My remaining question is: what motivated Smith, after years of producing its 27 as a 3 1/2 gun (plus longer barrel lengths, of course), to start offering it as a 4 incher? The extra 1/2 inch wouldn't seem to make all that much of a difference in terms of bullet velocity, ease of carry, etc. So, why do it? Was it because, perhaps of the popularity of the 19, 65 and 66 as 4 inchers?
Believe me, is is somewhat of a mystery to me. Paladin's explanation seems plausible, but subsequent to that they re-introduced the 3 1/2 and 5" versions for a limited run. The fact that the M28 was avail with 4" and the L frame guns being primarily in that barrel length makes the decision to make the 4" kinda wierd to me. In fact, the 4" is the hardest to find barrel length in the M27 line, just due to the late introduction and, in my opinion, very slow sales due to the L frames and other options thereafter. Here is a chart showing the years that the different barrel lengths were
catalog'd from my research a few years ago.
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A few years back (about ~2000) I researched the M27 barrel lengths re: number of years each barrel length was "offered/cataloged" in S&W documents (Annual catalogs, All Model Circulars, Price lists). For
Postwar manufacturing, the
.357 Magnum (pre-M27) and Model 27 was offered in the following barrel lengths for the following number of years:
6 inch barrel.......- 1946 - 1994 - 49 years
8.375 inch barrel.- 1946 - 1991 - 46 years
3.5 inch barrel....- 1946 - 1979 - 34 years
5 inch barrel.......- 1946 - 1979 - 34 years
6.5 inch barrel....- 1946 - 1968 - 23 years
4 inch barrel.......- 1980 - 1991 - 12 years
Notes:
1-Prior to Cataloging the 4", Special orders accounted for all 4" Production
2-Model 27 sales (in general) very sluggish after the Model 19 introduced
3-Model 27 4" cataloged the first time in 1980, same year that the L frame was introduced
4-Duty usage of 4" M27 probably slow as compared to the (lower cost) M28 Highway Patrolman after 1954
5-Almost all Nickel 4" models noted to date have been around 1980 production M27-2, all with TT/TH/TS/WO/RR !!!!
6-Years cataloged may not directly correlate to actual production numbers, but it certainly speaks to general availability and order ability, after-all folks usually buy what is offered and knowing that the factory didn't usually build to order in later years, the ability of a consumer to call and order a non-cataloged barrel length had almost stopped by the mid 1970's.
7- The above is for "standard" production guns; it does not cover any Commemorative or re-issue special editions. (Both the 3.5 and 5" were re-introduced at least once) Update – the current Classic line info isn't included in the above. Nobody likes them anyway… ?
8- For those of us that remember the 1970's and the fact that Model 27's languished on store shelves for many many months back then, it's curious to think just what S&W was thinking when they introduced the 4" barrel length when they did - exactly the same time as the introduction of the L frame models. With poor sales of N frame 357 Magnum leading up to 1980, one has to wonder just how many 4" M27's actually sold during the years that they were cataloged. Can't be that many in the overall scheme of things. Whether you are interested in the pinned and recessed versions (-2), the transition models of the -3 or the
regular -3 versions, there are not all that many to be found.
The above information is meant to note what the factory was offering, not production quantities. Based on the number of year's offered and general observations, the 4 inch model is the hardest to find.
It is amazing to me that the 3.5: and 5" are viewed as being the scarcest. In the NW, it seems like I see more 8.375" models than any others.
