S&W 6906 or Glock 19
- Thread starter graysmoke
- Start date
lsufan1971
New member
It depends on what's the purpose. If it's to carry and shoot I choose the 19. Just for the fact that it's a currently produced gun with easily accessible parts and accessories.
oldandslow
New member
gs, 8/31/12
I have both the G-19 and the SW 6906/4 platforms as well as a number of other pistols. I like the SW best- for me it carries easier and I like the DA/SA trigger. Nothing wrong with the G-19 though. My daughter has requested the Glock (as well as my Ruger SP-101-2" revolver) for herself now that she's of legal age. No problems letting them go for a good cause. Good luck.
best wishes- oldandslow
I have both the G-19 and the SW 6906/4 platforms as well as a number of other pistols. I like the SW best- for me it carries easier and I like the DA/SA trigger. Nothing wrong with the G-19 though. My daughter has requested the Glock (as well as my Ruger SP-101-2" revolver) for herself now that she's of legal age. No problems letting them go for a good cause. Good luck.
best wishes- oldandslow
Mrgunsngear
New member
Glock 19 without hesitation. The S&W is a great gun but the G19 is the most popular gun in America for a reason---it's simple and works.
Gats Italian
New member
6906. Glocks are one size fits some.
Mrgunsngear
New member
I agree. I don't think I inferred it wasn't either of those things. But, now that I'm thinking about it, the Glock's trigger system is simpler than the 6906 so it may get a slight edge in that category. Both are great guns here though, I'm not trying to suggest otherwise.
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I saw 8 or 10 6906s at the Ft. Worth Gun show this past weekend. All priced at $329 IIRC and I think the vendor was Bachman Pawn and Guns in Dallas. I bought one several months ago.
They were all police trades.
And I saw a nice 4506 at a different table and purchased it, not really knowing too much about it, other than it was a near pristine example of a Smith 3G semi.
carguychris
New member
Food for thought...
The G19 wins on weight; Glock's website says 21oz unloaded and 30oz loaded, although the latter weight will depend on what load you're using. The M6906 weighs 26oz loaded and probably ~33oz loaded; I don't have one and can't find a loaded weight spec. Remember that one of the major advantages of modern tactical plastic is lighter weight than all-metal pistols of roughly equal capacity, even those with alloy frames like the M6906.
Despite the lower weight, the G19 will probably have lower felt recoil- although this is somewhat subjective- and will definitely have less muzzle flip. S&W TDA pistols have high bore axes and categorically don't do well on muzzle flip.
The G19 wins on mag capacity AND availability- 15rd vs. 12rd, and Glock mags are available everywhere for cheap (one day I expect to see them in blister packs next to a gas station cash register).
Some inexpensive 69-series mags are floating around, but they're still nowhere near as plentiful as Glock mags. The M6906 will accept 15rd 59-series mags, but they will protrude beneath the grip frame and negate the pistol's size advantage.
If you're looking at particular pistols, early-production M6906s had a vertical-blade rear sight has less sight radius and fewer replacement options than the later Novak sights, and had a squared-off trigger guard that causes issues with holster fitment; as with other 3rd-gen Smith pistols, round trigger guard pistols will fit in square trigger guard holsters but often not the reverse, so it's generally easier to find holsters for the rounded guard. Myself and other TDA owners have found that this factor isn't always reflected in holster maker's catalogs.
One issue with holster fitment for CCW with a M6906 may be the decocker/safety levers. I sometimes carry a M3904 and have had issues with the lever digging into my side if the holster doesn't cant the pistol slightly away from my body or incorporate a guard flap to protect the lever.
All that being said, I would get the M6906 because S&W 3rd-gen pistols just make me happy.
The G19 wins on weight; Glock's website says 21oz unloaded and 30oz loaded, although the latter weight will depend on what load you're using. The M6906 weighs 26oz loaded and probably ~33oz loaded; I don't have one and can't find a loaded weight spec. Remember that one of the major advantages of modern tactical plastic is lighter weight than all-metal pistols of roughly equal capacity, even those with alloy frames like the M6906.
Despite the lower weight, the G19 will probably have lower felt recoil- although this is somewhat subjective- and will definitely have less muzzle flip. S&W TDA pistols have high bore axes and categorically don't do well on muzzle flip.
The G19 wins on mag capacity AND availability- 15rd vs. 12rd, and Glock mags are available everywhere for cheap (one day I expect to see them in blister packs next to a gas station cash register).
Some inexpensive 69-series mags are floating around, but they're still nowhere near as plentiful as Glock mags. The M6906 will accept 15rd 59-series mags, but they will protrude beneath the grip frame and negate the pistol's size advantage.If you're looking at particular pistols, early-production M6906s had a vertical-blade rear sight has less sight radius and fewer replacement options than the later Novak sights, and had a squared-off trigger guard that causes issues with holster fitment; as with other 3rd-gen Smith pistols, round trigger guard pistols will fit in square trigger guard holsters but often not the reverse, so it's generally easier to find holsters for the rounded guard. Myself and other TDA owners have found that this factor isn't always reflected in holster maker's catalogs.
One issue with holster fitment for CCW with a M6906 may be the decocker/safety levers. I sometimes carry a M3904 and have had issues with the lever digging into my side if the holster doesn't cant the pistol slightly away from my body or incorporate a guard flap to protect the lever.
All that being said, I would get the M6906 because S&W 3rd-gen pistols just make me happy.
If the purpose is to "carry and shoot", I opt for the Model 6906.
I'm not sure what is meant by this, but in over fifty years of shooting S&W handguns I have found almost all of them to have been very well-made. Furthermore, when it comes to Smith's sadly discontinued line of Third Generation pistols (which, of course, includes the Model 6906), of the many I own and of the very many that I've shot over the years, I've never encountered one that was anything less than very well-made.
Concerning the Model 6906, after my agency switched from revolvers to semi-automatic pistols, I carried it for almost twelve years before retiring. Of the thousands of cheap agency reloads that were run through my Model 6906 during our bi-annual qualification regimens, I never experienced a single malfunction. I can't say the same for a couple of officers that I knew who carried the Glock Models 17 and 19 (I'm emphatically not saying that Glocks aren't great pistols; just reporting my individual experiences).
I suppose one of the reasons I prefer the Model 6906 (and its Third Generation brethern) is because my training makes it the pistol I am most familiar with. My training also might explain why I much prefer the "traditional" double-action trigger configuration. Though I have found the Model 6906 easy to handle, plenty accurate enough and very well-built, the biggest reason I carry it even now as a "civilian", is its record of extreme reliability.