Smith & Wesson Classic frustration

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bikemutt

bikemutt

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So today, while playing hookey and doing an out of town gunshop prowl, I finally get to handle a S&W 27 Classic.

The only flaw I could see was the hole above the release latch. It was a 4" gun which I'm not interested in at present. The price was reasonable considering MSRP and what I perceived to be a high quality handgun. Had it been a 6" specimen, I'd be writing this from a debtor's prison cell.

But here is the problem as I see it, I'm willing to spend the dough and take a chance buying a brand new S&W 27 Classic but they are nowhere to be found. Online or otherwise. Many of the other Classic models appear to have the same unobtanium status.

It just seems silly to me to offer these Classics, tease customers with a pretty website and gorgeous pictures, and then give them no way to buy the product. Either I'm looking for love in all the wrong places, or their ain't no love :(
 
You will probably have better luck watching for a 27-2. Better gun and cheaper too.

I have picked up 4 real dandy's in the last 2 years.
 
It's just not S&W.
Everybody is out of everything anyone wants to buy.

After the election, folks will need to pay rent again and gun sales will slow down enough to catch up, maybe?

As for the 6" 27 Classic?

Why make them when you can sell 500 snubbys for every 6" classic you can make??
Filling the CCW demand is all that sells new S&W revolvers right now.

rc
 
I agree with Iggy. It would be easier to find a 27-2. I've picked up a couple of them in the last year, one still in the presentation case with all the extras. In that time I've only seen one "new" 27, and it was priced considerably more than the -2's I bought. Almost twice as much now that I think about it. And my -2's aren't beaters by any means.
 
Keep this in mind.

Dealers stock what they can sell. Right now, the hot guns are those for self-defense; semi-automatics, small-framed revolvers, etc.

Model 27's, unfortunately, don't fall into that category. If you want one, your dealer could likely find one at a wholesaler.

Frankly, I'd prefer the 4" version to the 6" model.
 
I understand buying an older Smith like a 27-2, 28-2 etc, and I own a few of them. I was just hoping to own one of the new ones as well.

I suppose it does make sense that Smith will keep the factory humming making what the distributors, dealers and customers are clamoring for.

Well, I'll keep looking, I've been struck by dumb luck more than a few times :)
 
Patience will net you the best price...:)....personally I feel the new ones aren't worth the price they seem to fetch. Having said that, it's your moola and when you find the right one you will know and happily plunk down your hard earned dough.
 
The "New Classics" often cost as much or more then the original "Old Classics," but the new ones are a far cry from the previous ones. Yes, the cosmetics are fairly well done, but under the paint and lipstick you will find a current-day platform with all the manufacturing shortcuts that were necessary to make them competitive in today's market.

Obviously they're some who will pay big-bucks for a cheapened copy while for approximately the same amount of cash they can get the real thing. All I can say is that the Old Fuff isn't one of them. Take a hint - used, ( and for that matter, new) "current classics" are usually discounted while the original ones keep going up and up. :uhoh:
 
I don't mean to discourage bikemutt if he's satisfied with a New Classic. but what made the flagship model 27 what it was, was the careful handwork that went into it. If they duplicated it today, what came out would cost much more then what the copies are going for.

The reason they don't make them like they used to is because if they did they'd price themselves out of any viable market - and they know it. What they do make is a product they can sell and make a profit. This is understandable, but it doesn't make them better.
 
The reason they don't make them like they used to is because if they did they'd price themselves out of any viable market
Click to expand...

Since Dan Wesson is back to building revolvers without injection-molded internals on a much smaller scale than S&W at prices about the same as a new "classic" I would say that this has now been proven to be, at least, a partially inaccurate statement.
 
Part of the reason I'm cutting S&W slack with these "new" classics is I do own a few of their specialty revolvers that have no heritage in the real classic world; a model 396 Ti .44 spc, a 329PD scandium .44 mag and a Governor. The first two guns are for carry use in town and in the woods respectively where for me, their light weight is of paramount importance. The Gov is my bedside buddy.

I'm not saying these are the be-all and end-all of revolvers but I'm hard pressed to say they are without merit or a poor value. I wish two of the three were dispossessed of their integrated locks but that's about it. They have proven to be fine handguns and have given me no reason to distrust them.

