S&W 629 versus Super Red Hawk Hunter

[guywitha3006]

Kestrel, all is hypothetical and subject to change according to the guns preference but right now I plan to load a ~240 grain swc about 1000fps something a hair warmer then a 44 special but we'll below a full case of h110. Next question what is a fair price for used but like new 629-6 or a used Redhawk(not a super red hawk)? I think the LGS was asking $750 for the 629 I like.

[dkf]

There is always the plain ole Redhawk if you don't want quite as much bulk. I am setup for .432" bullets and I like to run some hot loads and 300gr+ bullets fairly regular so I have the Redhawk.

[Dan Cash]

Kestrel, all is hypothetical and subject to change according to the guns preference but right now I plan to load a ~240 grain swc about 1000fps something a hair warmer then a 44 special but we'll below a full case of h110. Next question what is a fair price for used but like new 629-6 or a used Redhawk(not a super red hawk)? I think the LGS was asking $750 for the 629 I like.

$750 seems a bit high but I have not been following the market on these revolvers. I would think $650 would be plenty. $750 is about right for a super clean and tight pinned and recessed 29.

[6bg6ga]

I should have mentioned with my first post here that my mind was really already made up to purchase a 29 or 629 and I'm not worried about the Clinton lock on it either because the lock doesn't deter for the guns function and or performance. I'm not worried about the gun shooting loose and if there is a problem I will ship it back to S&W to be freshened up. I personally will probably never shoot full house loads in it and if I feel a need to shoot something nasty I will simply pull out my Desert Eagle 44 magnum with full power loads and blast away.

[jmort]

I would get the Ruger and have it tuned, aka action job, and have Doug work over the cylinder. Once it is tuned, it will be sweet in the field or the range. The trigger on the S&Ws may be better, but everyone I have owned is OK, but lesser compared to my tuned Rugers. I like the look of the Ruger better, I like the design of the Ruger better, and adding the action job puts them in the same ball park $$$ wise. To each their own. You should be happy either way.

[DougGuy]

The plain vanilla Redhawk is PLENTY of gun for what the OP and also the other shopper in this thread want to use them for. The SRH is heavy and rather large any which way you look at carrying it. the Smith *MAY* have a nicer trigger, and may play well with cast boolits sized .430" but if you have other 44 caliber arms or plan on getting more 44 caliber arms, I think sizing to .432" may be a better universal fit and the Ruger works very well with .4325" throats.

Either gun will put Bambi in the freezer, it's really 6 of one, half dozen of the other to choose between the S&W and the RH. I think the SRH is overkill to compare with the Smith.

[MT Gianni]

Unsure as to your definition of 'warm' loads - to me, it appears that you are describing hot loads ??

I don't believe that the 629's will shoot loose with 'warm' loads (any moreso than typical revolver wear&tear), but perhaps we are thinking of different levels.

My father's pre-M29 (~1959??) was a little loose & did need a timing job, but 50 years in the Alaskan bush with zero maintenance can do that.
I am also thinking that Smith has improved their alloys since then as well.

I define warm as the top of the data chart and Hot as outside the data chart.

[guywitha3006]

Hey guys thanks again for all the information. I did realize I actually made a mistake with the post title I meant a regular red hawk originally not the super red hawk. I believe the model I was comparing was the Red hawk Hunter. The silohette is similar to the 629. If the super red hawk had a more traditional looking under lug rather the the frame extension I would like it a lot more, but I just can't get over how the super red hawk looks with the frame extension.

[white eagle]

why buy a new gun only to send it out to have it tuned ?
I may be way off base here but when I spend money on a good revo
I do not want to or should have to send it out to have tuned
but that is just me

[jmort]

I send every revolver out to be tuned. Well, I have not touched my Freedom Arms 97. The factory just does not do it right. Typically

Premium Action Job: Includes Parts & Labor

Hone all internal parts and replace springs
Rework sear and hammer for crisp 2 1/2lb. trigger pull
Open forcing cone and polish
Square barrel face
Check cylinder gap and head space
Correct timing and set for application
(optional) Available on standard hammers only and upon customer request. Relieve hammer .007" on each side to reduce drag marks. Then the hammer is machine jeweled or plain polished per customer request.

And I have a lot, a whole lot of cylinders for Doug to hone.

Why not get the best performance??? Leave your revolvers stock. But mine all shoot crazy nice.

[snowwolfe]

Lots of Internet rumors about rebuilding Smiths that are shot a lot with warm loads but I yet to have met anyone who actually had to send one back to Smith.
Besides, if you did, who cares? The newer models are warranted for life.

I own and shoot both brands. But I have never seen an out of the box Ruger that could come to a the trigger pull and smoothness of the Smiths

[Forrest r]

Lots of Internet rumors about rebuilding Smiths that are shot a lot with warm loads but I yet to have met anyone who actually had to send one back to Smith.
Besides, if you did, who cares? The newer models are warranted for life.

