627-2 questions help

Alice The Cat · Feb 3, 2023

I want to lead with the fact that I'm a newb to the hobby. Less than 2 years ago I bought my first 1911 and about a year ago I discovered revolvers and only 6 months ago I decided to focus on Prelocks. That out of the way I need some help.

I just picked up this 627-2 locally from the 2nd owner. He was told by the original owner that it was a Lew Horton but from what I can tell it is not. According to the S&W standard catalog the product code has it as an 8 shot but this is 6. I also don't know how to decode the box label. It looks like to me the box says SB yet it's a round butt (I think that's what SB means anyway). The label says **SPECIAL** and I have no idea what that means.

It looks more like a different product code and I'll include pictures from the Smith catalog. It does have a Gold Bead front sight. The one piece terrible grips it came with can't be from smith. The barrel just has block lettered SMITH & WESSON on one side and 357 MAGNUM on the other and no PC markings anywhere.

I'm planning on getting the letter from Smith to see if that helps unless you folks think I would be wasting my $$

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

colt_saa · Feb 3, 2023

You have a great revolver there. It's heritage comes from the 627 Model of 1989, product code 101024

The Lew Horton thing gets exaggerated a bit mostly because it is misunderstood.

When Collector's refer to a Lew Horton (or other distributor), they are talking about a Distributor Exclusive offering. This is a non-standard configuration that the Distributor ordered and that Distributor is the only place it can be bought. Usually it was the Distributor that dreamed up the configuration

Lew Horton's name became so popular that folks who purchased a standard revolver that got shipped through Lew Horton began calling them Lew Hortons even though you could buy the same thing from RSR or Sports South or any Distributor of Smith & Wesson firearms

As you have already learned from the SCSW, your revolver is a parts gun. Smith & Wesson wastes nothing. Usually about 10 years after a model is discontinued, the Factory gets rid of the large stockpile of parts. If frames are left over, they get assembled into guns. The Performance Center is who does the assembly, but they are not Performance Center firearms. The PC guys assemble them just like the production side does. No extra fitting or polishing. It is just too small a run to be set up on the production side

The parts gun builds typically are 10 to 85 or so firearms(remember this is left over frames). Much to small of a batch to be put in the system and sold through normal channels.

So the entire lot gets offered to one of the bigger distributors. Lew Horton was the biggest when it came to odd runs and he got offered more of these deals than the other Distributors.

When you see the word SPECIAL under the FEATURES heading, it is always something unusual and a small batch. This is one of the exceptions where the SPEC ORD number is often not code for the Date of Manufacture

Alice The Cat · Feb 3, 2023

Thank you so very much for all that info. I knew none of that and is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to learn. Do you think I would learn much more by getting the letter for it?

Thanks again

series guy · Feb 3, 2023

I don’t see why the spec ord number wouldn’t translate to the 342nd day of 2000 as being the date of manufacture. The gun looks great and should be very accurate and pleasant to shoot.

Alice The Cat · Feb 3, 2023

series guy said:
I don’t see why the spec ord number wouldn’t translate to the 342nd day of 2000 as being the date of manufacture. The gun looks great and should be very accurate and pleasant to shoot.

I had no idea the spec ord could be translated to a date, thank you.

murphydog · Feb 3, 2023

I think this one would be a good candidate for a letter of authenticity. It was made during the factory "gun of the month" era, when they put out all sorts of small production batch variants.

The letter will probably state it came with a Hogue rubber Monogrip, with S & W logo.

Nightowl · Feb 3, 2023

Congratulations on your purchase of a very nice 627-2! I have no idea how many were produced, but they are not often seen for sale. But, I think they are more common than you would expect for a short run of 100 or so. I know of at least six just from folks I know personally.
There are at least three serial number ranges for these. I have two in the CDY 52xx range, and I know of some in the CCU range as well as yours and I seem to remember a CET, but could be wrong there. My CDY guns all have the same SPEC Ord as yours, 0342 and the same 149193 Product Code.
There are also a few 5 inch 627-2s around, but they are much harder to find. Some of the five inch ones had a fluted cylinder.
I have seen a mint one sell on GB for nearly $4000 several years ago, but that was a rare sell. Most seem to be running $1800-2000.
As was noted earlier, they shipped with the Hogue rubber S&W monogram grips.
I have shot thousands of rounds through mine and it still shoots great!
Again, congratulations on a special find!!

Hawg Rider · Feb 3, 2023

No one has mentioned it, but what the heck happened to the s/n in the yoke/crane? It looks like somebody took a Dremel tool to it! It doesn't appear that the "somebody" wanted to remove the s/n, just severely disfigure it.

As the OP says, the Product Code 149193 (on the OP's box) per the SCSW 4th Ed. is "6" 8-shot Unfluted 627-2". The box label is not marked with the 627-2, just 627. Perhaps the "Special" indicates it was manufactured with the 6-shot unfluted cylinder and gold bead front sight out of parts from the Lew Horton 149140 series, and maybe should have been labeled as such. Strange! What a quandary!

Nightowl · Feb 3, 2023

Hawg Rider: It is my understanding that there is a difference beween the frame size of the 6 & 8 shot guns. Due to the difference, the cylinders are not interchangeable. I have never tried it and have never attempted the measurements, as those who have said this are very well qualified to make the statement. Given that, I think it is a record error.

series guy · Feb 3, 2023

I have owned a few Smiths with the serial numbers done the same way. I think it may have been a method that they experimented with before going laser. They look like they were done with a series of center punches.

Bullet Bob · Feb 3, 2023

"Hawg Rider: It is my understanding that there is a difference beween the frame size of the 6 & 8 shot guns."

No, an N-frame is an N-frame. The main differences are in the cylinder ratchet, and I think the hand - but I'm getting older every day.

toad67 · Feb 3, 2023

No matter what it is, it's nice!!

Alice The Cat · Feb 3, 2023

Thank you everyone for the help, my first thread really paid off thanks to you fine folks. This will be my first letter request and it sounds like it will be worth it.

Cheers

CH4 · Feb 3, 2023

Welcome to the 627 club. I’ve never seen a -2, but have a -0, which came with an unfluted cylinder, 5.5” barrel, combat stocks and checkered top strap, like the rest of the 27 family before it. It’s definitely a tank! Got her a few years ago - she was one of those $200 gun show finds. I added the gold bead front sight.

Alice The Cat · Feb 3, 2023

What a beauty. I hope I can find one with the shorter barrel someday.

CH4 · Feb 4, 2023

Alice The Cat said:
What a beauty. I hope I can find one with the shorter barrel someday.

Thanks
It’s my understanding that it’s the first and last Smith with a 5.5” barrel to leave the factory since before WWII.

Hawg Rider · Feb 4, 2023

I have a modest collection of .357 Magnums and Model 27s, but only one 627...a 627-5 snubby. It's my "go to" travel gun in the SUV or on the H-D, and wears some Crimson Trace laser stocks. Great revolver!

Alice The Cat · Feb 6, 2023

Does anyone have a pic of the correct hogue grip that would have come stock on this one? Where would be the best place to acquire one? I looked on ebay but I really don't know what the correct one looks like.

CH4 · Feb 6, 2023

It should be this OEM from Hogue.

murphydog · Feb 6, 2023

Here you go!

627-2 questions help

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