S/W model 627 2 5/8" fluted

[albertjohnson]

Anyone own one of these or shot one? Reviews?
Any problems with these? Why did they stop making them? Is this known as a 627-3? or does the 2 5/8" have a diff. no.?
I like the looks of this fluted one over the smooth. Just my opinion.
Anyone own one and wants to sell it?

http://www.lesjones.com/www/images/posts/627-8shot.jpg

Thanks, my first post and any help advice or help or review is appreciated.

AJ

 

[bamabiker]

Welcome to the forum. That is what we call the Bloodwork gun. Clint Eastwood used one in the movie "Bloodwork." The originals have been selling for more than $2000. S&W has started selling new ones but they come with the internal lock, which some here hate.

 

[Stainz]

Greetings! That 2 5/8" PC627 'Ultimate Defense Revolver', SKU #170133, was produced from 1999-2000 - ~300 units and not a stellar seller. Made on the frame-mounted fp frame, they had unfluted cylinders. It was featured with the fluted cylinder in the 2002 Clint Eastwood movie, "Blood Work", where, to be kind, it wasn't a bullseye contender. Good movie. A cult following of that revolver would raise the secondary market price prices to $2k - $3+k, despite it's original $1199 price. In January, S&W announced it's resuurection - even kept the same SKU - 170133 - but lowered the price - $1185. I got one 4/3 - sent the poorly fitted Eagle boot grips back and waited a month for a replacement, which, while even nicer looking than the originals, still similarly wouldn't fit. After communicating my displeasure - and suggesting the fault - and my request for my cure, I finally just put other grips on it. It differs from those initial UDR's by the inclusion of the Infernal Lock, a big ho-hum here. That doesn't stop me from a purchase.

The Eagle boot grips were made for the most common round-butt N-frame around in 1999, since the change to a frame-mounted firing pin N-frame was only a year or two old then - they were fitted for the hammer mounted firing pin model. The area behind the trigger guard has an edge radii tighter than the now current frames do. The replacement stock they sent me was 'old stock' - made for the older rb N-frames. It fits my 1996 vintage 625-6 Mountain Gun - with a hammer-mounted fp - perfectly, of course. I communicated this - and my verification of the similar fitting of those grips on a host of other recent N-frames - with the same poor fitting. One guy wanted the gun - another wanted the grip. I said send me a tested-for-fit grip set - and a return label for the grips I had. Of course, I said this in my original grips letter, two. I got separate pre-paid labels for the grips (FEDEX Ground) and revolver (FEDEX Overnite). Someone needs to learn how to read or take notes in their CS area. A PC Gun deserves better!

I really love this 'little' 627 - but I love the 4" 627 Pro even more - and would sell the JM 5" first, 2 5/8" second, and the 4"-er - never!! Of course, every range trip, the new one wins more praise - it is fun - with my wimpy .38-ish loads in moonclipped .357M cases.

Oh yeah, pardon my manors - welcome to the forum!

Stainz

PS The new one comes in a grey plastic Performance Center case rather than the partially Al case they did use. No problems, other than - from a distance - someone may think you bought a Ruger!

 

[albertjohnson]

Thanks guys. Bama said people don't like the internal lock...mind telling me why not?
And Stainz says the fluted one wasn't a bullseye contender...that mean it doesn't have too good of accuracy?
You guys are right, i've looked all over the net for a month and haven't seen a fluted one for sale. But there's a non fluted one for sale right now for 875.

 

[Stainz]

Mine was $949 from a local dealer. That $875 is a deal. The revolver's accuracy is fine for me. Eastwood's character in 'Blood Work' was having a heart attack when he was shooting at a fleeing suspect. I don't want to be a spoiler if you haven't seen the movie - very highly reccommended, BTW.

No one likes the look of the IL - many don't trust it, even fear their revolvers locking unexpectedly - some think it represents the bow down that S&W did to the Clinton regime.

