Smith 28 trigger and hammer

yes

Bought my 28-2 new. Had to buy the target grips later.
The M27 parts were available from the factory. So i guess a target hammer & trigger could be dropped into a M28 later?

They were available as an option on almost every Smith K and N frame. They did change over the years and if you buy a Target Hammer and Trigger, make sure it will fit in the gun you are intending to put it in. Expample - A Model 66-1 will take a target trigger and / or hammer for a model 686 or earlier, but not one from a 686-1, which was the time of the change over.

Back when I had my gun shop, I used to travel to Springfield once a month. I would drop off a box of New Smiths and have them upgrade, the target hammers, triggers, sights were appropriate and stocks. All done for the cost difference only as the guns were new. I would tour the plant and have lunch then tour the Springfield Arsenal, then pick up my modified pistols and head back to New York.

Bob

rkittine said:

Back when I had my gun shop, I used to travel to Springfield once a month. I would drop off a box of New Smiths and have them upgrade, the target hammers, triggers, sights were appropriate and stocks. All done for the cost difference only as the guns were new. I would tour the plant and have lunch then tour the Springfield Arsenal, then pick up my modified pistols and head back to New York.

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Cool.

By the way, I have three Model 28s and none of them have a target trigger or hammer.

I only have one and it has regular hammer and trigger.
But then so does my Model 27.
Strangely, my Model 23 has target hammer and narrow trigger. And I like the combination.

There are also two different Target Hammers and Triggers. .4 " and .5" - The .5" triggers stick out the sides of standard Smith Trigger Guards and so are not recommended for use in a holstered pistol. The only Smith I have that does not have both a target hammer and trigger (Revolvers) is my Model 53 only because I have not been able to find a Target Hammer with the Center Fire / Rim Fire Change Over. They are extremely rare? Anyone have one for sale?

Bob

S&W has built so many non catalogued and non standard models over the years that they cannot tell you what or how many were produced. Lew Horton found out that if you order a minimum of 500 they'll build you pretty much anything you can dream up and in the 90s they did just that. But ask them how many 625-2 Model of 1988 guns they built and they will say they don't really know.

Many companies will make special runs for volume Buyers. My Don Yenko 69 Camaro was an example like Baldwin Motion Car, as are many of the Deal Remington 700 Packages at Dicks etc. Not uncommon at all. Bill Jenkins used to have Chevy make him 200 custom cam shafts, put a part number on them in the Chevy parts catalog and they were then legal in Factory Stock Class.

Bob

I used to buy a new 28 every three months along with a target trigger, hammer, grips and white outline blade and red ramp sight. Change all the parts and than take it to the show where we always had the same table. Never failed to sell it and make thirty or forty bucks. This was when wholesale on the gun was about $130 and we were dealers wish I had one each of the 4 and 6 inch models from back then.

Drail said:

S&W has built so many non catalogued and non standard models over the years that they cannot tell you what or how many were produced.

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Yes, many not in the catalog , special runs for some big dealers back in the 70s & 80s.

S & W PERFORMANCE CENTER PRODUCT CODES-http://www.nramuseum.org/gun-info-research.aspx Under serial number & date of manufacture.

"But ask them how many 625-2 Model of 1988 guns they built and they will say they don't really know."

Like this?

Drail said:

S&W has built so many non catalogued and non standard models over the years that they cannot tell you what or how many were produced. Lew Horton found out that if you order a minimum of 500 they'll build you pretty much anything you can dream up and in the 90s they did just that. But ask them how many 625-2 Model of 1988 guns they built and they will say they don't really know.

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The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson 4th Edition says: "Model 625-2 Bowling Pin Revolver: 45acp, 5" full lug barrel, RB, Pachmayrs, marked "45 Model of 1988", 5,708 made 1988-1989."

So the number made will be close to that.

It is confusing though as when the gun was introduced it was as the 625-2 (not as the 625 and no 625-1). Early guns can also be marked as Model of 1988 and as Model or 1989. So S&W and everyone else is unclear. Some were made in 45 acp and some 45 Colt.

My 6+1/2" 28-2 has a target hammer and trigger, and I would guess, there is no box, it came that way. The guy I bought it from was pretty sure his dad, who bought it new, didn't change it. I do like it better than the service triggers on both of my 4" 28-2's

I have spoken to 3 different S&W representatives and asked each one how many 625-2s were produced and they all told me nobody really knows. Apparently back in the early 90s when they were doing the "Gun of the Week" marketing no one was keeping accurate records. But they were selling guns like mad. I have a very early production 625-2 and it is the most accurate S&W I have ever seen. I have had it in a Ransom Rest numerous times and it just drills one big hole in the target out to about 18 yards. It helped me win a bunch of pin shoots in the 90s. I will never sell it.

rkittine said:

There are also two different Target Hammers and Triggers. .4 " and .5" - The .5" triggers stick out the sides of standard Smith Trigger Guards and so are not recommended for use in a holstered pistol.

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My M19-3 has the wide target trigger and hammer (and the box says TH and TT), as does my M57 no dash. The triggers do come out to the outside edge of the guard, but don't quite go wider than the guard. Both those triggers are grooved. My M28-2 has the narrower target hammer and trigger, but the trigger is smooth, which I like very much. I cannot see where the side plate has ever been removed; under 10X magnification, the screw slots look untouched, so I assume these were installed at the time of initial assembly.

I would think that since the model 28 was designed as an inexpensive alternative the the premium model 27 that few left the factory with the target triggers and hammers. However, from it’s introduction in the 50s and into the 70s, S&W would sell the components or install them in revolvers sent to them. I purchased a set of target hammer and trigger that was removed from a model 27. In that they had been matched and factory fitted, they required no gunsmitthing and dropped in the 28 perfectly.

As said earlier in this thread a department could order the M28 with certain modifications to them if desired. So could for many years individuals. The only way to tell that would be to get a letter from S&W.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearm-history-request

Such letters can tell you when the gun was shipped, where it was shipped to and if there were any factory mods to the gun including a different set of stocks.