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I carried a 1076 for 8 years before they took it away from me, and I never complained about it. I never felt like I didn't have enough pistol when I carried that 10mm.

I had a 1076 I bought off a local LEO when their department schitt canned their 10mm’s. Bought it for $275. Of course, that was 25 or 26 years ago.
Used it as a truck gun. Accurate, reliable, and easy shooting too.
Should’ve kept it, but I usually carried my Glock 20 10mm when bow hunting in bear country, as it was lighter and carried 16 rounds.
Cheapest I’ve seen one in the last few years is $750.
Still kicking myself for selling it for $400 about 20 years ago.

That guy from the Military Arms Channel loves the 1076. I think it's because he says it's built to hold up to a steady diet of 10mm loaded as first intended.

There are a number of lesser known 3rd Gens that were/are real gems.

The 4563 for example.

It is basically S&W's DA/SA version of a Colt Lightweight Commander.



It is a .45 ACP
8 round mags
Aluminum frame
4& 1/4" barrel

Very accurate little lightweight gun.

The 4506 is really the Gold Standard though.

Accurate and ultra reliable.







This one is a later production and features a somewhat uncommon factory issued decocker feature, which I have been told is a fairly sought after feature.

Simply a fantastic .45.

I had a 3913 with a Teddy Jacobson action job. Very nice shooting, easy to carry pistol. Me being me, it ended up getting "rotated" to get something else...

Does it handle as good as it looks? With a bit more muzzle length, it would seem it should be much better handling than the 4516.

This is without question what I consider the finest 3rd Gen .45 ever produced and one of the single most acccurate guns I have ever shot.

This is a Performance Center 4563.



Something along the lines of 108 or so left the factory.

Hand fitted barrels, Briley spherical bushings, slides and frames cut at the same time to match each other and a very highly tunes action, with a single action that rivals many 1911s.



Shoots a lot like my Les Baer match gun with the 1.5" at 50 yard guarantee.

I remember, back in the day, the Performance Center was coming out with some really nice chopped down 3rd Gen pistols.

Do get a set of dies and try hand loading it. I had one for 20 years. With AA7 powder and Hornady's 180 gr. XTP, it would put five into 1.5 inches at 25 yds. While the 1006 really doesn't come up to the 41 Magnum, it isn't far behind. And much nicer to shoot. E

After all that trouble getting it to Illinois! I was missing it just yesterday.

The third gens I’ve had were every bit as reliable as my Glocks, if not as easy to break down or work on.

CDNN was giving away 5906’s just a few years ago.

Yep,

It really depends entirely on the model.

4506s, pretty much most of the 10mm versions, and the Performance Center guns all command a premium over most of the standard police issue models. Every now and then when a corrections department or LE agency turns a bunch in, whatever they have will go relatively cheap initially. Then after a couple years the price starts to creep up as the supply dwindles.

There are specific models though that collectors of uncommon S&W autos really look for and will pay considerably more for if it is the right one.

You guys are throwing the BS flag on your own 'bore axis' regurgitations.

I never knew the specifics, but the buzz at the time was the S&W Performance Center was experimenting with

I never knew the specifics, but the buzz at the time was the S&W Performance Center was experimenting with lock timing to enhance accuracy. By increasing the duration the barrel and slide moved as a unit it increased accuracy, but also the added of bonus of reducing felt recoil. I fired a Performance Center "Shorty Forty" back-to-back with a 4013 and there was considerable improvement. Your 4563 shares the Briley bushing and other attributes of the Shorty Forty and I bet the timing improvements as well.

Not so much, if the comments are read together carefully. Muzzle flip can be mitigated by sufficiently firm grip and good technique (watch Jerry Miculek), it just takes more work overcoming the leverage advantage presented by a shorter barrel. More distance to the muzzle changes the leverage angle, reducing muzzle flip and making control of it a bit easier. Increased forward weight distribution is also a factor. Therefore, the muzzle flip of a 5” 645 or 4506 would be much easier to deal with than that of a 3-3/4” 4516, with the 4” 4563 perhaps providing some improvement over the 4516. But, there’s much more which can influence handling qualities than just muzzle flip alone.

So, rather than vomit all the BS about the 4516's bore axis you could have just said 'it kicks because of the short barrel'.

To add no value at all to where this thread is going, I was really late to the 3rd Gen party with a 4566 purchased last year on the S&W forum. Bore axis, smore axis. The sheer weight of the beautiful beast absorbs recoil just fine and it fits in real well right between my Springfield TRP and G17G5.

S’pose so. But then, that just wouldn’t be right, now would it?

Mighty fine looking specimen, sir.