The S&W 469...a quick rundown of a cool little 1980s pistol

NIGHTLORD40K said:

One benefit to Delrin is that it doesn't grab your shirt and cause it to print or ride up during concealed carry- this is why I avoid Hogue rubber grips like a social disease.
In jacket weather, my 6904 is my belt gun, OWB. The other 10 months of the year here, it is my nightstand gun.

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Rubber does cling to fabric doesn't it.

I still have and occasionally carry, my 669 that I bought new back in the mid-80's. A fine little gun that has always worked for me.

Feels good seeing other folks that enjoy the 469 as much as I do! This is the one gun I'd never sell. Sent it to Mac's shootin' irons restoration. I really like this pistol. Scored 98/100 at CHL. Would have aced it but the target was dark blue and my sights were dark. I've since applied a little paint and it's awesome. Check the pics:

469 was my first pistol bought few years ago, maybe 98% condition with ambi safety and checkered grips . Being newb sold it thinking I needed a new M&P Shield but I did keep my 5906

Dragonfly said:

I don't think I'll go for the recall fix as I only load the pistol on the firing line at the range so I'm thinking it wouldn't be worth the hassle.

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If the pistol you have now (as opposed to the one in your first post) hasn't had the "recall fix", I'd suggest giving Smith & Wesson a call. My Model 6906 was listed in the recall and all Smith & Wesson did was send me replacement grips for the pistol. No hassle whatsoever; might be worth you giving them a call.

I recall a story from back in the day that told of Charlie Kelsey going to Springfield Mass and meeting with some suits from S&W.

He had a couple of his Devel chopped and channeled model 39 and 59 with him. He was treated rudely and told there wasnt a market for such guns.

Shortly after his meeting the S&W 469 Mini gun appeared. Borrowing.........stealing, many features from both Kelsey's Devel pistols and Paris Theodores ASP.

Kelsey was reportedly incensed and as the story goes he purchased a 469. He improved upon it and sent the modified 469 to S&W along with an in your face letter.

I don't know if the story is true. But I hope it is.

I recently acquired one if these by trade. Other then it’s really heavy D.A. pull, and those slick grip panels it’s a nice little shooter.

Would like to replace the grips with rubber but haven found any yet.

The Amazon source listed in the second response won’t fit as noted in the customer review and question section found with every product at Amazon s site.

BTW Reviewed the recall as it applied to this gun, 469, mine passed

SwampWolf said:

If the pistol you have now (as opposed to the one in your first post) hasn't had the "recall fix", I'd suggest giving Smith & Wesson a call. My Model 6906 was listed in the recall and all Smith & Wesson did was send me replacement grips for the pistol. No hassle whatsoever; might be worth you giving them a call.

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That recall is for the 4-digit 3rd gen S&Ws. This is a 2nd-gen S&W.

The grips are different.

My 469 with my M&P Bodyguard 380.

That'd be a fun gun to send to someone like Terry Tussey to build an ASP/Develish pistol from.

I missed your write up the first time 'round and don't think I ever knew about this gat.

Todd.

I had three Model 6906 pistols. My daughter is a pharmacist and confiscated one of them as her CCW. One is in near mint condition and the other was a LEO trade in that once belonged to the California Parole and Probation Department. That one has the most holster wear I have ever seen on a LEO trade in. Didn’t hurt my feelings too bad as I paid the princely sum of $245 for it on GB. Mechanically its in excellent condition and appears to have a low round count. I like carrying a pistol like that. If it gets another scratch on it who cares. Every one of mine has been 100% reliable with a wide range of ammo. I recommend replacing the slide springs with the replacement spring sold by Wolff Gun Springs. The real fly in the ointment with these pistols are OEM magazines. At one point in time you could get good used OEM magazines from CDNN Sports for $12 a piece. Wish I had bought a boat load of those. Today the used ones for sale on GB will pretty near cost you an arm and a leg.

Basically this platform is the Smith & Wesson Model 59 platform which ultimately went into three generations. The firearms market is a fickle thing. Back in the day the two design characteristics that hurt these guns was the magazine disconnect feature and the grip geometry...which many complained was too wide and would not easily accommodate people with small hands. The third generation was Smith & Wesson’s response to the complaints that the grip was too wide...All of the third generations came with thin, one piece Derlin grips that were indestructible. Then there was that whole “You gotta shift your grip after the first shot thing”. The stage was set for some enterprising company to engineer their way around these complaints. Our pals at Glock seized the opportunity and the rest is history as the phrase goes. Yet and still these pistols are icons of the “Wonder 9” craze that gripped the firearms market back in the 70’s and 80’s and remain an important part of history. I like mine but no longer carry any of them deferring to the present polymer frame pocket pistol craze that currently grips the market today. That said, if all I was holding was a Smith & Wesson 659 when the “stuff” hit the fan, I sure as hell wouldn’t go running around feeling sorry for myself. I would simply pick that old Smith up and go to work. I could send someone on to the next life with one of these old Smiths just as fast as someone with a Glock.

I have a Marlin Camp 9 and a good supply of S&W magazines to fit it............ I guess someday, I might have to pick up a S&W pistol to go with all the magzines.
It would make a good companion gun to the Marlin. as somebody mentioned earlier in this thread, the marlin magazines are an exact copy of the S&W mags.
I see the price of the used S&W pistols are high right now?

