3rd Gen .45 advice

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Toby_H

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One of my favorite pastimes is to sit around thinking of "reasons" why I "need" another gun.

I recently decided I "needed" to get a M59. But I got a really nice one and didn't want to put too many rounds through it, so I "needed" to get an M39 to take the pressure off the M59. It was some of my better "reason" finding...

Although... while I shoot 9mm more than others, I prefer 45s over 9s. So I'm eyeballing the 645 and 4500 series...

I have a nice 1911 and it's not among my favorites to shoot. The trigger is amazing and it hits extremely consistent. But it doesn't fit just right in my hand so I don't enjoy shooting it as much as I do my M&Ps.

My concern here is... will a 645/4500 series basically feel like a DA 1911 that sits in the safe and never sees range time? Or will feel more natural like my M&Ps do and serve as another excuse to get to the range more often.

I've stalked a few locals stores lately and haven't gotten a chance to put one in my hand. So I need to lean on you guys for advice. While I enjoy finding "reasons" to "need" another gun, I do want it to be one that sees range time and not just a safe queen.

With all that rambling in mind... is there a number in the series you'd push me toward, or steer me away from? Should I take that money to the revolver section to work on my "needs"?

Thanks in advance for the input...
 
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I think most of the responses are going to be “it’s personally objective.”

Have have a few .45 acp’s from full size to compacts. S&W’s and Colts, (mostly S&W’s now.) Not including a couple of full size S&W target examples I’m really drawn to the Commander size of the 4566. I’d like a 4563TSW if it originally didn’t come with a rail. The 45CQB is sweet but not for everyone for a couple of reasons.

Jim
 
A 1911, a 645, a 4506 all feel different. Heck, a 4566 feels a bit different from a 4506. They’re all equally reliable and accurate; at least mine are. I love them all. The only reasonable thing to do is buy one of each. So what if the mostly sit in the safe? It’s not like you’re going to lose money on them.

I will say this tho, I have the “fixed sight” versions. I put fixed sights in parenthesis because you can drift them, and if you don’t have the tritium inserts, you can lower the front or rear as needed. But that’s a pain. I would encourage you to buy the adjustable sight version if you can stomach the looks.

I’m old enough to remember if you wanted a good 45, you bought a Colt and threw most of it away. But when the 645 came out it was loaded, out of the box, with a decent trigger, checkered front and back straps, good sights, beveled mag well, a spare mag, and good accuracy. ( good accuracy came after you figured out what it liked. Mine likes 185 JHPs).
 
I like the feel of my Smith 45 autos better than my Tisas 1911. The 645 is a big pistol, the grip fills the hand nicely and it is a recoil damper. The 645 is the definition of reliability. The 4516 is a bit smaller, lighter, and carry gun for me. The shorter grip on the compacts feels a little awkward to my hand, but they are unobtrusive on a belt carry. My 78 year old eyes do not see much difference in ammunition performance on paper. I usually feed them standard hardball
 
2nd Gen a winner for me...& cheaper too!

If you are looking for another nice "range toy", not for EDC, and using cheapest ball ammo (usually Winny white box around here) I don't think you should overlook the 2nd Generation full size Model 745. 5" bbl, Novak rear sights, SA with traditional left side safety, wood grips no plastic/rubber.

I can't hit diddly anymore with my 1943 Ithaca M-1911A1 and its' skimpy sights and I know it is me....not the gun, but this 745 is right on the money for me at 10 (and even 15) yards at the indoor range.

The 745 was only around for 3 years (1987-1990), mine shipped November 1987 per Roy.

Of course single action only, but I'm not into holding sideways and mag dumps..gangsta style so just fine and fun for me. I have a M39-2 too, but the 45 acp is more fun and when I have the M25-2 revolver along it makes for a great range day.

Still see these around in $700 range at LGS, probably because the buying public seems to want double stack SA/DA and the older SA only single stack, full size guns just sit there gathering dust.

Anyway.......my two cents on range toys.
 

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I have owned most of the third gen Smiths in 45. I settled on a 457 Zander. Slightly smaller than the 4566 but larger than the 4513 TSW I owned. Pricing seems to be lower than the larger third gen 45's. Only problem is the poor finish. Mine may make a trip to Guzzitaco to remedy that.
 
The 1911 platform grip size, angle, etc. feels slightly better to me than does my 4566. The difference is really minimal, but it's there. Then there's the difference between the 1911 SA trigger and the S&W SA/DA trigger.

However, if you don't have a 4500 series, or a 457, pistol you should probably get one.
 
I can't argue with all the wonderful guidance being given, but am shocked that no one has guided you towards the 845. Out of all the guns I have purchased, the 845 (by a wide margin) is hands down the best .45 I have ever owned. To top it off - I most likely would have never thought of or zeroed in on the 845 without the posters on this forum singing its' virtues. I haven't shot my 4506-1, 945(s), or 745 since acquiring two of them. I felt guilty shooting the first one purchased on this forum due to the fact that it was BNIB. I was fortunate enough to buy another 845 TC on Gunbroker with an odd serial prefix that needs lettering. But, oh baby - is it a shooter...

