Smith & Wesson's Model 645: The gun of Miami Vice in Season 3 & 4

[Miami_JBT]

New Wave Firearms - Smith & Wesson's Model 645: The gun of Miami Vice in Season 3 & 4

 

The Smith & Wesson Model 645 in .45 ACP. It wasn't Big Blue's first foray into the .45 ACP cartridge, they did that with the DA .45 Hand Ejector M1917 backing during the Great War.

 

But the Model 645 was Big Blue's first attempt at building a Double/Single Action .45 automatic. Riding the wave that started with their Model 39 and its adoption by the Illinois State Police in 1968.

 

S&W made a number of 9mm DA/SA automatics in fullsize and compact varieties starting in 1979 with the introduction of their 2nd Generation guns. But a .45 chambered blaster was not in the cards; that is until 1985.



 

Hearing the market demands, and the knowledge that the mindset of police were moving away from the revolver as their duty sidearm. S&W decided to make a gun that rivaled and beat the quality of a Colt 1911, with the added function of not being relegated to Single Action Only like the famous Colt .45 Slab Side.

 

You see, what made the Model 39 and its progeny popular in holsters of America's cops was the fact that the gun was a Double Action design. Agency Brass feared the "Cocked & Locked" look and mechanics of the 1911 and Hi-Power design. They didn't trust their Patrolmen to carry such a gun. In fact, some agencies didn't even allow Single Action to be a feature on their duty revolvers. Some agencies went so far to have their armorers bob the hammers and make them Double Action Only capable.

 

Well, the Model 645 was S&W's answer to the market demands for a big honking steel framed .45 automatic.

 

 

As you can see, the Model 645 is a big honking chunk of stainless steel and it takes its design queues from earlier S&W 1st and 2nd Generation guns along with the 1911. The gun is one smart looking piece.  Everything on it is stainless steel except the plastic orange insert in the front sight, the grips, and the carbon steel rear sight.

 

 

Taking the gun apart if a breeze if you're familiar with the 1911. Make sure the gun is unloaded and remove the magazine. Pull the slide about half way back until the take-down notch aligns with slide stop lever and push it out from the right side towards to left. Take the guide rod and recoil spring followed by the barrel out. Simple as that. But be careful though, the recoil spring likes to eject to guide rod into low Earth orbit. 

 

The rear sight is the classic S&W white outline and is nice and visible. It isn't some tiny nub like what you'd find on a Mil-Spec 1911.
 

 

The front sight stands out nicely too with the bright orange insert. All in all, for a mid 80s period gun, sights are damn good. 

 

 

The gun shipped from the factory with two 8rd single stack stainless steel magazines. Giving the shooter a total of 8+1 capacity. Which again, for a period .45 automatic, that's damn good. 

 

 

The gun also came with an ambidextrous safety/decoker. Which was a nice feature since the original 1st Generation guns like the Model 39 and Model 59 didn't have that. Also the trigger guard is the squared off "combat" pattern. 

 

So other than the Model 645 being such a nice pistol. What does it have to do with the TV Show Miami Vice? Well, during the Pilot Episode, a Sig P220 in .45 ACP and in Season 1 & 2, a Bren Ten in .45 Auto was used. Yeah, you heard right. .45 ACP and not 10mm. Why? Well, 10mm Auto blanks were impossible to get. Anyways, by the wrap up of Season 2, the parent company making the Bren Ten was out of business. With ‎Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises gone, Director Michael Mann was looking for the hot new thing for his lead character to use. 

 

Enter S&W and their new Model 645. It was in stainless so it showed off nicely on camera and it was chambered in .45 ACP. Which meant that the ample supply of .45 blanks they had was perfect. Don Johnson used the Model 645 for two seasons while portraying Sonny Crockett of the Metro-Dade Police Department down in Sunny South Florida (my stomping grounds).

 

 

Season 2

 

 

Season 3

 

Here's the Model 645 in action on screen.

 

 

So S&W was doing damn good. They were really riding the wave. The gun was a big hit and folks wanted it. So, Big Blue being who they usually are. They marketed off the show and the life style it was promoting.

