Loose slide 6906

[TomIII]

Hi, new member here. I recently bought a 6906 from a friend. Never been fired, so a good deal I think. I wanted a concealed carry gun, and needed somethings smaller than my Beretta 92. I like the gun, but I seem to have an issue with a loose slide to frame fit. I can move the slide/barrel assembly 1/16th inch side to side on the frame. There is a noticeable gap at the rails.
My groups were originally all over the place. I installed an adjustable rear sight, and got the groups down 6 to 8 inches at 10 yards. Yesterday, I shot the 6906 along with the Beretta, and was happy with tight groups from the 92, but disappointed again with the 6906. Today, I noticed the loose slide issue, which is the same in or out of battery. Any ideas about a possible fix?

 

[stansdds]

Welcome to the S&W Forums! The 6906, like other S&W metal receiver pistols intended for the self-defense and law enforcement markets, has pretty generous slide to receiver fit. A loose fit between slide and receiver actually has little impact on accuracy unless you are dealing with a professionally fitted match grade pistol.

Also, these pistols were not known for being precision pistols, but reliable under adverse conditions. Another consideration is that you are familiar with the Beretta, but the grip, trigger pull, and sight radius are far different than those of the S&W. You said that the installation of an adjustable rear sight improved grouping, but a sight has no mechanical relationship with accuracy. I would recommend more practice and perhaps try different ammo. Pistols can sometimes be very finicky with ammo and accuracy.

 

[WR Moore]

How well you shoot one brand/model of handgun does not mean that you will initially shoot another brand/model just as well. There are differences between the different types and you have to accustom yourself to them. Switching back and forth doesn't help. Concentrate on your fundamentals.

We dealt with this on a large scale during transition training from the S&W 1006 to the S&W M&P40 1.0. Oddly enough, the less skilled shooters made the transition better than the more skilled markspersons. Personally, I struggled mightily.

 

[TomIII]

Thanks for the replies! Very good points to consider. I'm happy to hear the loose fit isn't an issue. I like the gun, and am married to it now, since Hawaii will only let me carry the gun I qualified with. I'll try different ammo, and concentrate on fundamentals.
As a side note, I chuckled about the difficulty of older, more experienced shooters transitioning to the new gun. My uncle flew B26 bombers during WWII, and he said the old timers had trouble handling the new, faster bomber, but the new students took right to it.