Range Report: 627 Snubby

[Super Dave]

My favorite caliber is .357 and my favorite gun is the 627 5" PC (on the left).

It was only a matter of time before I picked up his little bro.





I lost my mind and dressed up my new snubby in target attire.





Stay with me...it gets better.





For the first range trip I had to find out if it was a shooter because anything less is a real disappointment.

Got my bags and got my secret recipe.





My range only has 25 and 50 yards. So, it's 25 yards for the sight in and some groups.








Looks promising.








Let's take it out to 50 yards...





My real interest in shooting at 50 was to see how much the bullet would drop. No drop! Hmmm.







I put it away after that.

See ya at the range!

Dave

[TNDave]

Nice shooting! I think that gun is going to be alright

[KLYDE]

I wonder what that snub would do with a dedicated pistol scope instead of the 2-4 MOA dot sight. It might be shootin cloverleafs. Thanks for the post.

[9mmsubgun-m11]

My snubby 8 shot is the only one of the 5 I bought new last year that I have yet to fire. Still not ready to get her dirty.

[bbqbob51]

I really do admire your pictured trio. I have a six" 617 and it is just about my favorite handgun ever and have been looking for a 627 as well as a 4" 617 and have had no luck locating either in the past year+. It's frustrating when you are ready to buy and cannot find the goods!
BTW, nice shooting out of that wonderful snubby!

[kaaskop49]

Seems to me an awful lot of work..but more importantly an awful lot of fun! VERY interesting the lack of bullet drop between (was it?) 25 and 50 yards. Then again, I usually shoot at between 25 and 50 inches.

Also nice to read about a PC gun that did NOT have to be returned to S&W for repair. Sadly, those posts are all too common. Thanks again for the fun post!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

[ridgewalker]

Thanks for sharing. That is some impressive shooting. I think you have inspired me to plan a trip to a farther gun range where I can try out some 50 yard shooting. I am really surprised by the lack of drop.

[Super Dave]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the post.

I've done a lot of load testing in the last year. Good bags and the red dot make testing much easier. I think if this one was put in a machine rest it would be shooting match quality groups. My groups yesterday were shot in 10+ mph gusts.

Speaking of the bullet drop. I guess that fast powder got the velocity up fast enough in that short barrel. I was expecting a few inches of drop.

I'm wondering if I should keep this gun.

Carry is not an option in Hawaii. I could keep it for home protection but I read on this forum that .357 snubbies are a bad choice due to flash and noise. Quite a few years ago I picked up some Hornady .357 ammo that is highly regarded. The recoil was surprising mild and it didn't seem that loud. Must have been a fast powder like my favorite Titegroup. Who knows, I'm not an expert in this stuff.

What do you guys think of this one for home protection?

Put my favorite grips on...

[ridgewalker]

Originally Posted by Super Dave

I'm wondering if I should keep this gun.

Carry is not an option in Hawaii. I could keep it for home protection but I read on this forum that .357 snubbies are a bad choice due to flash and noise. Quite a few years ago I picked up some Hornady .357 ammo that is highly regarded. The recoil was surprising mild and it didn't seem that loud. Must have been a fast powder like my favorite Titegroup. Who knows, I'm not an expert in this stuff.

What do you guys think of this one for home protection?

Dave, I am not sure if this is what you are referencing but a week or so ago there was a thread where a fellow wanted to use a Scandium frame, concealed hammer, snubnose 357 magnum for his wife's home defense gun. He said she had no experience shooting. I advised against that gun for her to learn to shoot on.

You are obviously an accomplished shooter so this is a horse of a different color. This would be a fine home defense gun in your hands. As far as ammo, you could choose low to mid powered 357 magnum to standard to +P 38 special.

Best of luck.

[Super Dave]

Thanks Ridgewalker for the solid reasoning. Sometimes these things are easy to overthink. I think I will put it in use for home duty. It sure looks the part!
Dave

[Super Dave]

Beautiful groups. I can appreciate the dedication that is required to achieve those results in double action. Nice work.
Man, I like the 5" version of the 627.
Dave

[Super Dave]

You should take up Bullseye.

[Super Dave]

Wow. I'd like to see you shoot. I've never seen anyone shoot like that in person. If you have any videos please post a link or send me a PM.

I've paid my dues and can now shoot double action better than anything else and I can out shoot most guys at the range (other than the Bullseye guys). But, I will never be at your level of accuracy. You are one of the very few that are blessed with a very steady hand or maybe concentration- or maybe both.

A sincere congrats.
Dave

Speaking of sights. I've changed mine too. What are you running?

My preferred set up on the 5" 627 is?
- .100 wide front (Dawson Precision)
- Bowen arms on rear with white outline

[ridgewalker]

Now that is the power of practice!

I don't think I will ever get there, but that is where I want to be.

[9mmsubgun-m11]

Excellent shooting! I have a long way to go.

