Tell me about the Model 645

[23 Blast]

Hello all,

I'm new here but not new to guns, even Smiths. I've had numerous Smith revolvers, including a 66, the TRR8, and currently have a 586 and a 620. I love them all, but never had a Smith semiauto pistol.

Well, that changed today as I have a Model 645 serving its ten-day sentence in the great (police) State of Kalifornia.

The fellow I bought it from said he had only shot a box through it, and the previous owner(s) didn't look like they shot it much either. It hadn't been cleaned and so the bore and action were dirty, but the gun overall looked very, very nice. I'm a fan of 1911's, but this 645 looks like a really nice piece in it's own right. I'm wondering why they never gained a great deal of popularity. As they're not that popular (or simply not that common), there isn't a whole lot of widely known info on them like there is about 1911's, Glocks, Berettas, and the like. I'm already aware of the loose screw on the decocker/safety, and plan to fix that as soon as I get it, but what about any other quirks the gun has? Can I expect it to be a decent shooter? Reliable? Able to feed HP and lead?

Finally - the gun did not come with an instruction manual, so any help here would be appreciated. I tried to YouTube "Smith Model 645 disassembly," but what comes up is a bunch of videos about an Airsoft pistol.

 

[Badkarma 1]

Hi 23 Blast, and welcome to the forum!
You have what is probably the most reliable .45 known to man! I too own a 645 and have shoved all manner of HP, SWC, Ball round I could get my meat hooks on through it and she ate them all with nary a burp!
Accuracy wise it's about a 2.5-3 inch grouper at 25yds. The 645 rode from 1988 till about 1992 when it's third generation brother took over the model 4506.
It has been used by numerous law enforcement agencies and the 645 is rather famous, as it replaced the Bren Ten on the TV show Miami Vice as Don Johnson's charater Sonny Crockett sidearm around season 3.
Dissasembly; First remove the magazine and clear the weapon, then retract the slide till the notch in the slide lines up with the top of the slide release, then pull out the slide release. Ease the slide forward and off the rails. Flip the slide over and remove the recoil spring and guide rod (careful it's under pressure!!) then grasp the barrel by the feed ramp and cam, pull up and back (a little wiggle might be needed as some are tight).
One thing to note, on reasembly, note the two to three little "class" sticking up on the reciever, as you pull the slide back those need to be depressed one at a time so they'll clear the slide.
One more thing, 4506 mags can be used in your 645 and vice versa. These are sweet shooters and good looking to boot, enjoy it! Dale

 

[23 Blast]

Thanks, Badkarma 1!

I didn't know Don Johnson carried the 645, I always thought it was just that famous Bren Ten (which helped boost the 10mm cartridge's popularity). I found out that Michael Chiklis' character on The Shield, Vic Mackey, carried a 645. I wasn't a fan of that show, but that's kinda cool!

Anyway - as for the gun itself, just handling it prior to purchase, I was already enamored of it. It's a good looking gun, and it's heft, combined with the stainless construction, are big pluses in my book. Sure, I probably wouldn't want to carry it all day, but here in CA that's not an option anyway unless I want an appointment with the Unlicensed Proctologists Convention.

I noticed a few things about my particular gun and wanted to know if theyre typical of the species:

1) there was a significant amount of play (side to side) between the frame and slide. My guess is that it contributes to the gun's reliability, at the expense of accuracy. An AK-ish approach to handguns, if you will.

2) there is a magazine disconnect. I didn't know such features were common on pistols in the 80's.

3) the screw that holds the safety / decocker lever is, as mentioned, a bit loose. Is it blue or red loctite I'm supposed to put on it?

4)The double-action pull was actually rather light and smooth. As the gun hadn't been fired much (or if it had, it had been cared for supremely well), is this indicative of a trigger job? The DA pull is smoother and lighter than most any Sig I've tried (that was stock), and is somewhat analogous to the stock trigger pull on a Glock. Does this mean I stumbled onto a gun that has had a trigger job, or are they like this from the factory?