OP: Your thread is more current than you think. I acquired my 469 last month to add to my collection (Oct 2020). I did the M&P Shield thing along with other manufacturer's polymer guns. Sure they work, but after blowing the side out of one, I decided to go back to an alloy frame carry piece. I looked at several 9mm guns and decided the S&W 2nd or 3rd generation model would be ideal for my purposes. After watching countless videos and studying the specs, I just did not see any major difference between the 2nd and 3rd gen guns that would make me choose one over the other. They both would meet my needs. I got my particular 469 mostly due to its relatively low price (GunBroker auction $330). My out the door price (gun+shipping+transfer fee+ tax) was $427, much less than any similar 9mm. Before getting the gun, I found a Ramline 15+1 magazine which is very cool. It uses a roll up spring that unrolls from the follower down into the magazine so that there is no spring filling the magazine at the base plate. I carry my 469 with 15 in the magazine without an extension to the magazine, of course, with one in the pipe. I agree that the grip is slippery but not a deal breaker. I've been thinking about a rubber grip sleeve but not crazy about the added bulk. As far as shootability goes, the old girl loaded and fired just fine, zero issues. Trigger action is smooth and that really short reset is terrific. The only thing I would like would be a spur hammer so I can cock the first round rather than having to shoot DA. I exchanged messages with a 469 owner who replaced the hammer with one from a 59. He said it fit without any issues.

Lastly, I had cataracts removed and new lenses installed in both eyes. My left eye lens was selected so I could focus on my car and motorcycle instrument cluster while the right eye lens was to focus at a distance. I was told that the brain would compensate for the different focal lengths and that vision would be clear. That is not what I'm experiencing. If I could do it over, I would have selected both eye lenses for near sightedness and use glasses for far sighted focusing. I wasn't thinking clearly when made the decision to select the left eye for the near sighted lens. This means when I aiming a gun, I'm using the 'weak' side eye. It works but sort of weird. I should have selected the right eye for the near sighted lens which is more natural for me. I guess the bottom line is with 16 rounds, I should hit the target at least once, HA!

Ramline MAW9215 15+1 magazine.

S&W specs 1988.

left to right: Kahr PM9, M&P Shield 9, 469

My 469 with factory installed Millet sights.

As introduced in the 1983 catalog.

Full size single stack tank. 639 has about the recoil of a 22lr.

I literally just passed on one of these for $280 last month. It was slightly more worn than the gun featured. I simply didn't need it at all, even though it seemed like an exceptionally good pandemic price.

P5 Guy said:

Full size single stack tank. 639 has about the recoil of a 22lr.

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I really, really, really, really, really want a 639...........did I mention I want a 639?

Beautiful pistol!

Bullseye said:

Excellent review! Not much else I can say, except maybe there is a aftermarket grip could be put on it.

LATE EDIT:
Found these on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Grip-S-Compact-Hogue-69000/dp/B001Q1TSSC

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I have to agree with all of the posts made with reference to the Delrin grips on the 469 - both the good and the bad. For those seeking a slim, non-slip or less slippery grip, look on the various auction sites and Ebay for some Pachmayr Signature grips. No longer available from Lyman-Pachmayr, but I've seen them on the sites. I bought mine factory fresh back in the day and they are great. Only marginally thicker than the OEM grips. Carried the 469 as my primary duty weapon for about 7 years. Never had an issue with it printing under a suit coat or jacket or "snagging" the coat liner.

Also, I purchased mine used from another LEO who had had the slide plated with an "electroless nickel" process that gave it a look like SS as someone else here mentioned (only his was a rarity that came from the factory). First thing I did was have a S&W armorer disassemble the frame for me and had it all plated to match. The whole thing is a uniform satin finish that looks like SS. Sharp looking gun just like the factory nickel version and a sweet shooter. Never had a problem with it.

Funny seeing this great thread resurrected once again.

I tracked down my own 469 after first learning about them with this thread. As far as I can remember.

The gun really appealed to me as an evolution of the ASPs & Devels that I mooned over back in the day.

Luckily, mine already has Uncle Mike's grip panels. #59504 if anyone cares to search by numbers.

In looking into it - I found a fella that postulated that the trigger guard treatment was at least as much for shooting against doorways and the like. In looking closely at the overall concept of the guard - I can believe that.

On the ambi vs. left side safety. I sure do appreciate my ambi as it is a great aid in racking the slide.

I note that in *half-cock* (achieved with a mild tug on the trigger) that the serration atop the hammer are plenty to grab to manually cock the hammer. Nice touch, that.

As to the recall listing from S&W, I find it interesting to note that although mine is NOT within the very specific range of recalled pistols it DOES however fail the test listed below the numbers list. Due to that, they advise it be sent back.

Todd.

Sights, grips, mag releases (“amphibious” or not) color, or whatever. As a Lefty who adapts to a gun’s features, Righty’s should have a better chance of adjusting to various features.

Give Me Solid Metal handguns (preferably alloy frames),
Give me heavier-than-plastic , very high quality and reliability.

2nd, 3rd. Gen S&W etc do quite well without being “dedicated followers of fashion”. My S&W 6904 and 908 are only limited by the owner’s lack of much formal training. Can’t blame the guns——-

I really like these style pistols. Bought a SW 457 which looks similar. It is 45 cal and handles it nicely but the trigger is terrible. Grainy and difficult.

Is the trigger on the 469 ok?

18DAI said:

Great review of a fine pistol! What baseplate is that on the magazine? Could you share where I might find one like it? Thank you!

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I think it a stock 12 round magazine with the pinky rest cut off, in an expert manner.