First firing of the venerable Model 547

[Engine49guy]

I was lucky enough to have stumbled on a LNIB 3" Model 547 some 20 or so years ago in a remote Florida gunshop and after quickly recognizing what it was snapped it up, the crazy part is that in all that time I had never fired it, that is until today (honesty amongst thieves right?)

So I usually bring something interesting and obscure gunwise to entertain the group,
The last time was a Walther P38 and an HK P7, today it was a recently purchased Inglis Hi Power clone and to make things interesting grabbed that 3" Model 547.
None of my shooting buddies had ever heard of the 547 so I pointed out its unique features and quirks.
(To those that have never had the pleasure I found this very interesting article online that covers them)

The Smith & Wesson 547: Ahead of its Time? – RevolverGuy.Com

revolverguy.com

The 547 was quite fun to shoot and while I kinda expected stoutish recoil it surprised everyone that it fealt more like .357 than .38 +P.
Observations are that the hammer spur is very short ( too short IMO), It has a heavy mainspring and a longer strain screw that makes thumb cocking the hammer harder than normal and borderline unpleasent, black on black fixed sights are very hard to see especially on a black bullseye but thats nothing some nail polish couldn't remedy.
Ejection was flawless as was its performance, definately going to try a shorter strain screw next outing but the short sharp hammer spur has me wondering if one of the newer pre iL MIM hammers might by chance function in the 547, maybe if I am motivated will try swapping the one from my pre iL Model 66-5 just to see.
Btw the Inglis ran perfectly as well, got that one on sale recently costing less than half of my Springfield SA35.
as required here is an obligitory bench pic, disassembly and cleaning to follow.
Seems to me a re-release of a Model 547 would sell like hotcakes, make it in stainless with a spare .357 cylinder in 4" with target sights even better....
( Can you say 547 Mountain Gun hint hint to Lipseys).

 

[PaulDoc]

I recently found a 3" 547. I didn't however wait as long as you did to fire it but I certainly did enjoy it. Glad to see you got a chance to finally shoot yours. Looking forward to seeing the results of your possible modifications. Thanks for sharing your range experience.

 

[CHARLIE699]

IIRC, and sometimes I don't, the 547 had a frame mounted firing pin. Like other k-frame .22's. Possibly a case colored k-frame combat(semi target) or even a target hammer from a K-22 would fit? I'd like to know too. I seem to recall the bobbed hammer being something about hammer-recoil with pierced 9mm primer?

 

[Rock185]

I had two of the 3" 547s; fine little revolvers. They worked as well as Engine49guy reports his does. Extraction, even with the higher pressure NATO, +P, +P+, etc. was normal. I don't recall why the short hammer spur, but suspect that strong mainspring/strain screw combination was to ensure ignition with some of the very hard 9mm primers that might be encountered. I didn't try to lighten up the trigger on either of mine, and never had a misfire. I would definitely be a buyer for a stainless 547 with adjustable sights.

Not surprised at the more like .357 than .38+P recoil. In addition to the 3" 547s, I've had some other 2" and 3" revolvers chambered in 9mm. The 9mm cartridge seems to be very efficient in revolvers, and generates more velocity, energy, and attendant recoil, than many might expect.

 

[Engine49guy]

IIRC, and sometimes I don't, the 547 had a frame mounted firing pin. Like other k-frame .22's. Possibly a case colored k-frame combat(semi target) or even a target hammer from a K-22 would fit? I'd like to know too. I seem to recall the bobbed hammer being something about hammer-recoil with pierced 9mm primer?

I had not considered a K22 hammer will have to try that first.
The 547 has the frame mounted firing pin as well as the holding pin mounted above it which is basicly around the same spot as a rimfire firing pin but the hammer face size and shape will be the critical part (Btw this had me curious years ago if one could convert a Model 53 Jet frame using a 547 cylinder and firing pin with a Model 19 barrel to function firing 9mm).

The linked article I posted discusses the reason for the short hammer spur but it makes no sense since the push back of flush 9mm case couldn't move the hammer back more than 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch.

 

[bananaman]

I always wanted a 547 just to be different. Ah, Round Butt Target Stocks! What could be better about that gun? Bob

 

[Engine49guy]

Just wanted to give an update,
So a K22 hammer will not work in a 547 for two reasons.
First the 547 hammer stud is larger diameter .165" vs .140 " on K22 as well as an L frame hammer I just measured.
Also,
The hammer face is cut very different , the K22 has a visible shelf at the bottom of the hammer face.
Pic attached below,
Left to right 617 hammer, 547 hammer (center) K22 fishhook hammer.

