Help me choose my CCW.

[NotoriousSEG]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking on this site for quite some time but just registered tonight.

I need some opinions and insights that I may not have considered to help me choose between two CCW weapons.

The two weapons in question are : S&W 327 PC 2"....OR the 627PC UDR. I'm not considering any others. I've never had a revolver, but am extremely interested in an 8-shot .357 to alternate with my 1911s.

I know they each have pluses and minuses for concealed carry, but I need your expert opinions to crystallize the best one for me.

To help you further, I am about the size of your average NFL lineman (6'1". 295lbs) so I'm not super worried about concealing an N frame. And (obviously) I want to carry OWB at about 4:30.

Given those parameters, how does weight, material , second shot ability, accuracy etc all come into Play here?

For the inevitable "the search function is your friend" guy, I have. I've read every word ever written about both guns. I'm trying to open a new dialog framed to my particular wants/needs.

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

 

[BobR1]

My 2 Cents.

The 327 PC 2" looks good. At 21.4 Oz. it is plenty light for concealed carry. It comes with a good set of grips for concealed carry. It is also cut for moon clips. The 2" barrel is a tad too short for my taste. The ejector rod is also way short for a tactical reloading, however the moon clip keeping the shells in a cluster will help with ejection of the empties. If you have to grab them, they all come out together. The main thing that would turn me off however is the Ti Cylinder. Probably make a good concealed carry gun if you plan on carrying it a lot, and not shooting it much with 357 Magnum ammo. I have not fired one, but at 21.4 Oz this one should also be a little slow for follow up shots with full house 357 Magnum ammo.

The 627 PC UDR is a Great Choice. If you are planning on doing a great deal of shooting this should do the trick. I would have no issues with this one at all. Good Grips from the factory for concealed carry. Being a Staiinless Steel N Frame it will be a little heavy at 37.6 Oz., buy not enough to be a real issue in a quality holster with a good gun belt. It will also soak up 357 recoil well. This gun is what I would call as a very Shootable Platform.

I would add one additional version, the 327 Night Guard. It has the XS 24/7 Tritium Front sight, and the Cylinder & Slide Extreme Duty Rear sight. The barrel length is 2.5" just a hair shorter than the UDR. It has a Black Finish which is not a bad thing for concealed carry. This is an Air Weight N Frame, but with a Stainless Steel Cylinder, so it will be enough lighter than the 627 UDR to be noticable at 27.6 Oz.. Being lighter, it will also recoil harder than the 627 UDR. The 327NG should be reasonable shootable, and not a real problem to get back on target for a second shot. The 327 Night Guard is not cut for moon clips from what I can tell.

All 3 guns should work depending on what you plan to do with them.

The 327 PC 2" is the lightest and most concealable. Probably not the best choice of the three if you plan to shoot it a lot.

The 327 Night Guard has the best factory sights for concealed carry. It will be shootable with the factory grips, but would look better with a set of nice wood Blood Works grips on it. At 27.6 Oz it will recoil harder with wood grips however.

The 627 UDR at 37.6 Oz will really soak up recoil. It should also hold up to a lot more shooting than the Air Weight guns. It is cut for moon clips, and I would carry them for a serious reload. I have a 310 Night Guard as well as a 4" 610. The 310NG is great to carry. The 610 is more fun to shoot at the range.

I guess the main thing I would consider, is how much do you plan to shoot it. If you plan to try and wear it out, I would go with the 627 UDR. If you are mainly going to conceal carry it, the 327 Night Guard would be the better choice. You can always have the cylinder cut for moon clips. The 327 PC 2" would be my last choice. I tend to shoot my guns a lot. This one will be the least fun to shoot of the three.

I would get a Lobo Enhanced Pancake holster with Inner Hammer Shield for it, and a good gun belt.
Lobo Gun Leather - Home

Bob

 

[NotoriousSEG]

Bob,

Thanks for the thoughtful reply! Let me ask you, why is it that you wouldn't want to shoot the 327PC "a lot"? Is it a comfort thing? Or is there a potential problem with the scandium/titanium ?

