My first N-frame, indeed my first handgun, was a 27 no dash. It was a Christmas gift from my dad in 1965, during my junior year in high-school. The only gun I had actually "owned" prior to that was an old single-shot .22 rifle that he had owned as a kid and passed on to me when I was 8 or 9 years old. Dad had quite a few guns and would let me shoot them, but the 27 was the first one (besides the old .22) that I could call mine.
In the years that followed I used it to take six deer, numerous gophers, one coyote, and countless cans, rocks, bottles (yes, I am ashamed to admit), and paper targets. And I once used it to foil a carjack attempt back in 1970, prior to the advent of that terminology. Fortunately for all concerned, no shots were fired on that occasion.
I still own the gun but have not fired it in decades. In the years that followed I spent time in college, the Army, building a career, raising kids, and acquiring guns and even engaged in some competitive shooting, hunting, etc., and the old trustworthy 27 went to the bottom of the heap in favor of the "flavor of the month" handgun. But I love having it and think that I'll take it out and shoot it one of these days, soon, to commemorate its long and honorable service.
The serial # indicates that the gun was manufactured in 1958. I believe that my dad picked it up circa 1961 as a new gun, but didn't use it much before passing it onto me several years later. It's a 6.5".
PS: Those target grips are not original to the gun, it came with the smaller Magnas. I have big hands and wanted bigger grips. S&W stuff was real tough to find back then, but I managed to locate the Targets in a gunsmith's shop. They were real beat. He traded me the Targets for the Magnas and $5. I refinished them. Wish I still had the OEM grips, but oh well.....
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