S&W 27

tone59

Am thinking of getting a wheel gun . Would a 27-2 4" bbl and nickle be a good investment or a 6" be better. Blue or Nickle[?]
I have a 29-2 , but I want a 357 mag this time around.
your thoughts,thanks

tone59

i know the sw model 27 had an initial production run of about 60 years (mid30s-mid90s)and was later reintroduced in 2008.iam thinking of purchasing a 6 inch nickel variety that was made in 1983.i know the 27 had went through some model changes during its long run.can anyone tell me when and what those changes were? and thier opinion of the 27-2 models manufactured in 83.

22hipower

I don't think the 27-2 was manufactured in 1983; at least the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson says the 27-3 arrived in 1982. Based on that the 27-2 you're considering was made before 1983. If you'll provide the serial number we can narrow the manufacture date further. I think the last of the -2s should have been manufactured somewhere around N932101. The model 27 is one of my favorite revolvers and all four of mine are -2 versions. Didn't plan it that way the -2s just happened to be the ones I found at the right prices. Found the last one, a nickel 3.5 inch this past week.

The info in the Standard Catalog of S&W agrees that your serial number was 1983 although that conflicts with the info that the end of the -2 manufacturing was 1982. I expect it was as suggested in another post, that -2 frames were still available in early '83 and S&W used what they had on hand. In any case, nice gun, grab it if the price is right.

tone59

im jealous.l would love to have a 3.5.they are hard to come by and the few i have seen were out of my price range. the ser. # is N941559.S&W gave me the 1983 date on it.maybe it is an 27-3.do you know the differences in the 27-2 and 27-3?

tone59

i just took a look at the sellers photos again. N941559 and 27-2 is clearly visible.S&W dated it at 1983 over the phone.maybe the models over lapped?do you know what the changes were from the 27 to the 27-2?im a new collector without much gun knowledge.was there a 27-1?

rufe-snow

quote:Originally posted by tone59
i just took a look at the sellers photos again. N941559 and 27-2 is clearly visible.S&W dated it at 1983 over the phone.maybe the models over lapped?do you know what the changes were from the 27 to the 27-2?im a new collector without much gun knowledge.was there a 27-1?


The hypenated number after the dash refers to a major engineering change made by S & W, during the production run.

The best reference source on Smith & Wesson firearms is the book, "The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson". If you intend to collect S & W firearms it's the standard reference used by all collectors. It goes into detail regarding the various engineering changes made during the production cycle of the model 27.

BUCKAWHO

Hi...There may have been some overlapping of the years and model -2s production. The most noticable differences are that S&W stopped pinning the barrels and recessing the cylinder bores with the change to model -3s. So if the gun that you are interested in still has the pinned barrel and recessed cylinder, it's probably a 29-2 regardless of exactly what year it left the factory. They certainly would not have discarded a -2 frame simply because it became 1983, not 1982 anymore. BT

tsr1965

Just because it is a 27-2, does not mean the original purchaser couldn't have purchased it in 1983. Some guns sit in the display case for a while, before they are sold. Especially if the store owner thinks it is worth more than it is.

You have a real nice revolver there. It is one of the strongest 357's on the market.

Best

bpost

quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
Just because it is a 27-2, does not mean the original purchaser couldn't have purchased it in 1983. Some guns sit in the display case for a while, before they are sold. Especially if the store owner thinks it is worth more than it is.

You have a real nice revolver there. It is one of the strongest 357's on the market.

Best


True, mine was bought new in 1983 and was a 27-2, pinned and recessed.

JIM STARK

quote:Originally posted by tone59
im jealous.l would love to have a 3.5.they are hard to come by and the few i have seen were out of my price range. the ser. # is N941559.S&W gave me the 1983 date on it.maybe it is an 27-3.do you know the differences in the 27-2 and 27-3?
What is your price range???I may have a 3-1/2" available...Please use e-mail...
JIM.......... snake803@juno.com

Laredo Lefty

tone....... The model 27 didn't begin life until 1957 as Smith didn't start using model numbers until then. Before that they were the .357 Magnum Model of 1950. The difference between the 27-2 and the 27-3 is the elimination of the recessed cylinder and the pinned barrels.

tone59

interesting.i think what i maybe looking at is a 27-3 on a 27-2 frame.the frame does say 27-2 but the barrel does not appear to be pinned.tsr1965,im not sure but i assumed when s&w gave me the date 1983 it was the born on year rather than the sales date.laredo lefty,in 1980 for my 21st b-day my father gave me a pre 28 5-screw highway patrolman(dated 1955).the info ive been able to find tells me it was the economy version of the 27 which itself evolved from the first 357mag ever produced (1935) known as the registered magnum for 2 years and then the model 27.this lead me to beleive the 27 began in 1937.thank you for the correction.what is a recessed cylinder?can i tell if a gun has this from photos?

tone59

buckawho,thank you for the info.this one seems to be caught between a 27-2 and 27-3.the frame is marked 27-2 and it does have recessed cylinder bores but not a pinned barrel.the grips are nicked up but the rest of the gun appears to be like new.since i have a nice set of S&W wood grips in need of a good home which i beleive are correct to the gun im going to go ahead and get it.thank you all for sharing your knowledge.