This specimen was manufactured in 1979. The Steelers won the Super Bowl, Voyager photographed the rings of Jupiter, Greenland gained home rule, and Disco began its rapid downward spiral.
We also had the Jimmy Carter Rabbit Incident. That one never gets old.
The Highway Patrolman can be thought of as the utilitarian alternative to the Registered Magnum, which later came to be called the Model 27. While the Registered Magnums were wildly popular, their $60 price tag was a bit steep at the height of the Great Depression. Though they did not change the internals of the gun, Smith & Wesson chose to eschew some of the cosmetic features to cut costs and create a duty gun law enforcement and shooters on a budget could afford.
The Patrolman lacks the lustrous polished carbona bluing of its sister, instead having a subdued blued finish, blasted to a matte texture on the round edges. Where the 27 sported crosshatched checkering on the top strap, the Patrolman is flat and unadorned. This is the only Smith & Wesson revolver with target sights that does not have a ribbed top strap or rear sight. It was manufactured only in 4″ and 6″ barrel lengths.
(This is a bit odd, since the 3.5″ and 5″ barrels were the most popular lengths for the 27.)
Five years into production, the Highway Patrolman was prosaically renamed the Model 28. The 28 still retains its distinct barrel stamping, a unique trait to the model.
The 28 was originally sold for $85.00, and was produced until 1986. By then, .357 Magnum was largely the province of the L-Frame pistols, and the N-Frames were more popular in .44. The 27 had largely been replaced by the stainless 627, and I suppose a 628 would have been considered redundant.
Nonetheless, tens of thousands remain in circulation. While the Model 27 was the flagship and centerpiece of Smith & Wesson’s N-Frame Magnums, the 28 was the workhorse. It’s an accurate, reliable gun that handles even the most eyebrow-raising loads with aplomb.
What few Super Vels I have are kept for the sake of sentimentality, so I’m left with modern loadings, which are far tamer. Though the gun was sighted for 158gr loadings, it handled contemporary 125gr ammunition very well.
The Atlanta Arms semi-jacketed hollow point is a mild load, reaching ~1250 ft/s, and it seemed to hit closest to point-of-aim:
Surprisingly, the Black Hills jacketed hollow-points, which are around 1500 ft/s, patterned higher.
The 7:00 shot is actually a flier, as I was shooting double-action and still metabolizing my first cup of coffee. I plan to scrounge up some 158gr cast loads and see how she shoots with those.
The N-Frame a bit heavy for carry (a factor that led Bill Jordan to suggest K-Frames in .357), but as a house gun and shooter, this gun fits the bill just fine. While the 27 may have been Smith & Wesson’s masterpiece, the 28 is an understated classic.