"New / Old" Smith & Wesson 5946 Stainless 9 MM !

[billt]

I picked up 2 beautiful, new in the box S&W 5946 all Stainless 9 MM pistols yesterday at Cabela's. These guns went out of production at or around 1999. The story I heard was that S&W had manufactured a big order for the NYPD. Per a contract they had with them before they ceased civilian production. S&W then warehoused those guns, (or all of the parts). Then, for whatever reason, the NYPD no longer needed or wanted them. I'm assuming this is when they went to Glock's or whatever. So S&W was more or less "stuck" with them. I'm sure there is more to it than that. But that's it in a nutshell. If anyone has more accurate information on these guns, along with how they became available, please post it. The history is a bit sketchy, and in some cases, conflicting.

Enter Cabela's who bought the entire production run direct from Smith & Wesson. These guns are beautiful! BRAND NEW. All satin Stainless Steel throughout. No Aluminum or plastic.... (Except for the Polymer black grips). And the best part is they all come with Trijicon Novack Style Night Sights, and 3, 15 round Stainless Steel magazines. I've wanted one of these for a long time, and was kicking myself for not buying one when I had the chance back in the 90's. (Most of the used one's I've come across were pretty beat up. Police trade in's, and the like). So I jumped at the opportunity to snag 2 brand new one's in the box. These are double action only, with a spur less hammer. Basically, if you like the 1911, or the Beretta 92-FS, you'll like the ergonomics, along with the heft of this weapon. The Trijicon Night Sights are dated 2014. So they were either added later. Or else the guns were assembled at or around that time from parts S&W already had. Either way they are brand new guns with relatively new night sights.

The first thing I did when I got home was go into a dark closet, and check the brilliance of the sights. They are bright as any I've ever seen. This is the gun as Cabela's advertises it. I'll try to get some pics of the guns up in a day or 2.

 Smith & Wesson® Model 5946 Centerfire Pistol : Cabela's
Smith & Wesson® Model 5946 Centerfire Pistol : Cabela's

[billt]

Yesterday I took them to the indoor range near me and lit both of them up. It was too hot, (111F) to shoot outside. I first field stripped both pistols, and liberally greased the frame and slides, and gave them a good general lube job. I took plenty of both 115 and 124 Gr. FMJ, as well as some open nose self defense ammo, just to make sure they would both feed it. I had some +P Gold Dot, and some older Remington Sabers. The FMJ was Magtech, Sellier & Bellot, Winchester NATO, along with a bunch of PPU Serbian stuff. I also took all 6 magazines that were supplied with both weapons, to be sure they all ran correctly.

To make a long story short, both guns ran flawlessly. Not a single hiccup. All magazines, all ammo, in both guns. Never skipped a beat. I tried to be sure I ran every mag in both guns, with as much different ammunition as I could. I'm pretty sure I did, but with 2 guns and 6 magazines, along with so much different brand and weight ammo, I might have missed one or two. It really doesn't matter because I'm totally convinced both of these weapons are as reliable as they could possibly be. Both guns fed, shot, and ejected everything I put in them with 100% reliability. I will say the last round was tough to get in the mags. If I didn't have my Uplula with me, I would have been in trouble getting the last round in. The mags did loosen up somewhat near the end of the session. I'm sure like most magazines, this will get better with time and use.

What pleasantly surprised me were the triggers. These are the first 2 double action only semi auto pistols I've ever owned. Both triggers were very easy for me to get used to. Both were very predictable as to let off. I'm not very, "trigger sensitive", but these service pistols were quite good overall in the trigger department. I did not find the DAO to be any kind of disadvantage what so ever on these service pistols. Both guns printed dead on with a shallow 6 O'clock hold. I could pick up either one, and it would print identical to the other. Not much difference in point of impact between ammo either. And neither gun damaged the brass at all. Most of the shooting was at 15 to 20 yards. With some all the way back at 25 yards.

I expected good performance from both of these guns, and they didn't disappoint. All total I ran through a little over 420 rounds through both guns. The ammo was shot equally between both weapons. Overall I left the range very satisfied with both purchases. The worst part was the cleanup afterward. As you can imagine, cheap FMJ ammo shoots pretty filthy, and both guns were extremely dirty. And cleaning them outside in triple digit temperature was no picnic either. But you have to pay to play. Both guns field stripped easily, and cleaned up nice with a good clean Kerosene wash, and a blow dry with compressed air. A light oiling, and they are now cleaner than when I took them from the box.

In conclusion, I would say for anyone looking for a really nice, all Stainless Steel service pistol, Don't hesitate to pull the trigger on one of these Cabela's S&W's. You won't be disappointed if you do. These weapons shoot, and are every bit as accurate and dependable as they look.

[tombogan03884]

Had a 669 years ago, it was OK.

[billt]

I just checked, and they're all sold out.

[tombogan03884]

Look on Midway, or Brownell's, they may have replacement "spur" hammers.
They aren't hard to replace

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