Was the mystery of the double lock cuts ever solved? What can I use to minimize some of the scratches the she has accumulated over time?
Lacking better information, I think we just have to assume that the 4500-series magazines with double mag cuts were a batch manufactured to allow for future ambi magazine releases.
As far as the surface wear and scratches go, there has been a ton written on the forum about the various approaches used to restore the original finish on stainless steel 3rd Gens. It's really quite easy and usually involves Scotch Brite pads of one grade or another. This is a case where the search function is your best friend.
I had assumed that the orange/red follower types would have been the type shipped with the pistol, but with the duel cuts I'm not so sure. I do like the 645 mag better and would have more if I could. BTW I did discover, and this my not be news to anyone, that the steel base plates models will accept the plastic base paltes but will not lock into the pistol. The tubes look the same but they aren't. How does the base plate come off of the 645 mag?
Last edited by mod57; 05-27-2017 at 01:13 PM.
Reason: spelling/typing
I had assumed that the orange/red follower types would have been the type shipped with the pistol, but with the duel cuts I'm not so sure. I do like the 645 mag better and would have more if I could. BTW I did discover, and this my not be news to anyone, that the steel base plates models will accept the plastic base paltes but will not lock into the pistol. The tubes look the same but they aren't. How does the base plate come off of the 645 mag?
Well, again, my own Model 4506 (no dash) came to me with the rubber pad magazines shown above. I have always assumed they are original to the gun but there is no way for me to be absolutely certain.
Your 4506 is a very close contemporary to mine but it's obvious that the earliest mags you have in hand are different from the earliest mags that I have in hand. For all we know, neither of them may be the "as-shipped" originals. We'd need someone who bought an early 4506 brand spanking new in late-1989 to early-1990 for a better data point and even then we still might not know about our own guns for absolute certain.
Photo of a Model 645 Magazine is attached showing the baseplate release.
ON THIS SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC, THESE PISTOLS ARE UNICORNS TO BE SEEN, NEVER MIND SOLD. AND IF THEY SELL, THEY OFCOURSE COMMAND HIGHER PRICES THAN THAT SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC. IN ABOUT 7 YEARS NOW, I HAVE SEEN ABOUT 5 ALL AND ALL 4506 SOLD ON AUCTION IN A GERMAN SITE, AND CURRENTLY THERE IS ONE SOLD IN ATHENS. MIGHT GO CHECK IT OUT. ITS A DASH 1, PRE MIM, BUT THE PROBLEM IS THE OWNER HAS GIVEN IT THE SHINY FINISH TREATMENT. IT LOOKS LIKE A PIMP GUN, BUT NOTHING I CAN NOT GET BACK TO ORIGINAL. OFCOURSE, IT DOES NOT HAVE THE SQR TRGGRD, BUT THEN AGAIN, IT STILL IS A 4506!
Good score, 4506's are great. As far as the mags go, I use a few different follower types in my no dash and none have issues. I would go through each mag (empty) and make sure the slide locks back and mags drop freely.
As far as the scratches and wear goes, unless it is REALLY bad, I wouldn't try to fix the finish. I'd much rather buy a used semi auto pistol with honest wear than one thats been flitzed or polished. Revolvers I don't mind if they've been lightly polished, as long as they aren't matte finished. Matte finished guns just look trashy polished.
Your gun though so take my opinion with a grain of salt and regardless what you do with the finish, enjoy that hog leg!
SVT,
I just decided to clean her up and live with the few blemishes it has. I put on a new factory straight back stock which I really like the feel of. It had the clicky SA trigger but a few moments of resetting the play spring and all is well. The sides of the frame and slide are smoother than the trigger guard/dust cover area and top of the slide. I wouldn't say polished but they are not the same matt finish. More like the few 645's I've seen. There are two shiney spots on top of the slide due to holster wear I suspect. (former owner got it from a deputy). I will have to do something with the white dots on the sights as someone tried to make a repair with nail polish or varnish which is yellowing and sloppily applied. All of the mags are in great shape. Cleaned up nice. All drop free and lock back. The one 645 mag that came wtih it is my go to mag.
