Performance Center vs standard production revolvers - worth the extra price?

Performance Center vs production revolvers - are they worth the extra price?

The particular revolver I'm looking at is the PC 627 5".

I'd like to hear comments from those who own or have handled extensively both of these guns or other PC guns if possible...

The retail on the PC is between $300 and $400 dollars more than the "production line" 627. What do you think? Do you find the hand fitting, tuning and several extras including the gold bead front sight, flash chromed hammer and trigger, chamfered cylinders, wood and extra rubber grips, etc, worthy of the extra cost?

Thanks for your input!

I bought a 686 that came with the barrel canted. Lipsey did not have another one so I started looking for a Preformance Center after watching a YouTube video that showed how they were put together. When I got my Preformance Center it was perfect. The trigger does not impress me anymore than my GP100. One thing the Preformance Center has no MIM Parts or so I believe.

TDC said:

Performance Center vs production revolvers - are they worth the extra price?

The particular revolver I'm looking at is the PC 627 5".

I'd like to hear comments from those who own or have handled extensively both of these guns or other PC guns if possible...

The retail on the PC is between $300 and $400 dollars more than the "production line" 627. What do you think? Do you find the hand fitting, tuning and several extras including the gold bead front sight, flash chromed hammer and trigger, chamfered cylinders, wood and extra rubber grips, etc, worthy of the extra cost?

Thanks for your input!

Click to expand...

At the moment, the factory does not offer a production floor 627.

There is a 627 Pro which is a product of both the production side of S&W with a bit of PC touches thrown in.

There are also several variations of the 8 shot, 27/327/627 family being offered (or have been offered) from the Performance Center.

I believe they are worth it. I have believed it since day one back in 1996. What a great idea these were.

We can thank Lew Horton for commissioning a Distributor Exclusive 8 shot, 357 Magnum back in 1996. I like serial numbers. At the time I tried to get #357 of this new revolver design, unfortunately Lew was only making 300 revolvers and had no intentions of any more. So I had #27 shipped to me instead. It is in the upper left of this photo.



Just a month or so after getting that first 8 shooter, I got the call telling me that this was the fastest selling Distributor Exclusive EVER and did I still want #357. So the revolver in the upper right of that picture is #357.

As we all know by now, this firearm went on to become a cataloged Performance Center offering and has been in constant production for just under 20 years now.

A favorite 627 of mine is this seldom seen pinto. My Pinto shipped with the unfluted stainless cylinder. The 2nd black cylinder has been re-chambered for 9x23 Winchester. Since rimless cartridges head space on the moon clip, the revolver can chamber and fire 9x23, 38 Super, 38 ACP, 9x21.5, 356TSW, 9x21, 9x19, 380ACP and more that I can not think of at the moment. This makes a very versatile convertible



For folks that like to hunt, Smith and Wesson produced the 627 Heavy Hunter. It does not matter how hot the load is, between the HUGE barrel and the Mag-Na-Porting this baby stays on target.



The 8 shot, Performance Center revolver has also been made in carbon steel over the last 15 years. There have only been 6 different configurations of carbon steel, 8 shot, 357 Magnum Smith and Wesson revolvers ever produced. Here is one of each, four blue and two in nickle.



Then we have the Scandium framed, 8 shot, 327s from the Performance Center. Scandium has to be the greatest thing to happen to N-frames since stainless steel. This strong alloy takes a big N-frame down to the weight of a 4" K-frame or less.







AS LONG AS Smith and Wesson continues to produce interesting variations of the 27/327/627 8 shot, 357 Magnum revovler, I will continue to buy and shoot them.

If the question was applied to more pedestrian models like the Model 60 or 686, then I'd say save the money and go for the production line guns. I could afford it if I wanted to spend the bucks, but the production guns are more than fine.

PC vs. Production

Performance Center guns have unique features & styles that set them apart from the standard production models which I think is their main draw. Personally I don't think it's as much about better craftmenship in them, though I think most people do.

