Hey everyone, my name is Vince! Avid gun enthusiast from Atlanta here, and I need to make an introduction on the newbs page with pics of my other guns. Getting back on track here, I have a few questions about a recently acquired Smith 3rd gen.

The gun popped up in the classifieds for a great price but not being familiar with the smith and wesson design/models I figured I'd just take a chance and buy it. Its a model 3906. Single stack 9mm etc etc but thats about the extent of knowledge I know about the gun.

Low round count, no holster wear or department markings. Came with three eight round mags. I was able to talk him down to $240 because the rear sight was chipped. It is a fixed sight model, not adjustable or novaks. I hope I didn't overpay. As you can see it cleaned up nice and it is very accurate.

So what are my sight options for this firearm? I like to have night sights on all of my pistols, what model trijicon/mepros do yall use on your 3906?
Also what are my magazine options?
I've read that the 3906 is somewhat rare and only produced for a few years?
For what its worth, if you were to put a value on this gun what would it be?
What are some decent holster options other than my guy making me another IWB rig for it?



Thanks again in advance.

Vincre

made for SiG Holsters work well for my third gens, nice find and an even nicer price! Ya did good you can get a replacement sight from S&W a probably no charge. If it were mine I wouldn't do much else to it as its a near collectable. Adding bells whistles and do dads will only drop its value as many get to learn the hard way.

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It is the Indian not the arrow

Welcome to the Forum & it looks to me like you did great on the price. Like 6actual said, I wouldn't modify it much if its collector quality. I don't use an IWB holster so I can't offer any opinion there, but for OWB I really like the Don Hume JIT belt slide holster. It works well for my 3rd Gens & is very reasonably priced. You can find them on ebay or Amazon for under thirty bucks shipped.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

How should I approach S&W customer service about getting a new rear sight? Which would be cheaper, sending the slide into them or have them send me a sight and I have a local gunsmith install it? Thank you for the kind words, I've had glocks and 1911s but after shooting this gun yesterday I think I might keep this one for a while.

The slim grip is very pleasing to my medium sized hands, and once I could ignore the rear sight it shot better than I did. It does have a bit of heft and I have considered as OWB. I will look into the Don Hume.

I was amazed to see after I cleaned it a beautifully polished feed ramp which I assume was the factory job since the gun has only been shot 150 rounds (300 after yesterday!) I would like to find the black version as well. Is that the 3904 model or was it an optional finish?

I've looked on gun broker and armslist and do not see many 3904/3906 listed

Hi Vince, and welcome to the forum . If I were you I would look out your window to see if the police are there. YOU STOLE that gun at that price. Put it on GB today and it will do $600 . A 3906 in that condition with 2 extra mags for $240??? I'm having a hard time grasping that . Did you get it at the LGS or the some guy at work? My new friend buy a lottery ticket. I thought when I picked up a M940 at Cabela's for $450 I had a horse shoe - - ----. The sight is no big deal. Next time I buy a gun would you please do the negotiation for me?

Vince -

Welcome, also from Atlanta area.

The 3904 models (black, alloy frames) are around but fairly uncommon given their short production time.

There were some silver 3906 with alloy frames made for the Gwinnett Co PD.

I know you said yours had no markings but is it the frame steel or alloy?

Nice price irrespective.

I know where ones resides at LGS for > $525 if its still there.

Congratulations, you did great on price and they are not for sale very often! My 3906 has the same sight set up as you, but I didn't care because it was the first I have seen for sale locally in the last three years. This rear sight is the least desirable for me, I prefer the Novaks or adjustable. Not to side track your thread, but I'm wondering if there are any good aftermarket alternatives?

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USS ZELLARS
DD-777

GO TO YOUR ROOM and don't come out till you're sorry for stealing that fine gun! And wipe that silly grin off your face!

Lovely find. Welcome to the forum, from Louisville.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Holsters for the much more common 59xx series should fit. They fit my 3904. All 390x guns have the square trigger guard and many 59xx guns do as well. Holsters do come in both varieties so make sure you buy one that is marked for the square trigger guard.

Similarly 59xx sights will fit. I just bought a set of Meprolight night sights for my 3913TSW and the package says they are for 3900, 4000, and 5900 series guns.

The main difference between the 3904/06 and the 5900 series guns is the magazine capacity and thus the grip thickness. Grips will not interchange, but most other accessories should.

