I got a call Friday from my guy at one of my favorite little out of the way shops. He asks me, "You ever find the 3906 you were looking for?" "No, not yet." I replied.
I last saw a 3906 two years ago at a local show. It had adjustable sights and a price tag I considered high given the condition of the pistol and the fact it had no box and one mag. The 3906 is one of those 3rd generation pistols you rarely see and hear next to nothing about. It felt amazing in my hand though. Like a 3913 on steroids. Pointed as naturally as my beloved model 19-4. I've looked for a nice one since, and seen none. They were only made for about two years. As I have no photo capability, either mechanically or technically, perhaps one of our kind members will post a photo of a 3906 for those unfamiliar with this model.
Being an all stainless single stack, full size 9mm, at the start of the high cap wonder nine craze resulted in a short production run. Evidently the 3906 didn't sell well. I'd always thought this was the reason it was seldom seen. I was mistaken.
"Well come on by, I got one with two mags. Pretty decent shape. I'll make you a deal on it!" says he.
This 3906 dated to 1989 based on its TCY serial prefix. It has the early 2nd generation rear sight. Full size and all stainless it is not a light weight gun...around 35oz's empty....but it is not heavy.....not really.....it is almost the....prefect weight for a carry gun, for me.
The grip. The 3906's grip frame IS PERFECT, for me. It fits my hand better than ANY 3rd generation pistol has, including my 3913 with Houges installed. I usually discard the OEM Delrins immediatley and replace them with rubber. Not with this 3906. They fill my hand and my callous on my trigger finger sits right on the trigger. Perfect reach. The curve of the backstrap sits the gun in my hand pointing......perfectly. Good thing these are so great, as there is no other option for the 3906. AFAIK nobody currently makes a replacement grip for the 3904/3906/909.
After a quick breakdown scrub and lube it was off to the range Saturday. 200 rounds. 50 Speer Lawman 124 grain?? ball. 50 Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+. 50 Winchester Ranger 147 grain.
I started with the 147 grain Ranger. 15 yards, B27 with a 3" Shoot-N-C on the head, and another in the chest. First round fired is at the top edge of the Shoot-N-C on the head. This pistol like a lolly pop sight picture. Adjust picture, and Violla! Dead center! All the rounds go into the 3" shoot-N-C. This was repeted with boring regularity through the 100 rounds of Winchester Ranger. One group I shot at 25 yards was right at 3". One flyer off the edge of the Shoot-N-C. I don't shoot much at 25 yards anymore. My eyes are getting fuzzy enough that I don't see the hits without a reactive target.
Accuracy. Let me say this about accuracy. For me to consider a gun "accurate", it must group all its shots into 2.5" or less, at 15 yards freehand. 4" or less at 25 yards, for me. Others may have different requirements. This 3906 is simply the most accurate S&W handgun I've fired. In any caliber. My 645 is very close, as is my PC Shorty 45 MKII. But the 3906 is more accurate........or I shoot the 3906 more accurately, take your pick.
The trigger stroke, and smoothness in both DA and SA, is identical to my PC Shorty 45. I would suspect that this 3906 had a trip to the PC based on the smoothness of the action. If this is simply the standard factory trigger, then the 3906 is S&W's best kept secret and they DO NOT make them like they use to!
The frame/slide fit and finish is exemplary. This is how you machine and finish a handgun. The seems are almost invisible. Same quality finish as my PC CQB 45 prototype. Racking the slide reminds me of the feel of a Beretta 92FS. Like ball bearings on glass. The slide has absolutley no movement, laterally or otherwise. The bell mouth of the barrel fits snug in the fixed bushing and the crown is done right. Totally smooth and rounded. Based on the finish on the crown it is factory IMO. All the more surprising as the majority of S&W semi auto barrel crowns are generally the worst I've seen from a factory.
Reliability. With the Ranger duty ammo, albiet only 100 rounds, the 3906 was the usual 3rd generation 100% reliable. With the Speer Lawman I had two malfunction, both identical and IMO ammo related. While shooting the Speer Lawman ammunition I fired two rounds and experienced a stoppage. It appeared to be a double feed jam. I dropped the mag, tilted the 3906 muzzle up and the empty casing fell free of the chamber. I picked up the loose round off the bench, reinserted it in the mag, and topped off with two more rounds. Fired two more shots and had another identical stoppage. After clearing this malfunction I examined the loose round very closely. It was shorter than the standard 9mm OAL. Looked like a 380 actually. I checked the headstamp to assure myself it was indeed a 9mm. Whether it was pushed in by the slide action, or shorter than OAL to begin with is open to debate. I didn't notice anything the first time I reinserted it in the mag, but I was also more concerned with checking the 3906's extractor for chips or cracks at the time.
The range officer was of the opinion that Speer was not crimping its rounds very well during its increased production to keep up with hoarding.
Speer Lawman is what the range sells as practice fodder, and he added the faulty round I gave him to a match box containing several other Lawman 9mm's with various afflictions. In any case I find this to be an ammo problem not a pistol problem.....hey....I sound like a gunrag writer!!
The Speer lawman 124??? grain was not as accurate out of the 3906. Groups at 15 yards were in the 3.5 to 4" size.
Overall impressions. I am very pleased with the 3906. I will qualify with it for duty/off carry next qual session. The 3906 combines all the best qualities of my two favorite semi auto's the 3913 and 4566.
The 3906 has the 4566's durability, and balance. It points well and quickly. The 3906 is also flat and easily concealed, and accurate and reliable like the 3913.
If you like S&W 3rd generation pistols, and have not bought into all the internet disinformation concerning the effectiveness of the 9mm round, then I strongly encourage you to get a 3906. You will be glad you did!
I discovered the real reason that 3906 pistols are so scarce. Those who own them, are keeping them! Regards 18DAI.
