I just bought a Model 645 (s/n TBN27xx) As New In Box (ANIB). It's a lovely piece. It has two magazines and the tool bag/kit.

One of the mags has the old second generation metal butt plate, as it should. The second mag has a rubber butt plate. It looked to me like the owner simply glued a rubber piece on to the metal butt plate (I've seen this done to old 1911 mags before). However, I was checking the S&W parts list for the M645 on the S&W website and found something I had not notice before. In addition to the regular butt plate (now plastic), there is a rubber butt plate listed, too. (See below.)

I've never seen a rubber butt plate on a S&W magazine before. So, is this just a piece of rubber stuck on a metal second generation butt plate by the owner, or is it a factory rubber butt plate? It looks to me like a simple owner stick-on rather than a factory job, but that's just me. What say you?

Thanks.

From S&W Parts List

__________________
1st Signal Brigade, RVN '70

I am not an expert but that looks like someones personel handywork. I bought my 645 used with 3 magazines but all 3 have the plastic floorplate. I never knew S&W offered a rubber option.

That is the factory rubber basepad, came on the 745s'. S&W once had a recall on the 4500 series mags. I had sent my 745 in to have the extractor replaced and they sent it back with a new mag, loosing my basepad. When I called they didn't have the rubber pads in stock anymore but did offer to replace my other mags and said just to remove the pads before sending them in. They replaced all ten of them, no complaints here.

Thanks for the posting Handgunner356. The pistol is so like new that I just could not see the guy going to all the trouble of gluing the rubber base on and then not using the pistol. I suspected that either the pistol came with one each, rubber and metal, or he traded one of the metal base mags with the dealer for a rubber one. I've got lots of later 4500 series magazines, so I'll just put these "original" mags in the box for (as Roy Jinks states in his letters now and then) "historical purposes."

By the way, I think I found the recall of the 4500 series mags you referred to above at this link (scroll down, 7th one down): http://www.firearmsid.com/Recalls/FA_Recalls%205.htm But it looks like it only applies to those mags with "plastic" bases, not to 2nd generation mags with metal bases. I'm surprised they suggested you send your magazines back for exchange.

From recall notice:

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1st Signal Brigade, RVN '70

Yep, the rubber pads were once a factory option on the M645 & M745 magazines. Same part number. Back in the days when rubber pads were all the trend (meaning folks tired of damaging their metal mag butt plates when dropping them on concrete). Having all your rounds fly out the bottom of a loaded magazine in the gun was a little disconcerting, it seems.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Those magazines were standard on the first run 4506 pistols that were still stamped as 645's.

Hi Im new here I decided to sign up.I have been trying to find this magazine for a long while I have the all metal mags and havnt had any luck finding the rubber butt plate does Smith still sell the plate or would you be interested in trading it for another all metal one.or selling that one.I have a Model 645 and a 4506 and this would make a great addition
Thanks and God Bless

The rubber base plates were transitional magazines from the metal to the plastic base pads. They were manufactured at the same time as the new 5904/5906 magazines were being manufactured. No, they are have not been manufactured since about 1989/1990.

Sonny, if you like the newer ones with the black plastic butt as sold by Midway I would be interested in buying your old style plain metal ones... Matt

Hey Matt
I appreciate the offer I like the all metal not super fond of the new black plastic butt plates I have really been searching for the transitional mags with the thick rubber butt plates keep me in mind if you run across any.Thanks again

Sonny, I'll keep an eye out for those! Thanks...

Your new M-645 is a very early one. I bought the first one I saw, from the first dealer in my town to get them, in January, 1986, s/n TAK21xx. Still have it.

There were a couple of problems with the first magazines, the ones with the stamped sheet metal baseplates. The baseplates were held in place on the mag body by a little tab or nub formed by small cuts on the right side of the baseplate, which nubs were then bent downward slightly to bear against a corresponding notch cut into the bottom edge of the mag body. The plates slid onto the bottom of the magazine, from the front edge of the mag body towards the rear until the tab locked it into place. To clean the mag, you lifted or pried the small tab up and pushed the baseplate forward to remove it and then the spring and follower from the mag body.

What happened sometimes occurred when a shooter in a hurry, say in a timed IPCS-style match, did a fast reload. Their support hand would come up sharply to thrust the new magazine into the pistol butt and smack it into place to ensure the mag catch held. The already moving hand then would change directions slightly, adding forward movement to the upward movement, en route to a support position. Done briskly and fluidly, this sometimes smacked the baseplate loose and slid it clean off the front of the magazine, which caused the mag spring, 8 .45 ACP cartridges and the metal follower to eject themselves, also very briskly, from inside the butt of the gun, to all over the ground and the shooters' feet!

I found it to be really, really funny when it happened to others, especially for their first time. I didn't see as much humor in it at the moment when it happened to me.

S&W fixed the problem by switching to the much more securely attached plastic magazine baseplate.

The second early mag problem wasn't just a mag problem. It involved the magazine disconnect parts being sometimes incompatible and inoperable. They worked to disconnect the firing mechanism such that even with the full mag correctly snapped in place, the trigger was still disabled.

S&W recalled the first guns by mailing the owners (the ones who had sent in warranty cards, anyway) a notice that they could return the guns to S&W at company expense and S&W would replace the errant parts with functional ones. I wrote back and declined their offer, explaining it was not likely I would use this gun for serious, that my gun seemed to work as it was, but asked if they would send me the new and improved parts and I would have a local S&W warranty center install them if I ever had problems or decided to sell the gun. I wanted the gun, which I thought might be somewhat collectable in the future, to be as it was originally manufactured. I still have the little bag of parts, which included 4 mag followers and some other bits, put away with our correspondence.

These are tremendously reliable handguns, perhaps the most reliably functioning semiautomatic pistols S&W has ever made. I spent considerable time and money trying to find commercial cartridges that the gun would choke on. It simply didn't fail to cycle until it ran out of ammo. It would even hand-cycle empty brass.

Good guns, very good guns. Big, solid, heavy, with sharply machined edges and corners. Use it as a handgun or as a cudgel and it shines in either role.

I agree with Buff
the 645s are Great guns ,nice balanced weight to it
i prefer the single stack

i even took my conceal carry with my 645 everyone else there was using 9mm and 22s

Buff im curious what year mine is
heres the serial TAL4276
Thanks

Sonny:

I don't know but can guess. The 645 was made from late 1985 to 1988 when it was replaced by the 4506. The Standard Catalog of S&W third edition shows the s/n's TAK7879 in 1986 and TAT2512 in 1987, with 1988 numbers using the TBC prefix. I have a transitional Model 645/6450/4506 I bought new in October, 1990 with s/n TFJ54xx. The first production 4506's have a s/n prefix of AIPxxxx (mine is AIP98xx), but this was for 'Automatic Improvement Program" or something like that and were not using the regular s/n sequencing. I would estimate your gun to be from 1987.

S&W's customer service department can provide date of manufacture or shipping for their modern guns over the phone. They have an 1-800- number. I would try them. If not, the factory historian can write you a letter with the shipping date and who it was sold to but this runs $50.00.

Buff,

I got in touch with the Guys at S&W like you said
they said its a 86
Thanks so much for your help
God Bless!!

I just bought 3 mags off of ebay for 62 dollars total and when my package came I too was confused by the rubber butt plates. I have 9 total now for my 4506-1. Are these mags with the rubber worth more than the plastic ones? If they are I probably would put them up to keep them safe from damage.

Can I assume my 645 with a "TBDXXXX" serial number indicates a 1988 model?
By the way, I have several factory mags and none have a rubber base plate...