Hey guy's and girls I have a bit of a mystery I can't seem to figure out. I inherited a model 745 from my father who inherited from his brother. The only mystery I had originally with this gun is that it stovepipes constantly and I can't figure out why. My father had the same issue with it and had a couple people check it out to no avail. I was going to try sending it back to Smith & Wesson but my brother did that with a revolver and ended up with a little over 300 in a bill as they wouldn't warranty the work. Well I decided to try a couple things to see if it would help. I bought a new complete spring kit for the gun and was going to replace the extractor as well. Looking for an extractor was where I ran into a problem could only find black ones. This is what's wierd mine is stainless and so is the slide. From what I can find they didn't come this way and I've only seen one other on here in a post about that very anomaly. I still wanna call S&W and ask about it but I kinda had a theory that somone switched the slide from a 645 onto this gun. It looks just like one even has ambidextrous safety. Anyone ever ever seen another like this?

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Defiantly a slide switch. Never built a 745 with a 645 slide.

It's very strange the gun has the original box and all. My uncle definitely didn't swap anything and my father didn't either. I assumed my uncle bought it new. Does anyone know if the 645 and 745 slides are in fact interchangeable? I'm wondering why someone would do this if it is in fact what happened.

In spite of the box, I don't think your uncle bought it new.

That's a 645 slide with the plunger mechanisms removed. There's also a flat head screw holding the right side safety lever on. I don't think S&W ever used a flat head screw for that. For whatever reason, it's a frankengun. As for the stove pipe issue: try replacing the recoil spring first and make sure it's properly lubed. If that doesn't work, move onto looking at the extractor and its spring.

I'll look into I ordered a complete spring kit so we'll see. I've tried different ammo,magazines and had other look but none very familiar with these models. Thanks

Trooper224 how can you tell the plunger assembly has been removed? I don't know much about either of these models.

The ejector sure looks short but I don’t have a S&W 45 ACP close at hand to compare. A bad or out of spec ejector could cause cycling issues.

I think someone either special ordered this pistol but I suspect someone just put a 645 slide on a 745 frame. Every 2nd gen ambidextrous safety used a Allen/Hex head or Phillips head screw to my recollection.

I doubt if the hammer drop feature works on this pistol since the 745 was a single action pistol. I assume this 745 still retains the original trigger/hammer assembly as they look correct.

Here is a link to a 745 ejector on Numrich.

Ejector & Magazine Depressor | Gun Parts Corp.

Someone has tinkered with this gun for sure.

Welcome to the FORUM

If you have the original box, post a picture of the end-label.

It will have the product code printed on it. The Product Code is what defines the firearms configuration as it left the factory

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"Acta non verba"

Bubba did a job on your gun for whatever reason. The box means nothing at this point because it only tells you what was delivered new.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

Ordered the ejector because it was cheap from numrich though they didn't tell me until after I ordered that I'm looking at like 8 weeks shipping.

Follower and floor plate on the mag do not look correct either.
Different than mine anyway.

Floorplate is definitely correct and the metal follower is correct also, but the red plastic follower was also used.

needmostuff, if your 745 magazine isn’t metal floorplate then you don’t have an original mag. Some of them had a hard rubber “drop pad” glued to the metal floorplate, but either way, the 745 shipped with a metal floorplate magazine.

This is just speculation, but maybe someone wanted an ambidextrous safety on that gun and found a 645 slide for a quick change.

Look around, the 745 slide might be in a drawer somewhere at your father's or uncle's house.

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

Look at the underside of the slide to the rear, there are two gaping holes on either side of the disconnect rail, where those assemblies should be. Looking at an expanded photo of the frame, the ejector does indeed look short, it could be broken. I agree, that's a good place to start. They're easy to find on ebay.

Umm, sights ?

Definitely NOT 745 sights. Sorry.

Jim

I think the ejector is short I looked at a picture of a new one and compared it. I added an up close picture above.

Member donk52 worked at S&W assembling Model 52's when your pistol was built. If he says that it didn't come from S&W like that, and someone has tinkered with it, I would take that as gospel.

It's a frankenpistol, plain and simple. It should still function, but it's not an original pistol. The stove pipe issue could be too heavy of a recoil spring for the ammo. It could also be a damaged extractor or a shortened ejector. Those are things that immediately pop into my mind.