 

Yeah, if you bought the gun in 1988; S&W would send you a stylish jacket. But lets take a look at the ad itself. The car, the hair, the women, the confidence. Yup, S&W was definitely selling the vibe from the show. 

 

But nothing lasts forever. The gun was replaced in Season 4 and in real life by S&W's new 3rd Generation Model 4506 and in 1988, the Model 645 was finally retired from production. But that doesn't mean during its short lifespan, that the gun wasn't well liked. The Model 645 was so popular that S&W even made factory cut away guns for their sales department to take to police departments. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the Model 645 is retired, mine lives a comfortable life and is well taken care of.   

 

 

If you see one for a good price, don't let it escape your grasp. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by Miami_JBT

[Miami_JBT]

As a former FL LEO that spent some time in South Florida working the mean streets. I still carry a Model 645.

[timm525]

I have both the 4506 and the 645. I like the 645 better. 

[timm525]

BTW: If you haven’t had a chance to check out our glossary, there is lots of info on weapons, cards, boats, dirinks and all things Vice!

 

Click —> https://miamiviceonline.com/index.php?/forum/86-the-miami-vice-glossary/

[Miami_JBT]

49 minutes ago, timm525 said:

I have both the 4506 and the 645. I like the 645 better. 

I'm a huge S&W .45 Auto fan. I have a Model 645, 745, 4506-1, 4566, 4566TSW, and a special WVSP contracted 4566TSW. 

[timm525]

Wow, that’s sweet! 

[miamijimf]

I have a 4506, great gun despite the fact that it's a little obsolete now since pistols hold 15+ rounds these days.  A friend says that if you can't hit the target with 8 rounds you probably can't hit it at all (good point) but in this crazy world we live in, I prefer a pistol with more rounds.

[Miami_JBT]

1 hour ago, timm525 said:

Wow, that’s sweet! 

The rest of the gang....

Plus the Model 745, only 5,000 were made...

And the Model 5903SSV, only 1,500 were made.

 

[miamijimf]

Very impressive.  A Miamian that collects guns, what could be cooler? 

 

 

[timm525]

That’s an awesome collection. I also have the 669 with Pachmyar grips. 

I have a pic or two of it on here somewhere. 

 

 

[Dadrian]

3 hours ago, timm525 said:

I have a pic or two of it on here somewhere. 

Tim this sounds like Weldon struggling with Lorraine.  

[Robbie C.]

I tend to prefer the 4506-1 over the 645...in part because of the trigger guard. I've got a first run 4516 with that squared-off trigger guard and just don't care for it as much. I've also got one of the newer M&Ps (10 rounds instead of 8), but honestly I'm not a huge fan of striker-fired pistols. Call me old school, but I like seeing the hammer as well as having an actual safety.

Edited April 9, 2021 by Robbie C.

[Dadrian]

The day is coming where I buy my first gun. I will have to PM all you guys for help.  

[Jeff_Cooper]

A very cool article, thank you OP!

As a fan of 1911 I do have one comment though, 8+1 is said to be damn good. Wasn't that really almost a norm for bottom feeder .45 ACP by then?  Granted, it was big leap forward in capacity from revolver, but even an ol' skool 1911 guy sticking to USGI mags. would have 7+1 (plus that sweet single action trigger as God and JMB intended ).

-J

[Robbie C.]

7+1 is standard for most 1911-type platforms. I really don’t mind DA/SA, but I’ve also fired it quite a bit more and am dialed into it I guess. Had a Browning Hi-Power for a time before that so I have used straight SA. I just really like how the third gen Smiths “fit” my preferences. 

[timm525]

11 hours ago, Dadrian said:

The day is coming where I buy my first gun. I will have to PM all you guys for help.  

You might wanna do it sooner then later buddy! Just sayin’ 

[Jeff_Cooper]

16 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

7+1 is standard for most 1911-type platforms. I really don’t mind DA/SA, but I’ve also fired it quite a bit more and am dialed into it I guess. Had a Browning Hi-Power for a time before that so I have used straight SA. I just really like how the third gen Smiths “fit” my preferences. 

