I had to start a new thread on this subject ? I'm trying to decide between the 645 and 4506 and just found a 4513tsw in nice shape eno box papers for $599. welcome all opinions . Thanks

No rail 6 shot

My inclination would be towards the 4506, but there is nothing wrong with the 4513TSW. I own one, a 7 shot, with the rail. I got it cheap because it was well worn with a high round count. Needed work.

I prefer the 4506

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Sag Harbor & Manhattan, N.Y.

It might help if you said why you are buying it, meaning what is your goal, or how you plan to use it.

What I mean is something like this:

I like the looks of the more compact 4513 (I like compact guns in general), but it weighs less than 30 ounces with the aluminum frame, and for me personally, in .45 Auto, that is too light to shoot comfortably at the range. This only applies to me personally, and someone else might be very accurate and comfortable with that gun.

The 645 probably has the most historical interest as far as the development of that entire series of guns, and it can look awesome, especially with some nice grips, like the example in your other thread. It may not be the most trouble free, or best quality gun in that series, but I would still enjoy owning it.

The 4506 seems to be a improvement in quality and functionality over the 645, AND it comes in several versions so you can have your choice of grips and sights, repair parts, etc.

I would probably pick the 4506, because if I am going to shoot something in .45 caliber for fun, heavy is good, choice of sights and grips is better, and to me it is still a piece of history. I would make sure I am buying it with the sights I want.

Those do NOT have to be your decision criteria though,

It will probably be more for the range ? I do have the 5906. Right now I have a line on a couple of 645's no 4506 and the 4513tws caught my eye at $550 out the door now ? I like the look of the 645 tho ?

This below is a guide to the S&W numbering system which kept me from making a few mistakes in assembling a collection of single-stack in 9mm and .45.

I got both the 645 and 4506 and my only complaint is I can't shoot them at the same time.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.luc...ic-models/amp/

Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

I own examples of all three models and have shot them all extensively over the last few decades.

For purely range only use, I would choose a 4506-1 with adjustable sights. Mine is as accurate as my Colt Gold Cup. It is a fun range gun. With a trigger that is much better than that of my 645s.

As to the early 6-round rail free 4513TSW, I am biased. That is my favorite handgun and favorite carry gun. And $599 is a good price, locally. That model is hard to find as well. Those that have them, keep them.

If there was any chance the OPs purchase could become a carry gun, then I would choose the 4513TSW. BUT - as much as I love the model 4513TSW for carry and defense, I do not consider it to be a "fun" range gun. My 0.02 Regards 18DAI

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7 +1 Rounds of hope & change

I'm really looking for the 645 or 4506 but I hate to pass on the 4513tsw. Just can't buy them all right now.

I think you got your answer when you posted "...hate to pass on...",

If you have any plans on carrying, then the 4513 is the winner. For purely range use, either the 645 or 4506. A 4506-1 with MIM fire control parts will likely have the best trigger of the full size pistols, but some of the earlier pistols have excellent trigger actions (some were really bad).

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I would go for a 4506 as I believe it to be the top 4 ACP general production handgun built with all respects to the endless fine tuned and not so fine tuned 1911's out there. So are you saying that someone is selling 4506's at a good price?"-)

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I own a 4506 with 50 rounds through it. It was my carry weapon in uniform, It was issued shortly before I retired, it had been to the range once. When you retire they give you your duty weapon. It was cleaned well and lives in my safe, never shot again. I have a TSW 4513 which I keep by the bed. For over 20 years I have carried my CS45, and have no plans to change. If you can only afford one pistol, make it the 4506. It is built like a tank.

While the 645 and the 4506 are directly comparable in more than just caliber, the 4513 will be a significantly different shooting experience (lighter, smaller, more recoil, etc.) even if it does use the same round.

I've owned a 645 (traded it in) and a 4506 (what I got instead) and frankly because of the poor quality control I had on my 645 I would personally choose the 4506. Of course, others will have a different experience but that's what I dealt with at the time.

