Total Sleeper 3rd Gen S&W 45. The 4563 TSW

[Lost River]

Friends.

Long story short, through some horse trading, I ended up with a little bit of $$ to use on gunbroker. I picked up an S&W 4563 TSW, which is what I would describe as a DA equivalent of a Lightweight Commander. It has a 4 & 1/4" barrel, aluminum frame, with light rail, with a traditional DA/SA trigger, and is a single stack. It takes the same family of mags as the 645, 4506, etc.

The price was very right, so I figured if I did not like it, I would send it down the road, and at least be able to easily recoup my $$.

The punchline it that it has much less felt recoil than I expected, and the DA trigger is good enough that overall it is simply a fun gun to shoot.



https://i.imgur.com/Jnqmlnw.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/4ASWhDJ.jpg?1



https://i.imgur.com/1QenvKJ.jpg?1




Funky aftermarket night sights that are long dead, but are very easy to pick up quickly.

I have read online that Sig P220/226 holsters may fit it. I don't know, I don't know a single person locally who carries a Sig concealed so that is a tough one to check.

Overall I am pleasantly surprised with the little .45, and will give it a few more test runs at the range. After that it may very well end up getting thrown into the carry rotation, especially when I am heading for the mountains/desert.

I had never even heard of a 4563.

[Sherman A. House DDS]

I think I have a holster that'll fit it! I'm on the road but I'll check my bin when I get home.


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[DocGKR]

For a while, I had a 4566 for duty and a 4563 off-duty--nice pistol, although hard to get parts for now.

[Lost River]

Wow!

It is a rather uncommon gun, from what I understand. Thanks a bunch (in advance) for checking when you get back. I had previously not really warmed up to the 3rd Gen Smiths, after having been issued a DAO 4586 back in 2000. It was heavy and miserable to shoot. It really made my life difficult as a firearms instructor as well, with marginal shooters. Only in the last number of years have I really paid attention to the number of really well thought out variations.

I must admit that I am really liking this compact .45! It makes me want to start cruising gunbroker for for similar lightweight cool 3rd Gens. I just had a back surgery a few weeks ago and now is definitely not the time for me to be spending any more money without selling another gun first. The wife would likely hold my head under water for a bit too long if I did. :eek:

Fortunately she is good with selling to finance another though.:cool:

[Lost River]

For a while, I had a 4566 for duty and a 4563 off-duty--nice pistol, although hard to get parts for now.

What parts should I be looking for in advance?

I don't intend for this to be a high volume shooter, but I am definitely going to shoot it.

[Bigghoss]

I dig the S&W classics. I'd like to get a 4506. I was seriously tempted by the CHP 4006 TSW's that have been popping up lately.

[Lost River]

4506s are awesome guns.

Nothing I would want to pack around as a CCW on a daily basis, but still they are rock solid dependable, and if you run out of ammo, you already have a bludgeon in hand!

[Jared]

One cool thing about them old 3rd gen Smiths, they had almost every niche covered with some variation or another. I like them myself but don't own any anymore. The one I never found but thought would be neat as could be was the 3906, slightly larger single stack 9, larger than the 3913 at least. Speaking of the 3913, that thing was way ahead of it's time as well.

I did have a 4506, but it was just a bit too big for my tastes, even as an occasional range toy. That 4563 would probably be better.

[Jason M]

I had a 4566 as a duty gun. They required very little in the way of parts replacement. I think that some of the parts like the draw bar plunger may be material specific. In other words in the 4566 they were steel while in the 4563 they were aluminium.

Here is the Numrich page with schematic for the 4566: https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/smith-wesson/auto-pistols-sw/4566

I might have a spare mag or some old leather laying around.

My gun fit in an old school Leather Arsenal holster (summer special style) made for a P220. Since your gun has the rail on the bottom of the dust cover I would guess that a holster made for a P220R might work?

[JSGlock34]

One cool thing about them old 3rd gen Smiths, they had almost every niche covered with some variation or another.

3rd Generation S&Ws are very cool - a 5903 was my first pistol. They really did have a dizzying number of variants.

http://loungecdn.luckygunner.com/lounge/media/SW-semi-model-chart-1.jpg

[Lost River]

Jason,

Thanks for the link. I don't really know what works holster wise. I think it is going to be a bit of a challenge, but I found another reference on the S&W forum that mentioned Sig holsters, so that might be an option.

[Duelist]

That would be a sweet carry .45.

I am a fan of that bunch of light, compact TDA S&W pistols.
19574

[BobM]

I used a 4506 as an off duty gun way back when. I carried it in a Kramer horsehide IWB. I wouldn't be surprised if Kramer or Sparks could still make you one.

