Any 4506 owners here?

[GardoneVT]

Correct. Also, some parts are now very hard to source. I've been looking for a spare recoil spring guide rod (preferably the all steel one) for a couple of years. Numrich, S&W, Jack First, Brownell's, Midway, etc....no dice. Other parts may be the same.

I called S&W directly on the matter. Small parts status for any 3rd Gen pistol is uncertain. If a frame or slide is damaged beyond repair, the piece is totaled.

[MattyD380]

This is good shit guys, so I gotta come clean, I was so heavy into miami vice at the time it was a major element in my decision to uproot my cop career from philly to south florida in 1989, shortly after we had a very liberal firearms policy, basically if it was a big name manufacturer with a solid rep and you could qual with it you could carry it, so when Sonny Crockett switched to the 645 that season of course I ran out and got one, I managed to carry it on duty for about 3 months or so before the sheer weight of that boat anchor "outweighed" the Crockett factor and I had to go back to my P226. And since I am coming clean I did carry that leviathan off duty in the galco miami vice special rig, I'm not going to get into clothing though, sorry.........ahhhhhh what I wouldnt give to have those days back.

I remember my parents watching it when I was a kid--I was like, 4 or 5. We actually lived in South Florida at that time, and I moved back there for a while after college. So the show has this weird element of Florida/childhood nostalgia for me. And, you know, it's packed with sweet 80s guns.

With regards to carrying the 645, I'll say this:

The day I got it, I CC'd the thing all day long (because, why not?). Went for a walk. Chik-Fil-A. No problem. Used a nylon clip holster, appendix, oriented about 11:45. That allowed the comically long slide to sit comfortably beside the... uh... the other gun I appendix carry on a daily basis. It honestly wasn't too bad. Heavy, yes. But carrying up front seems to manage the weight pretty well. And the thing is thin. It doesn't stretch your belt line like some other guns. Only thing, getting up/sitting down took some care... didn't want the "muzzles to cross."

[Willard]

Also, saw some comments on the grip. WRT the grip, they were interchangeable between flat and curved back strap. There was a recall on the initial grips due to cracking. S&W recently sent me a replacement grip when I realized my S&W was affected. See post #9 this thread for more info: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....6-slimmer-grip.

[SteveK]

Proud 645 owner. My favorite 45.

[LtDave]

S&W 4566 was my first .45 duty gun. Mine has a Performance Center trigger job and it is really sweet. You don't want a 4506, you want one of these:


S&W 4505.

[MattyD380]

S&W 4566 was my first .45 duty gun. Mine has a Performance Center trigger job and it is really sweet. You don't want a 4506, you want one of these:


S&W 4505.

Sweet. I didn't know those existed. There was actually a 5905 on GB recently (a carbon steel 5906 with a black finish) which I also didn't know existed. But I feel like there's always some oddball 3rd gen Smith that crops up here and there.

[CSW]

I had a 4506-1 that I had purchased from my dealer when I lived in NJ. It was his duty gun before they went to Glock[22].
He bought them from the department, and I bought his.
The accuracy was great, and I swear it would feed and fire rocks if they had primers. A very sturdy, reliable gun, and, like a fool, I traded it for a Delta elite, that never ran right. Add another to the list of shouldn't have lost.

[KevH]

It's weird to hear about parts for S&W 3rd Gen's being scarce. When I went though the academy (class started with 65 cops) the entire academy class with the exception of two recruits (issued Glock 22's) were issued S&W 3rd Gens by their respective agencies.

There remains one guy at my agency carrying a 4506-1. He could carry just about anything he wants including a high end 1911 or the issued M&P, but chooses to carry the big heavy Smith. They're excellent guns.

[farscott]

It's weird to hear about parts for S&W 3rd Gen's being scarce. When I went though the academy (class started with 65 cops) the entire academy class with the exception of two recruits (issued Glock 22's) were issued S&W 3rd Gens by their respective agencies.

There remains one guy at my agency carrying a 4506-1. He could carry just about anything he wants including a high end 1911 or the issued M&P, but chooses to carry the big heavy Smith. They're excellent guns.

It is weird as I remember the S&W "gun of the week" times and the "whiz wheel", but it is true. S&W has no more parts, even appearing to have shutdown LE agency orders. Many parts, especially barrels, seem to have become unobtanium. The easiest and least expensive method to get spare parts is to purchase a spare pistol. A stripped slide is $90 to $300 from Numrich, but a whole LE trade-in pistol can be had for $300.

I expect that these guns will soon be collectible, especially those that are NIB. Unfortunately for me, I shoot all of mine.

[Suvorov]

I have a 1006 if that counts?

Been my camp pistol for years.