Range report 27-2 long tom

[Patrick L]

Well, I shot her a bit New Years Day on the indoor 50 foot range, then yesterday ventured outside as it was a bit milder. It was still chilly, so 25 yards was as adventurous as I got.

Right off the bat, we need to do a little trigger work. The SA pull is heavier than any of my other Smiths, but they all have Wolf trigger return springs installed. A kit has already been ordered.

Anyhow, the initial sight in target at 50 feet:

Obviously was hitting a bit high, but i dropped it down. Ammo is standard 38 wadcutter target load.

Then shooting NRA Bullseye style 1 handed (or as I say, "like a man")

Dang! I always manage to pull one! But clearly we have potential.

Next, we went outside and shot at 25 yards. Again, 1 handed NRA Bullseye with .38 wadcutters

And once again my infamous 1 shot yank!

Switching to 2 hands and a more moderate .38-44 load (12 gr 2400, 358156 in .38 cases)

Any finally some full .357 loads (sorry, fatigue and the cold were starting to get to me)

I think with a little more trigger/front sight time together we will have a winner!

 

[75Vette]

I like it! Very impressive for a first time out. The Bullseye style shots aren't shabby at all. Trying to hold a long tube N frame steady one handed takes discipline. Looks like you two are going to be great friends.

 

[Narragansett]

Very nice. I have a long Tom 27 that is yet to be at the range. I was wondering, what is or was your point of hold?

 

[Patrick L]

Interestingly, no sight corrections were made after initial sight in.

.38 wadcutters, 6 0'clock hold

.38-44 loads, hold just inside the black at the bottom

.357 loads, cut the black in half

With my two 6 inch .357s,( a 27-2 and a 66-2) I need to click the sights for different loads

 

[bluetopper]

I discovered through bench resting in my long tom 27-2, 38 wadcutter loads can't compete in grouping and accuracy with magnum loads in 357 brass. The hotter the charge the better mine likes it.

 

[rubiranch]

I've never shot a 8 3/8" but looking forward to shooting this 1959 27 that I picked up recently.

I hope I do half as good as you did.

 

[RKmesa]

Thanks for the range report - nice shooting. I love shooting the long 27s. It has been a while since I have punched paper with them - mostly just 4" steel paddles and plates...

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

Model 27s

Nice looking Long Toms as well as shooting.

My 27-2 only carries a 6" barrel, but it's one of my favorite Smiths. Given my LEO background, I shoot DA about all of the time from a Weaver stance.

Here is a target with the 27-2 at 25 yards using a DA trigger pull and the Weaver stance. The load is the classic 2.7 grains of Bullseye and a 148 grain DEWC.

 

[Patrick L]

Just an update. I've been tweaking things to get them just the way I like them.

The SA trigger pull was heavier than any of my other S&W revolvers. Not that it was bad, but it was heavier. All my other Smiths are right around 2 3/4 - 3 lbs, this one was close to 4 lbs. That was a problem since I shoot all my guns, and usually bring different ones each time I go to the range. Doing the one hand bullseye thing, it really makes a difference if one gun has a pull that much greater than all the others. A replacement trigger return spring and a slight tweaking of the strain screw brought it down to just under 3 lbs.

I also noticed that even with the rear sight bottomed, I really needed to float the 50 foot bull to get the shots in the black. I didn't really want to get into changing the rear slide (which I can if I have to) so I carefully filed down the top of the slide, keeping things nice and straight. I then carefully deepened the notch with a square needle file. I removed maybe 1/32nd of an inch, and now a proper 6 oclock hold puts them right in the black.

As happy as I was with the refinish of my Coke grips (see separate thread) I have to admit, those grips are just not 100% comfortable for 1 hand bullseye shooting (and yes I realize that is sacrilege.) They're a close 2nd choice, but I really prefer something slimmer. So I swapped them for a set of reworked targets that were on my pre 29. I put the Cokes back on the .44 for now, since I am shooting the 27 so much more.

Now I just need to wait for spring to see what she can do at a full 50 yards. For now I'll stick to the indoor range, and an occasional 25 yard session if we get a warm day.