Hi:
In the middle 1950s I was considering following family tradition and enter Law Enforcement.
In those long ago days officers furnish their service revolvers .38 caliber, Colt or Smith and Wesson, six shot, four to six inch barrel, blue or nickel finish.
I was considering a ".357 Magnum" (Model 27). ($120.00 retail) However the only barrel lengths were 3.5", 5", 6.5", or 8 3/8".

In another post a S.A. FBI (era 1932) used a 4" .357. Were a four inch barrels a special order ?

Thanks,
Jimmy

The Registered Magnum's the first .357s (1935-41) was available special order only...... in IIRC 1/4 inch barrel lengths from 3 1/2 to 8 and something.

The Highway patrolman 1955 was available with 4 or 6 inch barrels

It's been reported that Pre-27 (Post war to 57) and 27s could be special ordered with 4" barrel

The 27 wasn't cataloged/offered with a 4" barrel until late in the -2's ; about 1980, replacing the 3 1/2 and 5 inch offerings.

Around 1980 is correct for catalogued 27's with 4" barrel, but -2 not -3 which were '82-ish.

Mike is correct-I had a 27-2 in 4" nickel that I sold off for something else which I forget....

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Forum consigliere

There have been a few .357 Magnums with a 4-inch barrel lettered over the years (shipped before this barrel length became a cataloged item). Each was a special order.

Bill

Correct...... that said; I've got a 4" 27-2 that not pinned but still recessed from 80/81....... don't know the history...... special order or just a strange ''transition" gun?????

I'd say transition gun.
Have seen/owned several but currently have only one 4" in blue, but -2's were readily available (non-special) in 4" toward the end of the -2 series.
Somewhere there's a list I've seen that had a break down of the various barrel lengths. IIRC, the 4" -2 had lower numbers produced.

ETA:
Most I've seen were pinned. Mine (#N695040) is and was shipped 11-79.

The .357 didn't exsist in 1932. The model 27 didn't exsist in 1932. I wonder if the gun being referenced in the post was a 38/44 Heavy Duty later reamed to accept .357.

If I remember the 4" is the most scarce length of the standard production barrel lengths because of its short offering 79-83?? Also at some point they ended the 6.5" barrel length. That is another hard to find length, a friend has a 6.5" Nickel 27-2...and I've not seen another one.

When I was slated to start the police academy in the summer of 1973, we were told we needed a double action revolver with a 4" barrel in either 38 Special or 357 Magnum chambering (the sheriff's department didn't issue weapons back then). Being a handgun enthusiast and a student of Skeeter Skelton, meaning I read everything he wrote I could find, I asked if I could carry a 5" M-27. I was told no, it had to be a 4". Next I asked if I could carry a 3.5" M-27 as I was convinced the M-27 was the end all, be all in 357 Magnum revolvers. I was told no again, so I bought the M-27s kissing cousin the M-28, of course with a 4" barrel.

The tooth grinding part of my story is that once I was out of the academy and patrolling the streets & roads of our county, I was told I could carry any barrel length I wanted, even a 6" barrel provided I could find a way to set in a patrol call wearing one. GERRRR!

Oddly enough, ever since then it is fixed in my mind that the M-27 (or the earlier 357 Magnum) is only appropriate for holster wear/carry with 3.5" or 5" barrels. As a result I deeply resented S&Ws move to do away with those barrel lengths and replace both barrel lengths with the compromised 4" length.

4" barreled N-frame S&Ws are Highway Patrolman (M-28s) and anything else is wrong! OK, I'll go take my meds and calm down (smile).

Dave

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RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

What ??????..................I've got one of each with a 4" barrel...............always thought I wanted a 3 1/2" 27 until I got a 4" HP..........

In an N-frame if I want < 4 inches of barrel....... give me a 3" 66!!!!




Yes I do know that the 66 is a K frame!

I served with a Deputy who carried a 3.5" pre 27 in a 4" holster and nobody even noticed.
Sometimes we should proceed and beg forgiveness if challenged.

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Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

I think I would have bought the 3 1/2" M27 and carried it in a 4" holster. If called on it, "that gunshop feller said it was a 4".

I was lucky in that my sheriff's office and the PD that I worked for had no real requirements as to caliber or barrel length. Over the years, I carried a S&W 1917, both 5 1/2" and a cut down 4", a 5" .32-20, a 5 1/2" Colt 1917, a 6 1/2" M27 converted to .44 Special, a 4" M25-5, a 4" M24-3, a 5" Ruger Redhawk, a 3" M625 .45 ACP and a 5" 1911 clone, built on an aluminum frame that I built myself.

I carried a 4" M19 that I had round butted to the police academy. And that was because I was issued 500 rounds of .38 special wadcutters for qualifications. I didn't have the cash on hand to buy or load 500 .44 Special rounds.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Hey BAM-BAM, is it blue or nickel?
I have a nickel , 8 3/8", 27-2 from the same time period that is not pinned but is recessed. serial number is around 942xxx.
The only other N frames that I've seen in the same configuration were also nickel. One was a 27-2 the other a model 29 of unknown dash. Both had the 8" barrels.
Just wondering if it was confined to a run of nickel N frames.

John

Muley,

Had I tried that they would have probably questioned the wisdom of hiring me in the first place. Our new sheriff was looking for good people, not just bodies to fill slots.

I was young then, recently returned from Vietnam, and intending to take an oath of office to uphold the law. Not following the rules just struck me as wrong, and likely to keep me from finishing my probationary year let alone the academy.

Dave

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RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

Here's my pre-27 special order 4 inch barrel variant that ship-
ped on April 22, 1957. You just don't see many of these.

Attached Images

	S&W pre-27 4 inch barrel Variation 002.jpg (78.4 KB, 18 views)
	S&W pre-27 4 inch barrel Variation 003.jpg (84.9 KB, 18 views)
	S&W pre-27 4 inch barrel Variation 005.jpg (82.6 KB, 16 views)

Blue..........

I have had several of the 27-2s with 4" barrels and observed a few more. In my experience there seems to be many more nickel guns than blue.

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Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

Same observation here. My 4 inch nickel is N760740. I bought it in 1998, would have preferred blue, but the revolver era in my department had passed by then.