Now I love Ruger revolvers, but...

[Gibbs44]

I was at the local gun shop the other day and got to hold a new Smith and Wesson 29 Classic with a 4" barrel. It got to stay due to the large price tag, $850 smackers is a bit much at the moment. I did notice that the grips were a little on the thin side, but I liked its heft. It seemed to point well for me, and it just seemed right. As much as I'd rather not do any horse trading, I may end up doing so. Just thought I'd see if anyone had one and would be willing to share any pictures and/or stories about them.

Thanks

[MyFlatline]

I have large hands, I had to change the grips on my 29 cause it was bruising my index finger. New Houge grips are much better. You are really making me feel good on the price, I musta got one heck of a deal..Great shooters they are.

[tazman]

I had one a long time ago with a 6" barrel. It was a great shooter and I should have kept it.
At the time I was under the illusion/delusion that I needed to shoot full power magnum loads all the time.
I ended up hurting my hand and wrist and sold the gun.
It was great with 44 specials. Superbly accurate.

[Gray Fox]

I have two of the 629 classics, one 5" and a 6.5". The latter has a red dot on it, but it is difficult to see the dot clearly with my trifocals and I may switch to a regular pistol scope or just put the factory rear sight back on. Both of them shoot very nicely with factory loads or my moderate magnum 250 SWC CG boolits. The 5" will bust clay birds a 90 yards from a standing right side barricade position if I do my part. In the field I usually pair the 5" up with either my Marlin or Rossi 20" carbine. My favorite revolver in that format however is my 4" 625-6. I'm just getting ready to order some Starline .45 AR brass and cast up some Lyman 454424 SWC as soon as the weather warms up a bit. Out of the box all three of these guns have the double and single action triggers that I like so much. GF

[Dan Cash]

No comment on the "new" M29 Classics but I do have 2 M29-2 revolvers, one 4 inch nickel and one 6 1/2 inch blue. Both are exammples of what a revolver should be. I would look for such a gun before I touched anything new.

[bdicki]

I've had several M29's and every one backed up with factory ammo, even the new improved one backed up on the first box of factory 240 gr ammo, not a fan of bang, bang, click. I'll stick with Ruger.

[white eagle]

got a new one love it
bang bang all the time
can't afford to fix up Rugers

[osteodoc08]

I have several new Smith revolvers and their quality is superb. I've had one issue on a newer 586 I had to send back and was fixed definitively and quickly. My newer 44 is the 629 Classic DLX and is a fine shooter. Every bit as accurate and smooth as my P&R Smiths.

[bdicki]

I'm not the only one.

"For years, Smith & Wesson refused to acknowledge a problem
that definitely existed. It became especially prevalent when
silhouette shooters started pounding hundreds of rounds of
fullhouse loads down range in a single day. When a cartridge
was fired, the cylinder would unlock, rotate backwards and
when the hammer was cocked, the fired round would be back
under the firing pin. Silhouetters literally "beat their
swords into plowshares" as far as the Smith & Wesson .44
Magnum was concerned. About the same time silhouetters were
pounding 240 grain bullets unmercilessly through the Smith &
Wesson .44 Magnum, handgun hunters discovered 300 grain
bullets which put a further strain on the mechanism whose
basic design went back to 1899.

Instead of listening to silhouetters about this problem,
Smith & Wesson refused to publicly acknowledge that anything
was amiss and instead brought forth a Silhouette Model in
1983. This model featured a ten and five-eighth's inch bull
barrel and sights with a standard adjustable rear sight with
a higher blade and also a four position adjustable front
sight. The front sight was to be set for the four distances
addressed in long range silhouetting. Nothing was done to
correct the mechanical problem. Of all the .44 Magnum Smith
& Wesson sixguns I have shot over the past four decades,
this one, Smith & Wesson's answer to the unlocking cylinder
problem, is the only one that I have ever encountered in
which the cylinder unlocked and rotated backwards on a
regular basis! Needless to say, silhouetters did not flock
to the .44 Magnum Silhouette Model.

Finally with a change of management, Smith & Wesson began to
address some of the problems associated with the .44 Magnum
Model 29. By now, both Ruger and Dan Wesson had heavy duty
.44 Magnum sixguns on the market that were designed around
heavy usage. The Smith & Wesson had a distinct disadvantage
as it was built on a platform going back to 1908. Should
they scrap it and start over? Or should they try to fix what
they had? They opted for the latter and I am certainly
pleased that they did. In 1988, the 29-4 was ushered in with
two changes. The retention system on the yoke or cylinder
crane was strengthened and studs within the frame were
radiused to help remove metal stress. It was not enough. At
the same time eight and three eighth's inch models were made
available with integral scope mounts on the barrel rib.

The 29-4 lasted only two years to be replaced by the 29-5 in
1990. Now we began to see obvious outer changes in the Model
29 as the cylinder notches were made longer to prevent the
bolt from jumping out of the notch upon recoil. At the same
time the bolt was changed and the innards of the Model 29-5
were changed to provide a method of holding everything
tightly together when the .44 was fired to prevent battering
under recoil."
http://www.sixguns.com/range/SmithWesson44Mag.htm

[Honcho]

Grey Fox, I also have an S&W 625 SS, and flat love it! One of my shooting buds sold it to me, because he was tired of the moon clips/.45 ACP. He wanted the money to buy another gun that had caught his eye, and I was reluctant to buy it, but when he made me "an offer I couldn't refuse"-- now I love shooting it with my .45 AR handloads, and to get it to fit my big hands better, I put a new Hogue rubber grip on it, even tho it's not the correct one, (had to fill in the gap at the rear of the grip), this puppy really makes me look good!