Well I finally got out to shoot my new to me 4506. I must say that I very much enjoyed it. It handles so well and is very accurate. It will hold the black on a standard 25 yd bullseye target at 25 yds. Recoil is, to me, pretty mild. I put 50 rds of WWB through it and had no failures except once when the last rd fired and stayed in the chamber. Slide locked back as normal. The pistol seems to like to throw brass everywhere. That being said I'm very happy with it. The only other .45 ACP experience I have is with the 1911. I like the 4506 better. Color me sold!
hope you are not in california because there is a very clean one with a "sale Pending" at an asking price of $1250
Yup... I jumped on a no dash in XLNT condition @ $750 and had a few "next in line" after me. I found cop turnin magazines that had half black followers & half yellow. IIRC they were $35 a pop before buying followers.
Not sorry. The thing will eat anything. Wonderful pistol.
I was looking for a good place to post about a 4506-1, and I hated to revive an old thread, so I am happy to see this thread!
Just yesterday I purchased only my second third-gen S&W centerfire semi-auto, a 4506-1. When I saw it for sale on a local forum, I began to search this forum to educate myself on 4506s. In doing so, I began to suspect that this pistol might be a 4506-1 R4.
What I got...a 4506-1 in probably 90% condition, a few scuffs here and there, no scratches, delrin grips that show a fair amount of use. It's serial prefix is VMM, it has the large barrel hood, two-line model number/serial number roll mark on frame, rounded trigger guard, fixed Novak night sights (dead), a MIM hammer & trigger, no box, 3 magazines with black followers marked "ES1", and the round indents on both sides of the slide mounted safety that ordinarily are filled with red and are visible signs that the safety is "off" are completely clean...not the tiniest trace or residue of red remains. The owner said he'd never fired it, that he'd bought it some years ago from J&G sales, when they had a bunch of them (police dept. turn-ins?). I paid $440.
I'm really looking forward to shooting it (as well as my *first* third-gen semi-auto, a 469 which I purchased recently, but haven't had the chance to fire yet) to see if it's as accurate as everyone says. The 4506 looks pretty clean and not worn internally. One small concern...I got out a dozen of the orange plastic dummy rounds, loaded 8 into one of the mags, and tried to hand cycle them through. The first round chambered fine, but upon racking the slide, the round did not extract. So, I manually locked the slide, pulled out the mag, whereupon a dummy round came falling straight down out of mag well. I assumed this was the chambered round falling out, so I closed the slide, put the mag back in, started to rack the slide to chamber a round...and there was the round still in the chamber. Repeated, and again a round came falling out of the mag well after I'd pulled the mag. Looking closer, I saw the original round was still in the chamber, but the top round in the mag was just stripping out upon removing the mag. Got the chambered dummy out, and noted that half of the rim was ripped off. Reloaded the mag, 'cuz I wanted to cycle one mag through it. After several more failures to extract, I now have 3 dummies with broken rims! I didn't see the point in destroying all of my dummy rounds, so I quit that endeavor. As much as I don't care to cycle rounds through a firearm indoors...I did decide to do it. So with safety on, I hand cycled 8 rounds through each mag, for a total of 24 rounds. All fed and extracted/ejected without any issues. So...now I just need to get to the range!
One small concern...I got out a dozen of the orange plastic dummy rounds, loaded 8 into one of the mags, and tried to hand cycle them through. The first round chambered fine, but upon racking the slide, the round did not extract. So, I manually locked the slide, pulled out the mag, whereupon a dummy round came falling straight down out of mag well. I assumed this was the chambered round falling out, so I closed the slide, put the mag back in, started to rack the slide to chamber a round...and there was the round still in the chamber. Repeated, and again a round came falling out of the mag well after I'd pulled the mag. Looking closer, I saw the original round was still in the chamber, but the top round in the mag was just stripping out upon removing the mag. Got the chambered dummy out, and noted that half of the rim was ripped off. Reloaded the mag, 'cuz I wanted to cycle one mag through it. After several more failures to extract, I now have 3 dummies with broken rims! I didn't see the point in destroying all of my dummy rounds, so I quit that endeavor. As much as I don't care to cycle rounds through a firearm indoors...I did decide to do it. So with safety on, I hand cycled 8 rounds through each mag, for a total of 24 rounds. All fed and extracted/ejected without any issues.
