Today, I picked up a S&W Model 27 from my LGS. The owner of Hatari Firearms in Salina, Kansas, sold me the gun.
Here is a picture.
In person the Model 27 looks as good as it does in the photograph.
The Model 27 is the original 357 Magnum, first appearing in 1935, with the first one produced going the FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. (One is forced to wonder how it went with the dresses that he wore.) Initial offerings were in 8 3/4", 6 1/2", 5", 4" and 3 1/2" barrels. Douglas Wesson, using the 8 3/4' barrel, made a well-publicized hunting trip in 1935 in an effort to drum up sales to police agencies, but in the midst of the Depression, that was a tough task, especially since the gun cost the then-unheard of price of $60. Major Wesson took, if memory serves, every species of big game in North America. When it was pointed out that the maximum sighting radius allowed by NRA rules was 10", the barrel was shortened to the length that we see today, 8 3/8".
My gun is the 5" barrel.
A couple of minor negatives: I don't much care for the target trigger, as it is too wide for me. And upon dry-firing, I found the action to be a little rough, almost as though it was a new gun.This leads to the impression that it has not been shot a lot. If this is so, that's fine; I'm certainly not complaining. It will be my pleasure to break the gun in.
It is a beautiful gun. I'm going to enjoy owning it.
Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, I put the gun through its' paces. The revolver is soaking in Hoppes as I type this, and the session went quite well.
162 rounds of 38 Special went downrange today, all but six of them the 130 grain WWB stuff from WallyWorld. The range was fairly close and the revolver shot well, going 'bang' every time I squeezed the trigger. This was hardly unexpected.
One thing I am going to do is change the grips out with my Model 28, as they are the 'plainclothes' magna stocks made, if memory serves, from elk antlers. The reason for this is because I curl my little finger under the stocks as I shoot and with the regular service-styl;e magna stocks from S&W (the flat bottomed kind) it is very hard to do this. I am also going to look into either having my gunsmith to take some metal off the trigger to make it narrower, and get rid of the sharp edges, but that is something that I can take up later.
Accuracy in my hands was good and the recoil was very mild. With a good SD load, this is one handgun that I'd strongly consider carrying.
This is a purchase I am very happy to have made.
Here is a picture.
In person the Model 27 looks as good as it does in the photograph.
The Model 27 is the original 357 Magnum, first appearing in 1935, with the first one produced going the FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. (One is forced to wonder how it went with the dresses that he wore.) Initial offerings were in 8 3/4", 6 1/2", 5", 4" and 3 1/2" barrels. Douglas Wesson, using the 8 3/4' barrel, made a well-publicized hunting trip in 1935 in an effort to drum up sales to police agencies, but in the midst of the Depression, that was a tough task, especially since the gun cost the then-unheard of price of $60. Major Wesson took, if memory serves, every species of big game in North America. When it was pointed out that the maximum sighting radius allowed by NRA rules was 10", the barrel was shortened to the length that we see today, 8 3/8".
My gun is the 5" barrel.
A couple of minor negatives: I don't much care for the target trigger, as it is too wide for me. And upon dry-firing, I found the action to be a little rough, almost as though it was a new gun.This leads to the impression that it has not been shot a lot. If this is so, that's fine; I'm certainly not complaining. It will be my pleasure to break the gun in.
It is a beautiful gun. I'm going to enjoy owning it.
Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, I put the gun through its' paces. The revolver is soaking in Hoppes as I type this, and the session went quite well.
162 rounds of 38 Special went downrange today, all but six of them the 130 grain WWB stuff from WallyWorld. The range was fairly close and the revolver shot well, going 'bang' every time I squeezed the trigger. This was hardly unexpected.
One thing I am going to do is change the grips out with my Model 28, as they are the 'plainclothes' magna stocks made, if memory serves, from elk antlers. The reason for this is because I curl my little finger under the stocks as I shoot and with the regular service-styl;e magna stocks from S&W (the flat bottomed kind) it is very hard to do this. I am also going to look into either having my gunsmith to take some metal off the trigger to make it narrower, and get rid of the sharp edges, but that is something that I can take up later.
Accuracy in my hands was good and the recoil was very mild. With a good SD load, this is one handgun that I'd strongly consider carrying.
This is a purchase I am very happy to have made.
