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Thread: A 4500 family......

  1. #1
    Site Supporter Trooper224's Avatar
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    A 4500 family......

    Three years ago I acquired a Smith & Wesson 4506, as chronicled here: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....light=crockett


    I purchased this pistol strictly out of nostalgia. I thought they were uber cool back in the heroic age, when guns were steel and giants walked the earth. I'd shot one once back then, perhaps one magazines worth and that was it, so I wasn't very familiar with the type. Being a poor young sailor with two babies to feed, I couldn't hope to afford one so I moved on. Then, I found this first one in good shape, with a decent price and decided to treat myself. The more time I spent with it the more I liked it. Accuracy was good, reliability was outstanding and I really liked the way it handled. I also found that it carried and concealed rather easily, being pretty flat, especially with the factory grip module in place. On that last point, I find it conceals better than a 1911. This all meant I started to have the rather strange thought of making this my standard carry piece.

    The main obstacle to this was that I only had one pistol. I prefer to have multiples of whatever I carry. A carry, a trainer and a spare, as it were. Soon after, I acquired a 4566 and while a nice piece in its own right, it isn't quite the same. Also, being a slightly later production sample some of the parts don't interchange between the two. The latter point was important to me, since I was intending to utilize a long out of production firearm as a carry weapon, compatibility of parts was a factor. I then started searching for another early production 4506. Over the ensuing three years I had absolutely no luck in my search. I couldn't find another 4506 at any of the prepandemic gun shows I attended, or in local shops. My search resulted in only two 645s, one at a show and the other in a local shop. One looked like ten miles of bad road and the other had been "worked on" at the kitchen table by some worthy who obviously doesn't see the same person we do when he looks in the mirror. Both at rather laughable prices. I found my lack of success a bit strange. A large Sheriffs Office a couple of hours north used the 4506 as their issued sidearm for a long time, but I'd only come across my first purchase (which I suspect came from that source).

    I finally decided to resort to something I've avoided for years: Gunbroker. I've always been very uncomfortable purchasing a firearm I can't handle first and Gunbroker pricing usually seems a bit, well, proud to me. Still, I was having absolutely no joy locally, so desperate times, desperate measures and all that. I quickly found several later production -1 variants, but that wasn't what I was looking for. Then, I was GB surfing and this popped up...................



    Exactly what I was looking for, in nearly mint condition. The "Buy Now" price was twice what I'd paid for my first one three years previously, but it was in excellent condition. After seeing what other samples were going for I knew it would quickly jump past the "Buy Now" price. Nothing's ever cheap on the GB and with current social conditions, prices aren't coming down any time soon. Besides, how often do you find a first year production 4506 in cherry condition? They're not exactly falling off the Smith & Wesson tree anymore. All things considered, I quickly decided to carpe diem this baby and hit the blue button.



    I have to say, my one and only GB experience thus far was highly satisfactory. The seller seller was communicative and quickly shipped the pistol the next day and it arrived three days later. The seller had included almost fifty photos on the auction page, so the gun was well represented. There appeared to be something covering several areas of the pistol that looked like either a like speckling of rust or dried up oil. Happily, it proved to be the latter as I suspected/hoped. Once I cleaned it up, other than a few light handling marks it appeared to be new and nearly unfired. The pistol came in an early blue plastic factory box, which isn't the appropriate one for this vintage. However, I wasn't concerned with collectability with this piece so the box is immaterial. The two magazines that accompanied the pistol were far more welcome.



    My first pistol, with the adjustable sights, will serve as my trainer and the new one will be for carry. Number One is in good shape, but it's an old LE gun and isn't minty like Number Two. The 4566 serves as my travel gun. It has the highest degree of holster wear (also LE surplus) and I picked it up from a pawnshop for not much. If I'm across the country and have to relinquish my weapon to evidence custody, that may not even be worth going back for and there'll be far less nashing of teeth over it. I recently made a one day, eighteen hour road trip to Illinois. The 4566 rode in a Galco Miami Classic there and back and served very well for the intended purpose. The trigger on Number Two is smoother than Number one, which isn't back either. I've started using a sixteen pound hammer spring combined with a fifteen pound recoil spring. The combination results in a very workable trigger and a nice flat slide impulse, on a gun that's already the softest shooting .45 I've ever used.