[LtDave]

Another old cop who carried a 4566 back in the day. Mine has a Performance Center action job. Outstanding trigger. Carried it in uniform and while working on a narcotics task force. Mine does fit in some of my leather P220 holsters, don't know about kydex. Is boringly reliable.

[GardoneVT]

A 4506/4566 will fit many Beretta 92 holsters.

[Lost River]

I used a 4506 as an off duty gun way back when. I carried it in a Kramer horsehide IWB. I wouldn't be surprised if Kramer or Sparks could still make you one.


If I get the gun over to Milt Sparks they can at least do a 55BN. So that is in the "possible" category. :) I ended up talking to a good friend from the shop about this gun, and about the fact that I really should not have bought it in the first place, but that is what guys do... :cool:

[Lost River]

A 4506/4566 will fit many Beretta 92 holsters.

That is good to know too. I will keep that in mind!

[GJM]

Before I found the USP, I was messing around with a 1066/1076 as a field gun, and had a .45 Smith as a trainer.

Dale Fricke made me a Gideon, and a Gideon on a QLS fork, so I could wear it on a Safariland belt or drop rig. I can't remember if Tony at JM made me an AIWB for it.

[Sherman A. House DDS]

Tony makes 4506 holsters!


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[That Guy]

A 4506/4566 will fit many Beretta 92 holsters.My girlfriend's 4506 did not fit in a surplus Bianchi 92 holster. Almost, but not quite. My girlfriend's 4506 has the earlier square trigger guard, a later model with a round trigger guard would very likely fit.

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[GardoneVT]

Tony makes 4506 holsters!


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Unfortunately, this is one gun which has better holster support then factory support.

When I bought a pair of 4006s I called S&W for the lowdown on parts supply. Essentially they can't query how much parts they have laying around on a specific 4th gen model,so theres no assurance this long after the lineup was discontinued there leftover parts available to fix the gun with. You basically have to send your Smith Semiauto in and hope somewhere in S&Ws parts warehouse they have what you need. The CS rep did state from the outset any slide or frame damage was an instant Game Over for the pistol,as no tooling is available to recut new parts. While I'd imagine buyers of recent guns like the WV 4566s and CHP 4006s will be OK for sometime ,owners of older guns like the 4506s and 5903s won't be so fortunate.

Small parts are already starting to dry up for these guns; not long ago there was a desperate call for 4506/645 guide rods to no avail,and mags are starting to eclipse HK price levels.

[Lost River]

Good to know about the guide rods. There seems to be no shortage of Pro mag magazines on Gunbroker. I know nothing of their reliability though. They have both 8 and 10 round versions.

[fatdog]

This is a great gun and for whatever reason I seem to shoot it well. Mine is so reliable that you can pick up a fired empty, stuff it in the middle of a mag, and it will go into battery and make for a dummy round. I guess it half ass resizes it in the process...

First thing I did was have the rail removed as I will not CCW with a light attached anyway, and that simplified the holster search. The rail is easily removed by drilling out the rivets and I tapped the holes and loctited a pair of screws to fill the dust cover holes, filing them down to be flush with the inside surface of the dust cover.

Then I located one of the de-cock only versions of the safety, which this slide was milled for, so my gun is decock only now. DR Middlebrooks stippled the grip for me. The holster pictured is one I had made was by an outfit named TT leather who was equipped to maked a 4566 holster in a sort of VM2 pattern a few years back, I have been very happy with it. I also have one made by El Paso Saddlery some years ago, a rough outside IWB that resembles the old ARG style holster and will also fit a 4506 in pinch.

Some years ago I embarked on the pursuit of Gen 3 S&W parts, mostly via ebay and gunbroker and over the last decade I have accumulated enough to complete rebuild this gun twice over including a spare barrel. Same for my 5903. Parts are much more scarce today than they were 5 years ago and S&W support is vanishing based on my last conversation with their customer service group. I understand why people are reluctant to adopt them now, but this will be with me until I croak or have them taken away from me for being senile. I love the 4563.


19577

[fatdog]

the El Passo rig they made me for it...
19578

[OlongJohnson]

Just when I'd talked myself out of finding a 4583 or 4586...

[farscott]

Unfortunately, this is one gun which has better holster support then factory support.

When I bought a pair of 4006s I called S&W for the lowdown on parts supply. Essentially they can't query how much parts they have laying around on a specific 4th gen model,so theres no assurance this long after the lineup was discontinued there leftover parts available to fix the gun with. You basically have to send your Smith Semiauto in and hope somewhere in S&Ws parts warehouse they have what you need. The CS rep did state from the outset any slide or frame damage was an instant Game Over for the pistol,as no tooling is available to recut new parts. While I'd imagine buyers of recent guns like the WV 4566s and CHP 4006s will be OK for sometime ,owners of older guns like the 4506s and 5903s won't be so fortunate.