I own and shoot both brands. But I have never seen an out of the box Ruger that could come to a the trigger pull and smoothness of the Smiths

Ain't that the truth!!!^^^^

Owned the same 629-4 classic for years & shot countless 1000's of rounds in it using anything from mild to wild with 310gr to 162gr bullets and anything from clays to 296. It's nothing more than a beater truck gun, no mods/tweaks/bubba trigger jobs/replacement parts/nada. Showed this picture before, was looking for a plinking load that would do mgb (minute of golfball/1 1/2"/x-ring) @ 25yds. The old beat to death shaken apart 629-4 some how managed to find a couple different bullet/powder combo's that would hold the x-ring @25yds.
[IMG][/IMG]

I'm sure I could find more x-ring loads but it got boring after finding 13 of them in 2 days. I guess I got lucky and the 629 didn't fall apart in my hands.

So far the box stock 629-4 classic (20+ years/made in 1995) it has provided me with excellent quality range time/x-ring accuracy. Countless plinking sessions, hunted with it & actually still hunt with it to this day using a 1300fps/265gr bullet load using home swaged bullets. I only shoot 400/500 full house hunting loads a year for sighting in, hunting, silhouettes and have for the last 20 years (8000 full house loads minimum and the 629-4 still holds the x-ring).
[IMG][/IMG]
Over the decades I've used that 629-4 for bowling pin shoots, ocassional silhouettes, nra bullseye & hunting and still do to this day. Not only has that 629-4 allowed me to compete in those different shooting sports, that 629-4 have given me the opportunity to be extremely competitive.

Anyway, if you plan on doing some hunting loads to sight your 629 in then hunting with it. The 629 is up to the task. The rest of the year you use the box stock 629 for nra bullseye, bowling pins, plinking, silhouettes or anything else you have a mind to use the 629 for. Shoot the 629 then shoot it some more, after that wash/rinse/repeat.

Sure would be nice if someone would actually say how "THEY" wore a 629 out and what round count it took to do so.

Myself, I have over 8000 full house loads (255gr/265gr bullet with 2400/296) along with 20,000+ rounds of different grades of blammo ammo thru my box stock 1995 629-4 and it will still hold the x-ring on the nra 25yd targets to this day.

[guywitha3006]

Forrest, Thanks for the experience!

[6bg6ga]

There is a gun show that starts tonight so I will be bringing home a 29 or 629 S&W and I just pray to God that it won't fall apart on the way back to my house. Post 32 has done its job on me completely making up my mind and sticking with a S&W. I guess if I wanted something I could also pound nails with if I happened to loose my hammer I would go with the Ruger. Unfortunately for me they look like a industrial *** masquerading as a revolver. To each his own.

[jmort]

" I guess if I wanted something I could also pound nails with if I happened to loose my hammer I would go with the Ruger."

What can you say about "constructive" comments like this? What is ironic is that this directly reflects on the wit of the poster.

[Tom W.]

I have a SRH an like to practice with what I'll be hunting with. Now that I'm not young anymore and don't hunt I'll just kill my targets with what I have loaded up and start over again.

As I'll probably be buying a S& W model 25 soon I know I'll have to revamp my younger habits of hot loads. It was fun, but now things have changed......


Get the Smith for looks. It doesn't take a whole lot of flying lead to kill a deer.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

My SRH didn't have the interchangeable front sight. Odd since Ruger offered the SRH after their RH.

[shorty500]

I have a m629-1 with 8-3/8 inch tube purchased NIB back in '87. I won't waste time telling the round count or exactly what all has been run through it except to say it's NEVER EVER Been BABIED or a SAFE QUEEN. Besides the real world numbers would just bring out the ANTI-S&W trolls lol. The trigger return spring has been replaced 3 times, the extractor spring rusted into two pieces, had to replace the extractor rod at that time because damaged it lol that loctite held stout for 20years. It spent most of its life with rear sight bottomed out and it being a leaf spring basically finally cracked between the screws so replaced it. Forcing cone is well etched from heavy loads of slow burning powders and there is a tiny wiggle in cylinder after all these years.
But last time I took it out to play it still averages around 1 to 1-1/2 inch groups @50yds when I do my part and just like it always has since day one it delivers noticeably higher velocities than any revolver have ever tested in its barrel length class

[shorty500]

On another note after shooting ,collecting various big bore revolvers and gunsmithing on them all until I retired last year for a new career will make this statement 99.9% of all the QUALITY revolvers that have ever examined with serious wear & tear damage came from neglect and abuse by shooters that shouldn't really be allowed to own guns

[Bigslug]

As far as strength of the gun is concerned, it sounds like you're going to be shooting softball loads. You're probably LESS likely to break a Ruger, but you really aren't likely to break either one.

Much is made of the Smith trigger over the Ruger, but I've found that if you simply break in the Ruger DA's with a lot of dry firing with a lot of CLP in the guts, you'll have no cause to whine that it isn't a Colt Python.

The Smiths seem to come down out of harder kicking loads a little easier, but for toasty Special loads, you probably won't notice the difference.

My philosophy on the Smith-Clinton locks is this: Won't buy 'em; will always discourage others from buying them; will tell the salespeople why I'm leaving them to rust in their case and hanging out at the "used" section of the counter, and in all other ways that I can discourage manufacture of a product with a mindset of thinking you can make something designed to be inherently dangerous "safe". With any luck, they'll eventually smell the coffee and realize that their top competitor is the gun they made 30+ years ago. Your mileage may vary, but as political battles go, spending your money elsewhere (or not at all) is one of the easier ones we can fight.