Well, I don't like it's looks, either. Nothing about it in 9/02 - even my new 4" 625's instruction manual had nothing about it - but there it was. It kind of reminded me of my childhood dream windup cars - the Schuco German made spring motor powered ones. I tried shooting with the key in and 'almost' locked, etc, and it always ended up unlocked - never failed. A non-entity to me - most of my S&W's have it. It came out in late 2001 - early 2002. G.W. Bush was elected in 2000, so it really shouldn't be referred to as the 'Clinton Hole'. Of course, S&W was British-owned from 1987-2001 when AZ-based 'Saf-T-Lock' bought them - 'American Made and American Owned' - again, at last.

Is the IL reliable? In the nearly nine years S&W has produced revolvers so equipped, they have yet to defend against a lawsuit involving it's 'failure'! Some folks have had reported problems. Saying no to IL-equipped S&Ws really limits one's choice to older models. New S&W's have a lifetime warranty - accessible via an 800#. You'd miss out on newer models & calibers, too, as well as the latest enhancements. The IL can always be rendered unserviceable - or even removed and replaced by a 'cover'. It's a personal decision. Let us know which one you buy.

Stainz

 

[bamabiker]

Thanks guys. Bama said people don't like the internal lock...mind telling me why not?
And Stainz says the fluted one wasn't a bullseye contender...that mean it doesn't have too good of accuracy?
You guys are right, i've looked all over the net for a month and haven't seen a fluted one for sale. But there's a non fluted one for sale right now for 875.

Stainz covered it real good.

 

[cobra44]

Welcome to the forum.
I got mine after Stainz got his. I have shot it several times, and it shoots really well.
I wanted a pre lock model, but they were very hard to find unless one wanted to pump out at least 2400.00 and up, for a unfired one.
I am glad that I got mine as I wanted one for many years. Even with the lock, it is a very good revolver.

 

[Stainz]

To show you just how badly I wanted a 2 5/8" PC627, I called the PC Shop several times over the years about rebarreling my 5" JM PC627 V-Comp in the picture. I was told that was sacrilege the first time - and they said they had no barrels during subsequent phone calls. At my age I don't have enough marketable body parts to fund the original UDR's meteoric price, so I was tickled pink to get a new production one! I'd have bought it with a pink grip, even!

Have you ever tried to explain your 'wants', even to yourself. No rhyme or reason for my wanting it - but, in the hand - no matter the grip - it exceeded my over-inflated expectations!

Stainz

 

[1aafan]

Luv my prelock. And I paid what it was worth to ME...fluted and unfluted cylinders, real PC case not plastic and no $$%%^ lock!

 

[westkybanded]

Luv my prelock. And I paid what it was worth to ME...fluted and unfluted cylinders, real PC case not plastic and no $$%%^ lock!

That hammer looks odd... Is it on some kind of half-cock?

 

[s&wchad]

That hammer looks odd... Is it on some kind of half-cock?

No, but it's at rest on the hammer block safety and is not in contact with the firing pin. The hammer needs to rotate further forward to fire and the geometry dictates the shape of the hammer face. Early frame-mounted firing pin N frames did look a little odd with the gap between the frame and the top of the hammer, so on later guns S&W extended the back of the frame to cover the gap.

 

[albertjohnson]

Stainz has some nicen's. 1aa's looks sweet too. Those look almost like some kind of ivory or mastodon grips, 1aafan.
So anything ole Clint touches in a movie doubles in value. I remember his 'most powerful handgun in the world, and will blow your head clean off' model 29. Someone said he really used a 38 instead in the movie. I gotta watch this Bloodwork movie then.
I'm itching to get it. Wonder what lbs the trigger pull is...i haven't been able to find that online...maybe 3 lb single and 7 lb double??
I'm thinking of selling my ole 45 acp 1911 and buying this 627...i've switched to liking revolver now.

 

[albertjohnson]

Or maybe i'm looking at one of the new ones...it says the sku# (whatever that is) is 170133. Does that mean a new one or original one?

 

[SmithNut]

Neat gun, it's almost exactly like mine.... in fact it is exactly like mine....

