Why 8 3/8" Model 27's?

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I'm sure originally it was to achieve 1500 fps from the then-new .357 Magnum. It's not all that much longer than the 7 1/2" barrels that were on many Colt SAA's at that time.
 
The first 357 Magnums were 8 3/4 inch barrels. They were built on the N frame and evolved into the model 27 in 1957 when they put a model number on them. Later S&W made the 8 3/8ths inch barrel the standard for their longest barrel on their revolvers.
The reason for the longer barrel was to obtain the highest velocity from the 357 Magnum cartridge.
Believe it or not, a lot of shooters liked and prefered the longer barrels for hunting, and long distance shooting. The longer barrel gives the best performance from the cartridge.
Industry standards use a 10 inch barrel to record velocities from a hand gun round, unless published otherwise.
About 50 feet per second is lost per inch of barrel length that is reduced from that standard figure.

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The longer barrel maximizes the performance of the Magnum cartridge and many shooters are more accurate with the longer sight radius. Probably does appeal mainly to hunters but I find the long 27 fun to shoot as the tapered barrel is lighter and does not make the gun excessively muzzle heavy like the 29 and 57 feel.


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becuase back in the day 10 inches of sight radius was the max allowed for competitive target shooting
 
Because that is as long as they made it.

I REALLY like the Model 29-3 Silhouette with the 10.625-inch barrel.

(My wife says I like the long barrels as "compensation." I wonder what she means by that?)
 
becuase back in the day 10 inches of sight radius was the max allowed for competitive target shooting

Exactly. The original barrels were 8 3/4", and were shortened to 8 3/8" to fall within the rules.


Okie John
 
My 8 3/8 Model 27 is one of my most shot Smith's. I used to shoot silhouette with it and hunt some. In a cross draw or shoulder hoster it is easy to carry. The longer sight radius really helps in accuracy. Love mine.
 
Exactly. The original barrels were 8 3/4", and were shortened to 8 3/8" to fall within the rules.


Okie John


That brings back some old memories. I just picked up a 27-2 in 8.375 on a trade deal. Planned on turning it but I'm kind of liking it. Apparently someone mag-na-ported it and put it away. Looks like less than a box through it.

Didn't S&W use a single port in front of the sight on the PC revolvers?

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