Smith & Wesson's Model 627- 5 357 Magnum Part 1

The Model 627-5 descended from revolver royalty. In 1935 S&W introduced its first 357 Magnum, the Registered Magnum. The Registered Magnum progressed to the pre World War II Non-Registered 357 Magnum, then to the Model 1950 and then the Model 27 in 1957. Models through to the 27 were all produced on square butt, alloy steel N frames.

The S&W Model 627 was introduced in 1987 as a special production, stainless steel 6 shot, built on the round butt N Target frame. The first 8 shot version was the Model 627-1, produced in 1997. Later that year, the production 8 shot Model 627-2 entered production with a floating firing pin and flat faced hammer. In 1998 a new generation frame was introduced along with the use of MIM parts. In 2002, an internal lock was added to the 357 Magnum version of this model, which became the S&W Performance Shop’s  Model 627-5. 1)

How do you fit 8 where 6 used to be?

This is not an attempt to compare the S&W 627-5 8 shot to Ruger’s GP100 6 shot other than dimensionally. The Ruger was at hand for the comparison, a S&W Model 66 was not. The GP100 is a medium frame revolver. The S&W 627-5 is a large frame revolver with a larger cylinder window.

 

The S&W has a 1.713″ diameter cylinder, as is the case with all N frame revolvers, compared to 1.550″ for the Ruger GP100. S&W L frame, medium frame, revolvers have 1.560″ diameter cylinders. With the N frame large cylinder diameter, the S&W Model 627-5 is able to offer an increased 8 round capacity and still maintain a 0.086″ outside chamber wall thickness and the frame cross section at the barrel is huge for a 327 Magnum at 0.900″.

With a nominal weight of 44 ounces, the Model 627-5 N frame weighs 7 ounces more than a S&W 6 round L frame revolver. For concealed carry, an extra half pound of metal and associated bulk might be a detriment. For home defense, recreational/competitive target shooting or hunting the extra weight tends to be of little consequence. The added heft lends itself to durability and tames the 357 Mag enough to make even full tilt loads easy to manage and easy to shoot accurately.

Too plain – Too fancy – Too Plain – To…

S&W had a flash of brilliance when they packaged the Model 627-5 with both fancy hardwood and soft synthetic grips. Perhaps they realized that whichever grip they provided, the customer would always want the other. Personally, I can’t feel much difference when shooting; grip resilience may be as important as shape.

The Model 627-5 built around a round butt N frame, which means not only a choice of hard or soft grips, but also square or round butt grip forms. I am not wise enough in  round butt versus square butt theology to cite practical pros and cons for either. I can say that Round butt revolvers are more concealable and they look pretty spiffy. However, I can shoot square butt revolvers accurately, more easily. From the standpoint of felt recoil, it is a toss up form me. The curved wood grip felt as comfortable under fire as the cushy rubber grip, but then a hundred years of recoil has desensitized me to the issue.

Now that’s a lot of lead for a revolver

The presence of the S&W 627-5 with a cylinder full of 180 grain jacketed hollow points is… ominous. Kind of reminds me of a helicopter rocket pod. The cylinder locks up at the ejector rear and a detent ball front and stays put, precisely indexing.

Shooting favorite handloads and other factory ammunition is on the near horizon, but I did want to run some ammo through the 627-5 before taking a break. It went something like the following…

Ammo ratings are based on 8″ vented test barrels, penetration and expansion are tied closely to velocity in a handgun, so clocking firearms always produces useful information.

The target above was shot casually with Remington HTP at 25 feet, two hand hold, braced against a back door. I shot three rounds, rifle habit, and put the revolver down. The 627 was so easy to shoot, I  picked it up and shot the next two. 5/8″ on widest centers. Can’t remember a 357 Mag that was easier on my wrists. I’m looking forward to running the rest of the live fire.

Summary

While handload assembly is in process, I will stop with the thought that Smith & Wesson’s Model 627- 5 357 Magnum is a beautiful revolver, nicely finished and quite enjoyable to shoot

 1)  Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson – Jim Supica and Richard Nahas

Smith & Wesson’s Model 627- 5 357 Magnum Part 1
Smith & Wesson’s Model 627- 5 357 Magnum Part 2