If you want something similar in size, etc. to the 4513 but can't afford both (or all three), then you can do what I did - I purchased a matching 4516 top end and use it on my 4506 lower. This gives me the larger grip size I like with the 8-round magazine (with 10-round mags available) along with the shorter slide and barrel for easier handling. It is essentially the 4596 that was sold by Lew Horton but only cost me a fraction of the total price of two guns - plus I can go back to the 5" barrel and slide anytime I want.

Just my two cents worth.

4506 by a wide margin for me. I don't care for compacts. I have a 4566, which isn't a compact, but even then I still prefer the 4506. I'd like to find a 645, but only for reasons of nostalgia. I've shot them and it feels like holding a carpenter's square. Like most Smith's produced in the 80s there's large variation in QC with the 645.

I have not found a 4506 yet but have found a nice 645 and a nice 4513tws .

I will probably pass on the 4513tsw because I have been carrying a 640 centennial +p for years and really like the bigger 45.

There is a "1st Production Run" 645 with box and papers for sale online, complete with the hex screw that someone else here said gets loose all the time... someone should save it and put it on a nice dry shelf before that screw gets lost...

Is there a difference between the two screws on the 645 decoker ?I see some have a hex head and others a phillips

@Rship, correct, but talking about auction sites seems to be not ok here.

Here is a link to an interesting article with some pics that show that screw.

Miami Classic: The 80s-era Smith & Wesson Model 645 .45 ACP

Nice article thanks

I have been having a hankering to get a 4506 to go with my 5906

If I was just collecting? I'd probably get the 4513TSW especially if it's a pre-rail. If I wanted a range gun to shoot .45 through to my heart's content I'd go with the 4506 for sure.

My 6906 9mm compact wants to be a 4506 when she grows up...

I just found a 4506 locally no box 2 mags for $750 ? Seems a little steep ?

But I like the look of the 645 better ?

And the grips and grip angle.

I think you should buy what YOU want. That's the real test, IMHO.

$750 is a little on the high side, if you just want to take it to the range and shoot it. If in mint condition, and you are adding it to your collection, with the two original mags, it is totally worth it. ...especially if you already have the Ferrari, the Rolex, and Sunny Crockett's jacket. Oh, and the haircut. The hair is very important.

https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/used-sw-semi-autos/

Seriously, those guns were selling for $400 a few years ago, because the guys who bought them got old, bald, have arthritis, and can't be bothered to run them at the range any more... oh wait... I resemble that!

ROFL

Lol, I can find a better deal on a 645.

I'm gonna hunt me down a 645 and will post pictures when I get that beast.

By the way, with the Model 645 you can get the optional flame thrower.



You just gotta love Hollywood!

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Nice I want it . Lol

Load up some .45 rounds with Alliant Power Pistol and shoot them on an indoor range. The experience won't be far removed from that.

\\

Unfortunately, that is getting to be the standard price. I have not seen one under $700 for a while. There were a lot of them made. but I have no idea where they all are!:-)

Why not more pictures in this thread? (Even though we all know what they look like.)

Well here’s MY 645 all dressed up. It is what it is and isn’t what it isn’t, but I really like it. Is it as good as my 4506-1? In reliability yes. In accuracy no. In “nostalgic” good looks, MUCH better.

Jim

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Last I checked Cabelas was selling them for 650 with a single mag. I don't remember the condition, but good chance they have not been shot very much regardless of cosmetics.

Unless a large caliber handgun was owned by a LE agency, what people describe as holster wear is often something else. Until civil liability law became an issue, business owners often bought a 45 ACP for protection, and kept it in a drawer in the shop... and never took it home or even out because of its size and weight. There it sat, sliding around a drawer with pens, change, keys, paper clips and so on for a decade.

