S&W 645 Questions

Thanks lone for the quick lesson, ill try it out when my friend comes over this weekend. Any other tricks or tips i'll take also. It looks like a really nice piece, not a scratch on it, and for the money I dont consider it a bad deal.

I think you'll love it. I also strongly recommend one of the universal military holsters, available on eBay. They'll fit just about any auto from a Glock to a Smith 59 series, to a Beretta to a Smith 645. Very nice for the money and there are some great deals around.

im in the process of buying a model 645 myself and i was just wondering if there are any other kind of mags that will load into it or do i have to buy gun specific and if so about how much are they and where do i find them for good prices

JBadgley said:

im in the process of buying a model 645 myself and i was just wondering if there are any other kind of mags that will load into it or do i have to buy gun specific and if so about how much are they and where do i find them for good prices

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It has to be made for that gun. The same magazines also fit its "third generation" counterparts (4506, 4566 and so on).
Here are new factory magazines for $30.

Really glad to hear the good comments on the 645. I have a 4506 on order and just closed a deal on LNIB 4006. I look forward to giving these a workout in the near future.

I have wanted a 645 for a few years but was into 1911's in a big way. Time to expand my horizons.

Would love to read more about the 645/4506 from owners.

I love it when I see other catch the S&W fever . Now I'm torn between buying a 4506 or a 645 first .
If you really want some info on the 645/4506 pistols try here , I spend ALOT of time on that forum .
http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve

I recently picked up a 645 and am loving it. It looked to be shot very little but was said to be aprt of a local police trade-in (Gwinnett County, GA) but isn't stamped like the others. I paid jsut under $400 for it and consider it a great deal. There were some scuffs and scratches on the slide, but tose are now gone thanks to some Scotch Brite pads and steel wool.

I shot the gun the first time this past Friday and it's a sweet shooter. Reliability was 100% with WWB with hollowpoints and PowRBall the next trip to the range. Recoil and muzzle rise are very, very acceptable, in fact, quite smooth (not a surprise with the weight of the gun) and accuracy approached a good 1911 (but I was only shooting at 15 yrards). The SA trigger isn't quite up to good 1911 quality. I suspect if it was accuracy might match many 1911s, but still isn't far off as it is. DA shooting is quite good with a smooth trigger. I didn't see a significant decrease in accuracy when shooting DAO. I had considered putting in a lighter recoil spring from a pack on order from Wolff, but I have decided to let well enough alone and put it in my 5943 SSV. I am replacing the recoil spring as I can't say absolutely for sure how much the gun has been shot. It's not a big deal for an $8 part.

Overall I like this gun a lot. I can see it becoming a favorite. I love the old red/orange insert on the front sight.

Storm,

Great report. I really enjoy reading from knowledgeable shooters like yourself. I have never read anything negative about the 645 or similiar 3rd gen smiths.

I am presently having a mild love affair with my CZ-97B. I plan to shoot the 4506 I have on order, along side the CZ. Should be a ton of fun. Like you, I will probably replace the standard 4506 recoil spring since some of these guns are approaching 20 years of age.

Thanx for the slide clean-up technique with the scoth-brite and steel wool. My future 4506 will probably get this as well.

schmeky... from this point on, until further notice, we're limiting you to ONE NEW GUN PER MONTH!!

GZOH,

Well, I'm finally broke. I mean busted. May be at least 31 days before my next purchase

Storm,
Great report. I really enjoy reading from knowledgeable shooters like yourself.

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Glad to!

As to knowledgeable, I've screwed up enough times in the past thirty years that it might be mistaken as "knowledge" :banghead: I like to call it "knowlegeable by default".

Case in point: having sold my 5606 and 4506 back in the early 90s. The only savings grace is that it planted seeds for grabbing 2nd and 3rd Gen Smiths now. I think when I owned those two guns way back when I wasn't even aware of the existence of the 645.

I just got a 645 in a trade. One hell of a shooter! Mine is in beautiful condition with only handling marks. Nice walnut or rosewood grip panels. as well. It's a keeper.

RMD

Congrats on a good catch. I am considering adding a second one to my arsenal, one with the adjustable sights. Maybe tomorrow....

Model 645 = Great gun

I purchased my Model 645 new way back around 1987. Considering it's an early S&W auto, it has been an excellent gun. I've fed it hollowpoints and FMJ's and it always feeds and fires flawlessly. This despite a poor record of cleaning it on my part.

It's definitely on the heavy side. Heavier then a friend's Colt 1911. It feels good in the hand. The DA trigger pull is decent. The SA trigger pull is pretty good, though there is a fair amount of slack.

I recently took it out of storage a few weeks ago, where it had sat for 3 years still dirty from the last shooting. Shot 75 more rounds flawlessly. After giving it a good cleaning, it looked just like new.

I'm not a cop or anything, but I would not hesitate to bet my life on this gun.

S&w 645

I purchased my 645 brand new in 1985. Fantastic pistol out of the box. 100% dependable. Over the years, a few mods made it a bit more user friendly.

