S&W 4506, Opinons?

[Joe Demko]

I have a 4566 and a 1006. Also owned another 4566 for years which I carried as a duty pistol. The solid steel 3rd generation automatics are some high quality guns. They are reliable, accurate, and durable. The only thing that was ever "wrong" with them was that they were insufficiently tacticool. If Tommy Lee Jones had grated out something macho about them or Steven "the Hutt" Seagal had used them in his cinematic adventures, they'd be making them still.

 

[Lucky 7]

Joe nailed it. The Gen 3s don't hold 20 rounds or have a rail (TSW series excluded) or weigh 14oz loaded or striker fired or have a baked-in-a-volcano finish. They are what they are, which is a throwback to All-American quailty.

Man, now the 6904 has to go to the range with me today...

Regards,
Lucky

 

[Leadbutt]

THey been around long enough to have the bugs worked out of them, IMO the only thing that beats the 45 seris is the 1086

 

[jolly roger]

Carried one on duty for about 10 years. Bought it when we switched to HK USPs. Excellent gun IMHO and would feed empty cases. Accurate to boot. Shot an entire mag full of 230 ball into the 8 ring of a B27 one time...at 125 yards prone

 

[Joseph Med]

Check the weight of both Autos ( 4506 and 1911 ) and then come back tell us the different weight of the two.
I think you will be surprised on how close the weights are.

 

[Strykervet]

The 3rd gen Smith pistols are some of the finest ever made. They just couldn't compete with Glock for the police contracts --Glock would give away their pistols if they bought mags and traded in their old pistols. Sometimes 3rd gen Smith pistols. Then they'd sell these for profit, and they could do it because they could make the pistols for a lot less. The 3rd gen pistols was more costly to manufacture, and based on Glock's success, Smith dropped them to copy Glock and make 1911 and AR copies, a huge mistake I think. I believe they'll take on a collector value in the future.

 

[DC3-CVN-72]

I have a S&W1006 & a S&W3913. I will own more of these 3rd. gen. smiths. They are a best buy on the used gun market.

 

[Viper]

And to top it off, that platform has undoubtedly the BEST feed system ever devised.........doubt that?.... then try this, take an average 1911, stoke the mag with empties & try to get it to feed..........I have an old transition 645 that will shuck a complete magazine full just as fast as you can cycle the slide!!

Trigger,........ easily as good if not better than any stock 1911, and that's straight out of the box........DA on the 2nd generation guns is smooth as silk........there was some minor geometry change to enable that. That system was forced into an early retirement by the emergence of the "plastic wondernines", not because of any inherent shortcomings of design.......in my personal opinion, having carried mine as a duty gun I'd rate it far superior to that latter, and in every case it outranks that antique Browning system.

Overall the platform is utterly reliable, accurate and to be frank about it, far superior to ANY 1911.

I've done the same trick with a full mag in a 4586 and 4563. I really like the 3rd gen S&W and have had quite a few, still have a 457S and CS45. The only one that was a disappointment was a 4043 because I didn't like the DAO trigger.

 

[Tom Fury]

Paperscraper: What range in Fla

Has that 10th anniversary you mentioned? Been lookin' for one of those...
Cheers, TF
S&W 4506 (x3)
S&W Perf center CQB 4563 (x2)
4516-2x2
4516-1x1
4513
CS45
two tone 457
645 modified to SAO by Novaks.
1911 PD

 

[dondavis3]

I just bought a fine S&W 5906 from CDNN for $295 about 6 months ago.



It's a police trade in and is in wonderful shape for it's age.

Shoots straight & true.

 

[mkvtaco]

Check out the sig pro 2022!

 

[dondavis3]

@ mkvtaco

I believe that the Sig Sauer P2022 is a more modern gun .

And probably a better gun overall.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I believe that the Sig Sauer P2022 is a more modern gun

Well, yeah, for whatever that's worth.

And probably a better gun overall.

That's just funny.

 

[18DAI]

I just shot my 4506-1 for my retired qualification. 99.6 Day and 98 night score. Guess my 100 day are behind me! My fault not the 4506-1.

The kids qualifying that day called it the "Vic Mackey" gun. Evidently after a TV character who preferred the 4506.

I'll never get rid of my 3rd generation pistols. No manufacturer today makes anything as nice......well.....for less that $2200 anyway.

 

[lockbreech]

In my opinion the S&W 4506 is the best 45 ACP pistol ever made in this country. Just way better than that 1911 Browning abortion that people are spending way too much money for these days. But what do I know I have only been a gunsmith for 35 years now!

 

[steveracer]

The 4506 and it's little brothers are wonderful pistols in every configuration. The ONLY one I didn't like was the 4513, as it was a little too light for my tastes, and felt like a toy. (Heavier than a M&P45C, mind you, but still felt too light)