I think he was creating a dream revolver in his head, not an idea of building one from available parts. I agree with most of it. The Ti cylinders are a love hate with me. Great for lots of carry and little shooting guns. My Ti cylinder guns have steel gun training stand ins.
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".
I have no experience with a 327PC but I've carried a 329PD every day for over 2 1/2 years and here's some of my thoughts.
AIWB works fine, less so sitting down driving (but my gun is a 4").
IWB is easy sitting or standing.
OWB with a scandium N-frame is much more forgiving than with a steel gun due to the (lack of) weight. They can be carried higher and tighter than a steel N without being top heavy.
I need holster cant in iwb or owb to keep the butt from tenting my shirt.
I can cover all of the above with a t-shirt tho and do a lot of the time.
The Safariland 567 is just excellent and dirt cheap. The list of attachment options let you use it many ways. That holster will conceal with enough shit tail.
I like Comp I speedloaders and CD2 holders that are very secure even though they don't look like they will be.
I'm self employed and work outside, so my "dress code" is whatever I want it to be, keep that in mind but I believe most who carry a full size semiauto can carry a 4" N-frame (and the shorter barrel you're looking at, more so) if they want or need to.
Maybe something in there will be helpful to you, I've always carried 40+ ounce guns so the 3 series S&W's are really weightless in my world.
I’m squarely in the camp of not being comfortable with a striker fired pistol, even with a gadget, carried AIWB. We’re all responsible for our own salvation as a good friend often points out in these discussions.
My AIWB pistol is a SiG P225a1, which by the way is a greatly underrated solution.
I don’t think an N Frame is optimal for most people or situations for the reasons already stated. Particularly the short barreled versions - they’ll tend to want to rock out away from your body.
The 3” K Frames seem about perfect for me. Second would be a 2” K Frame. I also have a 3” Model 640 which I carry AIWB around the house.
Other manufactures such as Ruger and Kimber shouldn’t be discounted, it’s just I generally prefer Smiths. Having said that, the Wiley Clap 3”, Novak fixed sight GP-100 seems a good choice for this application.
If I were “reduced” to a revolver, I’d not lose any sleep over it. As was pointed out in the recent podcast, this will do for most things if you’ll do.
Semper Paratus,
Steve
I guess I’ll chime in here to encourage the OP a little: I’m *sort of* the guy DB is talking about. Let me clarify. By P-F standards, my level of training is nothing to brag about at all. By wider standards, I do Ok, having graduated from flagship courses taught by guys like Ayoob, Douglas, Graham, et al. I can draw, manipulate, and holster a SFA perfectly well, and I’ve been around firearms for more than 40 years without putting gunpowder-induced holes in anything not suited for it. That said, I’ve gravitated back to wheelies, and the fact that I enjoy them a lot is only part of the reason.
Due to the idiosyncratic nature of my work, I can have times where I can hit the range 3xweekly, no problem. I also have times where I may not have time to touch a gun in practice for as long as 2 1/2 months. This necessary on again/off again relationship with firearms—along with a high level of familiarity with wheelies, a decent amount of training time and some competition time with them, and a low-risk lifestyle leads me to conclude that a revolver makes sense for serious intentions.
I still have multiple Glocks—up to and including gadgeted G45, and I adore me some 1911 (see avatar tag). But I know my limitations, as detective Callahan famously opined, and I’d rather be a *highly* functional wheel gunner if the chips go down during the off seasons, than a 1911 or Glock shooter running on a thin and under-practiced margin of error. I know that I can confidently run a Night Cobra with 135 GDHP under-practiced, tired, etc., and that it will work for me.
Do the diligence; make educated and realistic choices. Simple, if not always easy.
JMO.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
I’ve had two of the 327pc’s.
Both were good revolvers. Good triggers, accurate and lightweight.
I didn’t think 357 recoil was that bad in the 327 but I had the 327 when I was also shooting 329’s.
The 327 weighs about 27ozs loaded but it is still a large n frame smith. I carried the 327pc iwb without troubles but the big cylinder dug into my hip.
Both 327pc’s got flame cuts on the face of the cylinders.
After the second 327pc I decided a snubby k frame or a d frame colt (new cobra) is a better option for me.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
OP there are a lot of options for smaller stocks/grips, just look around on the web.
Grips are a personal preference thing. I like Pachmayr Grippers on any and all DA revolvers, other people hate them.
Just remember that on the Airlite magnums you probably will want some decent gripping surface, it becomes a compromise at that point between small(er) size and "I actually have good control of the gun"
Looks like the OP has received good advice from people who have seen more and done more than me. I would only add that overall thickness contributes the most to concealability or lack thereof, followed closely behind by overall height/grip length. If you are carrying in a shoulder holster, the 8 shot N frame might work, but a 3” K frame would be much more concealable than an N frame with a shorter barrel, particularly IWB.
When I carried revolvers, a Detective Special was no problem to conceal, but a medium frame Dan Wesson .357 with a 2.5” barrel was problematic. The biggest problem was printing of the grip. That Dan Wesson is not as big as an N frame.
Small differences in weight will be largely unnoticed while carrying on a belt.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Any legal information I may post is general information, and is not legal advice. Such information may or may not apply to your specific situation. I am not your attorney unless an attorney-client relationship is separately and privately established.
A 327 is upwards of 900.00.
Honestly, I think you'd be better served buying 2 J-frames.
A pair of 442/642's could be had for much less and be far more flexible, not to mention comfortable.
Multiple ways to carry: ankle, pocket, belt.
YMMV.
Yep. Kind of funny.....because of this thread I had a thought that my 327 would be perfect in the bag on the walker I have to use for the next month. Sure enough, it is. I was at the gun shop today and in the back room I see two new Model 638’s with locks that I know they are a bit fat on and have been there awhile. I started thinking....I could buy the pair and along with the Glock 48 I acquired recently with 12 magazines would have a pretty good totally disposable travel package with not one bit of soul or pride of ownership.
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".