You are not going to go wrong with any of the choices presented, but I can assure you this - there will be no regrets in finding a 845.
 
I used to have a 4506, and I wish I still had it, but I never loved it. I remember shooting it a lot better with Hogue rubber grips but then those grips were too big to be comfortable for my midsize hands.

I also don’t really care for 1911’s. Sure they’re historic and have a lot of good qualities, but I feel like there are so many out there these days that it’s a completely unoriginal choice.

Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to try a 2nd or 3rd gen .45 again to see if my experience has changed. In the meantime I’m happy sticking with my 9mm and 40s.
 
Shutthefrontdoor said:
I can't argue with all the wonderful guidance being given, but am shocked that no one has guided you towards the 845.
Click to expand...
You and I agree on the 845 and given your bit about posters on this forum singing it's virtues... I imagine that my singing was part of that.

Here's the thing, however. It's fun to toss out the 845 like any random old school gun buyer might enjoy one, but you aren't even dropping a hint about the price and availability in your post.

We don't have clear numbers on the made for export WISCHO variants of the 845, but we have hard numbers on the ones made for the US market and the fact is that 845 pistols were very low production and difficult to source. Going from memory but I want to remember the number is 585 examples across the two variants.

So if someone is looking for a "Smith & Wesson .45!" and you drop the idea that they simply GOTTA get a hold of an 845... it would be gentlemanly to also let them know that prices begin somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500. And that actually finding one is very difficult. Gunbroker is usually the easiest place to find one, but the fees and the hassle and the back alley of pure criminal activity rampant on the site makes Gunbroker far less of a gem than it once was.
 
Too true Sevens.

Sevens makes a solid point - the 845 is expensive at anywhere from $1600.00 - $2500.00. That, and they are hard to come by (especially at a fair price).

Sevens is also correct that it was (mostly) he and others that sang the virtues of the .45 ACP cartridge for accuracy, and hey, while you're at it - you should track down an 845...

And so I did, and RedCardinal (apologies if misspelled) sold me one of his BNIB babies.

I do truly appreciate this forum and all its' members. While a weak man would complain how much its' cost them, I choose to see it more as the money they helped me strategically invest.
 
Shutthefrontdoor said:
(especially at a fair price).
Click to expand...

Wide open territory here. What's the fair price? When you have a particular model with particular features and a given condition, you can do a lot of market tracking to establish a pretty solid argument for market price and then "fair" gets determined from that point by the participants.

But I've already pointed out one of the problems here, and that's the availability of these. There aren't many and they don't change hands all too often.

One of the ways that we at least attempt to establish a market price is to look back at what they sold for when they were new. MSRP on these topped out at $1,495 for the second run "Model of 1998." I believe street price was around $1,200.

But that leaves a lot open to interpretation. I wish I had more data. I can tell you that if you want to compare the 845 to other similar models, I think you'd have to look at the 945. But this gets very slippery also because there are no doubt far more 945's out in circulation, but they made a slew of variants.

Or we could compare it to the 4006 Limited. These guns are very close to identical and they were made concurrently with similar MSRP's. However... some 130 examples of the 4006 Limited were made, so this is REALLY not helping us establish market prices.

the 845 is expensive at anywhere from $1600.00 - $2500.00.
Click to expand...
...$1,600 ?

Where? I will take two please, right now.
 
Thanks a ton guys for the insight. You've given me a lot of food for thought. And I'm motivated by the best news I heard which is that they aren't basically SA/DA 1911's.

I've checked the big stores in town and no one has one I can try on. I'll try calling around some of the out of the way shops and pawn shops to see if anyone has one I can put in my hand.

Thank you to each of you that included details of your experience.

Sevens, thanks for the price tag warning on the 845. I'm not super eager to spend over $1k to start this quest, but if that's where it takes me then I'm all in for that ride. I'm also taking notes including the fact that shutthefrontdoor values them around $1,600 and appears to have an extra one.............
 
Haha I see what you did there. ;)

In my hands, a 945 feels different than a 1911, but there are absolutely similarities across these two pistols. While I realize that you’re talking about the 845, I would absolutely suggest you put a 945 in your hands if you come across one.

I do like the 845 more than the 945, but I absolutely love the 945 and I am certain that the 945 is more FINDABLE!
 
I can only address the 4556, which I imagine most here haven’t tried. Shoulda kept it. But I can definitely tell you, it felt totally different than a 1911 to me… trigger, grip angle, and bore axis height being most obvious.
 
I had a 4556 in my hands… I want to say it was 3-4 years ago which probably means it was 5-6 years ago. The parts you mention that feel different are basically the same across all the mid-size to full size .45cal 3rd Gen models, and the same for the 845. The 945 will feel different.

The trigger action is obviously different depending on which… the DAO, the traditional DA/SA and the PC Limited single action guns are all entirely different from each other.

4556’s are scarce, no doubt. I should have bought the one I held… but since it was never going to be a pistol I’d love, I never really considered it.
 
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