I love my N-frames. They comprise about 50% of my total S&W collection. To sharpen that focus even more, I prefer that the caliber start with a “4” and my favorite barrel length is 5”.

Two out of three isn’t bad. I get e-mails from a small, local auction house. They auction all kinds of stuff, most of it junk – but as they say, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” Up to this point I hadn’t found any treasure. I got an e-mail from them early last week, touting their upcoming auction on Friday. It was an on-line auction only and any lots won had to be physically picked-up on Saturday or Sunday or they reverted to the auction house.

They had about 11 guns in this auction and most of them were the aforesaid “junk”. But one caught my eye. Headlined as a S&W .357 Revolver, you had to actually read the description (or look very closely at the pictures) to ascertain that it was a Model 27, a dash 2 to be exact. The description didn’t even disclose the barrel length. It certainly looked like a 5”, but the longer I looked at it, the more it started to grow – is it a 6” or a 5”. At that point in the week the top bid was less than $300, so I said, “What the hell” and threw a low-ball bid at it, fully expecting to be outbid. My bid was less than half of what I paid for a 6” 27-2 (gun only – as this one was).

Never looked on Friday – the day of the auction – but I came home from a Cars & Coffee event that I did with my older son, to find an e-mail that I had won the gun.

Now the scrambling began. Everyone knows NJ sucks when it comes to guns (and property taxes and car insurance and…the list goes on) but you need an individual “Permit to Purchase” for each individual handgun. Time was that I used to keep two or three always on hand, but that was before our esteemed governor saw fit to increase the price from $2 each to $25 each (and yes it is being contested in the courts). At $2 each I really didn’t care if one expired before I needed it, but, call me cheap, at $25 per I only get them as I need them and the process usually takes several weeks.

Fortunately, the owner of a LGS works pretty closely with me and he provided me with a copy of his license so that I could pick the gun up and transport to him for entry in his bound book and subsequent transfer to me when my purchase permit came through.

I went to the auction house and paid for the gun. I asked if they had a ruler and he handed me the gun and a tape measure. First, the gun was in pristine condition – barely a turn line and clean as a whistle. The tape told the tale – it was, indeed, a 5” barrel. He told me it came from an estate and I imagine that this was a “sock-drawer gun”, fired little and put away. It was also an interesting configuration. The serial number puts it at 1974 or 75. I guess all the 3T guns came a little later. This one has a standard trigger and hammer and Magna stocks with a Tyler T-grip (metal).

Once the state gives me permission, it will come home to join its brethren.

Adios,

Pizza Bob


[IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/8zZW**Mv/27-2-Five-B.jpg[/IMG]

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NRA Benefactor Member

That is a fine score! Congratulations! Personally, I prefer the standard service trigger and semi-target hammer you have on your gun. They just feel and look better in my opinion. Enjoy that one!

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FBINA, 204th Session

5" is not unusual at all for a 27-2.

That's a very heart-warming story Bob. I love hearing about the unusual finds we come across. That looks to be a beautiful gun and I'm sure it'll shine more when you get it out of NJ detention and throw a coat of Ren wax on it. I got my 5"er, a 1967 year model, from a job super that didn't know what he had for $600 including the original box. It's one of the few guns I own that I've never shot because of its condition.
Be sure and post pics when you get it in hand. Congrats.

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Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Nice Gun!
Never shot a Blind Squirrel, but one time I did shoot a Three Legged Squirrel.
I heard about that for a Looong Time!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Pizza Bob so we get an idea about your taste in guns,but what is your pizza preference?
Do you need a permit to carry pizza?

Nice job,great find!

Beautiful gun, congratulations

California probably has a list of pizzas you are allowed to own. NJ might have one too. It has to be climate friendly. No wood burning ovens. Electric only. Save the wind turbine and the heck with the fish.

BTW, great looking 27.

There is a local pizza place here that makes Tomato Pies - not pizza - there is a distinction, although I'm at a loss as to what it is - I believe it is the order in which the ingredients are layered on the crust. If you are ever near Robbinsville, NJ or Yardley, PA you owe it to yourself to try Delorenzo's Tomato Pies. I used to live around the corner from their original store (founded 1947, IIRC) that was in a row home in downtown Trenton, NJ. This place must have pre-dated the restroom laws as there weren't any, but people, literally, lined up around the block to get in. The grandson of the founder has expanded to the two locations mentioned (Trenton location is no more - probably a good thing) - and these do have rest rooms - LOL. Very nice restaurants. Fortunately, the pizza,,,errrr, tomato pies have remained the same quality.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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NRA Benefactor Member

Although NJ does have good pizzas and “tomato pies, the laws on guns, taxes, etc, etc just plain stink. I know ther e are gun lovers in the Garden State, and nobody likes onerous taxes. Why don’t you guys get organized and fix it?
Regardless, that was a sweet find on that Model 27... I guess nobody else was willing to put up with the hassle!
Froggie

After jumping through all the hoops, I'm glad you finally got what you want. To me a 5" N frame S&W revolver is the best balanced revolver ever made. For almost 50 years, starting with the registered magnum, a 5" N frame revolver was the standard issue revolver for the Mississippi Highway Patrol. They were tough as nails and if you got the first hit you usually won the fight. A close second was the value series model 28 in 4" and 6". Basically it was the same gun as the 27 but maybe not quite as pretty. Very,very few came in 5".

At one time, the Florida Highway Patrol issued nickel 5" M27s.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Never find these blind squirrels unless I am deer hunting. Then they sit on the same log as you… seriously, yes.

Sometimes my best gun purchases have been completely on a whim.

A 5” S&w is a most perfect bbl length.

My mother was from Ewing Township (Trenton) NJ and it was tomato pie. An ice cream vendor on a bicycle with a cooler strapped on the handle bars would cruise through the neighborhood. He sold beer to us kids with a deposit on a church key, which of course we returned to get out deposit back.

I don't remember the name of the tomato pie place we went to but I do remember it was good.

Congratulations and nice find!

In general, 5" barrel N frames look "symmetric" - the barrel is about as long as the frame. And it is rare (but not unseen) to have a 6" model 27 with a Baughman ramp front sight.

I spent 4 years in Philly but never ventured into NJ for pizza or tomato pie - too much time chasing cheesesteaks.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Oh, you mean the sandwich!

Yes…Pat’s, Geno’s, Jim’s…fond memories.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Sorry, I thought you said Cheesecake!

Very nice….. Blind squirrels make out well some days

They didn't make a lot of them either. I've seen one at a show in Birmingham and they were proud of it. When I was a kid we used to go to Panama City Beach and I would see the troopers carrying these in a cross draw flap holster.