Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns S&W 645 and 4506 ???

Tell me about your experiences with these two pistols.

Thanks, RS

I new some Troopers that carried them. They looked great in basket weave.

Seriously though I don't recall shooting one. Guys liked them. I wish I bought one back in the day....

Had a 745 for a while. Good shooter. Too large for the hand that grew up with the 1911. Great trigger, but it was SA, as opposed to the DA 645.

The 645 is 2nd and the 4506 is 3rd generation. The 4506 with the rounded trigger guard is later and the pistol I would go for. As for the pistol, big, heavy, and reliable. It's a lot of everything to get 8+1, too much probably.

I've had Smith 3rd gen 45s in all three sizes, incredibly tough and durable guns. If you like the way they fit in your hand there's no reason not to own one, though a 4506 could obviously be a chore to carry.

Jog, got it right. I said the other day I started shooting IPSC with a 4506 and then later on thought back, that wasn't right. I started with a 645, that was the one with the square trigger guard, then went to the 4506 of which I've had a few. Also had the 4516, and the 4566 which I like the 4566 the best. It's a commander length barrel, but still takes the 8 round magazine which I prefer. Recently picked up a Smith 457 which is a 7 round magazine but the grip is a little small for my liking. Truth is you could pick either one but the 645 is harder to find a holster for, (or at least was back when I was using one) ended up using an early Beretta 92 holster that worked "ok". As has been said they are extremely reliable, tough, and HEAVY as far as I'm concerned the weight is the only negative. It will hold up if you run out of ammo and need to beat someone with it. If you want a gun that will out last the cockroach the Smith 3rd generation guns are it. Not the CC handgun I would pick.

I own both.

In fact I was carrying my 4506 today.



I had my 4506 riding in an IWB rig, and 3 spare 8 round mags in my Carhartt jeans.


Both are rock solid reliable, and both will literally feed empty .45 cases.

Interesting note:

You will be hard pressed to read 5 posts online without someone pointing out about how heavy the 4506 is, often referring to it as a boat anchor.

I have found this pretty amusing since they don't say the same thing about the standard 5" Government Model 1911.

The fact is that a 4506 is about an ounce LIGHTER than a 1911.

It is all about perception.


BTW, they are extremely accurate guns. The lockup on my 4506 is such that with proper target sights, I bet it would do a fair job in a local bullseye match.

645:








It is another tack driver.

Had a 1076 - very heavy, and ended up with an odd parts breakage - the trigger return spring broke, which is a stamped metal part. Not sure you could get a replacement these days.

Mackay,

That 4506 pictured is the model that I am most interested in. It has the grip, trigger guard and sight configurations that are appealing to me. What is the dash number of that pistol? Is it true that S&W 945 mags will work in the 4506 but not conversely?

Thanks, RS

I'm milled a second catch slot into 10 rd. 4506 mags for use in my 945.

Yeah Mackay, that is one classic Smith.

I've owned a number of 3rd gen smiths, still own a few. You're very well armed with a 3rd gen. Utterly reliable, durable and typically very accurate. The 4506 is my favorite of the 3rd gens. The first one I owned (IIRC 1989), I shot a pin match with one night, when I wandered into a gun shop/range. My 1911 was at home. Went up against a bunch of pin guns, blew the first run, settled in and shot one of fastest times of the night on the third run. Sadly that pistol was stolen, along with my truck.

The one I have now is one of the fairly rare transitional 645/4506 models. It's a 4506 but stamped 645 and is a tack driver. Physically, it would be virtually the same as carrying a 1911, except much safer. And more reliable. But I carry a 457S, alloy framed, compact version. Also a great shooter and just as reliable.

RS,

I am not familiar enough with 945s to give you a definitive answer in regards to the magazines. I have a third full size gun, a 4563 TSW, which is essentially S&W's version/equivalent of a DA/SA lightweight Commander.


Between those three, I have a few standard factory mags. Beyond that I am using cheap Pro-Mags, which do not have a good reputation. The 8 round PMs I have run OK, but I also have 2 10 round Pro Mags that came with one of the guns, and they do not feed reliably. Sourcing factory 8 round mags at a reasonable price has been an issue. Some guys are asking scalpers prices for them.

The 4506 shown is a very late model, and uncommon decocker version. From what more knowledgeable 3rd Gen gurus have told me, they are rather uncommon.

Collectors call it a 4506-1 "Dash 3", though it is simply laser etched 4506.