Tim
Congratulations on the great deal of a 4506-1.
I have had the same issue with (A-Zoom brand) snap caps in a couple different calibers, it's my belief that they maybe slightly oversized and sticking in the chamber.
As long as live ammo cycles, I would not sweat it.
On my third 4506 due to being a fool with the first two and using them for trade material. The 2nd one was a dash 1 from the Fresno Sheriffs Office and had the stiffest slide of any 1911-style pistol I've had/held so it wasn't missed but the 1st one was a square trigger guard and it was greatly missed for the past 7 years...now I finally found another! It was $600 almost twice what the dash 1 cost and 200 more than my first. And this one is staying with me! They are getting too hard to find because everyone is keeping them...like me!
BTW...Its s.n. is TCD 36XX in case someone can help with its birth date.
Great guns. I've had my 4506-1 since brand new, I am the only owner and will probably never sell it since it was one of my first guns I ever bought. I have had to do the trigger spring twice (click) but other than that the gun has just eaten everything. It now resides in my safe but maybe she needs to get some exercise soon
Can I recommend Hogue rubber or wood grips for the single stack .45...... yes a bit thicker ...... but hand-filling w/ a better grip without being too thick.
Now ...... you'all need some 4566s....not to big and not too small/heavy... the best of the .45 Smith family IMHO!!!!
Kimber just came out with a stainless steel .357 revolver for $900+ and I believe it to be vastly overpriced. Don't sit on a great deal on a 4506 (or 659, which I like almost as well). These are quality steel autos in a world of deplorably ugly striker-fire pistols with trigger safeties. In other words, it's becoming prohibitively expensive to buy minty steel autos in today's market because producing them would be prohibitively expensive.
I have one 5906 and two 659s, and these guns not only are popular among shooters, I noticed they're used a lot on television shows and in movies. (I just finished watching all seven seasons of The Mentalist again and noticed a number of 5906/659s were used.) And in the U.K., where the people are prohibited from owning real guns, deregistered 5906/659s are very popular at the same prices Americans pay for functioning guns. (If you can imagine dinner at a British home one evening -- good food, nice people. After dinner, your host goes to his safe, opens it and brings out a couple of handguns. One might be a S&W 29 "Dirty Harry" .44 Magnum, and the other might be a S&W 66 .357 or a 5906 9mm, all of them deactivated. You talk about their power, the movies they appeared in, their weight, then your host wipes them down with a silicon cloth and returns them to the safe. Nice evening. But those guns will never be fired again. Even so, they're still valuable.
For Kimber to put out a .357 6-shot for $900+ is troublesome. If it were a Korth it would be one thing, but a Kimber? It's a little better than a Taurus but not as good as a S&W. So gun prices are going up. The 2nd and 3rd generation S&Ws were hardly remarkable at the time, but they've become remarkable because of the stuff we're getting now, which is unremarkable.
So keep your wits about you. Don't go crazy, but realize you may not get another shot at a gun even at a price that may seem a bit high. I bought a 3906 a few years ago and it was part of a trade where it wasn't the primary gun in the trade; it was a distant secondary. Yet now, I wouldn't sell it, period. Don't even offer. And that may begin happening for many of these guns. (I remember when some gun writers criticized S&W 66s with nice wood grips and recessed chambers. Now these fine revolvers go for unbelievable prices...when you can find them. And they're classics!)
Again, only time will tell. I'd love to have a S&W 639 with nice wood panels. I can't even find them! Not to mention a mint 66.
This is a case where the search function is your best friend. 
For all we know, neither of them may be the "as-shipped" originals. 
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