Who here totes a N-frame?

M

Marko Kloos

Inactive
It's been a while since I last used an N-frame in the CCW role. Today, I carried my new-to-me Model 27 in its Bianchi #111 Cyclone holster, and that gun carries surprisingly easy despite the 5" barrel. I may just let it take turns with my usual CCW, the 3" Model 10.

Now, carrying that much steel is definitely not for everyone (especially in the age of Magnum snubbies made out of Styrofoam), but there have got to be some folks out there who carry a Smith N-frame either all the time or at least on a semi-regular basis. What do you carry, and how do you carry it?

Pictures of the new 27 are forthcoming, as soon as I have proper grips on it--service stocks with a Tyler. The more I handle this gun, the more I think that the gloss blue S&W N-frames were the apex of revolver design and manufacture.
 
It's possible.

I have been looking for a good S&W 28 for a while. I found the one I want, but due to Christmas shopping for others, am not able to afford it.

I agree they are beautiful revolvers. A guy who frequents the shop I go to carries a 4" N-Frame from time to time strong side in a Galco pancake style holster. It's a no BS kind of handgun. I had the chance to handle one of his 27's he uses for matches. The trigger, finish, and grips were outstanding. It had the 6" barrel. The weight and balance was excellent, hence my now searching for my own "poor mans" 27...the 28.

When I get it, it won't be a summer gun for sure! Maybe if it was a 4" model with a CABO or a high riding OWB. My planned carry mode is via a vertical shoulder holster.

I like the heft of a larger wheelgun and miss the one I sold. They are beautiful and in my opinion true pieces of distinction, particularly the high gloss N-frames of the past.

I also think large revolvers conceal better with stockier, hefty builds.
 
Very occasionally I carry either a 4" 28 or a 4" 58 in a Bianchi shoulder holster. Not often, though. They're just too darned heavy.
 
Marko, I carried a 4" S&W N-frame every day for about a decade. The Cyclone didn't work too well for me as the butt of the revolver pushed out against the front of my buttoned coat. If I had to raise my arms, the butt would bunch up the hem and become visible. Once that happed to me in the supermarket after I reached to get something on a high shelf, and a kid riding in a shopping cart yelled, "Mommy, that man has a gun!"

I switched to a strong side DeSantis thumb break holster with a slight rearward muzzle rake for off duty. I wore it just a little front of my right hip. If I tried to move it back, it pressed against the hip bone enough to hurt at the end of the day.

My favorite Model 27 is the 3.5" version. It will work in an IWB holster well such as a Sparks Summer Special. It seems a bit easier to carry when getting in and out of a car all day. The 5" is just a bit long for me, but fellows taller than 6 ft. get along with it in a belt holster. I carry mine in an old Andy Arratoonian shoulder holster.

The tapered barrels of the 27, 28 and 24s are sure a lot easier to reholster. An N-frame is more difficult to tuck away, but it seemed more comforting and controllable to use than a K- or L-frame revolver. I've never had a .357 N-frame go out of time.
 
It used to be a S&W Model 25 - "Model of 1955" target .45ACP with a 6.5" barrel in a Safariland shoulder holster. The gun was built out of a Model 28 with the barrel & cylinder changed out and retimed.

Now it's a 4" M28 or a 4" M57 in either a Galco or Safariland shoulder holster or an older Bianchi pancake style holster.
 
Carried a Model 28 on duty for quite awhile...at the time, we could carry what we wanted and I chose the N frame even though every one else carried K frame 19s.

A few years back, I decided to buy a couple CCW holsters for it and have toted it once or twice. It's just too heavy for me, now. On the duty belt, it was okay...on my trouser belts (even gun belts) it just makes me feel lopsided.

I'll stick to the K frame 10 .38 as my off duty piece now...;)
 
I've carried 3", 3.5", 4", and 5" N-frames many a time.

Weight-wise, they're really no worse than a 1911. Nothing a good belt can't handle.

The more I handle this gun, the more I think that the gloss blue S&W N-frames were the apex of revolver design and manufacture.
Click to expand...

Every time I spend quality time with a Model 27 or pre-27, I wonder what all the fuss about Pythons is for. ;)
 
When I first pinned the tin on, M29s in 44 Magnum and 6" barrels were THE revolver. I bought and sold mine as the M57 was perfection in a 5" barrel. I later went to a M27 5". Tamara helped me adopt a M28 6". I use an od Bianchi shoulder holster at times for CCW. It prints terribly. I am seeking a M&P 44 and a IWB to become my trusted companion. I can then send my BHP to www.cylinder-slide.com for some wants and needs.
 
I carry a 3" 629 at times in cooler weather. It's more of a rural and car carry though. I usually don't carry it in an urban environment because I am concerned with over penetration of the .44 mag.
 
Here's my daily carry rig: A 2 3/4" S&W 25-2 in a Roy's Original Pancake holster copy with a couple of moonclips.

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I carry a 3.5" pre-27 in an Alessi Hideout. It is the one on the right in this photo. Ignore the 2.5" 66s to the left.

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I also have a Haugen paddle holster for a 4", but no pictures of it.

Rick
 
629, Model 24, Model 25

In cool weather I generally carry one or two of these N-frames in a Coronado leather vest. The Model 24 and one of the 629s are 2.5-inch barrels and the Model 25-5 is a 4-inch barrel. Yeah, carrying two of them seems a bit excessive, but it is quicker than reloading, and the vest has one pocket on each side! I looking for an IWB holster for an N-frame though.
 
This time of year I carry a Smith alloy 327 as a coat gun. Not as pritty as those classic blue guns but light with 8 rounds of 357 is a hard combo to beat functionally.
 
I use a modified Bianchi Cyclone to carry my 29 Mountain Gun when walking in the woods upstate. I lost the retention strap in favor of a rawhide hammer loop. It's very comfortable, but I've never really tried to conceal it. I've got enough smaller stuff that I consider just as effective for SD around town.
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n frame

i'm a fan of the 45acp. i carry a 325pd in a 4" bbl alot while in the woods and hiking in the adirondack mts, i use a galco slide holster that covers just the cylinder, at 28oz you can carry all day and its a pleasent shooter. takes moon clips or auto rims.
 
I find that a N Frame Smith carries well. I use custom leather by Sam Andrews to carry a 25-5, several Model 29s and a Model 28. Not all at the same time, of course. :)
 
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