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Thread: What was the model 27/28 reputation from the past?

  1. #1
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    What was the model 27/28 reputation from the past?

    For those with the memory/experiences/studies of the old days of police work:

    What was the daily user's opinion of the S&W Model 27 or 28 way back when?

    Too darn heavy to carry, great for the hard kicking magnums, awkward due to the weight, better/worse than the Python; that sort of stuff. I've always liked the 3.5 inch 27's and a good friend has a Highway Patrolman I've always admired but how many agencies issued them and how successful were they as an issue piece?

  2. #2
    I started out with a 6 1/2" Model 27. It and later a 4" 66 went to 300 Gunsmithing in Denver for action work. The Model 27 initially rode in a Safariland swivel holster which was replaced by a Hoyt breakfront. Weight was never a problem, bulk was. That gun in the Hoyt was much akin to having a small cased violin hanging off your belt. I enjoyed carrying the 66 much more and still have it. The 27 was lost in a burglary.

    I had a 5" 27 which I gave to my son last year as a post-deployment "Welcome Home" gift. I have my Dad's 3 1/2" 27 after he passed last fall and just this week picked up some very pretty Hogue's for it. Dad had a set of my old duty Pachmayrs on it and it accompanied him on many road trips and vacations over the years. I'm still waffling on putting on the Hogue's and I may just take some pics of it wearing the pretty wood and put the Pach's back on it. It's still Dad's gun, I'm just its caretaker. I have a 4" 28 which is in great shape and is a very accurate gun, it doesn't get shot often and I don't really have any history or attachment to it, but it was one of those "too good to pass-up" deal's.

    I highly recommend the N frame guns for shooting quantities of magnum ammo, they'll stay in service and keep their action timing longer than the Python or lighter frame guns. The 3 1/2" guns look and balance great!
    Last edited by FNFAN; 05-20-2018 at 04:21 AM.
    -All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of the author's employer-

  3. #3
    Member zero67's Avatar
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    I carried a 5" 27-2 for many years back in the day and loved it. Still do. When I was transferred to an investigative unit I changed to a 3 1/2" barrel and carried it in a custom made shoulder holster. Yeah the N Frame is quite a bit heavier than the K Frame, but I find it a lot easier to keep the front sight on target because of that weight. Eventually we were issued Berettas and later Sigs, but I still love my 27.

    The Model 28 Highway Patrolman is, to my knowledge, the same gun without the beautiful finish. They were issued to a lot of agencies and most were very happy with them, as I recall.
    Last edited by zero67; 05-20-2018 at 09:13 AM.

  4. #4
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    Everything was too heavy to carry for the capacity back then, but that's looking back having the polymer striker fired pistols in our frame of reference. The Model 27/28 was viewed as a top choice for shooting lots of .357 Magnum or as an impact weapon (and that's not a joke). The level of quality was usually top notch and you could get the grips you wanted, action jobs, etc. to create a great duty gun. This may create a storm, but it's the truth: they're still a viable choice today as a duty gun. You needed to know how to shoot well, not a lot. That's a lesson that lots of folks need to learn today.
    Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
    Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Dobbs View Post
    Everything was too heavy to carry for the capacity back then, but that's looking back having the polymer striker fired pistols in our frame of reference. The Model 27/28 was viewed as a top choice for shooting lots of .357 Magnum or as an impact weapon (and that's not a joke). The level of quality was usually top notch and you could get the grips you wanted, action jobs, etc. to create a great duty gun. This may create a storm, but it's the truth: they're still a viable choice today as a duty gun. You needed to know how to shoot well, not a lot. That's a lesson that lots of folks need to learn today.
    Would you say the same about a K frame ?

    Side note for fun-I work with a guy who carries a Model 19. It's in a holster not suitable for duty use and he carries his speedloaders on the back of his belt, above his butt.
    Last edited by TheNewbie; 05-20-2018 at 09:51 AM.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter Hambo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Dobbs View Post
    Everything was too heavy to carry for the capacity back then, but that's looking back having the polymer striker fired pistols in our frame of reference. The Model 27/28 was viewed as a top choice for shooting lots of .357 Magnum or as an impact weapon (and that's not a joke). The level of quality was usually top notch and you could get the grips you wanted, action jobs, etc. to create a great duty gun. This may create a storm, but it's the truth: they're still a viable choice today as a duty gun. You needed to know how to shoot well, not a lot. That's a lesson that lots of folks need to learn today.
    I wish I could hit the like button a lot more.
    "Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA

  7. #7
    27 and 28 are as good as it gets. I like the 19 better for carry tho.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Hambo View Post
    I wish I could hit the like button a lot more.
    Wayne's post made me wish we had an "amen" button in addition to a "like" button.
    I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.

  9. #9
    Although not a 27/28, I did carry an N frame .45 Long Colt S&W revolver in both a 4 and 5 inch for several years as a cop during some of the busiest crime periods in the last 50 years. All but 2 officers I knew of in an agency of around 200-250 officers carried the optional N frames on duty. Here is my take. A different gun for a different time. Cops shot a lot back then. Not as far as round counts, but frequency. We qualified monthly. Most practiced at least bi weekly. Shooting awards on uniforms actually meant something and were a sign of your prowess as a cop. Competition based around shooting was common, although declining significantly in my time. You didn’t get new guns. Often, in the middle of the 20th century, you carried and shot the same duty gun for 30 years. “Armorers” were like today’s master gunsmiths in many large agencies. Prior to the mid 70’s and an influx of folks who were smaller physically, females, and recruits from non-shooting backgrounds or cultures, ammo changed. You saw a HUGE swing away from Magnum calibers as duty and training loads and a complete domination by the K frame sized guns as cops changed. Weight wasn’t a huge factor, as we didn’t carry as much crap, and with physically large officers, N frames simply felt good. Yes, we also hit a lot of folks with guns, and N frames were great as an expedient impact weapon. My old duty gun has teeth marks in the trigger guard and earned the nickname “The Hebrew Hammer” from an incident as a trainee cracking a felon with it.
    Training was often done with the 27/28’s and their precursors with full house magnum ammunition that was hot. Those N frames were built for big bores and magnums. One of the best police rounds ever made, the .41 Magnum essentially failed because of a lack of a “special” round and it was only in an N frame in a time when the size of cops who could handle a Magnum loaded N frame shot regularly was declining. When I was a kid in Los Angeles in the 60’s, LAPD cops were huge. Usually well over 6 feet and a ton were true greatest generation veterans of both WW2 and/ or Korea. Totally different kind of cop. N frames in agencies that did not issue them tended to be a sign of a “Gun Guy”. I have a 3.5”Registered Magnum from LAPD. The folks who remembered the guns said they remember 2 cops who carried them and both were very serious gunfighters who had shot a ton of crooks......sort of says something.
    Today, with my arthritis issues, my true shooting service revolver is a beat old Model 28. It is a gun I love to both shoot and run with .38. I have 100%’d the LAPD Swat qualification with it in the last two Revovler Round Ups. I would have zero issue with taking that gun to a fight, especially loaded up with hot .357.
    Overall....glorious guns and the N frame Smith’s are simply a thing I absolutely love in the firearms world over everything else.
    Last edited by Dagga Boy; 05-20-2018 at 11:48 AM.
    Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
    "If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".

  10. #10
    As an aside, I'm planning on buying myself a .357 for my birthday this fall. While there's a pretty good chance that will be a used GP100, I am seeing Model 28s with some finish wear going for some very reasonable prices on Gunbroker.
    I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.

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