Model 27 5"

Near C&P of a long-ago post I made in another forum.

Today, I picked up a S&W Model 27 from my LGS. The owner of a gun shop in Kansas, sold me the gun.


Here is a picture.



In person the Model 27 looks as good as it does in the photograph.

The Model 27 is descended from the original 357 Magnum, first appearing in 1935, with the first one produced going the FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. (One is forced to wonder how it went with the dresses that he wore.) Initial offerings were in 8 3/4", 6 1/2", 5", 4" and 3 1/2" barrels. Douglas Wesson, using the 8 3/4" barrel, made a well-publicized hunting trip in 1935 in an effort to drum up sales to police agencies, but in the midst of the Depression, that was a tough task, especially since the gun cost the then-unheard of price of $60. Major Wesson took, if memory serves, every species of big game in North America. I understand that when it was pointed out that the maximum sighting radius allowed by NRA rules was 10", the barrel was shortened to the length that we see today, 8 3/8".

My gun is the 5" barrel.

A couple of minor negatives: I don't much care for the target trigger, as it is too wide for me. And upon dry-firing, I found the action to be a little rough, almost as though it was a new gun.This leads to the impression that it has not been shot a lot. If this is so, that's fine; I'm certainly not complaining. It will be my pleasure to break the gun in.

It is a beautiful gun. I'm going to enjoy owning it.

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, I put the gun through its' paces. The revolver is soaking in Hoppes as I type this, and the session went quite well.

162 rounds of 38 Special went downrange today, all but six of them the 130 grain WWB stuff from WallyWorld. The range was fairly close and the revolver shot well, going 'bang' every time I squeezed the trigger. This was hardly unexpected.

One thing I am going to do is change the grips out with my Model 28, as they are the 'plainclothes' magna stocks made, if memory serves, from elk antlers. The reason for this is because I curl my little finger under the stocks as I shoot and with the regular service-styl;e magna stocks from S&W (the flat bottomed kind) it is very hard to do this. I am also going to look into either having my gunsmith to take some metal off the trigger to make it narrower, and get rid of the sharp edges, but that is something that I can take up later.

Accuracy in my hands was good and the recoil was very mild. With a good SD load, this is one handgun that I'd strongly consider carrying.

gerhard1 said:

I am also going to look into either having my gunsmith to take some metal off the trigger to make it narrower, and get rid of the sharp edges, but that is something that I can take up later.

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Might want to consider just replacing the target trigger with a standard or semi-target trigger. Then you could sell the target one. Might be cheaper than having the gunsmith's labor costs. Just a thought. Great gun and is the nice holster maker marked?
Larry

Those target triggers are getting harder to find. You can still find the standard .265 grooved triggers, but if you shoot a lot of double action the .312 smooth trigger works pretty good on those 27s!

Those 27s are my favorite gun and the 5 inch is a great all around barrel length. I prefer it on other Smith revolvers too, although I shoot them all!

That's a fine revolver Sir. You might solve the the grip problem with the addition of target grips. Please don't have your gunsmith grind the grip frame.

Congratulations on a fine addition tot he Family

I too am a Fan of the Model 27 in all its variations . . . Past, Present and Future. The first revolver I ever bought new back in 1977 was a nickel 6" Model 27, I still own it to this day. It is in the upper right of the image below.

When it comes to triggers on N-frames, I usually will put the .312" Smooth Combat triggers on the 3" to 4" N-frames that will see personal protective duty since they are much more likely to be used as a double action revolver. However, when a revolver is intended as the backup firearm in a situation that a animal charge might occur, I like the .400 smooth Combat trigger. It makes a good compromise on a revolver that is equally likely to be used in style of shooting

I generally prefer the .500" Target trigger on the longer barrels 5"+ unless they will be carried in a holster. Then I use the .400" Target trigger which sits inside the trigger guard and can not inhibit the draw. These revolvers go more toward hunting and target shooting and will be more likely to be used as a single action revolver

Now there are always exceptions to my own guidelines, like 5" 327 or 627 revolvers used for shooting games. They will get one of the narrower smooth triggers. This is usually the .312" combat trigger and sometimes a .400"

With the scarcity these days of .500" Target Triggers, you could probably work a trade with someone that has a trigger configuration you prefer. This would keep one more .500" in the pool and save you the Gun Smith charge in reshaping and re-bluing the trigger that is currently on the revolver.

Stocks are a highly personal thing. If I do not have factory targets for the gun, then I like the Hogue wood grips for their shape and beauty
You know that you have to post a fresh image to the Forum once that Model 27 gets it's New Shoes. Remember, your Forum Brethren love pictures

LEO918 said:

That's a fine revolver Sir. You might solve the the grip problem with the addition of target grips. Please don't have your gunsmith grind the grip frame.

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Of course not. Besides, I said the trigger, not the frame. In fact, I'm inclined now to leaving the trigger as is.

You can get a .265 trigger for about $50 and save the original.

My 5" 27-2 has had some trigger work, a smooth target trigger and Goncalo Alves Presentation grips added.

One of these days I might just shoot it.

Hoppe's 9. Don't forget the Flitz, Renaissance Wax and a nice microfiber cloth to shine it up with.

I have a few 27s and a couple are of the 5” variety. One has the grooved .265 trigger and the other has the smooth .312. I shoot both equally well but the smooth trigger is more comfortable than the grooved, particularly with heavier loads.

I have a 27-2 5" with .500 smooth trigger and target hammer. Alex Hamilton did action / accuracy job and installed a gold bead patridge front sight and had it reblued. This is one of my target guns and I also have a pre 27 5".
My favorite gun for qualifying