Back to the "Registered Magnum." The history of the manufacture of the revolver is interesting and has been gone over in detail many times. But I'll put it in a nutshell again.
"Registered Magnum" was never the official name of the handgun. Originally it was simply the .357 Magnum and for the first few years the guns were made to order only. For a lot of reasons, including demand, they were no longer necessarily a custom item that had to be ordered from S&W and at that point they could be bought at any hardware store. Production stopped for WWII and resumed after the war. When model numbers were assigned it became the Model 27. Through the entire pre Model 27 period (up to 27-3 at least) fit and finish stayed about the same. There was a slight fall off, as I said, in the late '70s. My model 27 has some really fine tool marks on the front right side of the ejector housing. You have to look really hard for them but they are there. That minor omission in polishing would never have happened even two years before mine was manufactured. After 1978, when countersunk charge holes and pinned barrels were omitted is where the real deterioration started.
Throughout production until at least the early 1980's you could still order a built to specification revolver. Mine is a 5" barrel example (not common but not really rare) example. It has a target hammer and trigger but a "Baughman Quick Draw" front sight so I suspect the original owner ordered it in that "hunting gun" configuration from S&W.
Current production can be had for about $1,000.00 but they are loaded with MIM parts, the "checkering" on the rear sight, top of the frame and barrel rib, I understand, is now laser etched. They have little or none of the hand work on the internals of the guns made through the 70s.
Dryheat and Allen, I agree about the report of the .357 Magnum. It is not only very loud but very sharp. I understand that .30 Carbine is worse out of a pistol which definitely makes me not want one of those!
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