    So, the big question is........ Why on earth would I be adopting a weapon for carry that's heavy, low capacity and long out of production? Totes cray cray some of you may say. The simple answer is, I like it. I've always preferred full size handguns for carry and the 4506 is certainly "full size". The weight isn't a concern for me. I've carried a five-inch, all steel 1911 on my own time for decades. I also spent a good deal of my life living with forty pounds of gear strapped to my person for long periods of time. Any handgun and a reload or two simply doesn't register. The capacity matches God's Gun so that's a non starter argument for me. The type is long out of production and no longer supported by the factory and this is a legitimate concern. Because of that last point, I've spent the last three years accumulating multiples (read that as bags full) of anything that can conceivably break or wear out. Unless I bulge a barrel or crack a frame or slide, I should be good to go. The last point is another reason for multiple samples.

    Yes, I know this is a rather eccentric, even hipster choice for a carry gun. But, the 4506 is a solid, incredibly reliable shooter and we interface well together. All that is combined with the fact that carrying it simply pleases me and the older I get the more important that becomes. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
    We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......

  2. #2
    You found a gun that is reliable and that you seem to love. That’s pretty much all you need. I’m glad you get to carry a gun that speaks to you and I hope it continues to bring you joy.
    My posts only represent my personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of any employer, past or present. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.

  3. #3
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    prior to 2008, we could not carry 1911 on duty.

    My choice was SW4500 and while I started with 4506-1, I tasted PC and never looked back. My duty carry of choice was CQB in alloy (4563). the alloy frame carried easy on duty but I also had its twin the CQB 4566.

    Great guns, but when they allowed 1911 carry on duty and SW stop making parts for these guns.... I got scared as I am hard on gun and break stuff..... so I got out of them.

    Yours are nice.... great guns, super reliable and Denzel's choice!!!
    If you're going to be a bear….be a GRIZZLY!

  4. #4
    Nice guns. Glad to see these guns getting love. I had a 4566 that I foolishly sold years back and always regretted. I had the opportunity to pay more than I probably should have for a NIB 5906 and snatched it up. Those 3rd gen Smiths are awesome. It’s too bad people got sour on them over some of the issues with 4000 series alloy frames.

  5. #5
    Member wvincent's Avatar
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    So, you just had to post this thread to remind me of the 4516 I traded for a ................Glock 19?
    Thanks, Dick

    Like Cher sings, "If I could turn back time".

    Really though, NICE 3 pistol setup. You have everything covered, and dang classy at that!
    "And for a regular dude I’m maybe okay...but what I learned is if there’s a door, I’m going out it not in it"-Duke
    "Just because a girl sleeps with her brother doesn't mean she's easy..."-Blues

  6. #6
    Site Supporter Trooper224's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wvincent View Post
    So, you just had to post this thread to remind me of the 4516 I traded for a ................Glock 19?
    Thanks, Dick

    Like Cher sings, "If I could turn back time".

    Really though, NICE 3 pistol setup. You have everything covered, and dang classy at that!
    Philistine!

    We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......

  7. #7
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    I think this is all kinds of cool and totally legit. Great system worked out for training, local carry, travel carry.

    I have never even fired a 45XX S&W but think they're cool enough that if I come across one I might not be able to resist.
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  8. #8
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trooper224 View Post
    I've spent the last three years accumulating multiples (read that as bags full) of anything that can conceivably break or wear out. Unless I bulge a barrel or crack a frame or slide, I should be good to go. The last point is another reason for multiple samples.

    Yes, I know this is a rather eccentric, even hipster choice for a carry gun. But, the 4506 is a solid, incredibly reliable shooter and we interface well together. All that is combined with the fact that carrying it simply pleases me and the older I get the more important that becomes. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
    Not a hipster choice because you have a reliable design, multiple copies, and the spare parts to keep the pistols up and running. The hardest thing about the 45xx (any 3rd Generation) pistols is fitting some of the parts, especially on the earlier guns. S&W used to offer armorer tools with go/no-go gauges, etc. My daughter likes the 391x pistols, and I put together a pretty good kit for her, including a spare slide, spare barrel, and some pistols (notably a rough 3914) that could be part donors. I had to pair some sear/hammer combos as marked by S&W.

    That being said, the only part I have replaced for her is a broken extractor. The pistols are tough, tougher than expected.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter Oldherkpilot's Avatar
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    I'm a fan of the big Smiths, too. Do you have a belt holster in addition to the shoulder holster? If yes, I'd be interested to know what you're using. Thanks.

  10. #10
    10/10 if S&W brought back the 5906 and 4506/66 they’d sell like crazy.

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