627 Pro Series ammo question ?

[WIN1886]

I was told by a local source to practice more with 38 special ammo and only use 357 mag loads for when necessary ! I bought the N frame Smith so I could practice more with full power 357 ammo to adjust to it and have it sighted in for my hunting loads ! I love this revolver by the way....it is very accurate and the recoil is not bad with full power ammo ! I mainly use 357 ammo with 158 gr or heavier bullets in the 627........think this is okay for practice ? Thanks !

 

[Webleymkv]

The 627 will handle copious amounts of .357 Magnum ammo without issue and there is no reason to restrict your usage of the gun to .38 Special ammo if you don't want to.

The "shoot .38's and carry .357's" advice is usually applied to K-Frame Magnums including the models 13, 19, 65, and 66. Even with those, that advice is somewhat exaggerated as even K-Frames can typically withstand thousands of rounds of full power .357 Magnum ammo so long as bullets no lighter than 140gr are used. The weakness of the K-Frames was that the forcing cone was thinner in the six o'clock position and somewhat prone to cracking in that spot if fed a steady diet of lightweght magnums (the full power 125gr loadings were the most notorious offenders).

The N-Frames such as your 627, however, have very thick forcing cones and I don't believe I've ever even heard of one cracking much less seen it in person. Whoever told you that your revolver was not up to a steady diet of .357 Magnum ammo was severely misinformed.

 

[Shotgun693]

There a good chance your Grandson might need to send the gun back to Smith for a little tune up. I doubt you will.

 

[bds32]

I hate shooting 38's in a .357 because of the crud buildup in the cylinder. I reload .357 cases in a mild load. I agree that the n frame will handle the pounding. That is what it was designed for.

 

[Lambdebois]

My guess is that the person who was mis informed and telling the original poster this.... may not have been saying this because of the forcing cone or frame but possibly because there is less wall thickness between the 8 chambers of the cylinder. However I don't know if this is even true as I have never held an 8 shot 357 smith next to my 686+ to compare thicknesses of the cylinder walls. Just guessing. I've never read anything about an n frame having problems with heavy loads either. I doubt the performance center would chamber an n frame for 8 shots of 357s if the cylinder couldn't stand up to the abuse the 686+(7 shot) that an L frame cylinder could.

Why not ask S&W about corbon and buffalo bores heavy weight and hot loads for the 357 and if they are okay? Another one to ask them about would be the use of federal's 125 jg 357b JHP ammo or equivilent loads.... especially if your worried about the forcing cone as that and winchestor similar ammo was the ammo that was mostly blamed for forcing cones in K frames from what I've read.

I seriously would be very very surprised to learn you couldn't shoot the hottest factory loaded amunition all day in it....

I would love that gun if you don't like it... Will offer trade Just not my 686+

 

[WIN1886]

Thanks all for the replies ! I guess I was thinking more that the thinner wall thickness due to the 8 shot cylinder as being the reason he recommended not using a steady diet of 357 full power for practice....however , it doesn't make much since to me that S&W would restrict their largest framed 357 to shoot mostly 38 special ammo ! I will contact S&W just to see what they recommend for loads or any restrictions they might have for it...for the record , I doubt there is any but just want to be reassured ! If anyone has any further info I appreciate the replies , thanks !

 

[Webleymkv]

While the chamber walls are certainly thinner than those of an 8-shot N-Frame, they don't look all that much thinner to my eye than those of a medium frame 6 or 7-shot cylinder. Honestly, the only times I've ever heard of a quality revolver's cylinder letting go is with a grossly overpressure cartridge such as handloads which were mistakenly double or triple-charged.

 

[WIN1886]

S&W information !

I was informed that as long as the factory 357 magnum ammo used meets SAAMI specs the 627 Pro Series can be fed as much of it as you want ! This has to be my all time favorite revolver right now...it definitely is the most accurate , most comfortable to shoot , and has the smoothest DA of anything I've owned so far ! Mkay , I never owned a Python or Dan Wesson !

 

[Florida Guy]

The N frame is a workhorse.
I doubt you will ever wear it out no matter what ammo.