Hwy patrolman

[BCgunworks]

If your a hand gunner you need to seek out a model 28 and add it to your collection. Prices are climbing fast and you'll find no better field gun.

Here you can see a 28-2 pinned and rec I just picked up for $450. Tyler t and bonded ivory grips on the way.

These are absolute shooters. And their so over built you would think Ruger made them.

50 yards in the sitting. 158 xtp over blue dot.http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/18/9dd1967531aa4eb1d69181a8270284a0.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/18/428aad6b00f8f0177d44c4da3d100435.jpg

[RKJ]

I've got a 4" -2 and it's a shooter. You've got a dandy.

[Love Life]

Yep!!

[Le Loup Solitaire]

They are solid guns similar to the S&W 27 which has target trigger and hammer plus a fancier finish that was also available in a bbl length of 8 and 3/8". Otherwise its the same gun with bbl options of 4" and 6" . Rugged and down to business, it just keeps going like the battery bunny. A real sound value and worth having. A real performer for target work as well. LLS

[dubber123]

Not sure what dash mine is, but it is a 6" and a very good shooter. I got it in the mid 90's for $250 in excellent shape. They are quite rugged for the .357 cal. I do with they had a longer cylinder though.

[Leadmelter]

My first handgun, paid $125 back in 1973.
Shot out the 6" barrel, replaced it with a 4", still a great shooter.
Leadmelter
MI

[Scharfschuetze]

I have a Model 28-2 also. It's one of my favorite revolvers to shoot and I shoot it more than even my K Frame revovlers.

My favorite loads are "mid-range" 147 to 160 grain boolits at 1,000 fps.

[Petrol & Powder]

Overbuilt is the word that comes to mind when thinking about a N-frame chambered in .357. They're super strong and have great actions.
The sticky in the Wheelguns section of this forum that covers 75,000 wadcutters in a model 27 tells you just about everything you need to know about the model 27 or 28.

[Dutchman]

Early 70s they were $115 brand new. I bought two of them at different times. Still have the box for one of them.

High desert SoCal jackrabbits can be very aggressive. Takes a heavy load and steely nerves to face one down and live to tell about it. My favorite cast bullet in .357 Magnum was 358156.... and 35893.

Dutch

http://media.fotki.com/1_p,sbdsdqfdbgtgdtgxwfqbfsgtwfb,vi/rggftfkdrxwgqbrtkbk/4/28344/9895637/dutch81-vi.jpg

[sixshot]

Bought a 4" barrel model 28 in Sherman, Texas in 1967, new in the blue box for $93. I shot the heck out of that gun, turtles, frogs, armadillos, racoons, possums, snakes, rabbits, etc. When I got out of the service & back to Idaho I shot lots of jackrabbits, cottontails, a couple of coyotes, ground squirrels, badgers & a whole lot of just plain old plinking. I used 2 bullets mostly, the Keith 358429 & the Ray Thompson 358156 HP, both put up in 38 special brass. When you shot a rabbit with that HP it was like shooting a pillow, the hair would drift on the wind for 30 seconds after the shot it was so nasty.
I had a pair of Herretts Target stocks on it with a thumb rest. After many years I made a dumb mistake & traded it for a Remington 1100 shotgun & gave the shotgun to my brother when he graduated from the University of Idaho. Sure wish I had it back, I'd give another $93 for one!

Dick

[saleen322]

I had a 4" that I actually shot in Bullseye matches for a couple of seasons. I then happened into a 6" pre-model 28. Ending up selling them both but I kept my model 27. It is functionally the same gun.

[brtelec]

My buddy gave me a 1975 mdl. 28 6 inch for my birthday a couple of years ago. Unfired in the box. I fixed that quick, fast and in a hurry. This is my carry gun when I am out in the desert roaming around. Very accurate.

[imashooter2]

I've heard it said that the factory craftsmen knew that a Model 28 was very likely to end up on a Patrolman's belt and so they took pride in giving them their best work. True or not, they are great shooters. I paid $450 a few years back for this one. Maybe a bit too much, but the guy did throw in those old take off grips. [smilie=1:

http://imashooter2.com/pictures/28-2b-760.jpg

[Love Life]

She has been around the block. My constant desert companion loaded with the 358429 or 358477 over stout doses of Unique.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Had two of them, both 4" wish I'd had a 6" tube on one of em though. They lock up like a bank vault, the solidest .357 you can buy.

[FergusonTO35]

Nice guns. It always cracked me up how S&W tried to make a "compact" version with 3.5" barrel.

[Ithaca Gunner]

The 3.5" barrel was in the M-27 and I believe a hold over from days gone bye, before any K frame compact .357 revolvers were available. They just did what they could with what they had at the time for a "compact" .357 for plain clothes officers or anyone wanting a short barrel.357 for that matter. Never was sure myself why it lasted so long after the M-19 became available with a shorty bulldog 2.5" barrel, somebody must have been buying them though.