 

[1911bphil]

NotoriousSEG- First, welcome to the forum. Second, with your body type, I would carry the UDR. This is just my opinion and many will probably disagree. If it's possible go to a range and rent both and try them out. I hope this helps, but you really cant go wrong with either choice.

 

[ladder13]

I'd do the 627UDR, 8 shots of 357

 

[NotoriousSEG]

The 327 PC is 8 shots of .357 also. I'm just wondering if it is 8 shots I will want to take. Logic tells me that gun would be a handful with full house .357 loads and I hate to buy the capability and then use 38 specials instead. At least not always.

 

[DeLorSouth]

whatever you decide it sounds like you'll need some serious practice and maybe some training. Revolvers especially short barreled "snubbies" take a lot of time to perfect. I would say the 627 UDR also though-

 

[Macinaw]

I have the 327 PD and have only shot 38's out of it. It is very light and will be easy to carry IWB as I do. It's a J Frame on steroids. Mac

 

[David Sinko]

Considering you have never owned a revolver (and I presume you have little experience with them) you can expect to have to do A LOT of shooting to warm up to that short barrel. High volume shooting means stainless steel construction; the alloy frames don't hold up as well. Short barrel revolvers are difficult to shoot well due to the short sight radius and lack of weight at the muzzle. The alloy frame with the accompanying vicious recoil will only make things much worse.

Dave Sinko

 

[ranger7]

I own both the 627 Neo UDR and the 327 PC. I bought the 627 first and really like the way it shoots. 357 Mags are reasonably comfortable for me but for several reasons I prefer to normally carry 38 Spc +P. I appreciate having the ability to use 357 Mags if I decide that's what I want or that's all that's available. The downside of the 627 for me is the weight. I have some back and other physical problems. The weight of the 627 makes it mildly uncomfortable for me to carry, at best. When my back is acting up, I'm pretty much forced to switch to something lighter.

The 327 solves the weight problem for me. As far as weight, I can pretty much forget I'm carrying it. The downside of the 327 is of course, that is much more uncomfortable for me to shoot full 357 loads. Since I prefer 38 Spc +P, that isn't a big problem.

The size of both of these is a little large for concealed carry, the way i normally dress. Since I live in a state where open carry is legal, occasional "printing" of the handgun is not a big concern.

So for me, the 327 is my preference for everyday carry. If circumstances were such that I felt 357 mags were called for, long term, I would switch to the 627 and put up with the discomfort.

 

[Stainz]

My 24/7 EDC CCW is a 642 in a Mika pocket holster. My PC627 UDR - and, once - until my wife acquired it - my 2" 10 - require a belt mounted holster. They don't get much carry. I feel naked if that 642 isn't in my pocket. A CCW does you little good if it requires a holster that is on another belt - and won't fit your attire. Here is the trio for size comparison:

In my use, .38 or .357 Magnum chambered, for defending my bacon, I only carry Remington R38S12 +P .38 158gr LHPSWC. YMMV.

Stainz

 

[M3Stuart]

First; Welcome to the forum!

I own neither. But I'm going to key on your statement that you want to rotate it with your 1911. Based on that; the weight of the 627 shouldn't be an issue for you, it has a slightly longer barrel, and will soak up recoil much better. I'm basing that on my model 60 versus my model 642. The alloy frame guns - in my opinion - are typically not that 'fun' to shoot a lot.

So I would suggest the 627. Truth is; you won't go wrong with either. +1 on those who said; A snub revolver takes a lot of practice.

Again, welcome to the forum.

Edit; WOW, just noticed this thread is from many moons ago....

 

[ozo]

Since the thread has been awakened, I would like to add....

If one is used to 1911 carry, the weight should not be a
factor, but the thickness may be. I don't have the spec's
handy, but I would say the 8rnd cylinder is about 1.75"
and the 1911 is 1.15" using just a ruler on the ones in
front of me.

