Need help identifying a S&W I found.

[Lightsped]

I found this large frame S&W 357 in a closet here, and I would like to know more about it. It has a interesting checkered finish that goes from the rear sight, all the way down the barrel to the front sight. It also has a VERY smooth trigger.

Any ideas on this gun?

 

[Bompa]

Probbly A mod.27..Good one ..
Got any more closets to check out ??

 

[C.R.Sam]

Bout time that 27 came out of the closet.

Sam

 

[Ala Dan]

I'm in agreement

that's a beauty; Smith's model 27. Hey, if you don't want it, I'll give it a good home!!!

Regards,
Ala Dan, Life Member N.R.A.

 

[Lightsped]

How do I know my gun isn't a Model 29?

 

[cuerno de chivo]

29 - .44

27 - .357

 

[Mike Irwin]

Lightspeed,

What REALLY gives it away is the fact that the upper rib sight plane is checkered.

Combined with the fact that it has a high gloss blue finish and is in .357 Magnum, there's only a single S&W ever manufactured that fits all three criteria -- The Model 27 and its pre-model number counterparts.

What is the serial number, and I can tell you when it was manufactured.

 

[Dr Heckel]

 

[justinr1]

Any chance you want to sell that puppy? What do you guys think it is worth?

justinr1

 

[Lightsped]

The serial number is N326xx
The model number is 27-2

Any ideas what it is worth? Its been passed around the family for a while. The gun really has a SMOOTH trigger and hammer.

 

[VictorLouis]

Nice find!

Could you possibly measure the barrel? The gun originally came as a 5", and was later offered in other lengths.

 

[Mike Irwin]

When I get home I'll check my serial number references. The fact that it's a 27-2, though, makes me think that it was made in the 1970s.

VictorLouis,

by the time the 27-2 was being made, the gun had been offered in various barrel lengths other than 5" for about 40 years.

 

[VictorLouis]

Only FORTY?

 

[Lightsped]

Well, I don't have a tape measure or ruler handy to measure the barrel, but I did line the S&W up next to my beloved Total Titanium Taurus which has a 2 inch barrel. Maybe someone here can visually figure out the length of my S&W?

 

[BADSBSNF81]

Made between 70-72. 27-2 in 1961 the cylinder stop was changed and the triggerguard screw was done away with. In 1969 the N prefix began. Value in my neck of the woods would be @ 350 or so.

 

[Mike Irwin]

VL,

Oh, crap, look at this.

Original "registered" .357s could apparently be custom ordered with virtually any barrel length between 3.5 and 8.75 inches.

The pre-war unregistered Magnum, made from 1938 to 1941, and the post war guns could be had with 3.5, 5, 6, 6.5, and 8 3/8 inch barrels.

In other words, the traditional barrel lengths have been available form almost the get-go.