[376Steyr]

I found a used 4-incher in an Idaho Falls gunshop in the early '90s. I passing through, stopped at a small shop I had never been in, and spotted it with a $195 price tag on it. There was a loud bang in the shop as my hand broke the sound barrier as I reached for my wallet. Mine stays loaded with 358156 "Skelton" loads in 38 brass. It was well used when I got it, with a nasty tendency to spit lead. I recently put a replacement hand in it, verifying the alignment with a range rod, which seems to have helped.

[BCgunworks]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/19/dcd519f977c6708a5d2cd78c92a728db.jpg

Got the t grip and whites mounted up! :)

[Petrol & Powder]

Nice !

[Four-Sixty]

I about passed out when I saw the beauty in post #13.

[Wasalmonslayer]

You can not go wrong with a highway patrolman.
I have one and it shoots lights out. It is ugly as sin because someone stored it in there pillow so it has rust and all sorts of decay, but I would put it up against the shiniest pistol made and I bet it would out shoot it.
It is like a junk yard dog it eats anything you put in it and smiles while doing so!

They will pry this one from my cold dead fingers it will never leave my safe...

[salvadore]

I also have minty 6" M-28 that I shoot Skeeter and Elmer loads thru. The 358156 over 13.5grs of 2400 is primo along with 358429 using 2400 is deadly.

[Three44s]

I have a pre-number five screw that has an issue .......... I and others believe the ejector rod is bent as the ejector sticks a bit in certain positions but not in another.

It's quite shootable and looks pretty good and it did not cost an arm or two either.

It looks like it got out of time and some numb skull ran it around dry firing for a while ........ the firing pin peened the ends of the star and inside edge of the cylinder .......

Best regards

Three 44s

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Zero MIM parts, true carbon steel and hand made. Puts modern guns to shame. Great pics, thanks for sharing!

[richhodg66]

I have a 27-2 which was too good a deal to pass up. Way overbuilt for a .357, but it sue is comfortable to shoot and accurate. The recessed chambers caused me fits at first, I had to drive a long way to my range at the time and threw some ammo I had loaded up for the Ruger in the truck. Loaded up and the cylinder wouldn't close, Doh! Didn't get to shoot it that day.

N frame smiths are awsome creations, even for me as I have fairly small hands and short fingers, just awfully massive and heavy to carry.

[Char-Gar]

I got my first Model 28 in 1964 in a gun trade with a Houston PD officer. I have not been without one or more since that day, nor would I. Today I am down to two, a 4" and a 6", both bought new back in the day. The Model 28 is on my short short list of must have handguns.

[warboar_21]

The model 28 was the first centerfire handgun I ever fired. I have wanted one exactly like it since I could remember. Every time I have money set aside and think I should buy one I find something else I just have to have.
I really need to get my hands on a 4" Model 28. If it had Indiana State Police on the side of it I would be even happier.

[StrawHat]

I got a Model 28-2 in the 70s, back when I was enamoured with the 357 cartridge. I cast and shot many thousands of the Skeeter load (358156 in 38 Special cases), and enjoyed it for a while. Then the idea of carrying all that extra iron got to me. I had the barrel bored and rifled to accept the 45 caliber bullet and installed a new 25-2 cylinder and had my perfect packing piece. I even carried it on duty for a while.

It is the revolver in the lower left position, along with a few other 45 ACPs.
156118

Kevin

[flint45]

I love mine shoots great but I think I paid to much for it $150.00:bigsmyl2: a few years ago!

[EMC45]

Nice 28s guys. Last one I saw was in a Pawnshop in Perry GA a few years back. It was freckled all over and the high spots were silver. The gun was tight as factory new though and it was priced at around $189.99 I think. It looked kind of rough sitting next to a 90% or better gun, but it was super tight and I should have bought it..... :(

[376Steyr]

"and I should have bought it..... :sad:"
Always yield to temptation, you may not get a second chance.-Mae West (or Mark Twain, maybe W.C. Fields)

[FN in MT]

I carried a 4" M-28 for several years as a MT Highway Patrolman. Always thought that was kind of neat. When we finally went to autos we were all allowed to purchase our issued 28's for the "trade in" value allowed by whoever was selling us our new nines.

I recall sending in a check for $114 or maybe $140?

Mine was so blue worn I sent it in to S&W this past summer and had it refinished. Looks like the day it was issued.

Those old N-fames were tanks.

[sixshot]

All of you that are or were in law enforcement, thank you for your service & Merry Christmas!

