As of this week, I'm the proud owner of a 1953ish 3 1/2" S&W .357 Magnum 5-screw(aka the "Pre-27"). I've been looking for one of these for about a year and a half and have been outbid or otherwise thwarted from getting one until now.
It shows some honest wear, which I prefer. I did not want a pristine one, I wanted a shooter. And damn does this thing shoot! The DA pull is smooth and fairly light, single action is extremely crisp. I found myself grouping better with this right away than I think any other new-to-me revolver besides my 4" M19. The only issue I found was that it was out of time. It didn't seem to have a problem during use, but when you dragged a thumb on the cylinder, it was out enough to have me replace the hand already. Times perfectly now
I think it must have been stored in a cardboard box or more likely a leather holster for years as the inside was covered in this brown fibrous material. Very weird. Didn't seem to effect operation, the action was very smooth.
I'm calling it my "Little Big Gun". It's not very large, but it's heavy and solid. The cylinder walls and forcing cone are massive. This thing should be able to withstand some hearty loads if I chose to go that route.
The only thing I do not like about it is the serrated trigger. I know most of them had them back then, but I do not like them at all. After only about 70 or 80 rounds, I found a blister was forming on the bottom of my trigger finger. I'll have to build up a callous so I can enjoy this more!
Anyway, on to the pix!!!
Here it is with the original, numbers matching grips that some previous owner sanded completely smooth:
These are some era-correct magna grips that I'll keep on it so that it looks proper:
I know a lot of people do not like target grips on 3 1/2" barrels, but I do prefer the feel over the smaller magnas. I have larger hands and these fit better. Unfortunately, these particular grips are some fairly unattractive ones from the mid-80s. I'll eventually get a pair of era-correct target grips or something similar to the new repro grips pictured on the M21 below:
This is a group shot of it hanging with some other blue/wood N Frame buddies, the M21 .44 Spl and an early 1917 .45 ACP:
Finally, a nice group shot of (mostly) older blue Smiths, including my other "grail gun", the C series 2" M&P 5-screw.
Top row: M21 4", M&P 2", M19 4"
Bottom row: 1917 5.5", Pre-27 3.5", M&P 4"
It shows some honest wear, which I prefer. I did not want a pristine one, I wanted a shooter. And damn does this thing shoot! The DA pull is smooth and fairly light, single action is extremely crisp. I found myself grouping better with this right away than I think any other new-to-me revolver besides my 4" M19. The only issue I found was that it was out of time. It didn't seem to have a problem during use, but when you dragged a thumb on the cylinder, it was out enough to have me replace the hand already. Times perfectly now
I think it must have been stored in a cardboard box or more likely a leather holster for years as the inside was covered in this brown fibrous material. Very weird. Didn't seem to effect operation, the action was very smooth.
I'm calling it my "Little Big Gun". It's not very large, but it's heavy and solid. The cylinder walls and forcing cone are massive. This thing should be able to withstand some hearty loads if I chose to go that route.
The only thing I do not like about it is the serrated trigger. I know most of them had them back then, but I do not like them at all. After only about 70 or 80 rounds, I found a blister was forming on the bottom of my trigger finger. I'll have to build up a callous so I can enjoy this more!
Anyway, on to the pix!!!
Here it is with the original, numbers matching grips that some previous owner sanded completely smooth:
These are some era-correct magna grips that I'll keep on it so that it looks proper:
I know a lot of people do not like target grips on 3 1/2" barrels, but I do prefer the feel over the smaller magnas. I have larger hands and these fit better. Unfortunately, these particular grips are some fairly unattractive ones from the mid-80s. I'll eventually get a pair of era-correct target grips or something similar to the new repro grips pictured on the M21 below:
This is a group shot of it hanging with some other blue/wood N Frame buddies, the M21 .44 Spl and an early 1917 .45 ACP:
Finally, a nice group shot of (mostly) older blue Smiths, including my other "grail gun", the C series 2" M&P 5-screw.
Top row: M21 4", M&P 2", M19 4"
Bottom row: 1917 5.5", Pre-27 3.5", M&P 4"
