5926 Question

[hfl73]

Last winter I purchased a 5926 that came with night sights. All in all I am pleased with the handgun, it is mainly a range gun and it shoots great. I noticed that the rear sight is mounted about a half an inch forward from the back of the slide and stamped in that space is the number 20006. Can anyone tell me the purpose of the number? Is it a production number of some sort? I know that these guns were made for a very short time before they were discontinued. Thanks in advance.

 

[snw19_357]

Since almost all 5926s had Novak sights that went almost to the back of the slide, it sounds like yours has aftermarket night sights. I have rarely looked under the rear sights but it could be an assembly number or something. Is that number anywhere else, on the frame, under the grips?
Because of the differences in the frame mounted decockers, I have seen them with warnings and the model number marked all over the place, it wouldn't surprise me if they had assembly numbers on them to make sure a 5906 or 5946 slide didn't end up on a 5926 frame.

I believe they were made for a few years in the early 90's (90-93, I think) so that is a lot shorter than some models but longer than some of the models they introduced in the early 1990's.

 

[XTrooper]

I have two frame-mounted decocker Smiths, a 1026 and a 1076. Neither they nor any other frame-mounted Smith I've come across has the model number marked anywhere except under the serial number like all other 3rd Gen models.

The 1026 has a "Caution Refer To Instruction Manual" warning while the 1076 has none.

hfl73: As snw19_357 stated, your 5926 probably has an aftermarket rear sight. The 20006 number may be an assembly number, but it is almost certainly not a production number. For one thing, Smith just plain didn't stamp production numbers on their pistols and, for another, it's highly unlikely the production total for 5926 pistols reached anything close to 20,000 units. snw19_357 is also correct in that the 5926 was only produced from 1990 to 1993.

 

[snw19_357]

I have two frame-mounted decocker Smiths, a 1026 and a 1076. Neither they nor any other frame-mounted Smith I've come across has the model number marked anywhere except under the serial number like all other 3rd Gen models.

Agreed, neither the 5924 or either of the 1076s I have, have those markings but some do.

Please excuse the bad pictures, all I have available now. It is a square guard so maybe it was only on the first ones. I believe the 5944 pictured in the SCSW 3rd also has the model number on the slide.

 

[XTrooper]

Interesting, snw19_357. What model is that in your photos? I can't quite make it out. Thanks!

 

[snw19_357]

Model 5926. You can't make it out??
Here's another one I found.

 

[XTrooper]

MUCH better! My old eyes and I thank you!

FWIW, I love the Smith 3rd Gen frame-mounted decocker models.

 

[hfl73]

In response to SN19 357's question, the only place the number 20006 is stamped is on the top of the slide. The slide has the usual warning printed on the side about only using 5926 slide, I assume because of the decocker mechanism associated with that style. I also figured that number would be somewhat high for a production number as they probably would have produced them longer than 3 years if they were that popular. The after market sights makes perfect sense to me, I was just curious about the stamped number and if any other 5926 owners could explain the reason for the digit. Unless I hear differently I will go along with your explanation for the purpose of the number. Thanks.

 

[Trini]

hfl73,

The 20006 might be a zip code -- WASHINGTON, DC 20006
Anyone know if DC police issued the 5900's series. My 5926 has a 5 digit number on the right side of the frame which entered as a zip code is in AZ.. I have never contacted the PD to ask if they did issue 5926's and for how long.

T

 

[hfl73]

Wow, this is getting interesting. I never thought about zip codes, thanks for the insight. Sounds like a case for the "History Detectives" on PBS. Maybe I should follow up and contact someone in D.C. about that. I always assumed PD guns had their initials in acronym form stamped on them, no reason zip codes couldn't be used instead. Thanks again.