Since yall have inquired I'll tell you how I snagged this pistol. I look at armslist pretty frequently and jump on deals with cash when I see them. On wednesday I woke up, sat on the john and started perusing the pistols section in georgia. Come across a listing for this gun with no picture or hardly any information for $275. I figured any smith 9mm is worth a look so I agreed to drive up to calhoun from atlanta thursday to look at the gun. It looked as if it hadn't been cleaned or even shot aside from a few boxes since 1990. Sight missing? I offered him $220 and we somewhat split the difference in my favor for $240.

I knew it was a steal, and it will accompany my other summer carry pistol (g26) nicely in the cooler months having a plastic gun makes me appreciate the fortitude of the 3906.

The whole gun looks to be machined from stainless steel frame and slide included. I know the georgia members are going to be pissed they didn't get to this deal first but I will pay it forward by letting yall know there is a similar condition 3906 at adventure outdoors in marietta with perfect fixed sights for $399.00 plus tax. It was behind a bunch of double stacks. This was yesterday if someone wants to snag another goodndeal.

If I had the $400 i would have bought my second 3906 in three days

Low round count, no holster wear or department markings. Came with three eight round mags.
JEALOUS!

very nice deal you got.I love the single stack 9mm smiths.

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God save the SOUTH

I have the Trijicon SA04 night sights on my 3906 (and 3904). They are a vast improvement over the factory pre-Novak fixed sights. I saw that Armslist ad myself and knew someone in GA was going to get an unbelievable deal.

That is an outstanding deal. I have used the Milt Sparks Summer Special and Bianchi Pistol Pocket IWB holsters in the past and found them comfortable and secure. The Bianchi has a thumb break retention strap if that is your preference.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

Nice pistol, better price! I have the 3913 with 8 round mags, and thought the 3906 had nine round mags. Am I mistaken?

No your not. The earlier 39s were offered with an 8 round magazine only, late production 3904/3906 were given a 9 rounds mag from the model 909. Smith just simplified magazine production, and yes it will fit in your 3913. Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

I double checked the mags. All 8 rounders. However I called one of my local guys and he said he got a stockpile or both 8 and 9 round mags in a few months ago. Most have some department markings on them but appear to be in fully functioning order. A twenty bucks a piece I may pick up a few more.

I found a stock replacement rear sight off numrich today for $24. What shohld I expect to be a reasonable price to have the old sight knocked out and the new one put in?

I do believe I will carry this from time to time and I am weighing in the pros and cons of having a set of trijicons installed similar to the ones in this thread. But as some have mentioned this may affect the resale value.

Hmmm

Contact S&W, send them the slide. My understanding is they will replace with OEM rear sight do install and sight @ no charge. guaranteed for life.

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It is the Indian not the arrow

When I called customer service today, Tom told me that a rear sight for a 3906 would be rare to impossible to find and made no mention of a lifetime gurantee policy on my firearm


There was certainly no mention of me sending in the slide for a free replacement rear sight. What number should I call to receive this kind of service?

The lifetime warranty technically applies to the original owner only.

The pre-Novak fixed sight (part #104500000) is considered obsolete by S&W and is apparently no longer stocked.

I would expect a gunsmith to charge around $25 to replace the rear sight.

From what I've read, it seems to matter who you talk to as to how the warranty works. Yes, it is warrantied for life, but to the original purchaser. Then you hear about people getting repairs & parts free on a second hand gun. Its a bit confusing. My only experience with S&W warranty service was with a SW40VE. I hated the trigger & decided to try one of the various YouTube fixes. As I disassembled the sear block, one of the tiny springs sprung, never to be seen again. Since the idea was to remove one of the springs anyway, I put it back together & went to the range. It shot nice, & the trigger was a lot more manageable, for about three shots, & then it quit on me. I contacted S&W, told them what I had done, & they sent me a call tag. They repaired the gun, sent it back to me no charge! Even though It was my fault. So I guess they must have some leeway in decisions regarding warranty issues.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

Great price! IWB is a great option for this pistol. I wanted one to that very reason I only own 2nd gens a 645 & 659 . If you ever want to sell it p.m. me or we can talk trades. I go with simply rugged for my holster needs they make owb / iwb models with removable straps. I think you can get a 10 rounder mag maybe don't go after market. You can change the springs and use plus p all day very rugged gun. Also If it was me I'd look into wood grips but that's just me.