S&W 4046???

[BamaBowtie]

What are your opinions of these? I am getting one in the morning and was wondering what people thought of them. The one I'm looking at is a LEO trade and I'm not sure of the age, but it is in excellent condition and comes with 2 mags for $379 + tax and nics fee.

 

[ATW525]

I had one and it was a great gun. The trigger isn't for everybody, but I liked it. If it wasn't out of production, I'd still have mine (I was uneasy about the ability to get parts in the future). Being out of production also means that some more recent holster designs (Comp-Tac MTAC, for instance) aren't made to fit it.

 

[varoadking]

That's a great price an a wonderful piece. It is a bit heavy, but will serve you well...

I have a 4043 (top picture, top right) among other 3rd Generation S&W DAO's...

 

[Live Free]

seems high, but...

The price seems a bit high to me for a LEO trade-in, it likely has a very high round count and considerable wear. Having said this, I do not know your market. VARoadKing is has a very nice collection, He is obviously more knowledgeable in this than I and says the price is good, I'd say trust that.

Perhaps I sold my 4006 to cheap. The 3rd Gen S&W (.40cal) are all over the guns shows here, mostly due to LEO trade-in.


Hey VARaodKing, are you going to Sturgis this year? I bet that is a nice ride from Virginia.

 

[DBAR]

The S&W's semiautos are some of the most under rated handguns around. They are built like tanks, and you shouldn't ever really have to worry about finding parts for them, but if you did, S&W will take care of you. I've had some good experiences with their Customer Service, and they have supplied me with parts for guns that are out of production.

DBAR

 

[BamaBowtie]

Thanks for the replies, I feel I'm making the right choice. From what I have seen of LEO trades, they have low round counts and typically a lot of holster wear. This gun however doesn't even show that much wear. The only thing wrong I could find was that one of the mags has a weak spring and didn't lock the slide open twice out of about 6-7 times, that could also just be some dirt and grime in the mag too. As for the price I did some research on the auction sites last night and GunBroker prices were about the same as he wants, GunsAmerica was WAY out there. I saw a couple on GA for over $500 and they were used!

 

[davecharles]

I was an armorer for The Illinois Conservation Police. We were issued the 4043 and carried it for many years (same gun but with alloy frame) The were dependable and very user friendly. After around 10000 rounds we had some problems with the alloy frames cracking but that wouldn't have been a problem with the 4046. Our officers work in some pretty un firearm friendly conditions, mud, water,sand, dirt,etc. When we switched to glock 22's , I bought my issued 4043 for my own personal use. I may have some new mag springs if needed.
Dave

 

[carguychris]

Regarding third-gen S&W TDA double-stacks in general...

GOOD:

• Very tough and reliable; ranks with the SIG P226/P229 and Beretta 92FS as one of the most durable metal-frame service handguns
• Generally very good triggers
• Used LEO trade-in magazines are abundant and inexpensive for most models (I've seen 10-rd post-ban mags sell at gun shows for $5ea- great for range use or IDPA )
• Numerous options if you want to change the sights
• Excellent factory support
• Exposed hammer for safe DA-safety-off holstering
• Positive trigger-operated hammer block makes DA-safety-off carry completely safe (earlier S&W TDAs lack this feature)
• Slide can be operated with decocker/safety on
• Most have mag safeties, if you like them

BAD:

• Relatively large and heavy
• Large and blocky grip frame shape uncomfortable for some
• Many consider slide-mounted decocker/safety clumsy to operate- particularly problematic if you prefer to carry with safety on
• Cannot be carried cocked-and-locked
• High bore axis makes felt recoil more severe than some newer designs
• Lots of moving parts
• Field-stripping more complicated than some competitors
• Most have mag safeties, if you dislike them

 

[varoadking]

Regarding third-gen S&W TDA double-stacks in general...

The 4046 is DAO...no decocker or safety...

Hey VARaodKing, are you going to Sturgis this year? I bet that is a nice ride from Virginia.

Sadly, no...I don't have that much free time these days. Perhaps once I retire...

 

[gun nut]

I also have a 4046. Its a great shooting gun. Super reliability. Very accurate.

 

[BamaBowtie]

Well, I just returned home with the gun and I am a happy camper. I just field stripped it and the internals are pristine. The ONLY wear on the gun is on the grips and that's not really that bad. The tritium is pretty much dead and I might replace the sites but then again I may just leave well enough alone. I will have to replace the spring in one of the mags it fails to lock the slide about 10% of the time. I have racked the slide with the problem mag about 50 times and had 4-5 failures to lock. Dave, let me know if you still have some springs and how much you're asking for them. The serial number is TFR17xx if anyone can date it that would be appreciated. I'll post some pics soon.

EDIT: Here is a picture I took with my cell phone, I hope to get a couple of good pics later.