Dick

[Wayne Smith]

I have a 28 and a 27, both 6". Need to take them out to exercise. Merry Christmas, too.

[Windwalker 45acp]

yep, tis my favorite .357... of any kind.
I've cast and shot many, many thousands of .45acp in various 1911's, I have just started to cast and shoot .38spc/.357 in the M28. Mine's a dash 2.

Getting a light primer strike occasionally, but that's an easy fix with a flat screwdriver.
She's a nail-driver if I do my part.

[alamogunr]

Don't know how I missed this until now. I have 2 model 28's. Both were 6" barrels. I sent the one with a little play to Jim Stroh a few years ago and had it converted to .44 Spec. He recommended a 5" barrel so I let him trim it and remount the front sight. The other was as tight as a new gun so I put some custom grips on it and plan to shoot it for the rest of my life.

[9.3X62AL]

A Model 28 x 6" was the first new handgun I bought upon turning 21 in 1976. Never should have let it get away, but who would have thought in 1977 that S&W would ever be so STUPID as to halt production of such a useful and practical device? At least they haven't stopped making L-frames......yet.

I have a pre-27 x 6.5" that will be going back to S&W for a bit of barrel work (.011" cylinder gap) as soon as I make my mind up about WHICH barrel length to install. Nothing wrong with the 6.5" tube except its wide gap, and it shoots well--but more than 5% velocity fall-off from that of my 686 x 4". Annoying. Per its Jinks letter, it started life as a 3.5", and it seems like a restoration to its OEM form would be *nice*........except for the BARRELS DON'T EXIST IN THE ENTIRE KNOWN WORLD part. Maybe a 5" tube is around someplace, and it would "match up" with the 4 other D/A Colt/S&W rollers in the safe with 5" barrels nicely. I suspect ANY M-27 barrel is close to "unobtainium" status these days, so I might be best served to have S&W turn the present barrel in one rotation--face off the forcing cone to .003"-.004" cylinder clearance, and call it good.

That velocity loss percentage in spite of the 686's shorter barrel is constant across the spectrum of loads I use in the gun--from 750 FPS HBWCs to full-power Magnums. E.G.--Federal #357B (125 grain JHPs) authorized for 357s by my shop for duty use get very close to the published claims of the maker from my 686 x 4"--1425 FPS. The 6.5" pre-27 manages 1350 FPS or thereabouts. Still no slouch, and accuracy is acceptable--but I can't help thinking that proper clearances would enhance performance. I'm not one to fix things not broken......maybe this one isn't "broken enough" to justify all the fuss and bother.

[dubber123]

Al, they made a run of 3.5 and 5" M27's in the 90's. The odds are still not in your favor, but that should help as far as finding a barrel. I have one of the 5" ones from that run, and S&W got that one 100% right. Not something I can say for the FIRST 5"er I had from that batch. Worst Smith I have EVER seen.

[Nueces]

Al, I have a Smith 5-screw 27 barrel in 3.5" you can have if you like. I converted it's original revolver to 44 Special, using a factory 4" barrel, in the mid 70s. It's in fine shape, serial number is S137xxx. I think boarding it for 40 years is enough and I can't think of a better fate than to restore one of it's mates.

PM me your address and I'll send it to you with best wishes.

Pertinent to the thread, I have had 3 5-screw 28s, all with the 4" barrel. One, I converted to 44 Special, with another factory barrel, this one in 6 1/2" length.

Another was a Texas DPS issue. I remembered seeing it holstered in the belt of an officer who used to come in to McBride's Gun Shop, Austin, Texas, back in the 70s. It was recognizable because he had carved the flat butt of the target stocks into an outline of Texas. When it came into the shop, I hit it. This one stays as it is.

The last one will be fitted with a 6" barrel I recently got on ebay.

Good, solid sidearms.

[onceabull]

OMG, 9.3x62, that is ONE HECK of a Chrtistmas present....Onceabull

[dubber123]

OMG, 9.3x62, that is ONE HECK of a Chrtistmas present....Onceabull

No kidding, if Al is off basting a Xmas ham or something dumb, he deserves a good whipping :) Nueces, you are a heck of a dude for this offer.

[Nueces]

Fellas, Al and I have been PMing back and forth. His revolver has quite an interesting story, worth the effort to restore it. He can tell the story if he wants.

Really, this is no big stretch for me. If I showed you my barrel and cylinder collection of 50 years, you'd easily understand. This is my only 3.5" 27 barrel, but, having sat on it since 1976, I'm confident that it has met it's destiny with Al's sidearm. I don't believe I could make anything better out of it. A few bucks can't buy that sort of satisfaction.

[Scharfschuetze]

With all the nice photos so far of 28s. I got mine out and snapped a photo. It's a 28-2.

