of it after taking it to the range and firing box of ammo through it. He couldn't tell me much about it's pedigree.

Yes... it does have night sights. The first order of business is going to be sending the slide back to Trijicon to have it re-lamped.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Very nice! Congratulations!

I thought that the Brady Bill allowed for the instant crime check nationwide so why the ten day wait.

Let me think of the reasons for a waiting period...OK I can not think of one so try to get your state to get up to date and get rid of this stupid stipulation!

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59,M&P9,40,40C,357,(2)45,G26

Oh I totally agree it's a dumb law like many of the ones related to firearms here, but that's the way this State has become with it's liberal slant. At one time it was much shorter, only a couple of days, but each time some nut job goes somewhere and shoots up the place, the waiting period got extended, to where it is today.

The waiting period is meant to be a "cooling off" period to ensure that a person doesn't buy a firearm in anger and then immediately go out to shoot someone.

What makes this law really asinine is that it doesn't make any exception for people that already own firearms.... what sense does it make to have a cooling off waiting period for an existing gun owner?

One glimmer of hope lately, a lawsuit has been filed against the CA DOJ to try and eliminate the waiting period for 1) People that already own a gun, having already gone through a background check on the purchase or 2) People that have a California COE (certificate of eligibility) which requires going through finger printing and background checks at State and Federal levels.

I can only hope that's successful or the housing market here rebounds so I can sell my home and get the heck out of here to retire in a gun friendly state.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Source for this?

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NRA Certified Instructor

You are welcome to Tennessee where we do instantaneous checks the only real waiting period is for the State to issue (or deny) a handgun carry permit, which allows you to carry openly or concealed (I carry concealed) and it could take as long as 90 days for the permit to arrive, I got mine in 3 1/2 weeks and my oldest daughter got hers in 3 weeks, I suppose it depends on the volume of applications, oh yeah my permit is good in 35 states and all states that touch Tennessee with reciprocity!

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59,M&P9,40,40C,357,(2)45,G26

It's even better here in Nebraska. You go in once every 3 years, give them $5 and get a handgun purchase card and then can buy on the spot whenever you want. If you get a ccw card you can use that instead.

Very neat 45 you have there btw.

Nice find.

The tennifer isn't a finish. It is a process. You could take steel wool and buff all of the black finish off of a Glock, and the tennifer would still be there protecting the metal.

'Grats!!!! Hopefully in 11 days we'll get target-pics

I believe that the limited LE production run of 100 were serial # RJF 31XX series.

Nice 4566, congrats!

Mine is in the RJF31XX series. There are two stories on how these melonite 4566's came to be. One - verified by another member here - is that they were overuns from a small order for a New England maritime law enforcement agency.

The other - unverified as yet - was that they were part of an order for the US Marshal Service fugitive recovery teams.

In any case, they are great 4566 pistols that S&W should have made more of. Enjoy yours! Regards 18DAI

I see you haven't gotten a definitive answer on if Tennifer is the same as Melonite...i don't think you ever will as i think it's still being debated...from what I've read some say yes, some say no. The Glock guys say NOTHING could ever be as good as their Tennifer! The non Glock guys say our finish is way better then Glocks!

I think it's either the same or similar enough that it doesn't matter. Glocks and M&P's have a pretty darn tough finish/coating/treatment when done correctly.

I say enjoy your pistol and don't worry about if the finish is as good, worse, or better then a Glocks.

The only 4566 left to find is the Melonite one with front slide serrations, as pictured in the S&W book!!

i miss the delta. used to fish a lot in rio vista and isleton. nice pistol for sure. hope the strippers are good.

I just checked the SN on my paperwork... my pistol is also in the RJF31XX series, this just keeps getting better .

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Brother, I'm totally tickled for you! Isn't it just cool as heck when something you're already stoked about just keeps getting better?

Enjoy and make sure you post a range report.

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Un-Reconstructed Southerner

Tenifer & Melonite are for all practical purposes the same thing. Both are types of surface hardening done by a salt bath nitriding process.

They are much more than a surface "finish" (like bluing, black oxide or Parkerizing). There are a lot of sources on this if you want to Google it or do some similar research. I would post some links but there some rules on this forum that restricts this I believe.

Anyway, Melonite is an awesome gun finish and is pretty much superior to anything else out there in my opinion.

Did some searching and found a great discussion thread on the forum: Melonite, Tennifer, Nitron, are the same?

That's a great write up you did there.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

It never ceases to amaze me about the number of people I run into who are now in a different state that either knows of the area, lived or grew up in the area or frequented the place for boating and fishing. The fishing is still decent, but with Marina gas hovering at or just below the $5 mark, the boat traffic has really been curtailed.

The annual Bass Derby used to bring an invasion of Bass fisherman and their glittery boats to the Delta island I'm on, but not anymore.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Does anyone know when these RJF31xx pistols were made? I recently got a plain jane 5906 from CDNN with SN RJF21xx so it should be roughly the same date. Thanks for any info!

1999, according to a Jinks letter that a melonite RJF prefix 4566 owner posted here awhile back. Regards 18DAI

Thanks, 18DAI!

So it's near the end of 5906 production...

Sorry I'm still new to all this. So late production 59xx pistols may have the Melonite process? And this might include my RJF21xx 5906? While earlier production is not melonite?

As far as I know, all S&W pistols that have had the Melonite surface hardening treatment were also blackened.

I believe I heard of 5906's being melonited/blackened, but I can't confirm that.

Thanks! That makes sense and agrees with the limited research I've done so far. I can't think of any melonite S&Ws including the new M&P-15 ARs that aren't blackened. So my RJF21xx 5906 isn't likely to be melonite since it's not blackened. The only similarity is close serial numbers that help date my pistol as later production.

You're welcome.

Usually, and depending on the type of Melonite/Tenifer surface hardening process used, it imparts a black finish as part of the actual surface hardening. It seems like some manufacturers then apply additional blackening. I'm not sure what S&W does in that regard.

Of course on an alloy frame, that part is not treated by the Melonite process at all even if the slide is. They just use a compatible blackening treatment after anodizing the alloy.

Really nice looking piece...

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Jorge

I understand that's what Glock does with their Tennifer hardening. People do remove the black finish for cosmetic reasons to get the slide in the white but the Tennifer remains.

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US Army 1966-69, VFW Member

There was a run of melonite 5906. They were made for a South American country....either their military or police....I can't recall. Anyway the overuns were sold here. They were called the 5906 Militar. The SCSW will give you the product code. Hope this helps! Regards 18DAI