This time, a model I knew nothing about; a Mod. 547. It's an interesting design....6-shot 9mm K-frame and no need for moon clips. Apparently, S&W developed it for the French police in the 1980's but they decided to stick with their trusty Manhurin MR73's.
Guess I'm glad I went back for it. I looked at it Friday afternoon while picking up another firearm that I had on hold and then texted the shop manager later that evening asking him to put the 547 aside for me.
Great find. The 3" is awesome. I see them occasionally but never in that condition. If you shoot it please report. As an aside, when you see the craftsmanship on one of those, you can see why everything is about plastic now. You can probably stamp out 100 M&P's in the time it takes to make one of those
Very cool! I've always been intrigued by these, but never had the opportunity to handle one. I'd have a hard time not buying one if I found it in a shop. Question...how does one get around hanging up the cartridges on the little ejector nubs when loading the gun? Do they only extend out when the ejector rod is depressed? I take it there's also a ridge inside the cylinder for the 9mm cartridge rim to headspace on?
Posts: 8541 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Originally posted by 92fstech: Question...how does one get around hanging up the cartridges on the little ejector nubs when loading the gun? Do they only extend out when the ejector rod is depressed? I take it there's also a ridge inside the cylinder for the 9mm cartridge rim to headspace on?
Here's a 'Hickock45' video where he shows how the 9mm is retained without a moonclip. You can see why they probably stopped making them, very involved and probably expensive to build:
We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln
I love my 547 I bought new back in the 80’s. Took it everywhere with me. Very accurate and a joy to shoot. Will have to take it out shooting more now that I have the time.
I had the opportunity to handle one of these a few years ago at the LGS. Not as nice as this one, and the asking price was steep, so I passed. The store owner told me his version of the origins of this revolver - and matches what I found on another website:
"In the late 1970's, the Israelis wanted to arm the Palestinian Police force with a 9mm handgun, but didn't trust them with an autoloading pistol. Instead, they wanted a simple-to-use revolver chambered in 9mm (and by "simple-to-use", they meant "no-moon-clips"). They contracted with Smith & Wesson to make it for them."
The Israelis cancelled the contract and S&W sold the remaining 547s to the gun buying public. I have quite a few S&W revolvers and this would have been a nice add to the collection - maybe next time.
____________________________________________________ Easily distracted by shiny things
Posts: 75 | Location: Biggest Little City in the World | Registered: January 16, 2011
Neat! I bought a new 3" 547 back when they were in production, another LNIB 547 at a gun show years ago. Those revolvers worked as designed with any of the, quite a few, different types of factory and hand loaded ammo I used. That ingenious and expensive ratchet/ejection system worked perfectly, even with the higher pressure NATO, +P, and +P+ ammo.
Of course, I failed to perceive that in the fullness of time, the 547s would become desirable and expensive collectors items
NRA Life
Posts: 1563 | Location: Under the Tonto Rim | Registered: August 18, 2003
