One of my favorite parts about my job is that I get to spend time every day looking through the online catalog of suppliers, trying to find unique used firearms to buy.

I was a bit surprised last week when I found a 645 had just been added to the inventory of one supplier. When I saw that it was a 645 with a TBR SN prefix, I was even more surprised, since the Standard Catalog says that the first production serial range was all TAKXXXX serial numbers.

Sadly, no factory box came with it to give a product code, but I thought the forum might like to see this pistol.

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I can't remember, did Sonny Crockett carry the Bren 10 first and the 645 later in the series? Thanks for posting; that's a great looking handgun.

That's right, a Bren 10, then a 645, and then a 4506, as he evolved with the times.

The front sight on this 645 is interesting. I am no expert on 645's for sure, but I had been under the impression that zero S&W semiautomatic pistols got a dovetailed front sight until the arrival of the 3rd Gens.

I had to search for a picture of my own 645 and just as I thought, a ramp front with orange insert, but it's part of the slide and not dovetailed in place.

Interesting!

I don't think it actually is a 645. The TBR SN prefix, along with the 2nd Gen Frame indicate that it is potentially one of the <150 6450 Interim pistols that were produced between the end of the 645, and start of the 4506.

I have enjoyed that show since it first aired back in the 80s. It's a true classic. I just thought of something kind of funny. Crocket always carried a large caliber semi auto that basically represented the most advanced handgun available. On the other hand, Tubbs got by just fine with his little old 38 bodyguard (and his sawed off double barrel on occasion). Must be Tubbs was a better shot ;-)

I have all 5 seasons on DVD and I still enjoy the shows. I only remember Tubbs using a double bbl. shotgun in the first episode, from then on an Ithaca Stakeout.

Actually, Det. Crocket’s original pistol was a Browning BDA (likely in .45acp) which appeared in the pilot episode!

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In the two part episode about an assassin called "The Argentinian", the actor playing the assassin is an actual world class shooter.

Mine, with s/n prefix TAM, has the same dovetailed front sight. Although, unlike the OP, mine has a Novak rear. Not sure whether that’s original or not.

Closest thing I have to a Bren Ten is an EAA Witness in .45. That is close enough, extremely reliable but a little too heavy.

Pretty sure my 645 back in the day had a red ramp vs. dovetail front sight. My 4506 definitely has the dovetailed front sight.

And someone local bought all three guns from the production studio with all the supporting documentation, & Crocket’s bogus Metro Dade County SO ID. They brought it to the monthly gun show until someone bought the whole package. GARY.

IMFDB provides a list of all guns used in the series and by whom. There are LOTS of them. It must have been great fun to be the armorer on that series.

https://miamivice.fandom.com/wiki/Ji...0(Part%20I)%22.

The director did not know Jim was a shooter and intended to edit to speed up the sequence, but no editing was needed. Also, laying the gun down on the body was an adlib.

Some transition 645/4506 had the old style non Non Novak rear sights while having the dovetailed white dot.
Standard 645’s had the fixed red ramp.

My TBN prefix 645 has a dovetail front sight, but it was sold to me as custom work done by Novak. Mine definitely had the front sight milled off and dovetail cut in the slide. Had one with the red ramp when they first came out, and the black front dovetail sight is a big improvement In my opinion.

As most probably know, the Miami Vice Bren was a .45 with the slide nickeled to match the stainless frame. Supposedly showed up better in the night scenes.

Dan

Miami Vice fan too! Came across this 645 with a TBW prefix a few years back.

Fight the Good Fight!

Fred

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Tubbs used a Serbu shorty at least once.

A whole bunch of rabbit holes to run down this weekend!

Miami Vice (TV Series - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games)

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The Miami Vice Bren Ten slide was hard chromed. (Not nickel)

If youse guys are the ultimate Miami Vice hardware nuts, tell me if you ever heard of this tale... which sounds like a very tall tale.

Years ago in a gun forum (it may have been this one but I don't recall...) one poster claimed that he watched them film a night scene with an alley-way gunfight and that Crockett had done a full-speed reload including dropping a magazine in the heat of the battle.

The poster went on to say that he went back and visited the scene the next morning, all production crew packed up and gone, and he collected the lost/left Bren Ten magazine... which of course we are all aware is an irrationally hot item.

The story sounds ridiculous. I want it to be true! It could be, seems like a long shot. Has anyone heard this tale?

That story would go against one of my recollections of a story about diver being sent down after Don Johnson jettisoned a Bren magazine over board.

They used to show this video at the FBI Academy. And they told about how it wasn’t sped up and that guys like this really exist so be prepared etc. Also if I remember correctly there was discussion about - don’t think that there aren’t criminals with this kind of skill because this actual actor was arrested for some felony.

Here's my 645 - bought it when they first came on the market.

John


(Click for larger image)

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I liked the episode with Willie Nelson as the old Texas Ranger. His SAA .45 was an interesting contrast to the state-of-the-art stuff usually seen on the show.

In the link, there is a comment highlighted in pink, about how fast he handles a 1911A1 in "Return of Calderone Pt. 1". if that is the video segment shown, the pistol he pulled was a BHP.

The pistol he lays on the body is a 1911

I slowed the video down to 1/4 speed and the pistol used in that seen was a 1911 Commander, not a BDA/P220. Spend some time on Google and you will see that the BDA looks much different than the 1911 and the cutout in the dust cover is very distinctive in the Commander and the Government models.

