I got invited to go shooting, with a customer from the shop I have been working part time at. Very successful fella. Who owns some very nice, expensive guns. We shot at an outdoor members only range.

I had my old 4506-1 with a few hundred rounds of S&B, Sig Performance and Lawman 230 grain ball. Also a coffee can of my carry ammo discards - Winchester RA45T.

He brought a Nighthawk 5 inch 1911, a Kimber Gold Combat and an STI 2011 in 9mm. I can't give you more details than that as I am not a 1911 fan and just didn't pay attention to them.

We shot plate racks and some paper targets out to 25 yards. And at one point he asked what that was I was shooting. I showed and explained the 4506-1 to him and let him shoot a few mags through it. He was very impressed with its trigger and its accuracy. Then I loaded it with the RA45T (its favorite round, for accuracy) and he shot that. Slow fire at a paper bullseye at 25 yards. Heshot a sub 2 inch group. Slightly smaller than what his Kimber shot and slightly larger than what he could do with the Nighthawk.

He liked the gun. Hesid he had thought it was a Sig and didn't know S&W had made metal framed pistols. He asked what it cost and I told him it was an LE trade in that I rescued from a pawnshop, seven years ago, for around $300 OTD.

He didn't believe me, at first. Then later, as we were packing up, offered me $600 to sell it to him. Of course I refused his generous offer. My late Father taught me to never sell an accurate pistol.

Back in the day, S&W made some nice, accurate guns. Regards 18DAI

Yes, they did. I have several Performance Center 5906's that are extremely accurate.

Yeah I am finding that out. Been getting into some older Smiths as of late and discovering that they were and still are the bees knees. Found a 5906 last year at the gun show for a great deal and now I have a police trade in 6906 inbound soon.

I have an early production 4506 with the step side frame and had the pre Novak-Sights. We had the slide recut for Novak sights and had the face of the trigger guard reshaped to a more rounded contour.

There are individuals that have problems with the first shot being double action then transitioning to follow on single action shots.

The TSW series, the 4566 CQB, the 945 PC, the 5906PC, the shorty .45, shorty .40 and shorty 9, the 3913.
Some of the best semi autos ever made. The Golden Era of Smith semi auto pistol making. Rock solid reliable, very accurate and well made.
I feel sorry for folks who got in the game too late and missed these beauties

Great report.
I'ts always fun when the kid with the South Bend fishing rod outfishes the guy with all the "top tier" equipment.

I have a 5906 that I'm trying to love.
Found a NOS barrel that I need to try out.

Thanks fellas! I do have a long history with the 4506-1 and a lot of time behind one. I carried it at work for several years and still carry one on my part time job at the LGS. I thank the NC Taxpayers for all the ammo they provided over the years to help me become proficient with it.

Yes, I have read on internet gunboards that some folks have trouble with the dreaded "double to single transition". And after I retired, I taught tiny housewives how to shoot DA/SA as an instructor at the local range. I never encountered one who had any trouble. They didn't wail, cry or nash their teeth. And they didn't "throw the first shot in the dirt" as I have seen mentioned in various threads on the topic.

To the contrary, they enjoyed it. They listened, learned and enjoyed it. And many of them went on to purchase DA/SA pistols - equipped with manual safeties - for themselves.

So after doing that I became embarrased for those "gun guys" who claim it to be an issue. The only issue, if any, is training. Some guys carry guns, everyday. And they train with them and become proficient. The rest of them? Well......I guess thats why there is so much striker fired plastic out there.

I have quite a few Performamce Center guns. Made back when that moniker really meant something and the Performance Center was a seperate entity staffed by talented gunsmiths - not an additional assembly line in the main factory, staffed by piece work animals.

And in my experience, some "standard" production 3rd gen pistols rival their PC cousins in the trigger and accuracy department. I have a 4506-1 and a 4566 LE model that both have better triggers than my PC 45CQB guns.

I was told by a famous gunsmith who had one of my pistols - for some new sights and an aftermarket barrel - that he had tested the sights after installing them with our duty round and had shot a sub 2 inch group at 25 yards. He told me he could go ahead and take my money and fit a new barrel, but it would likely not improve the accuracy of my gun. He told me that Smith use to make a good barrel. Since he was taking money out of his own pocket by so advising me, I believed him and declined the additional work.

I am glad I did too. The gun he was working on at the time, was the 4506-1 I was shooting with this customer the other day. Regards 18DAI

Performance Center churned out some serious guns back in the day for. I regret selling my “Shorty-Forty”. Accurate especially for a 40 cal

My first duty gun was a well worn previously issued 4006. I bought it when we upgraded to 4566s. I never felt under gunner despite only 11 in the mag. It is a very accurate and soft shooting pistol and I even wish it was DAO because that first shot DA is that smooth.

I bought the wife a 908 which she still keeps in the glovebox. Been four vehicles since then- same gun.

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Yes, I have read on internet gunboards that some folks have trouble with the dreaded "double to single transition". And after I retired, I taught tiny housewives how to shoot DA/SA as an instructor at the local range. I never encountered one who had any trouble. They didn't wail, cry or nash their teeth. And they didn't "throw the first shot in the dirt" as I have seen mentioned in various threads on the topic.

To the contrary, they enjoyed it. They listened, learned and enjoyed it. And many of them went on to purchase DA/SA pistols - equipped with manual safeties - for themselves.

To be fair, if you’re showing new shooters on a 3rd Gen S&W, then we’re leagues away from the knuckle-busting H&K or M9 triggers. Those things were close to Revolver DA triggers with the factory full power hammer springs.

I don’t regret selling 4566TSW because every .45 I’ve bought never got shot because of my 6” Wilson Combat, but I am rather annoyed I sold off a 5906TSW. That gun felt like it had a CZ Custom Job on it. The only gun I’ve gotten close to that was a Beretta 92 Centurion that I dropped to an 11# hammer spring.

The 5906 was the perfect duty weapon of its day. Accurate, all steel, hi-cap 9mm, and slim and trim as it could be. The DA trigger pull is great for an out of the box pistol, and the trigger reset in SA is short and crisp. It is the one S&W gen 3 I'll always keep.

The first S&W 586 revolvers were extremely well made. The bluing on older pre-1980 S&W revolvers was a high quality, deep dark blue.