Sounds like the nut was not properly staked to the screw and it may have tightened up when you adjusted the sight, thus "freezing" the screw in the sight body. You can make a little spanner to turn the nut by taking a small screwdriver and filing away the tip of the blade corresponding to the area that would contact the screw. You're basically making a "spanner wrench" out of a screwdriver. You don't want the nut tight when you re-stake it. I usually leave about 1/8-turn or so of clearance. You want just enough clearance that everything moves freely, but not enough that the blade is able to wander around.

Once you get the nut loosened up and repositioned, you can easily re-stake it on the screw using a center-punch. I usually regrind a punch to 60-degrees included angle. You can support the other side of the screw (the head side) on a lead bullet, if you don't have a small block of lead handy. It doesn't take much to stake the screw, so don't whack too hard. Two or three light taps will usually do it.

Naturally, you want to remove the sight from the gun when you are monkeying with it.

Thanks, 29, good to know!
But I don't think I'll do that now. I just received my FedX return label ( my wife just corrected my spelling of "label") from the factory. I'm going to explain all this in a letter with the gun when I return it, tomorrow. Thanks again!
Dick

My chopped 27 headed for Springfield with Fed Ex a couple hours ago. Now I wait again!
Dick

The wait should be tempered by the fact that it is to damn hot to shoot even in the shade of your shelter belt. It is good to see that they are going to make it right, but you wonder why they couldn't get it right in the first place. I used to have a really good smith down here but he start having heart problems and quit.

I don't know, Steve?
I did shoot a couple targets, yesterday, with a new (to me) 4 inch Mod. 28 I bought recently. You're right, it is hot and I'm still waiting on the chopped 27.
Pic is of the 4".
Dick

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HUMMMMM. Life would be such a drag if'n we'un didn't have sumthin to dig our fingernails into.
I think the sights may be the problem to begin with----now what if they decide to do one of their canted barrel things to correct the issue?
Guess, I aught to keep my mouth shut---your doin a good job with keeping a straight face.
It will come around and then you will have to find another project to dig into.
Blessings

__________________
TEXAS, by GOD

Don't know how it'll turn out, William? But, I'm sure anxious to get it over with!
Dick

Don't be overly anxious---enjoy the ride and the process.
Blessings

__________________
TEXAS, by GOD

Still no word on the second return to the factory!

Just received word that the factory was shut down for the first two weeks of August!

Reddog: My heart goes out to you on this one. I had a 27 in the early 80s rebuilt by Smith and they did a great job, the wait was the killer.

They'll make it right.

I'm sure they will, Bronc!
Thanks for the moral support!
Dick

I just looked on the web and hurricane Irene shows to be tracking right, square through the center of Springfield, MA! I may never get my gun back!

It's coming home, tomorrow! Got a phone message from the factory.
Dick

Nothing like a Reunion!
Gotta see the pictures when it get's nestled down in the safe.

OK, Bronco!

I picked up my 5" chopped 27-2 this afternoon! Among other things, they replaced the rear sight blade. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet but they sent along a test target which looks good! I'll shoot it tomorrow and post some more pics.
Dick

Attached Images

S&Ws test target after sight repair 9-6-11.jpg (33.6 KB, 151 views)

That target is bad news!!

Now if you have your shots scattered all over the place, we will know it's not the gun's fault.....

Right on, Iggy!
I don't claim to be an expert shooter and I'm getting too old to hold a heavy gun like this up very long for offhand shooting! These targets were shot off the bags at an honest 25 yards with fairly heavy loads! Next time I'm going to take some of my light target loads and see if I can match that S&W tech's target.
I was a little surprised that my standby load of 153 gr. RCBS semiwad and 3.7 gr. of 700X did so poorly? I really like the 172 gr. bullet load with 700X. The HS5 is good but I'm about out of that powder. But I think the gun is finally the way I want it! It's a well balanced, good handling gun! I plan on shooting it plenty!
Dick

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	153-3.7700X 9-7-11.jpg (34.2 KB, 114 views)
	153 700X - 5.5 HS5 9-7-11.jpg (34.7 KB, 112 views)
	172-3.4-700X 9-7-11.jpg (40.2 KB, 108 views)
	103-016S.JPG (58.1 KB, 154 views)

Those targets looks like you have gotten the thing squared away. As to the loads, I have never seen anything that beats a sturdy charge of 2400 with the 358156 bullet in magnum brass. I would expect it to shoot into a group about half the size of the ones shown.