Carry of any can be accomplished depending on the holster.
I occasionally carry as large as a 5.5" Blackhawk in a
JR Roscoe shoulder holster, and have carried larger.
[6'2"/240lbs]
But, EDC is a M632-1

And absolutely nothing wrong with .38special for SD

 

[M29since14]

My 24/7 EDC CCW is a 642...

I am with Stainz. I am always amazed at the enormous, impractical handguns people say they carry every day.

If it is bigger than, or heavier than, a .45 Commander, I just can't see it, but we all have our own ideas and preferences. Since NotoriousSEG hasn't gotten back to us in 9-months, I wonder what he decided.

 

[C Islander]

Since this thread is almost a year old. I want to know what a CCW,(Concealed Carry Weapon) weapon is?

 

[BobR1]

Concealed Carry is a trade off.

A light weight, short barreled, revolver has only Two things going for it. Light Weight, and Concealable. Period
Negative Side: They Kick Hard, They are Hard to Shoot Accurately without a lot of dedicated range time.

If you Belt Carry in a high quality holster, you can pack a heavier revolver without any real problem.

I do not own a 327 or 627UDR. I do however carry some comparable revolvers in my rotation.

Starting Heavy and Large, and working to Light Weight:
3" 625 (Stainless Steel N Frame)
2.5" 310 Night Guard (Airweight N Frame)
3" 66-2 (K Frame 357)
2.5" 315 Night Guard (K Frame Airweight 38+P)
2" 15-4 (K Steel Frame 38)
2" 442 Pro Moon Clip (J Frame Air Weight 38+P)

The N Frames are a little large, but not a real issue to carry. The 625 is heavy enough to notice the weight. No problem with recoil at all.

The 310 Night Guard carrys fine, but you definently notice the recoil.

The 315 Night Guard is enough lighter than my 3" 66 to notice carrying it. It recoils with +P 38 hard enough that I am sure a 357 airweight would be very unpleasant to shoot with anything heavier than a 135 Speer Short Barrel.

The 3" 66 is no problem at all to shoot accurately, or carry. Great Compromise between weight, concealability, and shootability.

The 442 is great to carry. It has Small, Simple, and Lightweight going for it. Recoil is an issue with +P ammo however. I would not want to give up my 442, however you do need lots of trigger time with it.

I find all of the above revolvers to be manageable for me to shoot accurately, however I shoot my revolvers a lot.

I highly recommend the owner of a snub nose airweight get a practice revolver such as a Ruger LCR-22 or a 43C, and try and wear it out. If you do wear it out get another one. Shooting up bricks of 22 ammo through a J Frame size 22 will do more for your snub revolver accuracy that any one other thing you can afford to do.

Myself I would probably go a different route than the original poster, and skip the N Frame 357. I can live without an 8 shot revolver, especially if it does not use Moon Clips.

I would probably go with an L Frame.

A 3" 686 is a good start in a New Revolver. You have a very shootable package, with a Full Length Ejector Rod. For around $100 it can be cut for moon clips, which I would have to have done with a 7 shooter, as Safariland does not make a 7 shooter Comp II or Comp III Speed Loader.

A good second choice would be a 386 Night Guard. You loose the full length ejector rod, but gain XS Night Sights. Recoil should be tolerable with Speer 135 Short Barrel for carry ammo. Again a 7 shooter, so I would have it moon clip cut.

Last in a new revolver would be the 2.5" 686-6 6-Shooter. Short Ejector Rod gun, however you get some needed weight for shootability. Being a 6 shooter, Safariland Speedloaders can now be used. If you practice tactical reloading you can eject the empties with a short ejector rod. You need to get the barrel vertical, and slap the ejector rod hard enough to get the brass out.

My personal idea of perfect would be a 3" 686-4 6-Shooter with a front Night Sight added.

Just my 2 cents.

Bob