845 Wow...who knew...

[spistols]

Been watching an auction advertised as this:

1911 Style Smith Wesson Performance Center Handgun

After reading through the description and eyeballing the serial number, I knew what it was...an 845.

The starting price all week was $800. Then at @ 7:30 AM EST the day the auction ends, it goes up to $961. Mentally my limit was $1000, so I am thinking my max to spend when I get caught up in the hype of an auction is about 20% over. My funds were limited and I knew this gun was worth a lot more.

Well, this 845 finally ends at $2,004. Holy smokes. I never expected it to get this high, especially this time of the year.

 

[ragman]

The 845 is a real gem and a gun a lot of people have never heard of. I managed to pick up mine about 8 years ago. The prices on these guns have gone way up in the last few years. Here is mine.

 

[spistols]

Beautiful. Everything I read on these say they shoot like a dream.

Was hoping I could snag the one before anybody noticed the mistake in the auction. But I guess I am not a baller for bringing more $ to the table.

 

[vigil617]

You really think you ever had a chance to get that gun for a grand? Heck, the ad itself said it was an "0845". There were lots and lots of folks watching that one, I guarantee you.

More than two grand doesn't surprise me one bit. You never see these for sale. 645, 745, and all kinds of 945s? All the time.

845?

I can't remember the last time I saw one at auction.

 

[spistols]

Thought it was a long shot, but worth a try. Don't get me wrong, I think the actual sale price is still probably undervalued, but the time of year, actual ending time (est), and sparse information on the pistol would have given me greater odds, then ending on Sunday night at the end of April after tax season.

 

[03Fatboy]

$1,000 may have been a bit optimistic. But I would have been entertained watching the bid go on to $2k. I'm not interested and will say the majority of us here are not either. They are works or art with great craftsmanship, don't get me wrong, but they don't really outshoot my 4506, well maybe, I'm not sure, but my 5" 945 doesn't really outperform my 4506 when comparing the cost between the two.

 

[WisconsinKen]

Don't feel bad. I was watching the same one. It got too rich for my blood really fast

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Heck, the ad itself said it was an "0845".

When I found mine, at a LGS, they didn't know the correct model# either... nor did I.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-semi-auto-pistols/336311-found-845-45-limited.html

.

.

 

[BruceM]

but they don't really outshoot my 4506, well maybe, I'm not sure, but my 5" 945 doesn't really outperform my 4506 when comparing the cost between the two.

You're serious, right??

Bruce

 

[03Fatboy]

You're serious, right??

Bruce

Whether you like it or not, Yep I'm serious. In my hands, I don't shoot noticeably better with my 945 than my 4506.

 

[505Gibbs]

This is a WAG on my part but I believe there are significantly fewer 845's than 645's and 745's.

 

[BruceM]

In my hands,

With all due respect, I do believe this is the operative phrase.

If you're 845 is not significantly more accurate than your 4506, it needs to be returned to the mother ship for repair because if it's not intrinsically & mechanically more accurate, it's defective. If it's not broken or defective, it's operator error.

Bruce

 

[SVT28]

This one is almost like the Steel Framed Model 39 that sold about 2 months ago that was also No Reserve and not noted as a steel frame. It sold close to 1k, which seemed about right. Buy it now is your only friend on Gunbroker, as there are just too many of us hawking it daily for something like this to get through below value.

-SVT28

 

[PPCSHOOTER]

845 IS AWESOME. I HAVE ONE THAT JUST SHOOTS GREAT AT 50YDS. I HAD A 945 WHICH COULDN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO THE 845. JP

 

[ragman]

I have been watching a auction for a very nice 845. It ended a couple of hours ago at $2,436.00. I wonder were the prices will level off?

 

[ZoomieG]

I was watching that same auction. Same seller had a pristine 645 and a 4505 both go for just over 1k that ended near the same time. The 4505 I understand, as they are rare. The 645 sure was nice looking, but you can get a decent one for about half that.