I understand the "too old" for offhand shooting thing. But for me, these days my problems are more with vision than with arm strength. Whenever I shoot a group, if it is two-inches, I can usually assume the gun is capable of half that, and I am to blame for the other half. I just don't see that well any more, even with my Merit device.

I used to have a lot of confidence in my ability to "test" guns and ammunition from prone with sandbags (more so than from the bench), but the eyesight thing has pretty much precluded that. I suppose I should consider getting a Ransom rest and learning how to use it, but it may be a little too late for that.

Anyway, glad you have the 27 back and it is doing what you want it to. Now all you have to do is get your cartridges whipped into shape and you will be a happy fellow.

Thank you, My29!
It's been a long process!
Dick

My29,
I do load the 358429 Keith bullet with 9.3 gr. 2400. It shoots well in my other N frames in .38 Special. I have another load, 12.0 gr. 2400 with a 200 gr. 358430 Lyman round nose, in .357. I did shoot some of the 200 gr. in this gun, but wasn't too pleased with it. It's a real thumper! Don't have any saved targets but will, soon.
Dick

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Glad to see that you ended up with a fine shooting Smith. Those targets look good to me. I remember your wad cutter loads and that was a fine shooting round. I know that you will find a better load than this but that is half the fun isn't it.

Thank you, Steve!
I've got a new wadcutter mold that is proving to be much better!
How've you been?
Dick

I still haven't been able to bring this gun up to the accuracy of my 6" 28s? I'll just keep trying different loads and bullets, I guess? Kind of odd, since it shot so well until I started the work on it. I may have to take a fellow member up on his offer to work on the trigger!

Are you shooting double-action? If you are shooting single-action and you can dry-fire the gun, watch your sights, and everything looks good - don't let anyone mess with the trigger. I'd bet that the trigger is not the issue.

How about your barrel - nice and clean? Exit bores of the cylinder nice and clean?

I have never had the best luck with the 358429 bullet. If your brass is in good shape, and you are getting good uniform crimps, it should do OK, but I have always liked the 358156 bullet better - particularly with a big charge of 2400. No powder-puff stuff!

It's obvious the gun will shoot since we see that S&W sent you the one-hole target. "Bad news," as Iggy says.

Get to work on your ammunition and I'd bet sooner or later you will hit on a combination that makes that gun purr.

Joel,
I shoot both single and double action, mostly single. And I do keep my guns clean. As to the 358429, it's always been good in anything I've tried it in. And, I did use 358156 for several years but it made a small, ragged hole on target, so I got rid of it. That's what I think might have been used on the target the factory sent? Those holes are very small. Also, did he fire it at 5 yards, 10 yards or? I wish they had sent more info with that target.
I think I will work with Unique for a while. I use 2400 in .38 Special and have had good luck with it. But it's a little too heavy (hot) for target. My favorites for all round use are semi-wads, so I think I'll stick to them for a while yet.
Dick

Today we had 83° and winds over 45 mph! Probably not a good day to shoot but it was plesant back in the shelterbelt. I took the 5" 27 and lots of shells and really rung it out, looking for that elusive accuracy! I shot 25 rounds of two different loads. 153 gr. Saeco cast Wadcutter with 2.8 gr. Clays and Win WSP primers. That's the powder charge I used for years for informal Bullseye shooting. I figured that if that wouldn't shoot in this gun, nothing would! Then, I finished it off with 25 rounds of the load I've been using so much of lately: 153 gr. RCBS cast semi-wad, 3.7 gr. of 700X and Win. WSP primers. Surprisingly, this bullet outshot the full wadcutter! I feel better about it now. Considering the fact that the trigger pull went from 2.5 to 4 pounds with the overhaul and the wind today, and the fact that my eyes are not as good as they used to be, it did pretty well! I'll try some heavy loads of Unique and 2400 in the next few days, even though I wont use them often, just to see how they do.
Dick

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	Image.jpg (39.4 KB, 66 views)
	Image (2).jpg (34.0 KB, 68 views)

I just sent the cylinder off by Priority Mail to the factory to be re-blued!
Dick

Hey Reddog!
Well, I have just read this entire thread, all thirteen pages..., and just saw that you are still working on this project! I can only say: fantastic!! What a project. What is it, 6-8 months? And did it ever seem like it was going to end? However, it did and those groups are fabulous, and I might add, proof that the project, in the long run, was really worth the time and trials. Your Model 27 is just a cool looking, shooting machine.

