Last weekend I picked up 4 used 8 round magazines at a gun show, according to the vendor they would fit my 645. Of the 4, 2 fit properly and 2 won't engage the magazine latch. The magazines look identical but upon closer examination the 2 that won't latch are about 1/10" shorter. The plastic base hits the frame before the mag locks in the gun (they will lock in with the base plate removed)

Various sites list the same magazine for all Smith & Wesson .45 ACP 645, 745, 4506, 4526, 4546, 4563, 4566, 4567, 4576, 4583 and 4586. Are their other S&W .45's that would use this slightly shorter mag or did I buy a couple of ill fitting imitations?

__________________
"Shall not be infringed"

The 945 has a differant lock notch but the is same length, sounds like you got some aftermarket mags. All the Smith mags I've seen are stamped S&W.

The markings are mixed, one of the good ones has "45 CAL" along with the S&W logo on the lower right side and S&W in a recess on the molded plastic base. The other good one just has the S&W in the recess of the molded plastic base. The 2 that don't fit have the exact same molded plastic base but no other markings although they both also have the notch for the magazine catch on both sides vs. the single notch on the right side that the 2 working mags have. The 2 non-working mags have the exact same molded plastic base as thee 2 working mags.

Both factory mags that came with the 645 and the 3rd factory mag I acquired shortly after purchasing the gun are marked S&W and 45 CAL on the bottom (metal base plate) although the baseplate retention methods differ.

If the mags that don't fit could be used in another S&W model they could be sold to recover the purchase price, otherwise I'm out $50.

__________________
"Shall not be infringed"

I have a marked S&W mag that wont engage the slide stop on my 645. The 645 is particulat about follower condition, mag spring compression, and other issues. I have never had a non-S&W mag work the slide stop properly. I bought mags from ACE & RICO through an ad on this site that were LEO returns of genuine S&W for $15 ea. Look them up and send them an e-mail.

Dave

Well I hate to say what you already know, but mildly you got a bad deal. S&W has had at least our upgrades of the 8rd .45 mag, the latest has a black follower and square indents on the feelips like the one on the right.

25 bucks each for used mags?????

There are not as many used mags out there, new ones are higher than $25 so it's a toss up.

__________________
I miss my 4546 the most.

Your magazines with the metal floorplates were the original design for the M-645. The good thing about them was that they disassembled easily by sliding the floorplate forward, making cleaning the mag simple. The bad thing about them was that they disassembled easily by sliding the floorplate forward, making dumping the cartridges, spring and floorplate on the ground during speed reloads simple! It was absolutely hilarious when it happened to the other guy at a match or training class, not so much if it happened to you!

The synthetic floorplates were part of the design changes made that led up to the M-4506. S&W intelligently made the new mags interchangeable with the old guns' mags.

The S&W-made 8 shot magazines with synthetic floorplates for the M-645/4506 series should all be the same length for the metal mag body. Floorplates varied on some of them but the bodies are the same length.

The 7 shot .45 magazines, for guns like the M-4516, are almost a half inch shorter than the 8 shot mags.

So if some of your 8 shot magazines won't lock into place, it isn't likely that they were made by S&W for another model, it is likely that they were not made by S&W at all. Lots of the second rate aftermarket mag makers won't put their names on their own products, but try to mark them as much as they can to look like they are OEM products. You can get burned.