[Gibbs44]

Thanks for the article. Mr. Taffin also states, "Today the only Model 29 cataloged is the standard blue finished Model 29-6 with a choice of either a six-inch or eight and three- eighth's inch barrel length. Long gone is the highly polished Bright Blue finish as well as nickel plating, the pinned barrel, the counter bored cylinder, and the four-inch barrel length. That is the bad news. The good news is that the present sixguns under the Model 29 banner are stronger and better shooting sixguns than the originals." He also states, "I am an admirer, in fact a real fan of the Model 29. As such I treat it right. There is no way that the Model 29 or 629 in any variation can take the punishment that larger framed and heavier cylindered sixguns such as the Ruger Redhawk, Dan Wesson Model 44, or Freedom Arms .44 can handle and beg for more." So, I agree, I have a NMBH Hunter Model with a 2x Leupold for the heavy stuff, but since I don't normally go for the really heavy stuff, this might still work fine. I'll have to see if I can find one to shoot before I make any decisions. It's still not cool that they have had problems where they come unlocked and spin backwards.

[am44mag]

I was at the local gun shop the other day and got to hold a new Smith and Wesson 29 Classic with a 4" barrel. It got to stay due to the large price tag, $850 smackers is a bit much at the moment. I did notice that the grips were a little on the thin side, but I liked its heft. It seemed to point well for me, and it just seemed right. As much as I'd rather not do any horse trading, I may end up doing so. Just thought I'd see if anyone had one and would be willing to share any pictures and/or stories about them.

Thanks

I have a 629 with a 6" barrel. You would have the pry that thing out of my cold dead hands. I have shot a lot of guns over the years, and it is my favorite bar none. It shoots like a dream, is one of the most beautiful guns ever made in my opinion, and the 44 mag is a wonderful round that can fill a lot of roles for a handloader. The price is high, but well worth it. If you enjoy wheel guns and the 44 mag, I seriously doubt you'll regret buying it.

[azrednek]

I never participated in a silhouette shoot but did go to two tournaments years ago. There were two participants with S&W's that had trouble. One shooter dropped out and the other was constantly tinkering with it. I recall seeing some problems with Super Blackhawks but nothing more serious than the cylinder rod backing out or the loading gate opening up. Have to admit I was really envious of the ability of the shooters to take the recoil punishment and keep knocking over targets. Best I recall the shooters with RedHawks didn't have any problems. I don't recall seeing any Dan Wessons.

I'm fully aware of Rugers being able to stand up to continuous heavy recoil better than S&W's. I still prefer my 29-2's, a 4 and 6 inch. I agree with Dan's feelings about preferring an older one like the 29-2s to newer ones. Guess I'm showing my age loving the beauty of blue steel with original S&W wood grips. I do occasionally see older S&W 44's at gun shows but unfortunately see to many that appear to have been beaten to death, poor timing with after market wood or rubber grips.

[rintinglen]

This is my 29-2, 8 3/8's inchbarrel. I do no not abuse it, it mostly gets shot with 17.5 grains of 2400 and a 429-421, though I have sighted it in with a Barnes lead-free bullet to be legal to hunt in California. I have to join the chorus and state that while I do love my Smith, heavy loads are restricted to my Redhawk or SBH. I drool over the 629-s, but I can't justify the purchase.

[Bookworm]

At the last Wannenmacher show in Tulsa, just before this past Thanksgiving, I saw several older M29's. Most were -2, or -3 models, and $850-ish asking.

One in particular caught my eye, a 6" 29-3. Seller asked $800. It was after lunch Sunday, and he seemed to be somewhat flexible. Had it been a -5, and he could be knocked off the price a bit, I would have left with it.

As it went, I passed, and a 7" Redhawk found a new home in my safe instead. Cheaper, and more robust.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

You must admit, they are great to look at.

[bdicki]

You must admit, they are great to look at.

They are great to look at and all the other models are great, I've had several model 57's and 19's and never a problem. I just never had good luck with the model 29's although I never had one newer than the dash 4, that one didn't get a box of shells through it and I traded it in on a Freedom arms 454.

[murf205]

Attachment 211113 Here is my latest and last 629. It's been to Alaska 3 times and in the Kenai River 1 time. Shook it dry and brought it inside the cabin for a couple of days and it's never skipped a beat. I fed it a bunch of 275 gr LBT's at 1200 fps with no sign of trouble what so ever. My every day load in the lower 48 is 16.6 grs of 2400 and a 429421. It is not a lot of fun to shoot with H110 and 310 gr Lee's but it is accurate with them.Yeah, it's got the Hillary hole in the side, but I guess that helped to drain the river water out, LOL. It now has a green fiber optic front sight for us who seem to loose the red ramp front in the sight picture.

[MyFlatline]

Mine is a 29-2, so far no issues. Then again, I haven't shot a thousand rounds with it yet...

For 500, I couldn't pass it up

[azrednek]

You must admit, they are great to look at.

Yes they are!! When I look at a Super Redhawk knowing it is supposed to be the strongest D/A revolver made. I just can't get by seeing and thinking the SRH with a barrel that looks like it was sleeved into a shorter barrel, its ugly. Even the grips with the wood insert are just as ugly.