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I have no doubts that it didn't come from smith & wesson like this. I was pretty certain that the slide was from a 645 after looking at google pictures. Honestly I could care less if it's an original gun or not as I didn't pay for it. I inherited my fathers gun collection last year and this was one of the pistols I received. I would like to see if function properly as my father tried getting it fixed several times. I have a few parts on order and we'll see what happens. I will certainly update the post as things unfold.

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Well I ended up getting a wolff spring kit for the gun. I replaced the ejector spring, firing pin spring, extractor spring and the recoil spring. I went to the range and fired about 100 rounds. Ended up with no stovepipes but 4 failures to feed. I added a couple pictures and it looks like the extractor is just not grabbing the shell good and leaving the spent casing in the chamber then jamming the next round into it. You can actually see where the brass is scratched where the extractor comes off of the casing. I fired like 4 to 6 mags through it before having an issue . It's pretty random never more than one on a mag and can shoot several mags with no problems. All in all it's an improvement but not perfect.

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I would call Wolff, tell them what you have, and what is happening. They might be more responsive than S&W at this point.

The slides from the 645 and the 745 may not have been the same weight, or completely identical in every way. They may fit, but may or may not be functionally interchangeable without taking weight and other things into account when selecting a recoil spring and other replacement parts.

In other words, when you replace a spring on a Frankengun, do you go with the spring weight that corresponds to the gun you have, the gun the slide came from, something else?

The spring kit is for models 645 and 745. I would say that this ruled the springs out as the problem. I'm leaning towards the extractor as that is what's failing to do its job by not keeping hold on the spent brass when the slide goes back. You can see where the extractor is scratching the brass when it is popping out of the extractor ring and over the rim of the case. I have a new extractor problem is its black and I've read they aren't drop in on these Smith and Wesson's. I may put it in just to see what happens and eventually I'll find a new stainless part if it bothers me that much.

These extractors are not considered drop-in parts and I think there are also different weight extractor springs. It's not as simple of a job as installing and adjusting a M1911 extractor. You might want to reach out to one of our members here who goes by the screen name BMCM.

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Yeah, definitely contact BMCM here.

If you've got a problem 645/745 hybrid, he should be able to diagnose the issue(s) correctly, and determine a way to fix them.

I wouldn’t rule out the ejector being the problem. If the ejector doesn’t kick the spent casing out the slide the slide will push the spent case back forward towards the chamber The actual timing of the cycle will determine how the top cartridge moves the spent case. Try loading one round into the magazine then chamber. Fire one round and see if the spent casing is fully extracted, ejected and the slide locks back.


Curious if you take the slide off the pistol and remove the barrel and recoil spring. Slip a spent cartridge up from the bottom under the extractor onto the breach face. The extractor should be able to hold the spent case. If it doesn’t then the extractor spring is weak or the extractor isn’t fitting the rim of the cartridge case properly.

Smith did send out at least one model 745 with a stainless upper. My frame is stamped 745, the slide is stainless with the tenth anniversary IPSC stamping on it. It also has a different barrel with a compensator on it, probably custom done later. No feeding issues with mine. Rll

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Will require pic's for confirmation.

BMCM worked wonders on one of my 745's I sent him . It was a bit of work and he made a post about it . If you do a search it should come up . If you're still having problems send him a PM .

Do you have the original box? I’m only asking because I’d like to know the shipping date.

There were a few very different, (from the norm,) 745’s that were released, mostly later in their run or even AFTER they were cataloged.

I too would appreciate some pictures as I have a fondness for 745’s and am lucky enough to have a 1998, (yup,) vintage example.

Jim

I'd like to hear the story of a 745 that's from eight years after they stopped production of them!

I’ve posted these pictures so many times here they are getting worn out.

It’s a very cool 745 but obviously made up from left over parts including a reworked 659 grip insert? (It has a lanyard loop.) LPA adjustable sites were installed also.

Amazing thing was that Earl remembered these 745’s and was happy for me that I got one of the 15 Lew Horton received.

Jim

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Very cool thank you Jim, I've never seen your comments on this pistol before. Congratulations!

Sorry for the late response. The picture is of my 745 with stainless slide off the frame, another 745 slide on the frame. The frame’s grip was ground to accommodate the ambidextrous safety of the stainless 745 slide. Rll

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If you didn’t get that pistol from S&W and you don’t have a unique product code associated with it, I’m not sure why you would think that S&W shipped it that way.