As I look back at my 35-year marriage to my Model 27, I am somewhat embarrassed to admit no big-game experience with it. I have taken a pile of small game and varmints with it but nothing larger than a snowshoe hare. It has been, and remains my go-to double-action revolver to develop and maintain basic shooting skills. It has had more than 50,000 chunks of lead forced down its bore; been rebuilt twice (the last time I was told I'd need a new cylinder if I shot it loose again); and suffered several of my home-brewed gunsmithing indignities. Nonetheless, I still love her as much as the first day we met.

Like every great idea, the Model 27 has spawned several great progenies, the first being the Model 28 Highway Patrolman. Inspired by requests from state agencies like the Texas Highway Patrol for a revolver as sturdy as the .357 Mag. but without the costly enhancements, the Highway Patrolman is identical to its dandy-like brother but without the high polish and hand checkering of topstrap and barrel rib. First manufactured in 1954, the Highway Patrolman became a catalog item in 1955 with either a 4- or 6-inch barrel.

Though not of the same frame, the Model 19 traces its cartridge development directly to its big brother. Law enforcement officers started asking for a sidearm that didn't drag their pants down so much. Advances in metallurgy had even driven the .357 Mag. into the J-frame series of revolvers as light as 11 ounces, compared to the original 46 ounces for the N-frame gun.

Change is inevitable, and market demands have relegated the Model 27 to limited-run status. Now available in the Classic series in barrel lengths of 4 and 6 1/2 inches, in blue or nickel in the 4-inch barrel, the Model 27 remains one of the greatest revolvers ever produced. A modernized version, the Model 627, a stainless steel, eight-shot revolver is part of the Champion series. Smith & Wesson's Performance Center produces custom versions of the Model 627 featuring 2 5/8- and V-Comp 5-inch barrels.

There are lighter .357 Mag. revolvers to pack and more powerful, finely made revolvers to hunt with, but in my opinion there will always be a place for an accurate, premium-built revolver with the power of the .357 Mag. It's well behaved, beautiful and a joy to shoot. I can't imagine being without mine.