 

[Sevens]

I have been watching a auction for a very nice 845. It ended a couple of hours ago at $2,436.00. I wonder were the prices will level off?

I was very surprised to see the 845 close at $2,436.
I would have bet five bucks that it would have made it's way to $2,800 or very near.

The market for a rare gun is an odd market. There are many ways you could make a case for a "value" or price. It occurs to me that one of the best ways to conjure up a market price for a rare, valuable (modern) gun is to compare it to it's contemporaries.

In this case, I would have to make the argument that the closest gun to an 845 that we see with some regularity in the SAME MARKET* would be the Performance Center 952 models.
(*note that when I say same market, I mean Gunbroker, which may or may not reflect the real world... but that is a side-topic separate from this discussion)

All the evidence suggests that there are "more" to "FAR more" 952 models in existence than 845 Limiteds. As we are talking about Smith & Wesson... the world may never know.

If you take a long, genuine look at where Model 952, 952-1 and 952-2 pistols trade for on Gunbroker, and you can get on board with my assertion that the 845 Limited and the 952 should at least be considered 'a similar commodity' then you can only come to one of two rational conclusions:

A) The 845 Limited is a sleeper that rarely appears and ALWAYS sells for less than it is "worth"

B) All of the 952 models (on average now) are simply over-inflated and trade at a price higher than perhaps they ought to

It would be difficult to make a completely lucid argument to support conclusion B -- when you consider that Gunbroker sales are actual sales. They aren't discussion or opinions... they are sales. Much like we might look at Python revolvers: many of us are quick to give our opinion they Python revolvers are "inflated" and "certainly not worth those prices!" but you and I both know that if you stroll in to a large gun show with a mint 1962 Python, you are nearly guaranteed to stroll out of that show with THOUSANDS of dollars if you elect to sell. And if it is a dealer that purchased it, it will be offered immediately with a higher price than you just took.

That may be upsetting, that may not reflect OUR idea of what a Python brings to a range day... but it is dead wrong to say that it isn't reality.

 

[BUFF]

There were two different Model 845's made, the Model 845 .45 Limited, like pictured above, and the Model 845 of 1988. I have an 845 Limited, but have never seen a good photo of the 1988 version. Both were Performance Center pistols.

 

[18DAI]

An 845 is one of the S&W pistols I intend to hunt down and purchase this year. 18 months ago, my local shop called me. Said there was a fellow looking to trade a S&W Performance Center 845 for a Glock 21. They didn't know what it was or what it was worth. They offered him $400 trade credit. But they didn't have a G21 in stock so the guy left.

As to the 945 accuracy vs the 4506-1, my experience mirrors 03Fatboy and PPCSHOOTER. I've shot two different PC 945's. Neither one could match the groups I get with my 4506-1 R4 using the same ammunition. And yes I understand that on paper, mechanically, the 945 should be more inherently accurate than a standard production 4506-1.

Im relieved to hear that the 845 is more accurate than the 945. Ive never been very impressed with those pistols. YMMV. Regards 18DAI

 

[Sevens]

Note that the first run of 845 Limited pistols was in 1995 and they made 500 of them. The second run was in 1998 (not 1988) and they made 150 of those. The second run added front serrations and a "not attractive" script/billboard lettering on the left side of the slide. The second run of pistols carried a $1,498 MSRP.

Further muddying the numbers is that a run of them were also built for WISCHO and were bound for European sale.

945 pistols are both extremely accurate and amazing, but I believe the 845 is a finer pistol. I would also be of the opinion that if a production 4506 could absolutely outshoot a 945... we're looking at a miracle 4506 and/or a flawed 945. I would be FIRMLY of the camp that if we interviewed a handful of each pistol, the trend would NOT follow and the 945 would outshine the 4506... easily.

Certainly NOT saying that your findings were not reality -- just that I don't think that is (anywhere near) the norm.