Of course the story of those three is all about materials; metallurgy. So, going back to the classics where good old fashion steel is where it's at, I don't believe it's axiomatic that because the real classics were built in a fashion, and from materials relevant to that period, that a facsimile of a classic must be inferior because it's built from materials, and in a fashion commensurate with our present period.

Cheaper knockoffs of the S&W classics have been around for a long time, Taurus, Rossi and others, so maybe Smith decided to try and build a better knockoff of their own classics, who knows.

I can afford to buy one to see if I like it, if I'm wrong, I'll sell it in a heartbeat and use the money to buy a crow pie dinner :) And yes, there will be a seat at the table for Guillermo and Old Fuff, they will be served prime rib :D
 
I own an original Smith & Wesson model 27-2, with 3.5" barrel from 1977. Its
virtually UNFIRED, with an UNTURNED cylinder; in the original mahogany case
with all UNUSED tools, warranty card, and a complete set of documents from
the time frame (S&W ammo, leather brocheures, etc.) Its not for sale, but I
have been offered $1K for it sight unseen~! ;) :) :D
 
I own an original Smith & Wesson model 27-2, with 3.5" barrel from 1977. Its
virtually UNFIRED, with an UNTURNED cylinder; in the original mahogany case
with all UNUSED tools, warranty card, and a complete set of documents from
the time frame (S&W ammo, leather brocheures, etc.) Its not for sale, but I
have been offered $1K for it sight unseen~!


Jeez I wonder why?.....I'd put a money order in the mail in the morning, and I have 4 27-2s already.:cool:
 
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I can afford to buy one to see if I like it, if I'm wrong, I'll sell it in a heartbeat and use the money to buy a crow pie dinner
Click to expand...

The one "new" 27 I looked at looked nice. No idea how it shot, but it was a looker. It was more expensive than the two -2's I've got, but it also had a bunch of "engraving" that I wouldn't want on a gun anyway, new or old. The price probably would have been lower without that, but I don't know how much lower.

The two "new" Smith & Wessons I've got experience with, a 21-4, and a 25-13, have both been nice looking and in some limited shooting (so far) have shot just fine. Are they "better" than the old guns? Probably not, but I'm not schooled enough in such things to really tell the difference. Yes, they're different, but I don't know if that means worse.

Either way, I've been satisfied with them all, old and new.
 
I don't know if that means worse.
Click to expand...

depends on your definition.

The new Smiths, with the idiot lock and the injection molded internal parts go "boom" (unless they lock themselves)

They usually shoot straight.

As Ed Brown puts it "the current thinking is that MIM parts are "good enough" for firearm applications, this thinking doesn't fit with our philosophy at all"

My thought is, "why pay a premium for a gun with injection molded internal parts?"

If I am going to pony up the cash, why not buy a revolver that is manufactured like the very best that S&W has to offer? Since it used to be the norm, just buy used.

For me it is an easy decision.

YMMV



YMMV
 
The "New Classics" often cost as much or more then the original "Old Classics," but the new ones are a far cry from the previous ones. Yes, the cosmetics are fairly well done, but under the paint and lipstick you will find a current-day platform with all the manufacturing shortcuts that were necessary to make them competitive in today's market.
Click to expand...
That's it in a nutshell.
 
I see the S&W "classics" as overpriced knock offs of the real S&W's.

The current company calling itself S&W is peddaling junk at scalpers prices simply because it bears the famous trademark.

Why anyone would pay more, for less gun, is beyond me.

I will continue to seek out and purchase the real S&W's made prior to 2001.
 
Thaddeus Jones said:
I see the S&W "classics" as overpriced knock offs of the real S&W's.

The current company calling itself S&W is peddaling junk at scalpers prices simply because it bears the famous trademark.

Why anyone would pay more, for less gun, is beyond me.

I will continue to seek out and purchase the real S&W's made prior to 2001.
Click to expand...
I have stated my reasons previously in the thread but I'll mention it again. I actually own 3 of the new guns and I don't find them to be junk, nor did I find them to be priced beyond their value. If we consider pre-lock models such as the 686 and others that are also more modern than not, then I own more than three. I also have the pleasure of owning a few of the true classics and yes, I can tell the difference. For me the differences go both ways; there are things I like better about the new guns and vice versa, the integrated lock being the thing I like least about the new ones.

Anyway, to each his own :)
 
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