Interesting thread but it's vague at best. Not singling anything out just reading & about the only thing I got out of it was the size of the revolver was the most important thing.
I'm just trying to narrow down the field. In the simplest terms, I've found heavy and long revolvers easier for me to shoot well than light, short guns. However, there's an upper limit to what I can carry. Based on what I carry now, I'd like to stay under 12" overall length because I know if it's longer it's going to be irritating to carry, getting into the truck, and sitting while driving. I think ~11" is a reasonable limit for carry.
Op never really said what the intended use of the revolver was, jack of all trades/master of none???
This is a fair question, but I don't really like to justify a gun to other people. I described the use of the gun for skill-acquisition because I think it's important to train, practice and develop skills, but I also carry what I train with and train with what I carry. We've all heard the advice to "carry what you shoot best." I'm not new to carry, but I haven't always followed that advice. I've compromised by carrying things that are easier to carry. You could say I'm still compromising on barrel-length, but I'm compromising less.
It seems most people that buy the 8-shot 627's are using them to play games with using 38 s&w ammo and the most they're asking out of them is to hit a 6" circle @ 25yds. Which makes me wonder just how "good" a trigger has to be??? Does it need to be tuned to the point that you have to use specific primers & fast burning powders?
I don't know the answer to those questions. All I'm looking for is a trigger that makes my job easier to do well. I have a factory stock S&W now that has a 14 lb double-action trigger. I do alright with it, but I think it's fair to say that it doesn't make my job as easy as it could be. I do know I can shoot a single-action better than it. Is that because the trigger is better or is it because the barrel and sight radius are much longer, or is it because the weight is double? I asked those questions in another recent thread. All I know is I can get better than 14 lbs. How much better than that is going to be a help, I don't know. I don't feel a need for anything especially exotic, but want to know if a PC-tuned action will make doing a good job easier.
Long hands and long fingers but can only use certain grips on a n-frame revolver? I don't have long hands or fingers but I used grips like these on the n-frames. Typical 2 handed grips, I can shoot 1 handed with these grips but the revolver will move around with hotter loads.
What doesn't fit me are the rubber over-molded grips that cover the backstrap. Since the original post, I've tried more grips on N frames and found that as long as the backstrap is exposed, it's fine. I primarily shoot with one hand.
The real issue with the n-frames is the balance of them. The bore rides higher in the hand which in turn makes bigger differences in the balance between full cylinders and the last 1 or 2 shots. Those are 220gr hbwc's, you're thinking about using a 8-shot n-frame with a shorter bbl. If all's your asking out of the pistol is to hit a 6" circle using 2 hands @ 25yds, the balance of the revolver is there but it isn't as important as using 1 hand hitting a 3 1/2" circle @ 50yds.
You might think the shorter bbl masks the difference in balance (5" vs 6 1/2" pictured above) but it doesn't. The balance difference is in felt recoil and trigger control. Put hot 357 loads in this 7-shot l-comp and there's huge differences between the 1st shot and the last shot even with a compensated bbl.
I'm not familiar enough with L and N frames to know this by experience, but I can see the difference in bore center height. I hadn't thought about the 8-shot balance changing so much as I realized 8 cartridges would add a little over an ounce more weight than 6. I mentioned that I questioned before what made a big revolver easier for me to shoot than a J frame, whether it was the longer barrel and sight radius or the single-action trigger versus the heavy double-action. The conclusion that I came to is that it's the weight more than anything. It's not that the short sight radius and trigger don't make things more difficult, but I think the weight makes the biggest difference. I shoot hot .357's because again, I train with what I carry. While the weight helps with recoil, the long-barrel tends to add a lot. But what I notice is irrespective of recoil, even for the first shot, the inertia of a more massive gun better resists anything that disturbs its alignment with the target.
Perhaps the op could post what real expectations there is for the revolver.
Just how much trigger work is needed for what type of shooting?
What is the majority of the ammo that will be used?
I'm ne expert by any means but I do own custom built ppc revolvers, performance center revolver, tuned dw's (tuned by gunsmith) along with custom twist bbl.'s/lengths for the dw's (bullet weight/length specific) and custom bbl shrouds/custom sights/and of course muzzle breaks along with standard/factory bbl.'s & shrouds.
I hope you've got a better idea by now, but to recap:
I only need enough trigger/action work to avoid my job being unnecessarily hard to do well.
My job is practice on my range, mostly combat-style targets. I primarily shoot with one hand.
Majority of ammo is full loads of H110 with 158 gr jacketed bullets.
FWIW, lately, I've been looking at used Mod. 27's.