New member needs I.D help on one revolver

[Lanny]

Last fall, a long time friend and hunting partner left me a dozen Smiths in his will. Other close friends inherited his Rugers and Colts. We had no idea that he was a collector. I finally got around to the I.D-Evaluation process for insurance purposes. My family gave me a copy of the latest SCSW for Christmas as an encouragement to do so. Half of the Smiths are NIB and the rest are 98%-Excellent plus. All are "text-book" identifiable EXCEPT ONE; it has "thrown me a curve".
On pg.160 SCSW, lower right corner, begins a new paragraph describing the ".44 Hand Ejector 4th Model Target", etc. The revolver in question has a 4" barrel and is described to a "T" in the sentence by sentence characteristics and through the "Variations and Production Changes" EXCEPT.....the serial number (correct range) begins with an "N" (not an S) and the Model is stamped Mod.27-2. The gun appears to have not been re-blue or altered in any way and all of the mfg. fitting numbers match.. Any ideas on what I have and it's value?

 

[LouisianaJoe]

Look in the book for the 27-2. They were made later than the .44 hand ejector and the 27-2 is a .357 Magnum. I have a 27-2 8 3/8" and the serial number begins with an "N".

 

[H Richard]

If you could post a couple pictures, and list at least the first 3-4 digits of the S/N, and how many digits are in it as well as any letters, such as the "S". The we could get an accurate ID on it for you.

 

[Muley Gil]

You didn't state what caliber your new revolver is chambered in. If it is a .44 Special, you have a M27 that has been converted. I have one that I had converted back in the 1970s.

 

[Lanny]

The S/N is "N 218xxx" N is the only letter and there are 6 digits in the S/N
I don't have the tech. to do pics. at this time. However it is exactly like the bottom pic. on pg. 161 SCSW....with the exception that there is no upper sideplate scrrew and the side plate has the S&W trademark.
The revolver IS a .44 S&W SPECIAL CTG. and the barrel is marked as such.

 

[Muley Gil]

S&W dropped production of .44 Special revolvers in 1966. Skeeter Skelton promoted the conversion of large frame revovers to .44 Specials back in the '70s. Factory .44 Specials were available then. It was common to find M28s, and a few M27s, converted.

A few gunsmiths also rebored or relined .357 barrels to .44 specs.

 

[mikepriwer]

Does the barrel say " .44 Special ", or something to that effect ?
How exactly is it roll-marked on the side of the barrel ?

According to Roy Jinks books, the 44 special era ended at S263,000
which is in the middle 1960s. The S-series serial numbers ended in
1969 at about S320,000 or so, and the N-serial number series then
began.

So, this gun should be about middle 1970's, when suppossedly they
were not making anything for 44 special. 44 magnum, yes, which
will chamber the 44 special cartridge.

Mike Priwer

 

[BUFF]

Lanny:

Sorry you lost your friend, and welcome to the forum.

Please bear with me here for being so long-winded, but you have an unusual gun here, and I think we can help you identify it.

The Model 27-2 was a .357 Magnum made on S&W's large or N frame (same frame as the .41 and .44 Magnums and a few others) between 1961 and 1982. It was a mechanical upgrade or change from the Model 27-1 and was replaced by the Model 27-3.

S&W's serial numbers are more or less sequential by frame size. Most of the post-WWII N frame guns began with an S in the serial number, and these ran up to about S333000 in 1969, when a new serial number series began with N1 and then went up to about N970000. Then a new series began in in 1980 that started with AAA0001 and continues to this day, 3 letters and 4 digits.

The 1950 Target .44 Special was made from 1950 to 1966. They were all S serial numbered, about S185000 to S263000. When S&W began model numbers in 1957, the 1950 Target .44 was the Model 24, then 24-1, then 24-2.

The 1950 Target/Model 24 is a very scarce gun, only 5,050 were made before they were discontinued in 1966. S&W finally recognized that there was a demand for them and reintroduced a newer variant, the Model 24-3, in 1983. The serial number scheme was the 3 letter/4 digit by then, and they began about ABZ0000. They have been made in a few runs since, as Models 24-4 and 24-5 and maybe 24-6.

.44 Special is kind of a cult or niche cartridge and some shooters are really, REALLY fond of it. Between 1966 and 1983, finding a nice S&W .44 Special was hard to do and expensive when you did. S&W had made extra barrels and cylinders, and these had become somewhat available, so those of us who were fans did what we could, we took N frame S&W's chambered for other cartridges (usually .38 Special and .357 Magnum), bought .44 Special barrels and converted what we had to the .44 Special cartridge. The 2 most popular guns to do this with were the Model 28 Highway Patrolman and the Model 27, both in .357 Magnum. Sometimes we could find new .44 Special cylinders, but most of the time we had gunsmiths bore out the existing cylinders for the larger .44 Special.

Take a look at your gun. While it is possible that the gun was mis-stamped at the factory, it is more likely a gun your friend had converted from a .357 Magnum.

The Model 27's were unique among S&W revolvers. The top strap of the frame (the portion of the frame above the cylinder) was finely checkered, where the other guns were either smooth and sandblast stippled (Model 28) or had grooves or striations running lengthways, from the rear sight body, onto the frame and then down the barrel's top rib to the front sight.

If your gun's top strap is checkered, then we know for sure what others here have guessed, that the gun was converted to .44 Special.

It is a probably a very nice gun. These conversions were not cheap if done right.

I hope this helps. Let us know what you see.