Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns S&W 4506 Reviews

I'm probably going to have an opportunity to buy a 4506 in good condition for a very low price. I'm not a big fan of slide-mounted safeties and it is a big gun, but other than that, any issues? Your experiences pro and con?

Many thanks,
Expat

All pros for me buddy. However, they are big and heavy. I happen to have big mitts and don't mind the weight. It's not going to be a carry piece unless you are Sonny Crocket from Miami Vice. Mine is extremely accurate and functions very reliably. I've won many a bowling pin shoot with mine for obvious reasons. Be ready to take chit from your 1911 lovin buddies, but always be ready to show them up with that great 4506. Excellent pistola as far as I'm concerned...

The third generation guns (which the 4506 is) are great guns. Known for being so reliable they will feed empty brass. Better than adequate accuracy. I've had a few and like them but have gone to a model called a 4566 more of the commander type size. I don't mind the size either given the reliability. I'll take one over a 1911 any day. I've shot ipsc with mine in years past. BSA called it.

Probably the sturdiest, feed-anything-iest 45 ever built, but no one seems to care.

Only negative is that it's difficult to find cheap mags anywhere. I don't know if Mec-Gar ever made 45XX mags but I don't recall seeing any ever.

I really liked mine: big, accurate, soft-shooting. In the end it was no better than my 1911's, of which I have more and enjoy more, so I traded it away. Glad I owned it, though, and it's worth trying one out.

Ditto all this. Mine will feed anything I put in it. Even stuff my XD45 would get hung up on. So the XD went down the road and the Smith stayed. THey are a big handful, for sure.

Gratuitous 4506 pic:

No issues. They are big, as you related and their design is somewhat dated now. They are great guns though and I'd highly recommend one if the price is right.

Personally, I've never owned one but have owned the 1006 iteration, which I loved. I've also owned two or three 5906's which were fine.

One problem I noticed after I bought my 4506 is I wanted more 3rd gen smiths. When I was a kid and just getting out on my own, I remember peering thru the glass gun case at the local gun store and wishing I could afford a 4506. I remember reading magazine articles when it first came out and thought to myself, "that is one bad azz gun, one of these days I'm going to get one"!! So I finally got one and then I got a 4006, and a 5906 and had my eye on a 1006 but I still can't afford one of those so I'll keep looking until a good deal comes along at the right time :



Good tough dependable pistols, all of them, even the west german sig sauer in the picture ....Make note, mine is actually the 4506-1

I wish I'd kept my 1006. I could have bought one a few years back for $700 but I thought it was overpriced.

I have the 645 and it will feed any 45 acp ammo you feed it, but is Big and Heavy , very accurate

I had both a 745 and a 4516 for awhile. I liked them both, but they just weren't 1911s, and that was that. I have nothing against them except the slide-mounted safeties, which are just wrong............

I have a 1006, and have shot a few 4506's. As well as the 645/745 guns. Smith & Wesson makes a really, and I mean REALLY nice custom shop gun based on them which sells for about $2500.
Their only real "fault" is their weight. They handle recoil better than the 1911 guns, especially in the 10mm models.
They can be had with, or easily modified to take, fully adjustable sights and their triggers respond well to trigger jobs.
Heck, at a "very low price," I'd be sorely tempted to buy it myself. E

Thanks for the replies, all. I intend to snag it and break out the .45 ACP dies.

Expat

It maybe your first 3rd gen
Doubt it will be your last

GREAT GUNS very addictive

Hank

Have heard that, Hank. For a couple of different reasons I've got to see how it goes with the frame mounted safety. I may gravitate to the DAO models.

Expat

You'll like it expat. You'll be smiling the first time you pull that trigger.

One more thought when I first started collecting them they were a bargin
in the last year they have gone up quite a bit
but even at the elevated price in most cases still a bargin

You didnt say what you are paying for your 4506 but those are pretty desirable
and bring good money
the Holy Grail is the 1006 I bought a Delta Elite cheaper than I can get a nice one of those these days

Hank

They're fantastic pistols, built hell for stout; dare you to try to kill one!! But they are big and heavy. But the good thing is, they're a PERFECT candidate for a .45 Super conversion.

I was thinking it will be a dedicated +P shooter, but this is intriguing.

Expat