27-2 8 3/8" Opinions

[45NUTT]

For those that like the long barrels tell me about them. I don't have one but I want one badly. For general shooting and maybe hunting. I think I'm going to want the 3T version.

Give me the pros and cons please. I like this one.

 

[flundertaker]

I love the longer barrel guns, even out to 10" but they are really best for range target shooting. For hunting I will agree with most that 6" is the sweet spot between sight radius and ease of carry and shooting without a rest. The 6" balances far better than the 8"+. I keep telling myself I will one day own a 7.5" freedom arms in .357 Mag. Thats my grail gun.

 

[Jerry in SC]

For those that like the long barrels tell me about them. I don't have one but I want one badly. For general shooting and maybe hunting. I think I'm going to want the 3T version.

Give me the pros and cons please. I like this one.

View attachment 773592

I owned one many years ago, it was a bit unwieldy compared to a 6” but easily the most accurate 27 I’d owned. I think it makes a nice hunting revolver with the right loads. Since the cylinder is too short for the 173 grain Keith bullet, I loaded them in .38 Special brass too hot by today’s standards (1973 was a lifetime ago). Personally I think the N frames are the only size that looks right with the 8 3/8”.

 

[Truckman]

I've owned several and been suckered out of a few...Restricting my list to the title topic, here are mine:

Top to bottom: Model 27-2 shipped 5/20/1976...357 Magnum shipped 11/18/1954...Model 27-2 shipped 3/1975...And .357 Magnum shipped 1/27/1953...I have multiple 8 3/8" Smiths in other calibers, but these are all the .357's I have left......Ben

 

[Sevens]

I have a 1970 made S&W Model 27-2 with the long 8-3/8" barrel and it is a thing of beauty but in the end, I find it to be a most glorious item when I am at home and looking over the loved stuff in my safe but I end up doing a lot more shooting with any one of my 6-inch Model 28-2's on range day.

I think I'm going to want the 3T version.

I have mentioned this before and it usually doesn't play well with most folks around these parts but the "3T's" seems to be a collector's dream but massively overrated for shooting. As I very much prefer to shoot double action, I abhor the crazy-wide cheese grater faced target trigger, I think it is exactly the opposite of what any double action shooter would choose and basically every custom revolver 'smith agrees with that take as every PPC gun I have ever seen or heard about has the most fantastic smooth-faced and thin custom worked trigger.

The target hammer is a nice addition if you shoot single action... but it's also the opposite of what you want for any other use. It is gangly, it slows lock time and with some different grip or stock choices, it can even interfere.

The third T is target sights, of which I surely approve. I love the S&W Patridge front sight, I think the profile is attractive and I also think if gives a great sight picture.

So I will always be a 1T guy and I will always see the "three-T's!" as collector stuff and two T's too many.



If this beauty looks like something you might be after, send me a PM and maybe we could move it your direction.

 

[45NUTT]

^^^Regarding the T's; I like the target hammer much more than the trigger. But I rarely see just the hammer offered and I am loathe to change the way it left the factory.

 

[Jerry in SC]

I've owned several and been suckered out of a few...Restricting my list to the title topic, here are mine:

Top to bottom: Model 27-2 shipped 5/20/1976...357 Magnum shipped 11/18/1954...Model 27-2 shipped 3/1975...And .357 Magnum shipped 1/27/1953...I have multiple 8 3/8" Smiths in other calibers, but these are all the .357's I have left......Ben

There was an 8 3/8” 27-2 for sale where my son works, ANIB with all the goodies, and wooden case. I would have for sure ruined the collector value by firing it.

 

[Truckman]

I would have for sure ruined the collector value by firing it.

I'm not one of those who believe collector value is solely dependent on whether it has been shot or not...All guns are shot before they ship...I wouldn't want a gun that leaves its maker without having been proven it's fit to carry and use...Condition, care by previous owners and users and historical significance rate a higher place on the value scale for me...

Shooting a gun does not ruin it......Ben

 

[Jerry in SC]

I'm not one of those who believe collector value is solely dependent on whether it has been shot or not...All guns are shot before they ship...I wouldn't want a gun that leaves its maker without having been proven it's fit to carry and use...Condition, care by previous owners and users and historical significance rate a higher place on the value scale for me...

