I have owned/carried a 6906 for almost ten years (two different guns.) It was my first handgun purchase after I turned 21.
I like it. It never malfunctions. Never.
My current model (6 or 7 years old, got it just after they started making them with the Novaks) has some pitting in the aluminum frame, on the front strap.
I've never had any work done to the gun, nor have I added anything except a 15 round Ram-line mag.
The single action pull is too heavy. I've been meaning to have that fixed for about, oh, 6 or 7 years now.
Not as accurate as my P220, but good enough for serious social work.
I carry Cor-Bon 115 gr in it.
As an economical alternative, your friend might consider the 6904 (I think that's the model #.) Same gun, but with a blued slide, blued mags, and black aluminum frame.
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“The whole of the Bill (of Rights) is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals. ... It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of.” -Alexander Addison, 1789
[This message has been edited by deanf (edited October 18, 1999).]