My simple theory is that the 6906 was and still is a fine pistol wanted by many people.
It has a well deserved reputation for going bang every time you pull the trigger with any kind of ammo, and it will do it for many thousands of rounds with high reliability.
That said, (my opinion is that) what happened is the there was a huge deluge of police trade-ins that happened during a time when lots of departments changed over to the plastic models as their stock of "old school" steel pistols got older.
That flooded the market for several years, keeping a large supply of 6906's (and 5906's) available for decent "discounted" prices being as they were mostly well used but in still serviceable condition as a result of their inherent robustness and reliability.
It probably looks like they are harder to get because they are still highly regarded and sought after by shooters (it makes a GREAT nightstand gun), but the police trade-ins have dried up for the most part. You can prove that by already seeing that most of the police trade-ins today are plastic guns (mostly M&P's) that are being replaced with even newer models).
It's rare these days to see any 6906's as police trade-ins, and in fact, it seems to be easier to find Model 10's (revolvers) than to find 6906's. I guess Barney Fife decided to finally go plastic semi-auto.
I bought my 6906 Gen3 "way back" before the trade-ins started to hit the market so I paid closer to "market value" for the day (still under $400, though), but I at least have the satisfaction of knowing the pampered history of mine and it's low usage level.
I really was tempted to pick up a couple more 6906's when the trade-ins started hitting the market, but I never did because there were always others higher on my list to get since I already a "really good one".
It has a well deserved reputation for going bang every time you pull the trigger with any kind of ammo, and it will do it for many thousands of rounds with high reliability.
That said, (my opinion is that) what happened is the there was a huge deluge of police trade-ins that happened during a time when lots of departments changed over to the plastic models as their stock of "old school" steel pistols got older.
That flooded the market for several years, keeping a large supply of 6906's (and 5906's) available for decent "discounted" prices being as they were mostly well used but in still serviceable condition as a result of their inherent robustness and reliability.
It probably looks like they are harder to get because they are still highly regarded and sought after by shooters (it makes a GREAT nightstand gun), but the police trade-ins have dried up for the most part. You can prove that by already seeing that most of the police trade-ins today are plastic guns (mostly M&P's) that are being replaced with even newer models).
It's rare these days to see any 6906's as police trade-ins, and in fact, it seems to be easier to find Model 10's (revolvers) than to find 6906's. I guess Barney Fife decided to finally go plastic semi-auto.
I bought my 6906 Gen3 "way back" before the trade-ins started to hit the market so I paid closer to "market value" for the day (still under $400, though), but I at least have the satisfaction of knowing the pampered history of mine and it's low usage level.
I really was tempted to pick up a couple more 6906's when the trade-ins started hitting the market, but I never did because there were always others higher on my list to get since I already a "really good one".
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