I have a 5906 that I carried for two years. A decent pistol, but the triggers on my SIGs are much, much nicer.

Stay away from the Sigma .380. A fiend of mine carried one as a back-up gun on an ankle rig. He ran trough a stream one night, soaking the weapon. He cleaned it the next morning. The next time he went to shoot it, it would not fire, so he sent it back to the factory. It turns out that the .380 Sigmas have a piece of felt as part of the internal workings, and immersion in water will soak the felt and render the weapon inoperable.

He traded it in for a Kel-Tec. Good move.

Don't listen to those that say "S$W is junk". some models have problems, but their 3rd gen autos a good. I have a 4506 w/ adjustable sights and it is a definite tack driver. I can fire the gun limp wristed w/ my middle finger and thumb holding the gun and the thing refuses to jam. I also have a 586 4inch that is just totally awesome in every aspect. The 22A sport I have outshoots the model 41 and cost me $160. S$W are not junk, but some like to claim it.

I own so many darn guns that it only makes sense that I have a few S&W's in my collection.

Not counting my revolvers I have two S&W autos, a 5906 and a 1006.  Both guns are well made, extremely reliable and accurate.  I've never had a problem with my S&W autos... and my 5906 is my "beater" gun.  I shoot the heck out of my 5906 mostly because I have about 25 high caps for it.  I can't remember a time that the gun has jammed and this Sunday it once again impressed me with its shootability and accuracy.

I carry a highly customized 1911 as my personal defense gun, but I wouldn't hesitate to take my 5906 if I had to.  It's never failed me.

I have owned eight S&W revolvers (Mod. 19,29,66,586,686,629,617,K-38) and have nothing bad to say about any of them. They shoot excellent groups, have good smooth actions from the factory, and with a small amount of gunsmithing function as smooth as glass. I have also owned Colt, H&R, Dan Wesson, and Ruger revolvers and don't care for any of them compared to my Smiths.
Finnbear out

I can't believe no one has mentioned the 3913.  My wife has had one for probably 6-7 years.  It's small, has decent sights (though I much prefer the flat rear plane sights such as Heinies and Wilson Combat to the Novaks used on S&W's), is stainless steel, lightweight, has a decent trigger, and is accurate.

There are two things I'm not really crazy about.  First, the bore sits too high in the hand, but SIG's have the same problem.  It doesn't bother either of us in 9mm.  Second, I'm not a big fan of the slide mounted safety.  Of course, Beretta uses a similar safety, so S&W is not the only company to see merit in this style safety.

I'd probably buy a Kahr over it if I had to do it all over again, but that's what we've got and we're happy with it.  Actually, I'm a 1911 fan, so my next small pistol will probably be a compact 1911.

Our 3913 has seen more than it's fair share of abuse (no, I'm not going to go into it here [:)] ), but still functions 100%.  There has never been a single bobble or malfunction with the gun, even after immersion in salt water (doh!  I said no stories!).  I just fired it recently and it is amazingly accurate for such a little pistol.

Here's a picture of a 3913 (not mine -- and it looks like this one is DAO) in an Alessi CQC-I.  I just recently had Lou build me a CQC-I for our 3913.  Ours is black with split loops to fit over belt loops.  Great holster and good gun.

EDITED to say that the only thing that really torques me about the gun is the magazine disconnect safety.  Anyone know what I need to do to disable it?  I would probably only do it if I could assure myself that making the change would not be permanent and would not otherwise compromise the safety of the pistol (i.e., the parts for the magazine disconnect are NOT shared parts for fire control).  If anyone knows and can email me on this I'd appreciate it.

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1600140&a=12195395&p=53905755[/img]

I really like my 686+.  It will sit there for a while and not get used while I shoot other guns, then, on a whim I will take it out again and shoot it.  Everytime I remember how much I like that gun.  It is just fun to shoot.  Had a friend who "hated revolvers".  Got him to shoot my 686 and he was really impressed.  Changed his mind about revolvers.

I bought my second S&W. My first, I took to Vietnam with me in '66', as a back up. Last summer I bought a 337 Ti 'J' frame .38+P. Big money, but a promising carry package. I put about 100 rounds through it, cleaned it and put in my safe. On 9/11 I did an inventory and to my horror I couldn't get the 337's cylinder to open. I called S&W and no matter what they suggested it was jammed. I hand carried it to the factory where the revolver gunsmith said it was my fault "I either cleaned it incorrectly, or it was a moisture problem". I was pissed because I knew this was a load of crap. I wrote S&W Customer service and let them know how I felt about being treated like a moron...they never even responded. It's been 7 weeks and now they tell me that the gun needs a new frame...I'm still waiting. I'll never buy a screwdriver off S&W. American built or not.

Absolutely - every single one of 'em.  Just
like Chevrolet's.....

I have a 5906 police trade-in that has alot of holster wear, but a smoooooth action.
My Sigma 40 stainless is camped in my truck and has never given me problems.
My 629 Classic w/8 3/8" barrel is fun at 100 yards.
Overall S&W makes good quality products (I do think their autos (non-sigma) are $$$$$$$)
If we don't like their "sell-out", then WE need to change the screwed up atmosphere thay have to operate in.  Slick Willie and friends didn't fall from the sky.  Actively support pro-gun candidates, organizations, etc.

Ouch!!! Hmmmm Don't like American products?[;)] [):)] pg

No, I love American products.  My attempt at
satire - but Chevrolet will have a hard time
living down that Vega project if you know what
I mean.

Yes I do just messin with ya.[):)]pg