I realize the agony you had over the time/effort/money put into this project BUT, look what it did for you! It seems like it gave you something to do, something to work on, making time to shoot the gun, working your loads up, looking forward to getting your gun back after sending it off, shooting it again and again while looking for the gun to perform like you knew it could!! Which it does! I say: I wish that I had such a project to keep me as interested as you evidently have been. You have given me inspiration to get back to doing the things that I have put off for the last 8 years while I searched for "something worthwhile." Thanks for that. I may now look for a "project gun" or just get out and shoot the ones that I have. I used to shoot alot but over the last several years thought that I should be doing something else and that was not correct... I will now. Thanks for sharing all of the things you have done with this project.

Well, AC,
I hope this does inspire you to shoot more, especially if you reload! But, be careful you don't get sucked into the buying trap like I did. These big Smiths inspired me to the point that I've bought well over a dozen in the last year! Eight of the Model 28, alone! But, there are worse ways to go!
Dick

"A job making negative comments? Why?"

Because somebody has to do it. There's nothing more boring and useless than a group of "yes-men" who offer no dissenting opinions on anything. The nature of discourse is to have varying points of view.

This project has turned into quite the epic saga. Sorry. I know that you already have far more time, money and effort in this than you wanted to invest. This is a good example of why I avoid "project guns" like the plague. I learned my lesson the hard way several times over. Maybe one time in 10 projects turn out to be a good idea. Maybe one in 10...

Hopefully you finally bring this one to an end and be happy with the results.

SP,
I appreciate your critique! It has turned out to be a great shooter, and I have learned a lot! It's not too bad looking and I imagine my son or grandson will be shooting and enjoying it long after I'm gone. And like AC says, it's been somthing to do!
Dick

Attached Images

A-6.JPG (39.5 KB, 95 views)

I received my newly blued cylinder back from S&W, today, took it outside for a couple pictures in the sun and my camera battery was dead! I'll try to get them posted, tomorrow! It really shines!
Dick

Today, I took the 5" chopped Mod. 27 to the range and broke in the newly blued cylinder! It's pretty! I fired 15 rounds of 172 gr. Keith bullet, Lyman # 358429 with 12.0 grains of Alliant 2400 powder. It's a little heavy for everyday use, but man it's accurate in this gun! This is a .357 Magnum load! I put the first 12 rounds inside the 10 ring, the 13th cut the top of the 10 ring, then I managed to drop the last two into the 8 & 9 rings! Should have quit while I was ahead of it at #10! I also shot the 6.5" 38/44 Outdoorsman today. I'll get something posted on it tomorrow!
Dick
PS, I had to seat the bullets to 1.590" OAL to get the cylinder to turn freely!

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	172 Keith 12.0 2400 2-22-12.jpg (43.5 KB, 100 views)
	MVC-113S.JPG (44.0 KB, 115 views)
	MVC-114S.JPG (39.8 KB, 111 views)
	27-2 Chopped.JPG (46.9 KB, 90 views)

Project guns are not for everyone! Some folks are just not temperamentally suited. They agonize over every nickel spent, over every day a gun is out of their hands, over whether the tradesman they've hired is capable of doing the work exactly the way they think it should be done, and over what they will do if the gun gets lost in transit... among a million other things.

I've found a lot of the success in restoring/rehabbing a handgun comes from making contacts with knowledgeable people who can do the work required, doing your homework before giving them the job, and then leaving them alone. If you do that, they may not be scared to answer the phone the next time you call, and the prices may be a little better because they are not adding in a nuisance-charge for dealing with you.

But even once you have refined your techniques, a certain admiration for the intended rehab victim is required. If it is just a beaten-up gun to you, you're not the guy for the job. Let them go. But if you have a soft spot in your heart for them, and if you can train yourself to handle the "problems" involved, AND if you really enjoy seeing the completed project, it can work out pretty well. After more than a couple of these projects, and more than a few years of experience, I find I am getting pretty good at it. Heck, the last M29 I decided should be restored to usefulness probably only cost a bit more than I could have bought a perfectly good used one for.

Good job with your project and gun, Dick. You have enjoyed it, and learned a thing or two, and in a small but important way, helped keep our wonderful hobby going a few more days. (But I have to add, I am not quite sure why you want so many M28s... )

Thanks for your support, Joel! I really appreciate it! As to the 28s, it's a good place to put some money for when I grow up and start considering retirement! Stocks and bonds sure haven't been any good!
Dick
Attached target is with 10 grains 2400 and 172 gr. Keith bullet in the 5" model 27. I'll probably use more of this than the 12 grain load. It's plenty potent!
This 10 gr. load of 2400 is in .38 special brass. Not recommended for light frames!

