My favorite. Most are pre-1961. Wish I had more.

I Know what you mean. I didn't have a 5" S&W so when I saw the bottom M&P at the Reno show, with matching box, for $350, I decided it to be a very good deal, but it was a California dealer and he would not accept my C&R even though it was a 1951 vintage gun. I do carry regular FFLs from my buddys gun shop, so I used it to make the purchase. This particular dealer also needed a FFL for a 70 year old M52 Winchester. Whats up with those Californians? Big Larry

You'd have to live there to understand. Just as an example, a few years ago I spoke to a gunsmith and friend in a suburb of a large city there who has an FFL as part of his business. The city police visited all of the FFL holders in this city and told him it was their intention to make the city "a gun-free zone" by trying to put all the FFLs out of business. They were not amused when he asked them "gun-free for who, the criminals?" It is not at all hard to believe if you're familiar with the attitude toward gun ownership in that area, where I lived the majority of my life until 7 years ago.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

50 years a Calif. 14 years, so far, a Utahan and going to stay that way. We don't have any gun problems here. Big Larry

Nice collection SaxonPig! Ditto for Big Larry.

I read Skeeter Skelton religously, so much so that when he passed away I quit reading the magazine until Mike Venturino came aboard.

He loved the M27 5 inch (4 inchers were not available then) and wrote about it a lot. My first M27-2 was/is a 5 inch.

BUT, I actually prefer the M27 in the 4 inch.

However, on the K-Frame .38 Specials I love the 5 inch barrel, it really seems to balance perfectly for me.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

I currently have eight (8) 5" DA revolvers, seven S&Ws and one Colt. If you count the two 1917s, that makes ten.

The 5"ers are my favorite length.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

CA doesn't recognize the C&R for handgun transfers and all pistols must go through a 001 FFL.

Not sure about that. I think you have to have some sort of certificate from the DOJ or some other certificate from the state. Just a ruse to get more $$$ for the state. Their laws change every couple months, so no one actually knows. Big Larry

If you mean for an FFL to ship to CA it's done through the CA DoJ website and it's either free or a couple bucks to register. Non-FFLs don't have to bother with it. Yes, it's irritating and takes about 10 minutes but if I were a dealer I wouldn't want to ignore 10,000,000 potential customers.

I picked up my first 5” today, an M 27 -2, haven’t shot it yet but after an hour or two of just handling and dry firing I now understand what all the hoopla is about. You can be sure I will be at the range first thing tomorrow, I can’t wait…

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Always Stay Strong!

I have a couple 5" but my hardest to find and favorite is my Illinois State police over run. It shoots great too! Larry

Attached Images

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If you have a Federal C&R license, California will supplement it (for a fee) with what is called a Certificate of Eligibility, or COE. The COE relieves collectors of a couple of irritating restrictions on the general gun-buying public in this state, specifically the 10-day wait and the one-gun-per-30 days rule. I have often done the paperwork on more than one old gun and walked out the store with all of them on the same day. This astonishes some of the regular customers at the counter. The fee is not a moneymaker for the state, since they issue so few COEs (just a few thousand in a state of nearly 40 million people). The original application, which involves fingerprints and research, costs about $70-80 altogether, and then it renews annually for about $20. If anyone buys a lot of old guns, this is definitely worth the price.

You can't use the COE to avoid the 10-day wait on a non-C&R gun, and there is a difference of opinion on whether a COE holder can take possession of more than one non-C&R gun in a 30-day period. I'm in one of those conversations with the state DOJ now. Past practice has been inconsistent.

EDITED TO ADD: I guess I should honor the thread's main topic and confess that I too generally like 5" barrels as an all-purpose length, but I go out of my way to find different lengths for some models. Lately I have been enjoying barrels in the 2-3" range on K and N frames. I also have a couple of N-frame target revolvers with long 8-3/8" barrels that I really like, though I rarely shoot them.

Only on the .38/44 HD do I find that I prefer four-inch barrels to the five-inchers. Not sure why. Ask me next year and I may not feel the same way.

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David Wilson

I had lived in Calif. since 1949 and have seen their gun laws turn to *&^%. Back in the 60's we could shoot and go just about anywhere with no problems, even from landowners. Now, just to visit a nice place in the Laguna Mts. east of SDO, you must buy a parking permit just to look at the fenced in area that no one can get into. Forget taking your 4 wheeler into the snow.
I had a visit by two ATF agents that told me I was buying too many guns.They told me, they were going to Mexico. Imagine their surprise when I took them into my gun room and showed them 125 guns hanging on my wall. At that time I got a regular FFL. which many did, but the restrictions on those became impossible to keep up with, so I turned it in and got a C&R which for me was a good deal. Good thing for me is that I left that state to come to Utah before it really began to get out of hand. First gun I bought here was a live WW2 Thompson. 2nd gun was a M617-2. Now, I am proud owner of 110 rifles and pistols and have had no hassles from Utah. I just use my C&R and my carry permit and all is well. Big Larry

SP,

That's a right smart start ya got there.

I too like the 5 inch barrel lengths, so much so I sum-times include those off brand Colt SAA
with 4 3/4" tubes in my little remuda of 5 inchers...I guess cause they fit my five inch holsters.

Su Amigo,
Dave

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

4.75 ain't 5...

I would say so as well. Big Larry

I like this Guy!!! and yes I'm in CA but I seem to mange just fine......

Ah come on Sax, let an old man round up once in a while!

Anything ya shoot with that thar SA will swear it was five inches of barrel velocity


Or let me round this'n down...

5 3/8" RM

Su Amigo,
Dave

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Five inch k-22..?....anyone. ?

Here are my main two 5"ers. 27-2 and 29-2.

Here are my 5 inch 27's

5" .357's the pair..

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

I've got a couple.

357 Magnum from 1954.



27-2. 1978 IIRC.



And one K-frame. A 10-5 from 1969

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John 3:16 .

Sal,

Dang it...Ya know I's ain't been well here lately, and you go's and post a picture like that!

That's a better start fer this morning than a ol' defibrillator

Thanks Be For The Good Times To Be Had By All.

Su Amigo,
Dave

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"