Here's to a shorter list

[MLB]

I hadn't planned it this way, really. I headed out to Gander Mountain with the family to pick up a few hunting supplies. Never made it past the gun counter this time.

In the case was a S&W Model 27(-5) that needed a good home. Perhaps it was the same one I saw there a few months ago. Better prepared this time, I checked timing, cylinder movement, gap, hammer drop, bore, and yoke. All good (if a bit dirty.)

Price of $399 not too bad, better with a storewide 10% off sale (even on guns, surprise), and that much better with an additional 10% coupon they matched from Dick's Sporting goods I had. $80 off and I was past my ability to resist.

Please excuse the poor pictures, they were taken indoors by an amateur.

I picked up a box of .38spl and .357mag too. Cleaned it up this evening (previous owner definitely wasn't the anal type.) Hoping to find the time to give it a test run tomorrow.

[MLB]

The stocks fit nicely, but I'm not sure they are original. Anyone know better?

["DoubleAction"]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! MLB

I cannot belief you finally lucked up on finding a Model 27 and buying it. This is indeed a monumental day on this forum. The -5 was reported to have been made toward the end of 1989 to 1992, and 110 guns in 1997, according to the Standard Catalog of S&W. Hogues appeared on the 29-6 in 1993. I have other S&W models which might have been manufactured at the same time and I'll check to verify if they had those stocks with the S&W Medallion. Do those stocks feature the open backstrap ?

["DoubleAction"]

OOPS; I just noticed that you too have a Standard Catalog Of Smith & Wessons. Beware ML; This could develop into much more than just a simple craving.

[TMan]

and I was past my ability to resist.

I don't know what that means. ;D

Sounds like you got a good buy and a good deal. I hope it is a good shooter.

[5ontarget]

Good for you! I seldom see any 27's around here. And when I do they are about 2-3X your starting price.

I hadn't planned it this way, really

That's what you're telling your family. You just happened to have feeler gauges in you pocket to check the gap??

Congratulations, tainted with a little envy! Hope it it shoots well for you.

The thing I find about buying something on my list, is that it is quickly replaced by at least one more.

[MLB]

Well, I cheated a bit with the gap. A sheet of paper just fit, a business card doesn't.

DA, yes, this one has an open backstrap. I think I could really get used to the clean SA break on these...

["DoubleAction"]

ML; What overwhelmed me the most about my own Model 27 is how smooth and light the double action trigger stroke is. I measued the weight of the pull and it came up between 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 lbs., which is slightly lighter than the action jobs I have seen from the Weigand revolvers. This tells alot about the craftsmen they had working on these revolvers; after all, the 27 was their top of the line .357 magnum for many years.
The price might have been trimmed on your gun because of the grips. Those are some very nice looking grips but they might not be the original S&W factory grips. That part of the gun is not revelant to the gun itself, which looks to be a rare bargain. The money saved will more than accomodate the price of your choice in grips. The grips you have, might just be what feels better for shooting. which the original owner might have installed as a preference over the factory grips.I've been looking for some aftermarket grips for my N frames; So far I've been using the rubber hogues.



I hope you enjoy shooting this piece, as much as I have enjoyed shooting mine. I wish I had another lined holster to send you but the only extra I have is an unlined Bianchi. You only want a soft lined holster for that one. The Model 27 will spit 38 specials without any noticable recoil or muzzle flip. Jerry Meculek once used the 6" Model 27 to win many of his matches.

["DoubleAction"]

I think I could really get used to the clean SA break on these...

ML; I know. but if you allow yourself to become spoiled with the clean break of the single action , you will lose out on the benefits of what the double action offers with this revolver. I have to restrain myself to the one round per second range compliance with the model 27, it is that fast. Not only that, you might develop a habit of manually cocking the hammer if the event ever occures to where you might have to one day choose it in a self defensive situation.
If you are not accustomed to the double action trigger, you might want to pick up some A- Zoom Snap Cap dummies and practice some dry fire. The single action will come in handy for bearing down on the smaller longer distance targets or hunting applications.

[MLB]

I could only scrounge an hour at the range today between other plans with family. Took my young son along at his request too. He has taken a liking to my old bolt action rifle as my wife did years ago.

While I did shoot both in DA and SA, I'll need much more time with it to really appreciate the DA trigger. I'm going to take DA's suggestion of snap caps. I was set up at 25 yards and put about 50 rounds of .38 and .357 down range. I was surprised how mild the .38 felt. The .357 was noticably stonger, but not bothersome at all. The shock wave from the .357 put a smile on my little guy's face too. The heavy frame absorbs the recoil very well (better than the P99 .40 I'd say.)

[TMan]

With all due respect to DA, in a close quarters defensive situation, I still maintain you are better off to cock the hammer. If someone grabs the gun and it is cocked, you can still fire the gun. If it isn't cocked, you have to rotate the cylinder and it doesn't take a whole lot of strength to prevent the cylinder from rotating. Try it. (Just don't break the gun in trying it; just apply a little pressure and see how that relates to difficulty in pulling the trigger).