BTW, if you are facing a shooter that good the only way to deal with them is to not give them a chance. As in as soon as you are on the COM you start putting bullets on target at about a 4/10 second split then when you are to the last one you take a moment to sight in on the upper lip and drive one into the brain stem.

The handgun in the linked clip on YT is a Gov't 1911...



Interesting, because I recall the gun as being a Hi-Power from watching the scene back in the 80's, but it's clearly a 1911.

I originally heard the story in the 80's as Zubiena was an on-set consultant at the time, and the actor hired to play the hit man couldn't get the gun handling down, so they just had him play the part.

Years ago, we used the clip in the Academy. Once, we had a firearms training day that coincided with a USPSA style match at a club range in the area I supervised. I paid for my squad to enter the match as part of the training for the day. It was an eye-opening experience for most of them...

Yeah, after a second look, I agree. When he laid the pistol on the dead guy's chest, I thought the grips looked like a BHP.

For the record, guns aside, it is Crockett, not Crocket.

sonny crockett miami vice - Search

2 Ts my friends, no matter what gun he used.

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While his shooting scene is pretty good I don't think he would stand a chance against Trinity as in ( Trinity is still my name) or the Sundance Kid on Alias Smith and Jones....
I know he was a highly ranked speed shooter back then. Although his wife Linda ? drew more attention at the Bianchi Cup in the early 80s. Most "highly" ranked speed shooter types are very fast to the target and accurate.

I watched Pride, Leatham and Koenig or maybe Piatt do a demo at the Shot Show one year around late 90s. They reacted to a buzzer, drew, fired, reloaded and fired again for time. Pride was the slowest at like 1.4 seconds.. These were some type of pneumatic guns at Safariland's booth, I believe, and they weren't shooting at targets but it was pretty impressive. Practice,Practice and Oh, Practice.
Moral of the story is in any confrontation best to keep some distance and not to remove your attention from anyone you are facing. People can punch even faster than they can draw and shoot.

My 645 also has the TBR prefix (TBR5XXX) but has the standard/non-dovetail frt sight.

Noop.

The MV BT was, externally, a 10mm and you can see “10mm AUTO” on the slide in close-up shots where Crockett has the pistol raised up near his face. One example is in the S-2 opener, “Prodigal Son,” where the camera pans in close as he raises the gun during a gunfight and you can see the rollmark on the slide. Internally, Crockett’s BT was set up as a .45 to fire .45 blanks because no one in the props business in Hollywood back then made 10mm blanks. Simple make-do and pretend it’s a 10mm, sorta.

It’s also why Crockett is filmed reloading the Bren Ten so much during gunfights. The magazines for 45acp Bren Tens (called the “Marksman” run of BTs) held only 8 or 9 rounds, while BT 10mm mags held 11-rds.

Noop, it wasn’t “nickeled.” But that was Michael Mann’s reason for wanting the slide hard-chromed.

Greatest cop show ever. I've got the DVD set but it's also on TUBI right now.

I know we mostly talk about Crockett & Tubbs, but Michael Talbott (Stan Switek) was the real gun guy. I think they even let him use his own guns on set, many were BHP and 1911.

He used to be on social media and I did have a brief conversation with him a few years back.

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I approve of this thread.

I also approve of this thread.
Getting my Crockett on...

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We have a saying in the Baptist church, "Never fact check a preacher story (a sermon illustration) because if it ain't true it oughta be!"

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Maybe Crockett was compensating for something..

Love the S&W handguns of Miamia Vice, I have a few:

Michael Mann also used Jim Zurbiena in the 1986 film Manhunter. He played an FBI firearms expert that issued William Peterson's character Will Graham a Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog and a bag of Glaser Safety Slug bullets

Went down the Zubinia rabbit hole and found this from the guy hizself;
Zubiena

OK.... maybe it's because I am cranky right now but it annoys me when people put words in my mouth......
I unloaded the d*** gun and dropped it on the yellow shirt to seperate me from any evidence of the shooting and make sure the firearm could not be used against me as I departed. Remember.... this was way before prints could be gotten out of the gloves..... all planned and executed on the set as I have stated before.... no unload and show clear from habit...... I did the same thing in an episode of Nash Bridges years later. Hope this clears this up. Thanks for remembering........

I found his 2 cents interesting.

Does anyone know if the LAPD in SoCal used the 645? And if yes did the department issue them or did the officer go buy it and then compensated for the purchase? Thanks for any stories and Happy 4TH of July everyone.

IIRC, back then the Beretta 92 was the issue handgun, and if you wanted something else (that was approved) you had to buy it yourself. I had a couple of friends carrying the 4506, but I don't recall if the approval of the .45 for general duty use was early enough for the 645...

My 6450 has a red ramp front sight.
Best,
Gary

You don't have to be a world class shooter when you have a shotgun like that. Those weren't skeet loads. They could use a couple of those in Ukraine to kill Russian tanks.

Kind of always liked the Bren 10.

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The Second and 3rd Gen Smiths carried by Officers were strictly private purchase, NO reimbursement.

The only exception to this was the few 4566s carried by a small special unit. This unit and the research done to authorize it to carry the 4566 was what lead to the larger authorization of the 645/4506 after the North Hollywood shootout.