5) finally, how can i tell when my gun was made? It's just out of curiosity, but I know these were made from 1985-1988. Just trying to nail down a birthdate for my gun.

 

[BruceB]

Sounds like a sweet pistol.

For number 3), if you ever want to get it apart without major stress and aggravation, blue loctite should do the trick, after you clean the threads thoroughly.

A quick call to S&W Customer Service with the serial number should get you the ship date of the pistol.

 

[ultratec00]

I didn't know Don Johnson carried the 645, I always thought it was just that famous Bren Ten (which helped boost the 10mm cartridge's popularity).

He did initially carry the Bren, but later series it with the 645. The Bren wasn't around long. I think I remember there were manufacturing issues, owner issues, or a combination of both.

1) there was a significant amount of play (side to side) between the frame and slide.

Mine had some play, didn't seem to deter its accuracy and it would digest any kind of ammo. My 4566 was a little loose too. I ran across a complete NEW slide on ebay back in the day and picked it up for like $50. It had a noticeably tighter frame to slide fit, which did improve accuracy. Still have that 4566 and a 457. Great guns.

2) there is a magazine disconnect. I didn't know such features were common on pistols in the 80's.

Unless it was a special run, I'm pretty sure most S&W autos up until a couple years ago had the magazine disconnect. Maybe not the rim fires, but I don't recall ever handling a center fire double action auto that didn't. It seems to be an option now, at least with the M&P series. My 1911ES doesn't have it either.

4)The double-action pull was actually rather light and smooth. As the gun hadn't been fired much (or if it had, it had been cared for supremely well), is this indicative of a trigger job? The DA pull is smoother and lighter than most any Sig I've tried (that was stock), and is somewhat analogous to the stock trigger pull on a Glock. Does this mean I stumbled onto a gun that has had a trigger job, or are they like this from the factory?

I would say "yes", a trigger job or someone replaced the stock spring with a lighter one. Forget what the factory specs were, but typically 10 -12 lbs double action. Digging back into my memory banks, I'm pretty sure the 645 had a slightly wider trigger than my 4566, which may have helped a little but not enough to be drastically altered. If it's as light as you are indicating, you may want to put it through a thorough range session to make sure there's enough hammer strike to prevent misfires.

 

[das]

Mine feeds empty hulls and is as accurate as my Les Baer Premier II. I love the gun.645s are one of the all time greats IMHO.

 

[TSQUARED]

I purchased a new unfired old dealers stock 645 several years ago. It has been totally reliable with a wide variety of reloads using 185 gr. LSWC, 185 gr. JHP, 230 gr. JHP and FMJ bullets.
I placed a drop of blue Loctite on the screw which holds the safety lever in place. That screw is the only minus of the 645.

 

[23 Blast]

Mine feeds empty hulls and is as accurate as my Les Baer Premier II. I love the gun.645s are one of the all time greats IMHO.

Niice! Definitely something about all-steel guns that triggers something visceral in me. While I have owned Glocks and other plastic fantastic pistols, and acknowledge that they're excellent firearms, they just have a very "tool-like" feel to them - like they're just implements to do a job, rather than personally crafted works of art. I know, I know - an all-steel production gun really isn't any better in terms of fit and finish than a Glock, xD, M&P, etc, but an all-steel gun just "feels like a REAL gun" if you know what I mean. Kinda like the difference between say - a mass-produced machete and a sword crafted by an actual swordsmith.

 

[das]

I have glocks and like them a lot for what they are. I have six or seven 1911s at any given time and get a lot of enjoyment out of them too. But over the years I have found ,for me, when I want a big hunk of steel that I can absolutely count on, my 645 or 4506 are the ones that go along with me. They are heavy but worth every ounce. Absolutely top notch pistols.

 

[jdh]

manual:
http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson2/upload/other/SW_Metal_Frame_Auto_Pistol_06_16_08.pdf

Generic for "metallic center fire pistols"

 

[kenboyd45]

S&W Manual

Thanks for the link. I have been looking for that.