To the members who do not know, I am a fan of revolvers, Smith & Wesson in particular. The M627-6 V-Comp, that I am going to review, came in a plastic Performance Center box. I wish S&W still used the aluminum Performance Center case, but OK, I get it.
Here are the statistics:
Model: 627-5
Caliber: .357 Magnum
.38 S&W Special +P
Capacity: 8 Rounds
Barrel Length: 5"
Front Sight: Adjustable Orange Dovetail
Rear Sight: Adjustable
Overall Length: 11"
Action: Single/Double Action
Frame Size: Large - N frame
Weight Empty: 47 oz
Grip: Synthetic
Material: Stainless Steel Frame
Stainless Steel Cylinder
Finish: Two-Tone
Ammunition used: PMC .357 Magnum 158 Grs./ PMC .38 132 Grs.
The overall appearance of the gun is very good, fit and finish , very good. The two tone finish really looks different, but in a good way. The original grips are Hogues, but I shot the M627 with a set of Ahrends round to square butt conversion stocks. I just do not like rubber stocks. I set the target at 7 yards, loaded 8 rounds of .38. First thing I noticed is the weight of the gun. At 47 oz unloaded, it is no lightweight, and then add 8 rounds, well a bit heavy. Starting off in double action, I staged the trigger and let the first round go downrange. Trigger pull was not gritty, but very smooth. I realized that staging the trigger was going to take some getting used to. The next few rounds I worked on finding the breaking point in order to stage the trigger properly. After that, it was just putting rounds downrange. During the last cylinder, I went to single action. Wow! The trigger breaks cleanly in single action and is very light. I shot my best using while shooting single action. At 7 yards, the accuracy was very good. The front sights were easy to pickup, even in the dim lighting of the range. Of course the recoil was minimal due to the heavy frame and shooting .38 rounds. Shot a couple of cylinders, well several, and then decided to try some .357 rounds. There was very little difference in shooting the .357 rounds. Gun performed great, my accuracy was a little better with the .357 rounds than with the .38 rounds, but I believe that was more due to me getting used to the gun. Recoil was very manageable, in fact, it liked shooting the .357 rounds more than the .38.
I did not use any other ammunition other that what I had with me. I did not shoot any +P rounds, meant to but left them at home. Overall, I was very impressed, and so was my buddy that went with me. He is rather new to shooting, but really enjoyed this Smith. The good, just about everything. The bad, well, I cannot really say it is bad, but the compensator on the barrel. While it looks great on the gun, I have to admit that I could not tell a lot of difference with it on or off. I left the compensator on, fired a couple of cylinders, the took the compensator off, and fired a couple of cylinders of .357 rounds. Maybe if the .357 rounds were a little âhotterâ, instead of factory loads, I would have more feedback as to the effect of the compensator. But with our without the compensator the gun performed great.
One last thing, if I were not a fan of Smith & Wesson revolvers, I still believe I would have liked this model. Being a fan, I am really pleased. This is a competition gun, or home defense gun. While it could be carried daily, and look dang good on the hip, for most it would be just too heavy.
Here are the statistics:
Model: 627-5
Caliber: .357 Magnum
.38 S&W Special +P
Capacity: 8 Rounds
Barrel Length: 5"
Front Sight: Adjustable Orange Dovetail
Rear Sight: Adjustable
Overall Length: 11"
Action: Single/Double Action
Frame Size: Large - N frame
Weight Empty: 47 oz
Grip: Synthetic
Material: Stainless Steel Frame
Stainless Steel Cylinder
Finish: Two-Tone
Ammunition used: PMC .357 Magnum 158 Grs./ PMC .38 132 Grs.
The overall appearance of the gun is very good, fit and finish , very good. The two tone finish really looks different, but in a good way. The original grips are Hogues, but I shot the M627 with a set of Ahrends round to square butt conversion stocks. I just do not like rubber stocks. I set the target at 7 yards, loaded 8 rounds of .38. First thing I noticed is the weight of the gun. At 47 oz unloaded, it is no lightweight, and then add 8 rounds, well a bit heavy. Starting off in double action, I staged the trigger and let the first round go downrange. Trigger pull was not gritty, but very smooth. I realized that staging the trigger was going to take some getting used to. The next few rounds I worked on finding the breaking point in order to stage the trigger properly. After that, it was just putting rounds downrange. During the last cylinder, I went to single action. Wow! The trigger breaks cleanly in single action and is very light. I shot my best using while shooting single action. At 7 yards, the accuracy was very good. The front sights were easy to pickup, even in the dim lighting of the range. Of course the recoil was minimal due to the heavy frame and shooting .38 rounds. Shot a couple of cylinders, well several, and then decided to try some .357 rounds. There was very little difference in shooting the .357 rounds. Gun performed great, my accuracy was a little better with the .357 rounds than with the .38 rounds, but I believe that was more due to me getting used to the gun. Recoil was very manageable, in fact, it liked shooting the .357 rounds more than the .38.
I did not use any other ammunition other that what I had with me. I did not shoot any +P rounds, meant to but left them at home. Overall, I was very impressed, and so was my buddy that went with me. He is rather new to shooting, but really enjoyed this Smith. The good, just about everything. The bad, well, I cannot really say it is bad, but the compensator on the barrel. While it looks great on the gun, I have to admit that I could not tell a lot of difference with it on or off. I left the compensator on, fired a couple of cylinders, the took the compensator off, and fired a couple of cylinders of .357 rounds. Maybe if the .357 rounds were a little âhotterâ, instead of factory loads, I would have more feedback as to the effect of the compensator. But with our without the compensator the gun performed great.
One last thing, if I were not a fan of Smith & Wesson revolvers, I still believe I would have liked this model. Being a fan, I am really pleased. This is a competition gun, or home defense gun. While it could be carried daily, and look dang good on the hip, for most it would be just too heavy.
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