[QUOTE=PeteC;140797033]Last I checked Cabelas was selling them for 650 with a single mag. I don't remember the condition, but good chance they have not been shot very much regardless of cosmetics.

U/QUOTE]

Thank you, but if the actual condition is anything like the photo, I have to pass. It warrants more investigation.

Any more with the S&W 3rd Gens, the key factor I look at is how many mags come with the gun in relation to price.

Years ago when I bought my lightly used L.E. trade-in 4566, it came with two mags with the latest followers (black), and a S&W box ... Shortly after that I was able to source 5 more 8-rd mags in great condition and upgraded them with black followers and new Wolff springs.

But this was back when S&W 3rd Gen mags, and component parts, were generally in stock at places like Brownells, MidwayUSA, etc.

If I see one of the more common 3rd Gen 9mms, 40s, or .45s on the Used Gun Shelf at my LGS, the first thing I ask is how many mags come with it, and then whether it has the factory box.

If the answers are '1 mag' and 'no box,' and the price asked is above $400, I pass. The mags for these guns are just getting too scarce, and even when you can find them they're well-used and over-priced.

Mags for the 10XX-series guns are the worst in this regard.

I wonder where all the magazines from LE trade-ins go?? There seem to be more used guns than mags on the market.

I rarely see used guns advertised online as including more than one mag. When they do, it is either because the seller wants to emphasize that the gun includes all it came with, or because the extra mags are supposed to encourage the buyer to feel he is getting a deal.

I wish LE trade-ins came with some kind of certificate of where they came from, when they were purchased, and so on. That should not be difficult when someone is sourcing a batch from a big city police department...

At work, when we get a trade in, it doesn’t matter how many mags the gun came with. It gets sold with one mag, & the extra mags are sold separately. That way, we can sell the gun for a little less, & make up the difference on the mags. Ever see the guys at the gun shows selling used mags? They get them from us. GARY

When I bought my 4506 the clerk advised it came with four extra mags. I was a bit surprised and my inner voice commented, "That's not good business." Of course, I didn't argue.

A few months ago, I stopped by another LGS that's next door to my gun range. They have a miscellaneous table usually filled with odds and ends. On the table was an original first gen. 645 magazine. It wasn't marked and when I enquired, the manager replied, "Make me an offer." I said, "Okay, five bucks." He grinned and replied, "I'd like at least fifteen." Well, okay.....

Anyone who wants to keeps these guns running but poo poos the price of magazines will regret it three to five years from now when they're all close to 1006 prices.

Come on Mecgar, where's that magazine you should be making?

Lol. Yes, but they just never seemed worth looking at closely. Lesson learned.

I liked my 645 so much, I just had to get a second one!

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Bill

I have "choice problems" when going to the range with 0.45 ACPs. An early 645, two 745s and a 4506 then a 625 with moon clips and assorted others including a Sig P220. Choices choice!! Dave_n

Some of that is our fault.
Lots of guys out there are perfectly happy with two magazines. “I have one spare just in case” type guys.
Some of us, (me) we like to have 10-12 per pistol. I do this tp prevent having to load magazines at the range. I load them up in front of the tv, and shoot them at the range. This means having lots of mags.
Maybe the balance of the guns with one or two magazines is guys like me with 12-20.

10 to 12 mags? How quaint.

I picked up an early, first shipment 645 a couple years ago and I don’t plan on ever letting it go. There’s just something about holding that big chunk of stainless that can’t be explained. Not the most accurate or practical pistol I own, but it never fails to draw attention at the range.

I am looking for a second 4506.

Sigh. This is why people in recovery from Covid-19 cabin fever (like me) should just stay away from Forums like this -

When I acquired my 4513TSW I had it 'refurbished' by S&W - new recoil springs, polished ramp, couple of wear parts replaced (don't recall the names of the parts). It shoots surprisingly soft. My last, M&P45 4.5", was not as soft. Gave that away.

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Marty 4513TSW 13-1 642 60-10