Did the 627 ever come with the half-lug heavy barrel like on the MD 629/29?

I've only seen them with the skinny barrel or the full underlug.

Anyone ever tried having a 629/29 barrel relined to .357 to make a half-lug heavy barrel MD 627/27?

It is hard to know what you are calling a heavy barrel. The 627 was available in a 4" configuration in what the factory called a heavy barrel. This was introduced in 2008

These were not very popular and were only made for a few years.

If by heavy barrel you are referring to the Lite Hunter, Magnum Hunter and Heavy Hunter configurations from the Performance Center, then no. The 627 was only offered in the Heavy Hunter configuration. Two barrel lengths were produced. This 6" pictured below and a 7 1/2"

Here is one of the 625 Lite Hunters so that you can compare the barrel profile

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I have seen pictures of one or two that had a full lug that had been recontoured and partly removed to give the appearance of the older style. Actually looked rather nice.

I mean the proper "heavy barrel" like the one in your first image, not a barrel that happens to be heavy.

Did you know if it ever came in 8" or 6" or was it just the 4"? You say 2008, so none pre-lock?

That was the first and as of today only traditional "Heavy Barrel" Model 27/327/627 revolver that the Factory produced.

Product code 163357 was only produced for a few years

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.... And it's the only 8 shot 627 that S&W has produced that isn't marked "Performance Center".

They're very hard to find, but I lucked upon one at a local auction a while back. Great woods gun.

Edit to add...the early 627-0 has the full underlug 'round' barrel, but only 6 shot, of course.

Actually the revolver that is often incorrectly called the 627-0, is product code 101024

These 6 shot full lugged 627s began with no dash in 1987 and continued on through to the -2 Engineering revision. The -0 engineering revision just happens to be the most common

The flaw in the design showed up very early and only 278 of the no dash 101024 revolvers were ever manufactured. The -0 fixes the flaw in 1989 and becomes the first element of the across the board N-frame upgrade called the "Endurance Package"

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I have one like this that wears Pachmayr Compacs.

Attached Images

31467-DEFAULT-l.jpg (44.5 KB, 1015 views)

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Yes, SKU163357









This gun is noticeably more muzzle heavy than a 629. Only boring .357 from the heavy barrel bore has a material impact on balance.

Attached Files

163357.pdf (323.3 KB, 18 views)