Background on S&W 3904?

[Gremlin]

A friend has a very well taken care of 9mm blue Smith & Wesson 3904 he's interested in selling. He's got the original box, the paperwork, and a single 14 round hi-cap to go with it. He claims he hasn't shot more than 4 or 5 boxes of ammo through it since he bought it new--and it looks it.

I've known him for about five or six years and he seldom, if ever, goes shooting so I believe him when he says it was a personal protection gun that he stuck in a drawer in his den and left there.

My problem is, I know next to nothing about the 3900 series Smith. They're not in the catalog anymore and I can find nothing on any of the search engines when I search for it. Were they a decent pistol?

He's asking $360, but I'm pretty certain that he'd come down another $25 or $30 if I pressed him. Setting aside the fact that it's a Smith (at least it's "pre-agreement"), it seems like a pretty good deal. Am I wrong?

Thanks for the help...

 

[Gremlin]

No Wonder! It's a 5904!

I hate it when that happens...

It's not a 3904.

It's a 5904... same story, different number. I did find more info on the web this afternoon for the model 5904. I'd still like to hear your opinions.

Thanks.

 

[Jhp147]

5904 Info

I originally sent E-mail, decided to be a bit more specific here: Our PD issues 5906's, I have an 04 with beau coup rounds through it. It was one of the first off the line in '89 or so (3rd gen.). Reliability is good to excellent, the only thing that breaks is an occasional extractor. I think our much-reloaded brass may be hard on the extractors. The guns digest the reloads without a burp. Can't say that of the Sigs and certainly not the Glocks. My 04 broke a sideplate once, and then an extractor and ejector at the same moment. These two problems were both in the same year. Replaced the parts and shot quite a bit more, no more problems. I think that lots of IDPA use sort of contributed to the sudden bout of metal fatigue, and the sudden failure of both extractor and ejector made me wonder if ammo/brass might be the root of that problem.
In particular, if you like or can get trained in the use of the DA/SA trigger system, you will like it. Sear reset is barely noticeable, which makes it VERY fast to shoot IF you learn to use the trigger correctly. If you like single action or Glock style triggers, you won't like it, at least not quickly.
The more you shoot one, the smoother it becomes.
If you like mag safeties, you will like this gun. If you don't, you won't. If you like or can use the slide mounted "decocker" system, you will like this gun. If you like 1911 style or Glock (non-manual) safeties, you may not like this system, it is a bit awkward until learned. Hi-caps can still be found, otherwise buy something smaller. It's too big to be an 11 shot gun. I carried one concealed for quite a while, but had the luxury of wearing a coat or blazer. I would pick it as my favorite 9 because of the reliability of feeding/working and the fact that I am familiar with the system. I am, however, a minority in these parts. As for the price, I think you are doing good pretty well. If you get it and want a hi-cap or two, let me know.

[Edited by Jhp147 on 03-11-2001 at 07:16 AM]

 

[Curley]

I had a Model 59, the predecessor to the 5906, back in the early 1980s. It was a great gun -- never jammed, was very accurate. I ended up selling it because back then 9mm ammo was about $15 a box.

I also recently bought a Model 908, a more compact 9mm with an 8-round capacity. It also seems to be very well-made and accurate, and I experienced no malfunctions at all during my first two trips to the range. I can't say that for the Kahrs, Walther and Kel-Tec I shot recently (although I love my kel-Tec P11; the jams/misfeeds went away after the first 70 rounds or so).

I know Smiths aren't popular right now because of the infamous settlement and because they aren't exotic foreign models. But I never had a problem with either of mine.