TheFrontRange
Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2003
- Messages
- 538
A while back, I’d posted some shots of a trio of Model 27s I owned at the time, guns in 3-1/2”, 4”, and 5” trim. I wound up selling first the 4” gun and then even the 3-1/2.” Questionable decisions in hindsight that, at the time, made sense somehow.
I even went so far as to sell some dedicated 3-1/2” gunleather, thinking that I was moving forward with just the 5” gun (a very cool piece in its own right, and one that I’m glad I held onto).
Enter yet another 3-1/2” revolver, this one being a so-called “pre-27” of mid-1950s manufacture. I was smitten, and severely so. So much so, in fact, that I sold at least one really nifty (to me, anyway) 1911 and one or two lesser-grade guns to raise the scratch to nab it.
This .357 Magnum has its share of honest finish wear here and there. It came with a set of Eagle Grips Secret Service stocks and a set of non-factory Magna-style grips marked “AJE” (for Art Jewel Enterprises as I was later educated), neither of which really fitted to the gun quite right for my liking. Two things that really sealed the deal for me on this one: the previous owner had just sent the gun to Nelson Ford for his tuning package and a genuine Tyler T-Grip was part of the offering. I was able to grab a period-correct set of factory diamond Magnas, and I was off to the proverbial races (never mind that I managed to drop one of the factory diamond Magna stocks within a whole five minutes of receiving them, thereby inducing a minor chip!)
The effect of the Ford attention to the gun is telling. It’s not that the trigger-action on my 5” 27 is “bad” in any way, it’s just that the shorter-barrelled gun is demonstrably smoother. Slicker, somehow. It makes me want to send all of my revolvers West to Mr. Ford for his quite reasonably-priced basic tuning package.
For the time being, I’ve been using a small array of 4-inch N-frame OWB and IWB leather that I still have, but the desire for fresh goods properly-sized has had me reviewing a number of options. I will likely stick with my Barranti Leather 4-inch Summer Classic for IWB duty, but for OWB I believe I’m soon to order their Hank Sloan model, lined and in saddle tan for a bit of a “traditional” approach.
For the past few months I’ve been alternating carrying this gun and the 5” 27, with some increased carrying of the shorter gun as this year marks its formal 70th birthday. I really need to get this gun (and a couple of others) formally lettered by Mr. Jinks for the record.
Alas, after all of that blathering, some pics of the darn thing…
With the Eagle Secret Service grips:
With the AJE stocks:
Markings inside the AJEs:
With the factory Magnas and the Tyler T-Grip, where at last all seemed to fit just-right (the aforementioned and unfortunate “chip” visible here haha) :
A couple of shots of it posed with an assortment of goods, just for fun:
Finally, a few random shots of meaty N-frame goodness of the old-school variety haha:
I even went so far as to sell some dedicated 3-1/2” gunleather, thinking that I was moving forward with just the 5” gun (a very cool piece in its own right, and one that I’m glad I held onto).
Enter yet another 3-1/2” revolver, this one being a so-called “pre-27” of mid-1950s manufacture. I was smitten, and severely so. So much so, in fact, that I sold at least one really nifty (to me, anyway) 1911 and one or two lesser-grade guns to raise the scratch to nab it.
This .357 Magnum has its share of honest finish wear here and there. It came with a set of Eagle Grips Secret Service stocks and a set of non-factory Magna-style grips marked “AJE” (for Art Jewel Enterprises as I was later educated), neither of which really fitted to the gun quite right for my liking. Two things that really sealed the deal for me on this one: the previous owner had just sent the gun to Nelson Ford for his tuning package and a genuine Tyler T-Grip was part of the offering. I was able to grab a period-correct set of factory diamond Magnas, and I was off to the proverbial races (never mind that I managed to drop one of the factory diamond Magna stocks within a whole five minutes of receiving them, thereby inducing a minor chip!)
The effect of the Ford attention to the gun is telling. It’s not that the trigger-action on my 5” 27 is “bad” in any way, it’s just that the shorter-barrelled gun is demonstrably smoother. Slicker, somehow. It makes me want to send all of my revolvers West to Mr. Ford for his quite reasonably-priced basic tuning package.
For the time being, I’ve been using a small array of 4-inch N-frame OWB and IWB leather that I still have, but the desire for fresh goods properly-sized has had me reviewing a number of options. I will likely stick with my Barranti Leather 4-inch Summer Classic for IWB duty, but for OWB I believe I’m soon to order their Hank Sloan model, lined and in saddle tan for a bit of a “traditional” approach.
For the past few months I’ve been alternating carrying this gun and the 5” 27, with some increased carrying of the shorter gun as this year marks its formal 70th birthday. I really need to get this gun (and a couple of others) formally lettered by Mr. Jinks for the record.
Alas, after all of that blathering, some pics of the darn thing…
With the Eagle Secret Service grips:
With the AJE stocks:
Markings inside the AJEs:
With the factory Magnas and the Tyler T-Grip, where at last all seemed to fit just-right (the aforementioned and unfortunate “chip” visible here haha) :
A couple of shots of it posed with an assortment of goods, just for fun:
Finally, a few random shots of meaty N-frame goodness of the old-school variety haha:
