S&w 4506

[Auto426]

Lately I have been thinking about getting a S&W 4506. I was thinking about keeping it as a possible truck/nightstand gun for later on in life. It also looks like it would make a fun blaster for range use. I would also imagine as time goes on it might increase a little in value.

So far everything I have found on them says that they are good guns. To bad there's just not that much out there on the 4506.

What do you think of it? Also, what do you think I should pay for a decent one?

 

[Dot_mdb]

Try the Smith-Wessonforum.com. The gun is well known over there and if you use the search function you will get a lot of information.

I own a different model S&W 3rd generation semi-auto and in my opinion they are very fine guns.

Bill

 

[LUPUS]

I used to own a 4506 with AS.

First the cons according to my experiences with the pistol;
*The grip was pretty slim, but due the high bore axis, the gun always felt heavier than it really was and felt kicking harder than the competition despite of being a really heavy all steel .45 ACP pistol.
*After extensive amount of shooting, the trigger got a little bit loosy. After the trigger was pulled for dry firing and hammer falled, I had to to push the trigger a little bit forward to reach the full resting position.This is a kind of issue I see almost in every third generation SW autos due to the trigger spring designs, their plungers and locations.
*The hammer does not have a half cock notch on SW autos. When the safety is '' off '' the hammer is always touching the firing pin. The automatic firing pin safety plunger is always active to hold the firing pin till you pull the trigger, but I personally prefer the hammers with safety intersept and half cock notches.
*And just for the personal reasons, I do not like the pistols with the safety / decockers mounted on the slides.

And the pros;
*The adjustable sights were very well designed and protected so, the gun was suitable for confident field usage.
*And the most important part is, it was really a darn reliable and accurate pistol.

Regards.

 

[roman3]

3rd generation Smiths are some of the best constructed tanks in the firearm world. They are heavy but well built. I have had several and all went bang every time. I had the 4566 version of the 45 Series and it was a good shooting gun. They have choices of grips with different backstraps (curved/straight) Some have adjustable sights in a hood and some have standard sights.

I don't know if the 4506 will ever be a big $ maker as far as a collectable, some of the 3rd Gen 10mm (the rare ones) have fetched big $$$, but the 4506 was built in large numbers and used by lots of LE agencies over the years.

Sonny Crocket carried a 4506 in the final season of Miami Vice...FWIW

Cost, depends on condition and use but I would not be interested in one much over $400. Two on GB are going for $330 and $405 with a few days left. One has no action currently at $435.

 

[Te Anau]

I mostly got out of .45acp a couple of years ago,but I will never sell my 4506 which IMHO is the best .45acp ever built.

 

[KurtC]

I only use DAO guns, so mine are the 4546 and 4556. They are among the highest quality .45's I have seen during the last 25 years. Flawless, right from the box, and built like a bank vault. The design even allows them to feed empty cases.

 

[Slopemeno]

While not my fave .45, I wouldn't hesitate to use one for home defense.

 

[StuntManMike]

I have wanted one ever since I saw The Shield. I was quite tempted to pick up the 4516 at the gunshop yesterday but figured I would hold out for the full size version.

 

[Rich Miranda]

My instructor in security guard school (a real po-leece-man, golly gee! ) carried the 4506 as his duty weapon. He absolutely loved it and had ultimate faith in it. This was around 1994. I'm sure that it would make a good choice for you.

 

[Fremmer]

I love the 411 in .40 S&W that I have. A solid, reliable gun. Who is it (CDNN?) that has 3rd gen guns? You might want to check with them on that S&W 9.

 

[Laserlips]

Fremmer:

Who is CDNN?

Only America's largest hunting, sport wholesale liquidator... You can go to the website at: www.cdnnsports.com and download the current catalog.. The firearms will NOT have the prices listed, but you can call 1-800-588-9500 if you see something that strikes your fancy..

Excellent prices on the firearms they advertise (and it's a pile), reasonable shipping prices, and CDNN has a very good reputation for Customer Service, and I've personally found the ratings of the firearms they sell to be accurate, and in some cases, the pistol I got was BETTER than advertised.

During the past 6 months I've bought 3 "A" grade HK P7's (my salesman was Neal Ray). The HK P7's were advertised as "like new, excellent" and when they arrived two were "excellent" and one was NIB..

Later, I ordered 6 extra HK P7 magazines, advertised as "demo used only" and they came in perfect condition, same appearance and even factory date coded the same as the magazines that came with the pistols.

Just last week I bought a NIB S&W 6906 and it came just that way in the original plastic case.

You can also call CDNN and request a free "paper" catalog and they will add you to their mailing list and 3 or 4 times a year you will get a new catalog, and the prices ARE shown in the print catalog.

I recommend CDNN without reservation. I always look forward to the new catalog to see what I need to start saving my money for next..

Best Wishes,

Jesse

 

[mr kablammo]

The 4506 is a seriously sturdy, reliable, accurate and manly handgun. I saw a 4506-1 at the local GS that had Hogue grips and a trigger-guard laser with a rubber sleeve to hold the button. Clearly someone thought enough of the gun to trick it out for nightstand use. I could not get a fix on who sold it and why. The price was $425 or $475... either a bargain.

The LAPD SIS unit used the 4506 before switching to the new Kimber SIS edition. One of the gun magazines was quoting statistics on the performance of the SIS in gunfights. It was impressive, and since these reality tests were done with the Smith, it is clear that the SIS were using a gun that would get them home at the end of the day. The SIS switched to use the same model handgun as the SWAT unit.

Massad Ayoob, in the book "Combat Handgunnery" atests to owning three 4506s, one converted over to Single Action for competition use. I have used a 4506 for steel challenge matches and the gun is a real confidence holder.

If you ever had to crack some miscreat across the noggin with a gun, the 4506 is the way to go. The only way I can think of to improve the 4506 would be if the CZ bayonet could be fitted.