- Pachmayer grip panels
- Larger mag-release button from S&W 745
- Larger safety lever from S&W 745
- Novak high-mount rear sight from S&W 745
- Recut front sight from ramp to post style
- Tungsten recoil spring guide with buffer stack
- Dual-element recoil spring system
- Tuned trigger mechanism and magazines
- Trigger overtravel adjustment
- Magazine safety deleted

Kick down my front door? Pull me out of my truck? Say hello to my little friend.

Not for sale.

Mick

For those who might be interested in the "ultimate" 645 (maybe even the ultimate Third Generation Smith), check out the fabulous Performance Center 945. Admittedly, a little on the pricey side.

I recently purchased a 645 from the original owner. Its a great gun. I've shot it twice & it performed flawlessly. It is a Stainless Tank, but that's the #1 appeal to me.

After the 1st cleaning I had problems getting the slide on due to difficulties in depressing the levers near the hammer(firing pin safety block, etc.) I was finally able to get it on.

However, last night after a 2nd outing, when reassembling the slide, it stuck on the rails, right at the safety levers. The slide only moves about 1/8 inch in either direction. Nothing I tried worked to free the slide. The trigger has a wiggle, but no real movement. The hammer is now back in the cocked position. You can't fully insert a magazine either.

Does any one have any ideas, or is this headed to a gunsmith or back to S&W to cure?

I really like this gun, so far, more than my new Kimber .45cal. I appreciate any tips or advice. I don't have any pics now, but I could take some & post if that helps.

I posted this on the S&W forum & rec'd some advice, but I need all the help I can get!

Thanks in advance!

Well, after some additional persistence, I was able to depress the remaining lever & get the slide to go the rest of the way into position! Whew! It would not budge for a good while though.

I'm glad it finally gave in cause I hope to take it to the outdoor range tomorrow. I really like everything about this gun, the weight & feel, the trigger pull both DA & SA. And its so heavy that if you ever had to defend yourself with it & ran out of ammo/clips, you could beat someone silly with it! But yet with the single stack clip, its thin for a big gun.

Both times at the range, even though I've had multiple other guns with me, both times I took out my 645 & shot it, people noticed it. One guy the 1st time out came over & asked if he could look at it.

I just wish I could get a set of Crimson Trace grips for it, but their 1911 grips have wider set screws. Without rails either, I guess there's no hope for mounting any type of laser. That'd make it a perfect home defense gun for me. Heck, if a bad guy just saw you pointing that big Stainless Tank of a gun at him & then saw a laser dot on him too, he'd head for the hills for sure!

I wonder if Laser Max makes a unit for your pistol?

Had a 645 and just got a 4506-1. Great guns. Accurate and very reliable.

I don't mind a bit of extra weight since it went into solid structure.

Tom

Onslow77 said:

It's hard for me to understand why the 645 was in production for such a short time though. Could it be those pesky screws in the decocker that like to come loose after a few hundred rounds?

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It wasn't developed until a few years before Smith and Wesson did the whole 3rd Generation redesign based on updates made during the XM9 trials.

The screws on the decocker coming loose is something I'd never heard of, though late model 645's didn't have "Phillips heads." Most of the changes were cosmetic.

They were fairly popular in the 80's - Brookfield Zoo police chose the 645. Strong enough for a lion, but good enough to take down a man.

Also saw them on the hip of some of the cops my uncle worked with - K9 police or gang crimes officers in Chicago.

In fact, the 45XX family is STILL around, in the form of the 945 from the Precision Center. I'd still love to see them back with the slide decocker/safety.

The S&W 645 is more reliable than any out-of-the-box 1911 ever manufactured. It follows a half-dozen or more attempts by various other manufacturers to ptoduce a stainless steel .45, and it provides (in most cases) a nice double action for a quick first shot.

The 645 is eviidence that the profit margins on most 1911s are obscene and that a large .45ACP can be reliable right out of the box. It makes me wonder how S&W can crank out such pistols while other manufacturers can't produce a 1911 that doesn't need work before it becomes anywhere near as reliable as the 645.

Earlier .45s made of stainless steel either didn't work or they reqired thick oils to keep the slides and frames from chewing each other up. S&W's 645 and other stainless pistols worked fine with only a minimum amount of lubrcant. I find it nice that I can cock the big .45 if I need to or just fire it double actiion.

The gun is a bit hefty, but so are many 1911s with steel frames. It has very visable sights and the best thing about them is that you can buy two 645s for what you'd pay for one 1911.

The 645 and its little brothers in 9mm, .40 S&W, and even .45 (compacts) are great guns and, sadly, have been abandoned to make way for more plastic guns. I'd jump on one for $300, or maybe even two or three if I had the money.

They're one of the great sleepers of all time.

645's and 4506's had trouble with the Remington +P load. These would fail to extract and I had my own extractor replaced when the Dept Armorer discovered a crack.

We went to the Federal Hydra-Shok soon thereafter.

Other than that incompatibility, they're great guns.

Another bonus of the 645/4506 - external extractor much easier to maintain or replace.

The SW1911's extractor was developed form the success of the Smith and Wesson extractors.

Hey DougDubya...we must have travelled in some of the same circles...I attended a firearms instructor school in 1987 and the "Zoo Guy" had the screw come loose on his safety/decocker quite a few times...they had MUCH bigger stuff to take care of the animals should they get loose...
Bill