tell me about my S&W 4046

biggyfries · Jan 17, 2014

I just aquired a good-looking S&W 4046 in a trade and now I'm looking it over at home and I have noticed things about it that I never heard of before--it has no safety that I can see to begin with. It is a double action and if you have the slide back and insert a loaded mag it will load the chamber and shoot fine, but how does one carry it with and empty chamber? Must you rack the slide back for the first shot? Can it be carried safely with a round in the chamber?
I know double action revolvers were safe to carry fully loaded and they had no safety, so is it a similar deal with this pistol?
How do you lower the hammer without firing since there is no decocking lever?

hAkron · Jan 17, 2014

It should be DA ONLY, the hammer shouldn't have a single action notch on it. When you rack the slide, the hammer should return to the down position. Is it not doing that?

PabloJ · Jan 17, 2014

It works just like a Glock except the trigger safety lever is replaced by long heaver trigger pull and DA hammer offers second strike capability.

9mmepiphany · Jan 18, 2014

How do you lower the hammer without firing since there is no decocking lever?

You shouldn't have to. The 4046 hammer should just follow the slide down as it goes into battery.

Are you saying that the hammer stays back (cocked) when you release the slide?

biggyfries · Jan 18, 2014

The hammer does follow the slide forward and it will still be able to be fired. My concern is when you have fired a couple of shots and you want to holster it may you just holster it without fear of an accidental discharge? Do I need re-training for this pistol? I guess I am just used to my 1911's and always lower the hammer when I holster it. I know the safety is supposed to make a 1911 safe to holster but I have always lowered the hammer out of habit. I am a recreational shooter, with no LEO training or combat training.
I should add that I just got this pistol a few days ago and I have not shot it--I have no .40 ammo yet, I am just trying to familiarize myself with it at this point. Local stores are out of .40cal I hear.
If I were going to fire this 4060 I would start with the slide locked back, insert a loaded mag and then release the slide which will chamber a round. Then after a couple of shots may I safely holster the pistol til my next shots?

JTQ · Jan 18, 2014

The hammer always goes down, right? There is no decocking option for you to do. It's just like a double action revolver. Don't pull the trigger and it won't fire.

I guess I am just used to my 1911's and always lower the hammer when I holster it.

The vast majority of 1911 users will not do that. Most will just engage the thumb safety and reholster. However, if that is your technique with the 1911, I suspect the 4046 is a much better option for you from a safety standpoint than the 1911 has been.

EDIT to ADD: Here is a very valuable post from member PcolaDawg regarding the potential problems when lowering the hammer on a live round. This thread is from 2009, and I still remember it. It just took a little searching to find it.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=441761

paul45 · Jan 18, 2014

I know the safety is supposed to make a 1911 safe to holster but I have always lowered the hammer out of habit.

You lower the hammer on a live round?

Out of "habit"?

May I suggest you take a basic firearms safety class.

What you are doing is very, very unsafe. You WILL have an ND... just a question of when.

PabloJ · Jan 18, 2014

paul45 said:
You lower the hammer on a live round?

Out of "habit"?

May I suggest you take a basic firearms safety class.

What you are doing is very, very unsafe. You WILL have an ND... just a question of when.

I suspect that is why US military had oil drums full of sand next to building entrances when the 1911 was standard service firearm.

The Lone Haranguer · Jan 18, 2014

Do you have any pictures? On a S&W DAO, the hammer has no spur (unless somebody somehow put a spurred hammer on it) and follows the slide down every time. Unless this model is different, which I doubt, the DAOs actually have a preset hammer, the slide action partially cocking the hammer, the trigger pull doing the rest. They don't have "second strike." If there is a failure to fire you have to shuck the dud round out so the slide precocks the hammer again. When the hammer is precocked, it sticks out of the slide a little bit. When inert, it is completely flush or slightly below.

Don't worry about carrying with a loaded chamber or decocking the hammer. It is safe to do the former as it has a firing pin block, and you can't do the latter as it decocks itself.

biggyfries · Jan 19, 2014

I can tell you they still have barrels of sand and water at any entrance to buildings full of soldiers and guns. I spent a year in Iraq as a contractor.
I have been told before about the lowering of hammers vs the safety and I am just telling you the truth about my 'habits.' Don't be too dismissive--I am willing to learn and re-train. I'm old but can still learn. I have never had an unintentional discharge (happily) but I know of dozens of experts who have.

I think I see I have to put in some time with all my pistols and re-train. Thanks for the responses.

Wreck-n-Crew · Jan 19, 2014

Da only 4046, Same function as Glock , M&P (no safety version), SA revolver, Etc. One will need to stay in chamber to shoot and if you carry it.

The Lone Haranguer · Jan 19, 2014

The DAOs have a shorter stroke trigger pull and reach than the first shot of the traditional double actions. But unlike the TDAs which have the first shot double action and subsequent shots from a cocked-hammer single action, this pull is the same every time. This will be very evident in these pictures.

chains1240 · Jan 20, 2014

The S&W 4046 was my duty pistol before we switched them out. It is DAO. You shoot it until you are done, top off the magazine and holster it.

tell me about my S&W 4046

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