I’m not a big Twitter guy, or X, or whatever the hell it’s called. I don’t like the format, but I need to start liking it as gun companies tend to do a lot on Twitter. Someone sent me a screenshot of S&W’s Twitter with a May 8th post asking to “Name one gun you’d resurrect.” After that, they posted a picture of the S&W 5906, indicating that’s the gun they’d revive.
Is the 5906 Making a Comeback?
On August 14th, they tweeted another photo, joking about how everyone asks about the 5906, but never asks how the S&W social media girl is doing. I have to ask, are they teasing a comeback of the 5906 and the 3rd Gen guns in particular? Are they maybe looking to create a new 4th generation of the all-metal guns?
SHOT Show is coming quickly, and S&W has been throwing a lot at the wall, with a lot of it sticking. They’ve been on a tear, producing a variety of new firearms, like the FPC, the M&P 5.7, the M&P 12, and many, many more. They’ve also introduced new old guns, like the 1854 lever action. Plus, bringing back guns like the 432 and the various Mountain Guns has been a nice touch.
It seems like it’s completely in their wheelhouse to do so, but should they?
The S&W 5906 – The Reality
The S&W third-gen guns are fine, but not exceptional. I do believe the Beretta 92FS and the CZ-75 were better all-metal designs. The 3rd Gen guns had a lot of silly features, like the magazine safety, the ill-placed safety/decocker, and the grips felt a bit like a wedge to me. Not to mention, for a heavy, all-metal pistol, they seem to have more recoil than you’d expect.
I’m not sure if they are undersprung, or the heavy slide causes the somewhat snappy nature of these pistols. The guns are reliable, well-made, accurate, etcetera, but it’s easy to see why Glock ate their lunch and why S&W produced the M&P series to compete. While they are cool, I’m not sure if a direct clone of the 3rd gen 5906 is a great idea.
What This Internet Gun Writer Thinks They Should Do
I’m just a humble dude with a keyboard and an opinion, but I think they could bring the 5906 back and make it better. First, it’s going to be expensive regardless. All-metal guns tend to be pricey. If that’s the case, make it worth the squeeze. I’d produce two models, a standard and a tactical.
The standard would be a 5906 through and through. I’d ditch the magazine safety, maybe offer a decocker-only slide safety, and replace the 14-pound recoil spring with an 18-pound spring. If possible, I’d lighten the slide through small changes or material changes. You also improve the trigger a little, which has never been the best. Removing the magazine safety might do that.
The second model would be the tactical version. It would feature the same improvements as the standard version and a little more. Add a rail like the TSW variants for one. Next, cut the slide for an optic. Revamp the sights to be suppressor height. Use G10 grips with an aggressive grip texture. It doesn’t have to be G10, but we need something more textured on these guns. The tactical should be a decocker-only model as well.
Will It Happen?
Will the 5906 ride again? Maybe. I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Sometimes social media is just for engagement. However, a man can dream. Will they take my advice? That’s doubtful, but I’m betting the folks at S&W would make some modern allowances to make the 5906 a better-handling gun.
Maybe we’ll see a Gen 4 model of the old 59? Time and SHOT Show will tell, but if they are just teasing, they need to stop. No one asks about the social media girl, but even fewer people ask about how the guys who love metal-frame wonder nines feel.
