What is the value of a smith and Wesson model 4546 in very good condition?

Answer 1

A buyer will pay what he/she wants for what he/she wants. If the buyer is willing to spend over a $1,000.00 USD on a S&W third generation pistol (because he/she really must have it), then no amount of rational reasoning can be expected to persuade the buyer that the price is too high. To answer your question, the only S&W third generation gun valued over $600.00 USD is the Model 1046. They are collectors items, since only 152 of these guns were made and thus are rare. I've seen 1046s advertised for $850.00 USD. My opinion, the model 4546 is one of the best handguns ever made. Period. With adjustable sights, or with night sights on it (and in really good condition), you could expect to ask between $550.00 to $600.00 USD with confidence. However and with all this said, if the market were to shift and suddenly these pistols became highly collectable and desirable, then the price for them will increase. For example, the same type of phenomena happened with the M1 Carbine rifle. In the mid 1980's, one could by these surplus WWII rifles for as low as $150.00 USD-- now they are collectors items, are in demand and you cannot reasonably expect to touch one for under $1,000.00 USD! I liked the original adjustable sights with protective wings on the 1006 pistols (as such is very rugged). I don't know if the 1046s were ever made with those adjustable sights or not. Even the 11 lbs. double action short stroke trigger pull feels much lighter than it is. The only modifications that I would make to the pistol, would be to further improve an already good trigger pull and do a trigger job that would reduce the trigger pull weight down to 4.5 - 5.0 lbs. and polish the trigger action up a bit. I might put in some extra strength (recoil, firing pin, and magazine) spring set from Wolf for handling Double Tap and +P loads. And if it came only with the fixed sights, I might install MMC micro adjustable night sights. Hope this helps.