The following is a post by a subject matter expert from the S&W forum:



As a S&W 3rd generation fan, I've gathered information on them over the years. Some of the information I gathered here. Some of those early 2000 to 2005 45XX threads are no longer available. I still have some meager records of information relating to the 45XX series and will post it here as I come across it. It may be of value to those of you who appreciate/collect/accumulate the 45XX series pistols as I do.

The 4506-1 is a fine pistol, by any standard. I've found (through my experiences and those of many others) that there is a subset within the 4506-1 series that bears mentioning. The 4506-1 "dash 3".

4506-1 production "officially" ended around 1999 when the 4506-1 was removed from the catalog. S&W continued to produce batches of 4506-1's though, for LE orders. Orders ranged in size from 50 to a few hundred. S&W referred to these guns as 4506-1 revision 4. Shooters/collectors/accumulators have called these 4506-1's "dash 3's" by virtue of the "03" in the upper right hand corner of the label on their boxes.

The label on the box being the surest identifier as there is some variation within this subset of the model 4506-1. These dash 3's appear to have started around 1998/99. All that I have seen had MIM hammers and triggers, black in color. All I've handled and shot have been particularly accurate with excellent triggers right out of the box. VERY good triggers and AMAZINGLY accurate actually. While neither myself nor anyone else, to date, has been able to verify it, it would appear that these dash 3's either had more attention during contruction or were machined to tighter tolerances than previous 4506-1's.

IIRC, there was a 2005 thread where members Wolfy and 45CQB related seperate instances of firing examples of these 4506-1 dash 3's. Both members commented on how nice the triggers were and how surprised they were at the inherent accuracy of these examples. They also pointed out the 03 in the labels. At the time, Lew Horton had a batch of these for sale as well. NIB 4506-1 dash 3's. LE contract overuns is what we were told.

There are three different types of 4506-1 (R4) dash 3 observed. All have the larger barrel hood. The early variants have roll marks on the slide and frame. These have been observed with "V" serial prefixes. VAV, VJP, VLN have been some that I've seen. This variant of the dash 3 was produced with both fixed Novak sights and adjustable sights. The rollmarks on the frame were two lines - serial number and "MOD 4506-1".

The next is very similar but includes factory night sights. The scarcest variant being a 4506-1 (R4) dash 3 with factory adjustable night sights AND rollmarks vice laser etching. Many of these were made for the LAPD and IIRC a member here lettered his and showed us where it was sent to the LAPD revolver and athletic club.

Then there is the 4506-1 (R4) dash 3 with laser etched markings. These markings consist of "Smith & Wesson" and "Springfield MA" with the S&W logo laser etched on the slide. On the frame is a two line laser etching of the serial number and model number. The model number however is not "4506-1", it is simply "MOD 4506". The very final 4506-1's produced were all of this variant. The final examples having three lines laser etched on the frame. The 3rd line being a repeat of the S&W address and, IMO, making the markings look.......too busy......cheesy?







So here is the really cool thing!

I actually picked up an UNFIRED 4506 not too long ago. I had to drive halfway across our rather large state, and back again to get it, but it was worth it, as it is pretty much like finding a Unicorn!

It was not cheap, but how often do you find a brand new 4506?!?







I have a friend who goes down and trains LAPD guys, and these are super popular with both active and retired guys there. I have not had a chance to link up with him yet, but I have no doubt that this will make someone quite happy to have in their collection.

Good stuff! Thanks for the info.

RS

I have a 745 and have had a 645. The 745 is a good target pistol, but as with Dan, the grip feels a bit too large for a seamless transition from the 1911.

The 645 grips is larger and feels awkward to me even though I have pretty large hands. I bought the 645 to use as bear protection when picking wild blueberries in ME/NH/VT about 30 years ago and sold it shortly after I moved to Nebraska and was no longer able to pick wild blueberries.

The only CF S&W pistols that I currently have are an early 39, a 4006 that is my bedside home protection gun, and the previously mentioned 745. Perhaps my bias is due to my Father's handgun philosophy that you buy COLT SA revolvers and pistols and S&W DA revolvers. He was old school, born in 1909 and passed away in 2000 a few days past his 91st birthday..

I kick myself for letting go of my 4506, made a heck of a bedside gun...

Since the subject of Third Gen S&Ws came up again, I figured I would bump this thread.

The 4506 is by far one of my favorite non 1911 45 autos in existence.

A well built one can rival a match built 1911.

I've used a 4506 since 1989. It is still quite accurate and very reliable. I also have a 4516 and it demonstrates the same qualities as the 4506. Excellent pistols in my opinion.

The trouble with the 4506-1 is finding one! I've been looking since I started this thread and decent specimens are simply not available.

RS