smith 645/745

[chriskm1968]

hello guys. i'm new to the forum and i have a question.
i have always been fascinated with the 645/745 pistols.
can you guys offer me some opinions on these two?
my brother has had a 745 since 1988 and loves it.
thanks in advance.

 

[epj]

I owned a 745 for many years. My daughter was enamoured with it, so I gave it to her. I hoped she would enjoy shooting it so much that she would make regular range visits, but so far no dice.
Anyway, my only criticism of the 745 is that the safety operates backwards. It is single action, so one really needs to have the safety on if there is a round in the chamber. In an emergency, my 1911 trained thumb might have difficulty disengaging the safety. The 645, on the other hand, being a DA/SA can be left with a round chambered and safety off. In this mode it is in the same state of readiness as a DA revolver and equally safe.

 

[chriskm1968]

i always heard good things about the pistol. i intend to get one pretty soon. i was mainly concerned about their accuracy.

 

[44wheelman]

I got mediocre accuracy from two 645'a I've had (maybe 4-5" @ 25yds), my 745 is somewhere around 2" at 25; both off a rest with lead bullets. In defense of the 645's, they had poor triggers with creep & such.

 

[sniper47]

I ordinarily don't shoot out to 25 yards, being that any kind of self defense shooting happens between 7-10 yards, my 645 shoots great. Out of all my large frame Smith autoloaders, I shoot the best with my 645. Don't hesitate to buy one.

 

[handgunner356]

Really depends on what you plan to use it for. For target and plinking I'd go with the 745. But like the others have said they're probably not the best for defense use. The triggers are way too light for a high stress situation.

 

[BruceM]

The single action trigger pull weight of the 745 is very similar to the single action pull on a Smith revolver. I guess that idea is to keep the finger off the bang button until ready to shoot regardless of the situation.

Bruce

 

[chriskm1968]

i know what your saying!LOL
i wonder if there is a big difference in the sinle action pull on the 645 vs the 745? i always heard the 645 double action pull was tough, but what semi-auto isn't.

 

[handgunner356]

Just a general ballpark is 8-10# DA pull and 4-6# SA pull. Even though there isn't that much pull weight in SA mode there is still quite a bit of takeup with the TDA guns. The 745 triggers can be set to have almost no pre- or over-travel what so ever.

 

[chriskm1968]

well that means only one thing: gotta have one! thanks fellas!

 

[Timber Wolf]

Don't know anything about the 745 but I love my 645. I do not find the double action pull that bad but have never weighed it. Funny thing though, I shoot my 457 better. Not getting rid of the 645 though, it is a beautiful example of a stainless steel .45 pistol and it gladdens my heart just to hold and admire it!

 

[chriskm1968]

after you guys showed me an 845, i think i really need one!
i'll be watching out for a reasonable one.
i think after buying my 2206, smith and wesson is the way i should go from now on. tired of mediocre guns. seems like smith is the only one whose quality is still up.you now we used to have a variety of great gun companies to choose from. alot are gone, company mismanagment and so forth.
remember amt,high standard....
ahh the good old days.

 

[Kevin G]

I've got a 645, 745 & 845. The 845 stands out, which it should.
I like the 745 well enough that I had a local talented gunsmith fabricate a left hand safety for it(I'm a southpaw). It's a nice gun, they seem to be underpriced. At some point I'll add an adjustable rear sight. If anyone has done this modification I'd like to hear specifics.
645 doesn't get shot much, no reflection on it at all. My opinion is it's an extremely solid reliable firearm. Bought it because it's S&W's start of its .45acp line and thought it was a good value.
In writing this I'm thinking it's time to exercise #645.
Good Luck, Kevin

 

[handgunner356]

The factory did install LPA/PSI adjustables on some of the later guns. They are available through Brownells and replace the extended Novak. The next step is to have the slide milled for Bomar style sights, had one did that way but it ran around $250 by the time I bought the sight, machine work and reblue, also added dovetailed front. Here is a picture of my limited run all stainless 745 that came with the factory rears that I added the dovetailed fiber optic front.

 

[chriskm1968]

that my friend is very nice!

 

[Kevin G]

Handgunner 356, Tks for the info. I did go to the range earlier today w/645 and 745. As expected the 745 was more accurate, nicer trigger.
Experienced a couple of stovepipes w/745, my fault due to limp wristing, shooting loads on the mild (m not w) side.
Will look to follow up on adjustable sights.
Tks, Kevin

 

[AKAOV1MAN]

I have had a 645 for many years, I sent it to Novaks and Wayne fitted a 4516 slide/barrel to it, and did an action job and rounded off the trigger guard to 4506 specs, and Novaks sights of course. It is the centerpiece of my collection of Smiths, and one hell of a shooter. It will do better than 2" at 25 yards, and the shorter upper is more accurate than the long slide/barrel!
It does get some weird lookswhen I haul it out with the short upper on it. Actually I like the way it handles as a shorty with a full grip. Ther action can be made butter smooth not only by Novaks, but several smiths, C&S comes to mind.

 

[BUFF]

The last batches of the 745 didn't have the IPSC markings. but did have an adjustable rear sight and a plain black ramp sight up front. No dots, inserts or outlines. Stainless frame, blue slide.

Mine, TFJ54XX, was bought 10-26-1990, has a very nice, crisp trigger pull. I don't know how accurate it may be as I haven't gotten around to shooting it yet. I had one of the earlier "DVC"/IPSC guns before and shot it a bit. It out-shot my 1979 Colt MkIV Gold Cup. The earlier 745 had fixed sights, but they worked well for putting ball ammo on target at 25 yards. I never tried any lighter comercial match ammo in it.

If it fits your hand, it should be a very good target pistol to start with.

 

[chriskm1968]

the 745 had my attention all these years until you guys showed me an 845. so many things to get and so little time! it would be nice if i could find some aftermarket sights for my 2206.

 

[BUFF]

From prices I have seen this past year, you could get two 745's for the price of one 845.

That said, I usually recommend that people buy what they like the most.