G3 S&W semi autos.

[Arik]

I own a M&P 9, older G3 Glock 19 and severall 3rd gen Smiths. Two 5946's and one 1006. I carried all of them at one point. Here's what I've found as far as comfort for me. I actually like the Smiths better then the G19 or the M&P. They are easier to carry and the weight is not an issue. I carry all of them in a crossbreed iwb holster. The Glock's thickness seems to bother me. I'm constantly adjusting my jeans and can never seem to be comfortable. No discomfort issues with the Smiths. I also havent read anything really negetive about the 3rd gen Smiths. People complain about weight and some about the mag safety. But nothing on reliability issues. So my question here is how reliable are they? I'd like to stick to carrying them. BTW my 5946 has no mag safety from the factory.

From my own experiences they all shoot good. The steel Smiths digest all ammo and have least amount of recoil (9mm) G19 doesn't like wolf ammo, has occasional light primer strikes. Overall they all fit me fine, shoot good and no real problems.

[wideglide]

What I think would matter more is how reliable are yours? Your the one who has to stake your life on them. Put a couple hundred rounds of what you choose to carry and use that to judge if you already haven't. A lot of time judgements are made by what we hear from someone else who knows some one who, well you get the picture.

[Arik]

I've put about 1k rounds through each since right before Xmas time. My wallet is hurting! All the steel Smiths have been 100% with all 9mm ammo I could find. The G19 doesn't like the hard primers of Russian ammo and occasionally needs a second strike. But only with Russian ammo. m&P 9 had 1 stove pipe with the very first mag. No problems since. That one might have been me or just a fluke.

My reason for asking was to see if these guns are generally reliable and trouble free or I just lucked out and got the three good ones

[DocH]

I've never had one problem at all with any 3rd gen.S&W autos.
I've never even had any quirks with older ones.I have an all steel Mod.539 that eats my HST's and Rangers and everything in between and loves 'em.

I pretty miffed at the QC issues that are popping up with just about all gun makers these days. I'd say enjoy yours and use 'em.
I'm old and I like old stuff. Things that were made when quality and workmanship meant something. My Dad was probably one of the best tool and die makers that ever walked the planet and he gave me a lot of "preachments" about artistry in steel. It stuck.

[wideglide]

I know a Detective for the Memphis police dept. He swore by his 3rd gen Smiths back in the mid 90's. He told me his Smith never had a single problem and that is why he would only carry a Smith and nothing else.

[bigghoss]

A while back there was a nice 4506 at my LGS. I must have looked at and held it 3 or 4 times. I don't like the safety or mag disconnects but I have always loved the look of the 4506/1006. I was really close to buying it but they wouldn't budge on the price plus I couldn't find mags online for a decent price. I would still like to own one someday. Then another time I was wheeling and dealing with a widow who was selling off her late husband's guns and supplies so I got two boxes of misc cleaning supplies and parts for next to nothing but first she had me clean her beretta tomcat and smith 5906. That smith was a NICE gun but I already have my fill of 9mms so they don't do as much for me as a .45 anymore.

[Beat Trash]

I hate to be the voice of decent, but here goes:

I work for an agency of about 1,100 officers, depending on the year and the economy. My first issued gun was a S&W 5906. The gun was ok, but not so much in the accuracy department. Bench rest at 25 yds, 4.5" was about as good as it got. The newer guns issued out when S&W started using MIM parts were more accurate. These were easily identified as the MIM hammers were black.

The extractors sucked. We would buy spare extractors by the gross. I had this gun about 5 years. Went through two extractors. Broke one while shooting a dog that had bitten me once and wanted seconds.

We transitioned to the 5946. This was a more accurate gun than my pre-MIM 5906. This gun was also made just prior to a period where S&W upgraded and replaced a lot of their machinery with new CNC machinery. The DAO trigger took some getting used to though. In time it smoothed up to where it wasn't bad, for a DAO trigger. (Side note, I hate DAO triggers)

This gun uses the same extractor as the 5906. It still sucks. It's too thin. The 9mm guns we saw that were made in the custom shop used a larger extractor, either the 40 cal or the 45 cal, not sure, but it was explained to me by the LE sales rep carrying a custom shop pistol.

I had the 5946 for about 8-9 years when the agency started seeing issues with the guns. The armors just kept a box of parts on the firing line so as to not disrupt training. Parts needing replaced were guide rods and/or barrels. The issue was the little notch where the guide rod rests in the barrel.

Our last year with the 5946/6946, we estimate about $80k worth of parts were used to keep the guns up and running. We estimated the round count before a pattern of issues showing up to be around 30K for the 5946 and about 20K for the 6946.

When we transitioned away, officers are permitted to buy their issued gun for what the trade in value would be. I declined.

When looking for our new gun, the agency received the first 3 9mm M&P's to leave the factory. Some minor changes later and the production guns started shipping.

Now after almost seven years of carrying the M&P, I can honestly say I don't miss my 5946 at all.

I do own one 3rd gen Smith auto though, my favorite 3rd gen gun they ever made. A 3913.

[Arik]

I hate to be the voice of decent, but here goes

No problem, that's why I asked in the first place. Both of my 9mm are police trade ins. One has CLVDOHPD engraved on the slide and the other says "caution capable of firing with the magazine removed" which was done for certain agencies at their request. Ill probably change out those parts you mentioned just in case.

[Gary1911A1]

My 5906 and 645 has never given me any problems except for the screw on the left safety lever on the 645 coming loose. S&W's 10MMs' are my favorite 10MM pistols.

[dewatters]

My 5906 and 645 has never given me any problems except for the screw on the left safety lever on the 645 coming loose. S&W's 10MMs' are my favorite 10MM pistols.

FYI: You can swap out the 645 ambi safety with one from a 4506.

[Hizzie]

3rd Generation S&W pistols aren't bad and are a great bargain on the used market. My only real complaint was the triggers, although the DAO models were a little better than DA/SA models.

[sjc3081]

My NYPD issue 5946 is 100% all the time. Never jammed, it even feed empty shell casings. My 3913 and my 1066 have also been perfect.
My daily CCW gun is a G17, it is light and thin and 18 shots.