A Smith 645 was recently passed down to me. Purchased in the mid-eighties and probably had about a box of ammo out of it from the original owner. I've put about a hundred through it with no functional issues, but when I went to field strip the gun for cleaning I noticed an issue...

It seems like the notch cut into the barrel for the guide rod is off center. The field strip instructions say to center the guide rod or it will protrude upon reassembly but I see no way to do this with the location of the notch. The only way I can get the guide rod home is to twist the extended portion about a half turn until it finds the hole and snaps back.

Also I noticed the recoil spring is bent, which may be from the general design of the pistol or it could be from this off centered notch.

Of course all this could just be me being me but before I shot it again I wanted to get some opinions.

When i get home I'll take a look , it looks a bit off. Problem being they no longer warranty that model so your kinda screwed .

It does seem off slightly but it just holds the rod till the slide is back on, then it's held in the frame. Double check your guide rod to make sure it's straight. The spring really makes no difference but it wouldn't hurt to install a new one especially if you don't know how old or much use it has seen.

Thats exactly what I do with mine as well...turn the rod about half a turn. I hadn't really thought it and pretty much accepted it as the norm with this weapon.

Been like that since I bought it brand new and I have never had an issue through it.

Have a 39-2 the same way and never been a issue at all.

I don't see any issue with the spring. As to the slightly off center semi-circular cut, if you can learn to reassemble it and if it works, I would not worry about it.

Email S&W and ask for a quote to replace the barrel. They did mine for nothing back in 2001/02. Of course my barrel was pretty worn out by then and I was the original owner. No telling how many rounds went through mine. I don't remember mine being off center like that and I don't believe it should be. I doubt they'll do it for nothing but it probably won't be as expensive as might think.

It won't hurt a thing. Don't worry about it. The notch is only used to hold the rod/spring during reassembly. When the slide is on the frame the rod doesn't stay in the notch and the notch doesn't have any other use.

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183rd FBINA

Even with the seat in the right place sometimes it is necessary to twist the recoil spring guide to seat it. This has occured with the 39's 59' 645's that I have been associated with. The armorers school used to tell you to twist the rod to seat it if didnt seat itself properly. If you are interested I have 645 barrels. Paul J