[9.3X62AL]

This spin-off story line has taken on a life of its own, and as Nueces states is worthy of a thread all its own. A complete account will follow as soon as some research I have initiated bears fruit. I will seek out Buckshot's assistance for a bit of photo journalism to help tell the story as best possible. We often read or hear about the stories a given firearm can tell about its owners and their lives and times, and this one is shaping up to be very interesting. More to come.

[tenx]

the N frame smiths are like the old lays potato chip commercial, once you try them you just can't stop yourself, you gotta have another, and another and....

[2wheelDuke]

I just got a 28-2. Merry Christmas to me. It doesn't look like it's been used much, if at all. Might be time for a nice mold for it. Any suggestions?

[BCgunworks]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/31/bd2c8a24e072d3a3ce9597dedf8810c3.jpg

[Windwalker 45acp]

that's purdy bc.......

I've a set of hogue's on mine, don't care for the way they look, but they make shooting nice...

[Big Boomer]

Love all the pics of those lovely S&W M28s & 27s. I had a pristine M27 8 3/8ths way back in the late '70s. Traded it even for a minty S&W M57 .41 Mag. Haven't regretted that either. Several years back an old friend was hard up and sold me his prized S&W M27 nickeled and with a 5" barrel. Only one I've ever seen, though I know about three others, so I know there are 4 of them. Mine is tight and in really good shape. An old gunsmith said it was a LEO carry gun, carried a lot and shot very little. Had Pachmeyers plus original grips. When I learn how to use a camera and post a pic I'll come back and show it off a bit. Big Boomer

[dubber123]

Love all the pics of those lovely S&W M28s & 27s. I had a pristine M27 8 3/8ths way back in the late '70s. Traded it even for a minty S&W M57 .41 Mag. Haven't regretted that either. Several years back an old friend was hard up and sold me his prized S&W M27 nickeled and with a 5" barrel. Only one I've ever seen, though I know about three others, so I know there are 4 of them. Mine is tight and in really good shape. An old gunsmith said it was a LEO carry gun, carried a lot and shot very little. Had Pachmeyers plus original grips. When I learn how to use a camera and post a pic I'll come back and show it off a bit. Big Boomer

I picked up a very nice 4 screw 5" model 27 recently for the princely sum of $275 from of all places, a gun shop :) Super smooth action on that one.

[StrawHat]

I just got a 28-2. Merry Christmas to me. It doesn't look like it's been used much, if at all. Might be time for a nice mold for it. Any suggestions?

Many fellow like the Lyman 358156, 358429 or the 358439, or equivalents. I am partial to the 358439 but use it with 38 Special brass.

Kevin

[Butzbach]

The 3.5" barrel was in the M-27 and I believe a hold over from days gone bye, before any K frame compact .357 revolvers were available. They just did what they could with what they had at the time for a "compact" .357 for plain clothes officers or anyone wanting a short barrel.357 for that matter. Never was sure myself why it lasted so long after the M-19 became available with a shorty bulldog 2.5" barrel, somebody must have been buying them though.

Your post reminded me of a M-29 I had with that 3.5" barrel. One gun writer said it had the "illusion of conceal-ability." I had Magna-port put a 6" ported barrel on it. Big mistake. That round butt definitely did not balance the 6" barrel. Live and learn. The guy I sold it to was happy.

[Butzbach]

Bought a M-28-2 on GunBroker last year. It came with a damaged rear sight blade (undisclosed) so I had to replace it with one from Numrich. Just function checked it with 38s a couple of weeks ago. Shooting 38 Specials in it is very pleasant. Waiting for some new spectacles before I do any more range work. I'll be looking to work up a long range load for it with some Sierra 170 gr. FMJs I have. I had a model 29 for many years so I am an N-frame fan for sure. Here she is:

156984156985

[Butzbach]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/31/bd2c8a24e072d3a3ce9597dedf8810c3.jpg
You sir have excellent taste in firearms, gunleather, grips and photographic composition and color palate!

[BCgunworks]

You sir have excellent taste in firearms, gunleather, grips and photographic composition and color palate!

One of many classics.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/01/a5192118f4064308d6433a813397b079.jpg

This old 15 was too rough to polish out. Bead blast and blue and nitre blue small parts

[BCgunworks]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/02/b051cad0ef529d727a79d93a29a36816.jpg

Working up the hog loads. 158 xtp over h110

25 yards

The 158 lswc powder coat is shooting great as well. Uniformed the cylinder throats and it likes the Missouri cast.

[ErnieBishop]

That is some good shooting and beautiful rig to boot.

[2wheelDuke]

157343

-2, internet says 1974-1977 production.

[Jtarm]

I passed on an 8 3/8" model 27 for $260 back in 1997. Now good ones are bringing 4 figures.