 

[Engine49guy]

Ok another update,
By chance I happened to notice a pre war K22-40 hammer in my spare parts bin and surprise ,
the hammer faces are pretty darn close.
Problem is the K22 hammer stud is of course smaller and the pre war sear is totally different.
K22-40 (left) 547 (right)

 

[S-W4EVER]

I regret not getting around to finding a M547 back in the day, but we can’t have everything. I wouldn’t change a thing on that revolver, I figure the S&W engineers knew what they were doing. Just learn to shoot it as-is, preferably DA (as that was probably how it was intended to be shot).

 

[Engine49guy]

It's just curiosity at this point but if they were identical would have at least tried it.
The 547 is a unique collectors gun but its cheap to shoot an no moon clip hassles.

 

[jaymoore]

I put a slightly too long silicone trigger stop on my 547, only to discover that the upper pin will drive the hammer back to full cock when the 9mm case drives the works rearward. The cylinder won't advance, of course, so squeezing again just makes another hit on the fired primer.
Probably why the spur is short as well. My hold is high enough that a full length hammer spur would cause hammer bite!

 

[Engine49guy]

That exact situation is what the linked article refers to,
I was going like how can the hammer jump back to full cock when the holding pin only protrudes a couple millimeters and with the trigger in the rear position?
just checked a 686 and the 547 and neither hammer stays back with the trigger held back and the hammer manually cocked back to simulate it being kicked back, the hammer just falls back down.

 

[boykinlp]

I was lucky enough to have stumbled on a LNIB 3" Model 547 some 20 or so years ago in a remote Florida gunshop and after quickly recognizing what it was snapped it up, the crazy part is that in all that time I had never fired it, that is until today (honesty amongst thieves right?)

So I usually bring something interesting and obscure gunwise to entertain the group,
The last time was a Walther P38 and an HK P7, today it was a recently purchased Inglis Hi Power clone and to make things interesting grabbed that 3" Model 547.
None of my shooting buddies had ever heard of the 547 so I pointed out its unique features and quirks.
(To those that have never had the pleasure I found this very interesting article online that covers them)

The Smith & Wesson 547: Ahead of its Time? – RevolverGuy.Com

revolverguy.com

The 547 was quite fun to shoot and while I kinda expected stoutish recoil it surprised everyone that it fealt more like .357 than .38 +P.
Observations are that the hammer spur is very short ( too short IMO), It has a heavy mainspring and a longer strain screw that makes thumb cocking the hammer harder than normal and borderline unpleasent, black on black fixed sights are very hard to see especially on a black bullseye but thats nothing some nail polish couldn't remedy.
Ejection was flawless as was its performance, definately going to try a shorter strain screw next outing but the short sharp hammer spur has me wondering if one of the newer pre iL MIM hammers might by chance function in the 547, maybe if I am motivated will try swapping the one from my pre iL Model 66-5 just to see.
Btw the Inglis ran perfectly as well, got that one on sale recently costing less than half of my Springfield SA35.
as required here is an obligitory bench pic, disassembly and cleaning to follow.
Seems to me a re-release of a Model 547 would sell like hotcakes, make it in stainless with a spare .357 cylinder in 4" with target sights even better....
( Can you say 547 Mountain Gun hint hint to Lipseys).

Thanks for sharing this information because I knew absolutely nothing about the Model 547. Very interesting.
Larry

 

[jaymoore]

Had my trigger stop not been set so that it took about 10 pounds to squeeze it enough to release the hammer from full cock, I would never have known, either! I trimmed it soon thereafter to have a little more over travel. Silicone rubber and super glue make for a stop that can be removed without marring the finish and is adjustable (one way) with a razor knife.

 

[jaymoore]

BTW, I wonder if a 547 frame would solve the Model 53's case binding issue. Or would the extra surface area be too much to overcome with the second hammer impact? Of course, it would no longer work as a convertible to rim fire revolver.

 

[Retired W4]

I have both the 3" and 4" 547 and have not shot either one. They were both sitting right next to me so I checked the trigger pull on them. The SA hammer pull on those stubby hammers is pretty stout. DA is the way to shoot them I guess.

 

[Lou_the_welder]

If anyone wants to try and non permanent modification to a 547, you can put a wilson combat mainspring and have a significant lower trigger pull while still lighting those hard CCI primers up.
It worked on my 547.