Hi all,

I am looking at my next purchase (sorry pics not available until monday)

It is a 1966 Model 27-2, Serial number S282XXX. It has an 8 3/8" barrel with a gold bead front sight.

I know a letter is the only way to tell if this was original, but were these sights available as an option back then please?

Cheers

MIke

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Hmmm...no replies???

I guess you guys are waiting to see the pics?.. so am I ...the seller is away at a gun-show all weekend and can't get them to me until monday

Well while we wait can anyone tell me if a gold bead front site was an option in 1965-66 on 27-2 please?

Cheers

Mike

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Mike...the Model 27 was available with any of the sights offered by S&W. This included the McGivern gold bead front sight blade. I have seen this model with Patridge (most common on 6-inch barrels or longer), plain ramp, red post, red ramp, and McGivern gold bead.

Bill

Thanks Bill and sw282

I was hoping to get a response before monday so I can make my decision pretty much on the spot. I still have not seen the gun and wanted to get some background info before I commit to buy anything . Model 27s don't come up often in Australia and it will go quickly (whether it is all original and correct or not..lol)

I know a lot of people add aftermarket gold bead sights. Is there anyway to tell if this is what has happened? I have only seen pictures of McGivern, Call and Sheard bead front sights so I am a little wary ...and they were all pics of pre war guns and had very visable pins holding the sight blade in. The Patridge sight on my six inch 27-2 (1972) seems to be a solid fitting. There is no visable pin holding the blade in..it looks like one-piece....is this correct? Would a bead sight blade always be pinned.

Sorry for all the questions...just want to knwo what I am looking at!

Cheers

Mike

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Mike...usually, the pin securing the sight blade to the ramp is polished flush to the ramp so it is not very visible. If S&W replaced the blade, they would have installed a new pin that would not have been polished flush to the ramp and this may be evidence the blade is a replacement. However, there are a few guns that have an exposed pin and the front sight blade letters as being correct, so this is not an absolute way to tell about originality. If the pin is flush and looks like it has been removed and replaced, that is a pretty good indication the blade is a replacement.

Hope this helps.

Bill

Thanks for the additional info Bill

I will check it out tomorrow hopefully. I know a letter is the only way to know for sure Just like to have an idea what I am getting into if things are not standard

Cheers

MIke

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Mike,

Whenever these older S&W's (50's-60's) appear in Australia I check what might have been sold by Australian Arms Auctions.

In their October 2007 auction, Lot 718 is a 27-2 #S282870. It is described as having a "patridge front sight with pins missing". In other respects it matches your description.

Of course I don't know the last three digits of the SN of the gun you are looking at, but, as you have correctly stated, these are thin on the ground in Australia, so I offer this information just in case it is the same gun.

Frank S. SWCA2052

Thanks Frank!

Thats the one...you are a champ! I think I will go print off all the old auction catalogues for future reference!

Seriously Frank, thanks for the info its exactly what I needed to hear...lol...I was looking at a couple of 29s as well...now I know which way to go!

Cheers

Mike

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Mike,

Just an afterthought; just because the catalogue didn't mention a gold bead doesn't mean it wasn't on the gun. I know the people at Australian Arms Auctions and they are nice people, but S&W knowledge is limited, and this shows in the descriptions. For example, I bought a nickel M20-2 with "Austin P.D. 228" neatly stamped on the backstrap, at the same auction, but this stamping was not mentioned in the catalogue.

Frank S. SWCA2052

Hey Frank,

No doubt about that. Roly runs a good show down there and I am sure they just describe 'em as they see 'em. My concern is that the purchaser or another previous owner may have changed the sight.

I just checked and that auction catalogue is not online anymore Did it have a picture in the one you saw? That may give me a better idea if it has been changed since it sold at auction 3-4 years ago

Mike

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I remember that 20-2; I thought all along that Lyle Larkworthy had grabbed it. As I remember, it went quite cheaply. It was surprising that the backstrap number wasn't mentioned in the description but the serial number fit right in the ones shipped to Austin PD.
Regarding the description of the 27-2, could the mention of the 'pins missing' be indicative of them being so flush and blued that they are invisible?

Geez I wish that catalogue was still online

I would love to look at the pic to see the front sight! I might email Cheryl..see if she can dig it out

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Mike,

The photo shows the gun fitted with a Patridge sight but the photo is too small to see any real detail such as a Call gold bead or missing pins. The stocks are later non-diamond targets.

smith17,

Yes, I did get the gun for a low price. I hadn't looked at it at the preview and was preparing to leave when it came up. It was struggling to make $AUS300 and I thought "it's got to be worth more than that", so put in a bid and got it for $320 plus buyers premium. That was about $US250 at the time but is now about $US340 with changing exchange rates. I've replaced the stocks with period correct magnas. There is no sign of it having been renickled. It was one of 50 in the December 1964 shipment.

Frank S. SWCA2052

Such a small, small world we live in.