[MLB]

Good points. This one will likely be purely for pleasure though. It's a bit big for regular carry (at least compared to my usual .380 auto), and at the present, it appears that I'd be much more likely to hit my target with what I've practiced with. My off hand groupings yesterday were terrible, but between it being my first revolver, the different calibers, keeping a careful eye on my son, watching the guy at the other end teaching his wife/girlfriend how to shoot a compact semiauto, and the rushed timeframe, I'm going to give myself a break.

I've toyed with the idea of taking it with me hunting next month, but I'd have to line up an appropriate holster first. I don't hunt with a handgun, but it's a better tool for finishing things up if need be.

I forgot that the counter guy handed me a $10 gift card while we were waiting for the background check to go through. Found it in my coat pocket this morning. Financially, this wasn't the best time for me to be buying a handgun, but it's hard to argue with the deal.

Today I have to go get a new starter for the Olds though. The good comes with the bad...

["DoubleAction"]

There was once a time when I manually cocked my revolvers until one morning when a stranger entered my home. I was still in bed when my neighbor called to tell me that someone had entered my house. I grabbed my six inch model 29, which was loaded with 44 magnums and made my way down the hallway. When I looked around the corner to the dining room I could see the dark silhouette of someone in the kitchen. We had been broken into only six years before, which made me somewhat familiar with acting on a potential threat. Even so; What I did next was very careless and unnecessary. As I brought the revolver up to take aim, I also cocked the hammer and warned the stranger not to move. The target was maybe 15 feet from where I was standing; I then reached with my left hand to switch on the light. What was standing in front of me was a young lady with a very terrified look on her face. I then called out for wife wife to come in to help with her problem. She had been at a party, which she had been badly treated, she left with someone else, jumped from their car, and got lost. We convinced her to call her mother to come pick her up.
I never cocked the hammer on a double action revolver again, unless bearing down on smaller longer distance inanimate targets or zeroing, and I've used the same revolver in dealing with an unexpected visitor since.
If someone gets close enough to struggle for my gun, they were either already there to begin with, they were running toward me while I failed to shoot, or they were on me before I could respond. Don't matter; If I deploy a gun for use, I don't want what I do next to be by accident .

["DoubleAction"]

This is turning into a long thread because it opens up the potential for various discussions on the double action hand ejector revolvers.

One of my first experiences with a single stage double action trigger, on a S&W revolver, occured while shooting a three inch model 29, with 44 magnums. Although this particular revolver had been customized for defensive applications only, I was determined to obtain a feel for it at the target range.

First thing I noticed was how light and smooth the trigger effortlessly manipulated without any distinctive feel when the locking lugs engaged. I tried to stage the trigger but failed in all attempts to do so. I then began applying one single consistant stroke to the trigger for each shot. I did this for each and every shot for about fifty rounds, until the cylinder face began building up with fouling and dragging across the forcing cone. At that point I began feeling the trigger drag. Turns out that the tolerances of fit with the cylinder and forcing cone were made tighter for defensive purposes rather than target.
That initial introduction became a new bench mark for what I now look for in a single stage double action combat revolver. As it stands, the best single stage double action trigger I currently have belongs to my S&W Model 27; it is without a doubt "Jaw Dropping".

[TMan]

MLB, how did you make out with the starter?

I had a problem with a Chrysler once where the starter would draw a lot of current when the engine was hot. I took it out, and just ran it with jumper cables. It was arcing at the bearings. I took the armature out and the bearings were pitted from the arcing. However, it didn't show shorter with a growler. I ended up replacing just the armature. (Did I mention that I'm cheap?)

[MLB]

Fortunately for me, replacing starters is relatively easy. It's even easier if your father-in-law has a car lift. Swapped it out in 15 minutes. Now I have to take the old one back to get my "core fee" of $55 back. $150 is bad enough for a remanfuactured starter made in Mexico.

I try to learn something new just about every day. Today TMan gives me the opportunity: I don't understand the "growler" comment. Feel up to educating an amature mechanic?

I didn't pick up the snap caps like I planned. I wonder if using spent casings would hurt?

["DoubleAction"]

I didn't pick up the snap caps like I planned. I wonder if using spent casings would hurt?

ML; You can use spent casings if the mouth of the case goes in the cylinder without force. You can remove the primer cap and fill the charge hole with permatex, then take a razor blade and trim the sealant flush with the case head after the sealant dries. This should do until you run up on some snap caps.

[TMan]

Here you go buddy. I'm not going to type it all myself:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growler_%28electrical_device%29

I've used spent casing before. My most dumba$$ thing was with the .17HMR. I was saving the casing to use as snap-caps then the range officer asked my why I was saving them. I told him for snap-caps since nobody makes them for .17HMR. Well, fortunately he didn't catch on either. (The case for .17HMR is .22 MAG so .22 LR snap-caps work).

Incidentally, if you shoot 38 Specials, then the case for 357 Maximum's, which are longer, work well for scraping out that carbon crap that build up in the cylinders.

(I'm watching Bret Favre on Monday Night Football while I'm typing this; I really love that guy.)

Sherri, my daughter, finally got rid of her Olds and got an Acura MDX - smart move. However, starter motors do wear - can't blame Olds for that. I hope that it was brushes or something like that and not the gear. When the gear goes, it can cause flywheel problems too.

Anything else I can drift this thread on? ;D

Modified to add: what I don't like about Bret Favre is the gray hair in his beard. It makes me feel really old since he is younger than my son.