Attached Images

172 gr. Keith 10 gr. 2400 5 in Mod 27 2-22-2012.jpg (27.6 KB, 57 views)

Reddog: I use a lot of 2400 with a 158 gr SWCHPGC sized 358. I shoot it in 3 K .357s and 2 L Frames. The load performs well in all the guns but the 66-3 4" likes it the best.

It is my standard load for 357s in K frame guns. GP in Ls and Ns.

Thanks for sticking with the project and seeing such a successful conclusion.

Tom

Thanks for the support, Bronco!
It's been a fun ride!
Dick

Hey Guys!
We had a nice, 73­° day yesterday ,so I grabbed the chopped Mod. 27 and headed for the range! I shot a variety of loads and and had a really good time! Wish you could have all been here! Some of you, anyway. I always clean my guns after firing, put a dab of tranny fluid on all the moving parts I can get to easily and wipe all the metal down with spray silicon. Then, I take my special fitted screwdriver and check all the sideplate screws. It seems on this gun that the middle screw, that retains the cylinder, is always loose? I've found some of these screws loose on some of my other guns, from time to time, too. I don't think I want to use Loctite on them. What does everyone else do? I'd hate to lose one!
Dick

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Dick, you can't tighten anything with that screwdriver! Its shank is both too long and too thin, and its handle too small. That thing looks like it is made to work on electronics, not a gun! Maybe a better one would let you get the screw tight enough to keep it from loosening up?

I usually follow about the same procedure you do. I think part of our job as "custodians" is to keep an eye on screws. I have been shooting a lot of years now and have only lost one - a thumbpiece nut, back when I was a teenager. Really damaged the pride. A lesson learned early, I guess.

Glad you had a good day at the range, and cooperative weather!

Joel,
That's a Forster/Bonanza screwdriver from Midway, supposedly, especially for small gun screws?
Dick

click the link below...

MAGNA-TIP® ADD-ON PAK - Brownells

Thanks for the link, LOBO!

Hi Reddog,

Frankly, I LIKE your chopped 27-2 a LOT! I've got a 27-2 that's too nice to shoot . . . and am looking at another just as nice but DANG IT . . . I like to shoot the snot out of my revolvers.

MY favorite handgun of all time is my chopped barrel 25-2 that I bought that way around 1995 or so. It was love at first sight. 3 1/4" barrel, funky front sight too, and shoots a cylinder into a ragged hole standing/unsupported at ten yards all day long!

I've won a lot of area matches with it and I replaced the original add-on front sight with this one a few years ago. I filed it to be very sharp and it is thus a great revolver to have in your hands if an intruder breaks into a darkened house one night.

Here it is in Hogue rubbers, still dirty after a day at the range. I put the rubbers on for matches too!




And here it is in its Patrick Grashorn American Elk stag "magna" type stocks with a Tyler T-grip.



I also radically narrowed, smoothed and rounded the original W I D E target trigger for fast, double action use, and added the "cheesy" newer MIM-type cylinder latch (I'm a lefty and I can reload this moonclip revolver with this type latch as fast as I can on my tricked out 1911 competition automatic).

You would not believe all the private messages I've gotten through the past few years here from folks who want to recreate their own just like it!!!

Best $425 I ever spent!!! Like a great dog, sometimes the "mutts" are better than the expensive pure-breds, IMHO!!!

Again, enjoy yours . . . and I truly don't care if someone doesn't like my non-original Smith . . . I'm the only one that I'm trying to please!!!

Thanks, Tom!
Your gun is a beauty! Looks like you must have really worked on it!
I like mine fine except I ended up with about twice as much money in it as yours! It was just one of those things like, one thing leads to another, and another, and another -----.
Dick

That's why we work (or if you are retired yet . . . why we WORKED), in order to get some things we want.

I didn't have to do much to mine, for it had already been modified by a long-deceased Savannah, GA gunsmith back "in the day," and has the most jaw-dropping single and double action trigger pulls you'll ever see.

Yes, I've been retired 15 years! Have really enjoyed it with my wife! The last couple years I have been accumulating "N" frames, mostly 28s and 57s.
Dick

Hey, all you experts!
I've just bought a 5" Pre 27! It's supposedly 95% or better. I wont get it till next week or later, so no pics. The stocks are the right type but not matching numbers. I'd like some of your ideas as to what it's worth. I'll post pics when I get it.
Dick

Wow, this post lasted a long time also. Looking forward to the pre-pics, Larry