Small parts are already starting to dry up for these guns; not long ago there was a desperate call for 4506/645 guide rods to no avail,and mags are starting to eclipse HK price levels.

Yes, the S&W 2nd and 3rd Generation guns are obsolete in terms of logistics; the parts supply is gone, and S&W will not repair. The easiest and least expensive way to get spare parts is to purchase a complete pistol. With the alloy frame guns, one needs to look for cracks that are not apparent until the gun is detail-stripped.

I collect and shoot 2nd and 3rd Generation 9x19 pistols, and I have carefully scrounged for parts from sources like Numrich and gun fora. But there is no way I would carry one unless I had no other option. While the guns are robust, they are mechanical items with finite life spans and no factory or aftermarket support (sights). My daughter loves her M3906, and I went through quite a bit of trouble and expense to find her a spare pistol and all of the parts, including spare complete uppers, to service that gun for her lifetime. A further complication is that the S&W guns were evolving throughout production, so a part that fits one gun may not fit an earlier or later gun. Luckily for me, M3906 production was extremely brief, and that issue was kept to a minimum.

[Sherman A. House DDS]

I have a 3914, 5943, 6904 and a 4506. I don't shoot them, but I occasionally ogle them and rub them with a rag. They were the service pistols of my heroes when I was a young cadet, so I'm not likely to sell any of them, ever.


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[Poconnor]

I had a 4566 a long time ago. Traded it off. I swapped out the straight grip for a factory curved grip. I liked that better. Your LW is a nice find

[farscott]

Good to know about the guide rods. There seems to be no shortage of Pro mag magazines on Gunbroker. I know nothing of their reliability though. They have both 8 and 10 round versions.

The Pro Mag magazines are generally regarded as junk. Stick to OEM magazines.

[Lost River]

The Pro Mag magazines are generally regarded as junk. Stick to OEM magazines.

That is seriously good to know. I was considering ordering a few off of GB since they are under 20 bucks a piece. I think I will just try to find a few used factory 8 rounders. I don't intend to use this gun heavily but it is still such a nice gun I really would like to carry and shoot it. Time to start looking for spare parts too! I bet Wolff gun springs would have the right spare springs at least.

[Lester Polfus]

I really had a good time with 3rd Gen Smiths. My agency issued 5906s and 4006s primarily, with a smattering of 3906s for people with smaller hands. We also authorized privately purchased 4506s, 4566 and 4506. We may have allowed the alloy framed version of those too, but I don't recall.

They were great guns, and I've often thought of picking one up for grits and shiggles.

The Promags are crap. We were specifically forbidden from using any magazines for duty use but factory.

[GJM]

I think the best way to enjoy a 3rd Gen Smith is to treat it as a classic, enjoy it when you want to, but don't try to turn it into a daily driver. Otherwise spare parts, holsters, sights and the empty weight become issues.

[Sherman A. House DDS]

I think the best way to enjoy a 3rd Gen Smith is to treat it as a classic, enjoy it when you want to, but don't try to turn it into a daily driver. Otherwise spare parts, holsters, sights and the empty weight become issues.

WISDOM. Heed it.


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[Lost River]

Sound advice for sure.

That said, while going through my miscellaneous stuff seeing if I had anything that might fit, I found some holsters for 9/40 M&P compacts and full size.



I had previously been issued both full sized and compact M&P .40s.



https://i.imgur.com/51cOJd7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AyiREtr.jpg


The Safariland paddle holster is for a full sized gun with a light attached.

The other with a thumb release is a "5.11" by Bladetech for a compact . I was required by policy to have a level 2 for work, even concealed as a detective. :rolleyes:

The last is a standard uncle mikes belt rig for a compact.


The punchline is that I am betting there might be someone here who can use these (and perhaps has similar retarded policies), and I am not. So it may be time to move these off to the Karma section.


Cheers!

[Sherman A. House DDS]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170904/dcdb02543220d0f53a530a38e06d9bcb.jpg

Like I said, I'm a 3rd Gen Collector


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[HALO51]

Great looking gun and a great shooter. Our Dept issue was a 5906/6906 and never had a problem with them. Don't know why, but they transitioned to Sigma for about a year. We all know how that turned out. I love the Gen 3 S&W's. Didn't the Tactical model go through the "Performance Center" for some additional hand fitting?

[fatdog]

I have a gunbroker search bot I had forgotten about that seeks these out, it has not been triggered for several years until this one...if anybody buys it I have the part that replaces the standard safety lever and makes it decock only that I would let go for a reasonable price.

SW 4563 (https://www.gunbroker.com/item/895832180)

[Lost River]

Somebody got a pretty good deal for that, especially considering the current market.

The 4563 has to be the nicest .45 carry gun that S&W ever made.

[Gumby]

This was in my backyard and I missed it, 😣