No matter whether you decide on a production or PC model you'll want to scrutinize it closely & pay attention to the level of detail that matters most to you. Either one can be flawless or flawed, depending on your perspective and demands, & the one you find.

Action-wise, I don't think they are significantly better than a "good" production model. Most production S&W revolvers come with a good trigger & are more than satisfactory. Like the production models, PC models do have MIM parts in them. No biggie unless you have an aversion to them.

I recently bought the model you mentioned as I WANTED an eight shot N-frame 357. I scrutinized it before I bought it, comparing it to a TRR8 they also had new. All in all a good gun, but not flawless. Lock-up, carry-up fine. Trigger pull (SA & DA) good but no noticeable difference than any of the other recent production models I've bought. SA pull is hard to improve on but I thought the DA pull would have been smoother/lighter on a PC. In actuality I don't shoot my guns DA anyway so it's not a problem for me.

The roughness of it's forcing cone & uneven (side to side) B-C gap were disappointing though. You see this on production models but apparently isn't given any special treatment/attention on PC models. Personally I don't see any obvious signs of "hand fitting" on the new guns, unlike on the old PC guns.

If the model you like has what you're wanting, look it over & take it home.

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I don't believe in anything that is 'production' in quantity that is 'custom'. So just in my opinion if you truly want a 'tuned' gun I would invest in a great gunsmith and tell him what you want or expect and let him 'tune' to your satisfaction. Yes it might cost a bit more but it will be customized to your satisfaction rather than 'generally customized'.
Karl

I have to say that the 627 8-banger has my attention! Love all the great images above.

I had a PC 27-7 and a PC 27-8.Both were well worth the money.
Some of the other PC guns are just too ugly for me-I'd rather have a standard model,even if it has a few less features.

I know one is already pictured above, and mentioned but my PC model 27-8 is the smoothest gun I have (okay, maybe my 29-2 is a little smoother)...

jstanfield103 said:

I bought a 686 that came with the barrel canted. Lipsey did not have another one so I started looking for a Preformance Center after watching a YouTube video that showed how they were put together. When I got my Preformance Center it was perfect. The trigger does not impress me anymore than my GP100. One thing the Preformance Center has no MIM Parts or so I believe.

Click to expand...

Last year I went to a LGS intending to buy a 686 SSR they had in the case. On taking a look at it, I noticed the barrel was canted badly.

They had a blue GP-100 4" on sale, and comparing the trigger I found it better than the canted SSR. Plus no apparent defects.

I ended up walking out with the GP-100 for about 1/2 the price. It's a very nice, accurate gun.

I also have a 627 PC 2 5/8" bought last year used.

It was a 2010 version and had a solid back forged trigger. Not sure how to tell if the hammer was forged or not.

Anyway, this year a M929 showed up at a LGS and I took a look at it.

No canting, great trigger, very nicely made, but I did notice the trigger was a hollow back MIM version. This didn't bother me, but I wasn't ready to pay that much for a gun.

Dave

Thanks for taking the time to reply with the educational info, guys...

I bought the 627 PC.

As a long term collector, shooter and hunter with pre-1982 S&W handguns
I'm afraid I may be entering a whole new area of interest with these Performance
Center guns.

Outstanding post from Colt saa as well as a very enviable collection.

Thanks again!

Terry

I have a 629-5 Classic (6 1/2") under way to me. Was this just a normal production run revolver?
Has anybody had any problems with the MIM trigger parts?

Regular production. I haven't heard of any real issues stated about the MIM parts, just personal dislikes.

.
629-6 Classic, 5" bbl.


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I have looked at some videos from the Performance Center. It seems the crowning of the barrel is done by them and also the adjustment of the cylinder gab for each chamber so they are exact. Then a solid trigger is used to install a trigger stop. Then there are some extra polish of the trigger parts. But the two first things.....crowing and cylinder gap.....I think this should be accurate even on a normal production gun. You will expect that from a s&w? .....how bad is it on a normal production gun compared to a Performance Center?