[Super Dave]

Yea practice for sure but I think Larry has a special gift. I've practiced a lot...probably 50,000 DA rounds down range in the last year. But, that level of accuracy requires something else that I don't have or have not figured out. That's OK...I'm happy with where I am and it's cool to see what some guys can do.

So Larry, if you are getting those kinds of groups in the dark or in rapid fire you must not be using the sights like most of us. Take some videos Larry I'd like to see you in action. Sounds like you get lined up and then go full auto and just stay on target.

Have you done any chrony testing with your ammo in both the snubby and 5" barrel. I'm wondering how much a velocity difference you are seeing. If you take the snubby into the woods in Montana you must be confident of the power.
Dave

[Super Dave]

Larry, one more question. That's 100 yard target. Was that with your 5" or Snubby?
Dave

[Certifiedfryguy]

I'm looking to acquire either the 627 PC 2 5/8" or the 686 PC 2 5/8". You said you shoot them equally as well but the 686 requires more focus. Just curious why?

[Super Dave]

Thanks for the clarification on how you shoot Larry. You broke it down to a science. Kind of reminds me of what Brian Enos wrote about.

I've got a 686 also and I find the 627 N frame fits my paw a little better. The 686 is 6" and I can shoot it slightly better due to a better trigger job and probably the extra inch of barrel.

Larry, since you are shooting in the dark. How's the flash with the snub compared to the 5". Also, hows the sound level in comparing both guns. Are you shooting factory loads? I know you mentioned gold dot but I'm not familiar with much factory ammo. If you are shooting your own loads what powder are you using? Thanks.
Dave

[Certifiedfryguy]

Originally Posted by PolymathPioneer

The 686 has less mass and more difficult to control on recoil rapid fire DA. In both choices suggest before you shoot the gun, at a minimum have the rebound slide stoned and replace the rebound slide spring with the Miculek spring. Do not replace the main spring. Gently polish the front face of the sear with a fine stone to reduce the tendency of sear to bind during rapid DA. Look for shiny spots on parts and assemblies, these need to be gently polished. Replace grips with Miculek grips. Replace rear sight with Bowen. Replace front sight or with 686 adjust point of impact with front sight pusher while also adjusting rear sight. Make sure cylinder ratchet is true with hand engagement gently stone if necessary. In all modifications don't over do it. Always strive to do just enough and no more. It's not desirable or necessary to polish to a glass surface. Doing so will take revolver out of tolerance and wreck it.

If you are not experienced at this take revolver to gunsmith who knows what they are doing. Many don't.

Or just shoot it the way it is after first lubricating the insides and have fun. You can lube the inside by givingba quick spray of rem oil into the gun after pulling back the hammer. Again, don't over do it, this is not an engine block. Never use loctite except on sight screws and then only use loctite designed for this.

Not experienced at all but i do appreciate the info. I could actually find the 627 a bit cheaper then the 686, so thats what i'm leaning towards ($975 vs $1050)

whichever the case, i'll remember the tip about lubricating the insides

[Super Dave]

Larry, what's your thoughts on accuracy and barrel fouling? I only clean my barrel when I notice the accuracy drops.

This past weekend I put my 686 and 627 5" on the bags at 50 yards. The 686 was sucking wind. I tested the 686 at 25 yards to make sure and it was still sucking.

At 25 yards I'm looking for 1".



Once cleaned it will be back on target. But, I have not kept track of the rounds between cleaning. I use a brass brush with about 5 passes and then a few patches with Balistol and a dry patch.

Please advise on how many rounds you go between cleaning your barrels and what cleaning procedure you are using.

Thanks,
Dave

[kaaskop49]

Some great advice in your post #28. (That means I agree with it!) Just shoot it the way it is and have fun. Spray a little Rem-Oil in the action and don't overdo it. Don't use .38 ammo as that will mess with the chambers and magnum case extraction.

With new DA revolvers, I always fire the 1st cylinder-ful single action. It may seem silly, but I feel it helps to seat the action parts. Thanks Larry.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

[Super Dave]

Originally Posted by PolymathPioneer

there was deep snow and I had to snowshoe into the range about a mile.

Well there the difference. I turned around once because the traffic was too bad.


I imagine a self defense scenario would be pretty similar where you are not paying attention to the flash and bang...kind of like when hunting you don't notice the recoil.

Have a good day,
Dave

[riverrat38]

"Seems to me an awful lot of work..but more importantly an awful lot of fun! VERY interesting the lack of bullet drop between (was it?) 25 and 50 yards. Then again, I usually shoot at between 25 and 50 inches."

The scope places the line of sight well above the bullet center of the barrel.
This means the bullet will still be rising toward the line of sight at 25 yards. It will continue to rise until it reaches its maximum height with respect to the line of sight.
It will eventually fall until it again crosses the line of sight, so it will effectively have two zeros. Its possible that they are near 25 and 50 yards.
If the barrel were held horizontal, the bullet would drop 4 feet in a half a second. This might be 4 or 5 hundred feet in a revolver. About 16 feet of drop in a full second.

Best,
Rick

[Super Dave]

Good info. Thanks Rick.
Dave