Help me decide: New Model 27 vs Old Model 27-2 vs 686 6" S&W

[TDC]

What fyimo and Snapping Twig said....

I own both and would take the 27-2 hands down, especially in a 5." The 686 a fine choice in its own right, but a 27-2 is the finest example of S&W craftsmanship ever, and will be increasing in collector value and interest for decades to come... a issue often overlooked by handgun buyers today....

 

[Gunhacker]

Really? Do they wear much worse than stainless? I definitely don't won't something that I would need to baby. Would this be the case with nickel?

Wear is not so much the issue... it's just that you have to be careful with what kind of cleaning chemical is used because of discoloration and/or peeling occurring. Anything thats formulated to remove copper fouling with ammonia in it is a no-no.

Nickel plating on aluminum alloy is especially prone to attack from a cleaner meant to remove copper fouling from a barrel.

In order to nickel plate aluminum alloy, the process includes plating a layer of copper on the aluminum, then the nickel.

A breach/fracture of the Nickel plate, like a ding on a sharp/leading edge of a surface, or porosity in the nickel plate, can allow the cleaner to penetrate and attack the layer of copper... then you will end up with the layer of nickel lifting and peeling.

I learned this the hard way on a nickel S&W 459 I once had.

I'm not sure if copper is also employed when nickel plating high carbon steel, but if it is, then the same caution needs to be applied.

You just need to be sure to use a cleaner that is safe for nickel, such as CLP or M-pro 7 and all will be fine.

 

[jmarlowe]

Are the cylinders of 686 and 27 the same size? i.e. interchangeable?

 

[Bullseye Smith]

Are the cylinders of 686 and 27 the same size? i.e. interchangeable?

No, the 686 is a "L" frame and the 27 is a "N" frame. The "N" is bigger than the "L". The 686 in the go between of the "K" and the "N" frames. I myself perfer the 686 myself for size and weight.

 

[colt_saa]

I am not a big fan of the L-frame. I own a few but they do not grab me. Now I love the 27/327/627 family of N-frames. I shoot a revolver from this group almost every week.

Perhaps this love of the model 27 is because a 6" nickel, model 27 was the first new firearm I ever bought. That was over 33 years ago, and I still have it. Back then there was no such thing as an L-frame. That first revolver is the 2nd from the top of this model 27 group photo. I will never sell it.

Here is a pair of bookends. These 3 1/2" model 27 revolvers are both unfired since leaving the factory. They just happen to have been born 27 years apart.

The 3 1/2" model 27 and the 5" model 27 are among my favorites. I am especially fond of the NEW 8 shot variation of the N-frame. These are of outstanding quality and the match grade barrels make them significantly more accurate than any of my older model 27s.

Based on the five selections that you have posted along with your preference for nickel I would buy the current nickel 27 that the factory is offering. Here is the 6 1/2" version.

I buy firearms because I want to enjoy them, I want to shoot them and I want to share them. I never buy a firearm with the intent of making money on it. When you keep your firearms one or two or more decades, you will always be able to sell them for more than you paid. Are you really going to base you purchase decision on what that possible sale price will be in 20 years.

No matter when you buy a firearm, people will tell you the best ones were made 10-20 years ago and they are crap now. Before I even had a decade of shooting under my belt, the old fogies at the range would be talking about how S&W has gone to hell. The only good guns were from 20 years ago. These ones made in the 70s are all crap yada yada yada. They would never buy another S&W until they went back to putting ?????? on the firearms. You can fill in the blank because 10 years latter folks were complaining about something else. Today they are complaining about the lock, in 10 years it will be something else. You will always have a segment saying "They don't make them like they used to".

No matter what year it was manufactured, no matter which parent corporation it was made under, there are always lemons.