New Revolver, Smith & Wesson VS Ruger?

[Hickory]

I have both Rugers & S&W's, maybe I have been fortunate in this area of my life, but I have never gotten a substandard gun from either one.

I have had several that shot poorly but they went down the road. Only accurate guns live at my house!

[JSH]

Just what are your plans for it, as far usage?

I myself will never be without a 44 magnum, that shoots and can handle magnum loads.

I think a large majority of the 44’s are loaded down and shot little. That tells me 44 special would suite you more in the long run.

If I had shot a 41 magnum before the 44, I have to say I would probably never have owned a 44 magnum. All have been a joy to work with, SW and Ruger.

Those worried about abuse of a Ruger, I own two that were punished a lot with some ridiculous loads. They were given a good bill of health and well with in tolerances. Far beyond what any SW would stand.

I won’t bang my drum on either. I have had NIB of both in the past 20 years to present. I am either the most unlucky one or the most honest. Quality control at both places is beyond lacking.
SW said it was within their specs from + to -, which honestly was a huge spread and rediculous to boot. They would not do anything.
Ruger tried or said they tried to fix the size issue. Fit and finish the did little but swap parts until something fit close.

Buddy just went round and round with Ruger. Almost 6 months to get one with in acceptable specs. Pretty much hand fitted by a manager, who even admitted it should never have left that way.

New, maybe yes maybe no.

Hands on before you flop $$$$ down, always. Money saved on GB is quickly wasted in shipping and frustration.

[sonoransixgun]

Not gonna pretend I have the experience of others here, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. I bought a Model 29, sweet lookin gun. Shooting it was miserable, very much so...Tried some custom grips....No better....Traded it in for a Super Blackhawk. I know that's not apples to apples, but the Ruger was so sweet to shoot, I've bought four more over the years....I'm a Ruger fan all the way....They don't look as nice, I agree. They're heavy, I know. But I'll marry the trusty farm girl over the city bred dainty any day....Just me....

[RoyEllis]

I've had both S&W and Ruger 44mags....I still own only a Super Blackhawk. The Smith 29 I just "had to have" when Dirty Harry was burning up the silver screen was a fine shooter, felt great in the hand but with all factory loads it shot loose far too soon. Sent in for factory rebuild & sold it. Got the Super Blackhawk and shortly after a Redhawk, had to work both to make trigger acceptable. Redhawk never felt great in hand so it went down the road, