S & W model 27

[JJ Kelly]

Hello,

Just came across a gun in a trade. It is a S & W model 27, 5" barrel,
nickel finish, brand new condition, never fired, still in orginal grey box
with all paper work.  Does anybody know about this gun, I didn't know
they made 5" barrels; also how old do you think it is?  Thanks

[dbriannelson]

A serial number of the form AB123xxx would make it a lot easier for folks with the Standard Catalog to date this for you.

-Don

[Mikey]

The 5" M27 was a popular sidearm even though many folks didn't know you could order or get the 5" bbl just by asking.  Most often you found them in 3&3/4", 4" or 6" but there were a couple of gunwriters who favoured the 5" and wrote about them. 

Yours is hopefully one of the older models .....  If you open the cylinder and look at the inside of the crane you should see some stamped numbers, such as 27, 27-2, 27-3, etc., and possibly the serial #, which will tell you what model it is.  Yours should have a pinned barrel and recessed chambers if it is a 27 or 27-2 and if you have one of those I would keep it, shoot it and pass it on down to your children.  JMTCW.  Mikey.

[JJ Kelly]

Thanks for your reply, it is a 27-2, ser#N640xxx.

[dbriannelson]

You might want to X out the last few digits.

Yours was made in '79-'80.  Five inches was one of the standard lengths.  Should be a nice piece to hang on to.

-Don

Dates corrected.

[Hank08]

I also have a 27-2 , 5" with the # N216xxx,  Do you know what yr. that was?
Sketter Skelton, handgun writer for Shooting Times,  mentioned several times that the 5" 27 was his favorite handgun. 
H08

[dbriannelson]

N216XXX was probably '74, but it could have been '75 or later.  That range was also used for M28s, which caused some overlap with the N3XXXXX group which began in '75.

Sorry I can't be more specific.  Maybe someone else has better data.

-Don

[JJ Kelly]

Thanks again, you talked me into keeping it.
I had a model 28 with a 6" barrel and it shot great, used it to shoot a sheep
with 145 gr. silvertips and went right down. I also now have a model 28 with
a 4" barrel but it is well used and shoots okay.  This 5" gun does feel the best
of the three guns, it is more balanced in the hand. Let you know how it
shoots, thanks again.

[Hank08]

Thanks, Don.  I bought it used in the early 70s.  I was thinking about 1971.  Wouldn't
N216 have been earlier than N640?
H08

[dbriannelson]

Yes, of course.  I screwed up.  The N64XXXX was '79-'80 and the N21XXXX was most likely '74-'75.  When one gets older, one decade looks pretty much like another.

I corrected my first response.

-Don

[Hank08]

Thanks again, Don.
H08