Shooting a gun does not ruin it......Ben

Ben, my point was I would have used it. From what I’ve seen, especially with guns that are out of production, collectors ask a substantial premium for a near new gun over a gun that’s been used and cared for. Not worth it for me, I can’t afford a gun I won’t use.

 

[AC Man]

People poo poo the 8 3/8 barrel. I don't know why but I have acquired more of them than any other. If you want it for hunting get the 41 mag or the 44 mag. I have the 357 as well, but the more power the better.

 

[Tom K]

Why limit yourself to the .357?

 

[Bullet Bob]

I love mine. Due to the small bore size and tapered barrel, I don't find it unwieldy for offhand shooting, and the longer barrel helps with both recoil and noise.

 

[javbike]

I have two love them both range toys they are a beast especially the 103/8 one but they are hella fun to shoot

 

[Photog]

That has been a gun that has been on my want list for years, but don't know why. I have one 357 left in my collection, a 1981 vintage Colt Python in their "Royal Guard" (electroless nickel) finish. I have had a 8 3/8" M29 for around 50 years and it is one my favorites. Just something about the slender barrel on the M27, in that length, that looks like the perfect blend of form and function. Now, if they would make a M29 8 3/8" Mountain Gun, I would be in trouble!

 

[45NUTT]

Tom,
I will assume the second from the left is a 10" (+-) barrel, so what length is the one on the end?

On my preference for a long tube .357; I have several 44 Specials and 45 Colt revolvers, but want to keep my initial foray into a long barrel DA revolver at a certain price point. Besides, I don't shoot 44 or 41 mags anymore.

"Man's got to know his limitations" 357 magnum is mine.

 

[Tom K]

Tom,
I will assume the second from the left is a 10" (+-) barrel, so what length is the one on the end?

On my preference for a long tube .357; I have several 44 Specials and 45 Colt revolvers, but want to keep my initial foray into a long barrel DA revolver at a certain price point. Besides, I don't shoot 44 or 41 mags anymore.

"Man's got to know his limitations" 357 magnum is mine.

From right to left with 8-3/8 barrels:

M-17-4 .22LR
M-48-4 .22WMR
M-53-2 .22 Jet
M-14-4 .38 Special
M-27-2 .357 Magnum
M-29-3 .44 Magnum
M-25-9 .45 Colt
M-57-1 .41 Magnum (with scope)
M-29-3 Silhouette 10-1/2”
Dan Wesson Model 15 .357 with 15” barrel

I also have one custom built in .327 Federal Magnum:


and .44 Special:


And (not pictured) an 8-3/8 Model 15-5 in .38 Special (which is for all intents and purposes identical to a Model 14).

This was my display at the June 2024 S&W Symposium:

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I like 8 3/8" barrels. I have models 14-4, 17-3, 25-5, 2 27-2, 57, 586, and 617-6.

At my range they had a 2X2 steel plate at 220 yds. I used the Elmer Keith technique putting the top of the rear sight at the bottom of the front sight on my 27-2. I put the top of the front sight on the top of the plate and hit it 6 out of 6. It pissed off a guy trying to hit it with his M1 Garand. He could not hit it.

 

[Hal H.]

I have many N-frame 8&3/8” revolvers, I think all of them. I like the long barrels for accuracy at longer ranges due to the long sight radius. You won’t be sorry. Good luck with your search.

 

[sophie]

I have two Model 27-2 guns with the 8 3/8” barrel and I prefer the longer barrels myself. I have several more S&W 8 3/8” barreled guns in .38 Special and .22lr. I like the long barrels for target shooting.

 

[Tommezgun]

I remember my father wanting an 8-3/8" M27 when I was a kid. He passed away before he got one, I was 7 days short of my 13th birthday when he passed. When I was about to graduate from high school My parents asked what I wanted. I said an 8-3/8" M27. They looked around quite a it I think but could not find one, so I got a Remington 700 in .17 Rem. Just before I graduated my brother-in-law brought one of the M27s to my high school and gave it to my dorm supervisor so he could give it to me. I went to a boarding school Military Academy. Funny thing is that my parents looked around Hopkinsville, KY and Clarksville, TN and did not find one but my brother-in-law found one just about 2 miles from my school in Lebanon, TN. I am 71 now and still have it. I put the smooth magnum grips on it. It is the long barrel one in this pic of my N frame .38/.357s. I don't have all of these any more just the 8-3/8" M27, one M520, one 4" M28 and a 4" .38/44 Heavy duty.