My PC N-frames have MIM parts, which is fine. MIM provides excellent dimensional repeatability.

MXP said:

I have looked at some videos from the Performance Center. It seems the crowning of the barrel is done by them and also the adjustment of the cylinder gab for each chamber so they are exact. Then a solid trigger is used to install a trigger stop. Then there are some extra polish of the trigger parts. But the two first things.....crowing and cylinder gap.....I think this should be accurate even on a normal production gun. You will expect that from a s&w? .....how bad is it on a normal production gun compared to a Performance Center?

Click to expand...

Think in terms of standard tolerance and tighter tolerances & better fit and finish when comparing production to PC guns.

A standard revolver might typically have a barrel cylinder gap of .005"~.010" while a PC gun is set to a reduced tolerance
( .004" comes to mind). Nothing wrong with either but the tighter tolerance takes additional time in fitting. With closer fitting parts / reduced tolerance in BC gap you gain some velocity. The other side of that is the chance of a cylinder dragging if too tight.

All barrels receive a crown of some type but the PC guns usually have a recessed crown that protects it better than a non-recessed crown.

PC guns receive more hands on time and fitting than standard production guns. If that cost is worth it its really up the the buyer and intended use.

cal50 said:

Think in terms of standard tolerance and tighter tolerances & better fit and finish when comparing production to PC guns.

A standard revolver might typically have a barrel cylinder gap of .005"~.010" while a PC gun is set to a reduced tolerance
( .004" comes to mind). Nothing wrong with either but the tighter tolerance takes additional time in fitting. With closer fitting parts / reduced tolerance in BC gap you gain some velocity. The other side of that is the chance of a cylinder dragging if too tight.

All barrels receive a crown of some type but the PC guns usually have a recessed crown that protects it better than a non-recessed crown.

PC guns receive more hands on time and fitting than standard production guns. If that cost is worth it its really up the the buyer and intended use.

Click to expand...

My standard 6 inch 686 has a gap very close to 0.006 inch. It may be worth to have it reduced to 0.004.....
A recessed crown protects it better but hopefully the standard crown has the same precision.

PC has some models which you just can't get otherwise. Like the jaw and wallet dropping 460 XVR 3.5''. That barrel.......that finish......

WANT!



Also the 629 44 Mag snub that PC offers is just so gorgeous too. The finish mixed with those grips and unfluted cylinder turn my soul green with envy.



I would have no problem paying the premium for those.

Also the new Talo J frame that just came out is a screaming deal. PC 642, chrome flash, shiney bits, grips...yada yada but the tuned trigger and moon clip cuts for what amounts to $100 over a standard 642 is really a steal.





I love PC guns even though I can't afford to own one right now. The Smith & Wesson scandium department swallowed up all of my dough!

MXP said:

My standard 6 inch 686 has a gap very close to 0.006 inch. It may be worth to have it reduced to 0.004.....
A recessed crown protects it better but hopefully the standard crown has the same precision.

Click to expand...

I have a 44-40 S&W and a customized Ruger BH 45 colt. Both have a cylinder gap of 0.004. I seriously doubt that's you'll see any difference in accuracy or velocity between 0.004 and < 0.010. Depending on the powder (with Unique being the worse) what you experience after the first 6 or 12 rounds is that you can no longer reload because the cylinder is dragging on the barrel crown. It's been so bad that once I had to take a rubber mallet to open the cylinder on the S&W. And you can clean it till the cows come home and it will still drag. I've taken 1000 grit sandpaper to get the cylinder face clean.

I would definatley not recommend closing the gap to 0.004.

MXP said:

My standard 6 inch 686 has a gap very close to 0.006 inch. It may be worth to have it reduced to 0.004.....
A recessed crown protects it better but hopefully the standard crown has the same precision.

Click to expand...

If the gap is under .010" I would shoot it and enjoy it.
Its a point of diminishing returns.

BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: Cylinder Gap Test