Anyone own one of these or shot one? Reviews?
Any problems with these? Why did they stop making them? Is this known as a 627-3? or does the 2 5/8" have a diff. no.?
I like the looks of this fluted one over the smooth. Just my opinion.
Anyone own one and wants to sell it?

http://www.lesjones.com/www/images/posts/627-8shot.jpg

Thanks, my first post and any help advice or help or review is appreciated.

AJ

I'm not sure who Les Jones is, but I like his taste in revolvers....

In fact, his is exactly just like mine, the background, the extra cylinder, the grips and even the spare ammo..... interesting...

In the event he doesn't have the other pics taken at the time these were taken (about 10 years ago), here they are.....

Here's the original factory flyer on this model..

 

[albertjohnson]

Didn't mean to infringe on anyone, SmithNut...but this Les Jones, fella, whoever he is, had the best photo of the fluted 627-3 on the web. Perhaps the ONLY photo of the fluted.
So can one just look at the original vs. the new internal lock one and tell the difference? or no, one must look at the serial number?

aha! http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/8/89/BW-M627-3.jpg/600px-BW-M627-3.jpg

 

[seattle911]

My new 627 UDR with 2 5/8 barrel has a ringing sound when I dry fire it. Anyone else have this strange sound?

 

[s&wchad]

My new 627 UDR with 2 5/8 barrel has a ringing sound when I dry fire it. Anyone else have this strange sound?

Yes, my 327 does it too. It works fine.

 

[seattle911]

Yes, my 327 does it too. It works fine.

Thanks. That is reassuring. My other N frames do not have this sound.

 

[Stainz]

To the question raised earlier as to which run, 1999 or 2010, uses SKU #170133, the answer is... both! Confusing?

To tell the difference is easy - the early ones came in an Al attache-style Performance Center case. New ones come in a grey plastic Performance Center case, actually a bit nicer than the usual blue plastic S&W case. I'd rather they come less the trigger locks - and in a cardboard box - so I could just spend money on what I want - the revolver.

The revolvers differ in the inclusion in the current stock of the Infernal Lock - located just above the cylinder release (See my picture of my trio earlier.).

If you have a 1911 you want to sacrifice for an S&W revolver - consider the 625JM. A bit cheaper than the UDR 627, it is a great value - in a .45 ACP revolver. True 'big bore' fun with frugal ammo... just another thought.

Stainz

 

[SmithNut]

Didn't mean to infringe on anyone, SmithNut...but this Les Jones, fella, whoever he is, had the best photo of the fluted 627-3 on the web. Perhaps the ONLY photo of the fluted.
So can one just look at the original vs. the new internal lock one and tell the difference? or no, one must look at the serial number?

aha! http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/8/89/BW-M627-3.jpg/600px-BW-M627-3.jpg

albertjohnson,
My apologies for an untimely response. You are not infringing on anyone, if anyone is it's someone like Les Jones that posts other folks picutes on the web, for what ever reason. This gets under my skin, and others, so my previous post was only meant to underscore the fact that it wasn't Les Jones picture or gun in the pic.
To provide some answers, let me start with this - first, the picture posted isn't a M627-3, it is from the first production run and is marked as a M627-PC.
To give you some ideas of how these are visually discernable from the later models, here's a pic, I'll explain the four areas below the pic.

1- The early guns had a "normal" frame for the time, meaning it had the pre-frame mounted firing pin sized frame, but it had the frame mounted firing pin. This is evident due to the area behind the frame between the hammer, this "gap" is due to the earlier frame contours in this area. The later guns had a beefed up area here, so that the later hammers would not leave the gap.
2- The later hammers are all "normalized" so that one-size-fits-all, i.e., take a look at the size of the hammer in this pic and compare to a later M627-3 gun, the hammer on the later gun is much smaller, they use the same hammers now on all frame sizes from K to L to N to X frames, and to me they all look kinda stunted in growth and in the case of the X frames, they are hideously small.
3- Of course, this picture is missing the later model's lock.
4- The later guns also have the integral frame lug (cylinder stop), which is integral and much longer. The early guns have the older pined in frame lug, which to some of us is more traditional.
So, there are many differences, not just the lock, that differentiate the early guns from the later guns. The "Bloodwork" gun is an early gun, missing some of the improvements () of the later guns.