I last saw a 3906 two years ago at a local show. It had adjustable sights and a price tag I considered high given the condition of the pistol and the fact it had no box and one mag. The 3906 is one of those 3rd generation pistols you rarely see and hear next to nothing about. It felt amazing in my hand though. Like a 3913 on steroids. Pointed as naturally as my beloved model 19-4. I've looked for a nice one since, and seen none. They were only made for about two years. As I have no photo capability, either mechanically or technically, perhaps one of our kind members will post a photo of a 3906 for those unfamiliar with this model.
Being an all stainless single stack, full size 9mm, at the start of the high cap wonder nine craze resulted in a short production run. Evidently the 3906 didn't sell well. I'd always thought this was the reason it was seldom seen. I was mistaken.
"Well come on by, I got one with two mags. Pretty decent shape. I'll make you a deal on it!" says he.
This 3906 dated to 1989 based on its TCY serial prefix. It has the early 2nd generation rear sight. Full size and all stainless it is not a light weight gun...around 35oz's empty....but it is not heavy.....not really.....it is almost the....prefect weight for a carry gun, for me.
The grip. The 3906's grip frame IS PERFECT, for me. It fits my hand better than ANY 3rd generation pistol has, including my 3913 with Houges installed. I usually discard the OEM Delrins immediatley and replace them with rubber. Not with this 3906. They fill my hand and my callous on my trigger finger sits right on the trigger. Perfect reach. The curve of the backstrap sits the gun in my hand pointing......perfectly. Good thing these are so great, as there is no other option for the 3906. AFAIK nobody currently makes a replacement grip for the 3904/3906/909.
After a quick breakdown scrub and lube it was off to the range Saturday. 200 rounds. 50 Speer Lawman 124 grain?? ball. 50 Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+. 50 Winchester Ranger 147 grain.
I started with the 147 grain Ranger. 15 yards, B27 with a 3" Shoot-N-C on the head, and another in the chest. First round fired is at the top edge of the Shoot-N-C on the head. This pistol like a lolly pop sight picture. Adjust picture, and Violla! Dead center! All the rounds go into the 3" shoot-N-C. This was repeted with boring regularity through the 100 rounds of Winchester Ranger. One group I shot at 25 yards was right at 3". One flyer off the edge of the Shoot-N-C. I don't shoot much at 25 yards anymore. My eyes are getting fuzzy enough that I don't see the hits without a reactive target.
Accuracy. Let me say this about accuracy. For me to consider a gun "accurate", it must group all its shots into 2.5" or less, at 15 yards freehand. 4" or less at 25 yards, for me. Others may have different requirements. This 3906 is simply the most accurate S&W handgun I've fired. In any caliber. My 645 is very close, as is my PC Shorty 45 MKII. But the 3906 is more accurate........or I shoot the 3906 more accurately, take your pick.
The trigger stroke, and smoothness in both DA and SA, is identical to my PC Shorty 45. I would suspect that this 3906 had a trip to the PC based on the smoothness of the action. If this is simply the standard factory trigger, then the 3906 is S&W's best kept secret and they DO NOT make them like they use to!
The frame/slide fit and finish is exemplary. This is how you machine and finish a handgun. The seems are almost invisible. Same quality finish as my PC CQB 45 prototype. Racking the slide reminds me of the feel of a Beretta 92FS. Like ball bearings on glass. The slide has absolutley no movement, laterally or otherwise. The bell mouth of the barrel fits snug in the fixed bushing and the crown is done right. Totally smooth and rounded. Based on the finish on the crown it is factory IMO. All the more surprising as the majority of S&W semi auto barrel crowns are generally the worst I've seen from a factory.
Reliability. With the Ranger duty ammo, albiet only 100 rounds, the 3906 was the usual 3rd generation 100% reliable. With the Speer Lawman I had two malfunction, both identical and IMO ammo related. While shooting the Speer Lawman ammunition I fired two rounds and experienced a stoppage. It appeared to be a double feed jam. I dropped the mag, tilted the 3906 muzzle up and the empty casing fell free of the chamber. I picked up the loose round off the bench, reinserted it in the mag, and topped off with two more rounds. Fired two more shots and had another identical stoppage. After clearing this malfunction I examined the loose round very closely. It was shorter than the standard 9mm OAL. Looked like a 380 actually. I checked the headstamp to assure myself it was indeed a 9mm. Whether it was pushed in by the slide action, or shorter than OAL to begin with is open to debate. I didn't notice anything the first time I reinserted it in the mag, but I was also more concerned with checking the 3906's extractor for chips or cracks at the time.
The range officer was of the opinion that Speer was not crimping its rounds very well during its increased production to keep up with hoarding.
Speer Lawman is what the range sells as practice fodder, and he added the faulty round I gave him to a match box containing several other Lawman 9mm's with various afflictions. In any case I find this to be an ammo problem not a pistol problem.....hey....I sound like a gunrag writer!!
The Speer lawman 124??? grain was not as accurate out of the 3906. Groups at 15 yards were in the 3.5 to 4" size.
Overall impressions. I am very pleased with the 3906. I will qualify with it for duty/off carry next qual session. The 3906 combines all the best qualities of my two favorite semi auto's the 3913 and 4566.
The 3906 has the 4566's durability, and balance. It points well and quickly. The 3906 is also flat and easily concealed, and accurate and reliable like the 3913.
If you like S&W 3rd generation pistols, and have not bought into all the internet disinformation concerning the effectiveness of the 9mm round, then I strongly encourage you to get a 3906. You will be glad you did!
I discovered the real reason that 3906 pistols are so scarce. Those who own them, are keeping them! Regards 18DAI.
........BUT....... where are the pics????? 
Nice looking 3906 you have there.
