I was issued a 1076 by the FBI in 1996 and carried it until 1999. I was issued the second to last one and know the Agent who got the last one. They were certainly in use much longer than 18 months.Not is not an indication, the fbi did not use these but maybe 18 months total. A lot of them ended up in armory surplus stores like my 1076 it was a checkered front strap unit. The 1076 is many things but a back up gun it is not.
I was issued a 1076 by the FBI in 1996 and carried it until 1999. I was issued the second to last one and know the Agent who got the last one. They were certainly in use much longer than 18 months.
Something seems amiss.
An FBI Firearms Training Unit document entitled "Smith & Wesson 10mm Model 1076 Semiautomatic Pistol," produced 05 Sept., 1991, explicitly states an agency timeline of the M1076's use, beginning when the contract for 9,500 Model 1076 pistols was let in Jan., 1990, and then ended in Aug., 1991, after a litany of reliability and suitability problems ultimately caused The Bureau to lose faith in and discontinue use of the M1076.
Later.
I noticed a Firearms Instructor at the range with a 1076 in early 1996. I mentioned to him that I thought they were not carried anymore. He said the original ones were recalled and that the one he had was from a group that was run through the Performance Center after the fact and sent to the Bureau to try to change minds. He said he had two left to issue and asked if I wanted one.
Just because he had a few left and you happened to get one does not mean that they were still filling a contract. As a matter of fact most of them intended for the FBI ended up in LEO Armory stores for the cheap in the mid to late 90s. The 1076 is a great gun and on par with the Sig you also where issued the Glock, not sure if that was your favorite one at all.