Hmm, maybe a difference between LEO and gun games crowd then? 1911 guys I've came across all use 8 slug mags (10+1 in minor being the most competitive setup these days). Even in SASS wild bunch a 7 mag. is not a requirement. I seem to recall that ipsc guys like Leatham et al had 8+1 setups by mid-eighties as a standard.

In any case, the Smith/s was/were and is/are really good ones, no argument there. 

Also I fully support your view on DA/SA pull, training goes a long way. 

-J

 

[Miami_JBT]

11 hours ago, Dadrian said:

The day is coming where I buy my first gun. I will have to PM all you guys for help.  

I've been in and out of the firearms industry for most of my adult life, other than being a cop. I worked for a few large distributors and also ran my own shop. Since I've hanged up the badge, I'm now back in the gun industry full-time, but it isn't as a sales rep. It is as a lobbyist for a national gun rights org. When you get hankering for something. Let me know and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction.  

[Miami_JBT]

28 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

7+1 is standard for most 1911-type platforms. I really don’t mind DA/SA, but I’ve also fired it quite a bit more and am dialed into it I guess. Had a Browning Hi-Power for a time before that so I have used straight SA. I just really like how the third gen Smiths “fit” my preferences. 

The industry standard these days is 8rds and that was becoming the standard since the late 1980s. 

[Robbie C.]

2 hours ago, Miami_JBT said:

The industry standard these days is 8rds and that was becoming the standard since the late 1980s. 

Yeah. I’m not fussed either way really. I’ve shot but don’t own any 1911s. Thought about it, but the ones I like are too rich for my blood (Nighthawks). 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Robbie C.

[Jeff_Cooper]

^

Nighthawk! Would love to own one of their 1911s. Not to mention the Korth based NXS wheel gun

-J

Edited April 9, 2021 by Jeff_Cooper

[Gary1911A1]

Both the 645 and 4506 were good pistols. Guess I'm just old, but I would take either of the various polymer striker fired pistols of today.

[miamijimf]

I'm with you about preferring the hammer type pistols over the polymer striker fired pistols of today.  But you have to admit Glocks and similar handguns are extremely reliable.  My Glock 19 Gen 5 is small "rete petite" as Even said and holds 15 rds, ideal carry gun.  There must have been some but never heard of a malfunction with a Glock.

[Tom]

vor 3 Minuten schrieb miamijimf:

I'm with you about preferring the hammer type pistols over the polymer striker fired pistols of today.  But you have to admit Glocks and similar handguns are extremely reliable.  My Glock 19 Gen 5 is small "rete petite" as Even said and holds 15 rds, ideal carry gun.  There must have been some but never heard of a malfunction with a Glock.

Glocks are the small equivalent of the AK47 which was constructed by a Russian guy who had no engineering education and won over all highly educated engineers at that time in several contests how to build a reliable machine gun. It went unharmed by water, sand and never got stuck. Simple construction, less potential sources of failure, thus very reliable.

In case of Glock it is an Austrian precision product and it is here used by many law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams (as is the Steyr rifle that Crockett used in Out where the buses don´t run).

I like the Glock and I am a patriot, but I prefer the Beretta APX which is nearly as good, is very reliable and looks better.

[Mr. Vigilante]

5 hours ago, miamijimf said:

I'm with you about preferring the hammer type pistols over the polymer striker fired pistols of today.  But you have to admit Glocks and similar handguns are extremely reliable.  My Glock 19 Gen 5 is small "rete petite" as Even said and holds 15 rds, ideal carry gun.  There must have been some but never heard of a malfunction with a Glock.

One of my firearms instructors at the academy had a Glock (don't remember the model) that he used to show their reliability.  He'd leave it out in the rain, throw it against a wall, even run over it with his truck...pick it up and shoot center-mass.  I've shot several Glocks over the years, but just don't like how they feel in my hand.  The last pistol I carried was the Smith & Wesson M&P .40 cal.  I thought this was a great gun!  Never had a single issue with it, felt good in my hand, and seemed quite durable.  I was planning on buying the compact model for a backup but never got around to it.

Great thread btw!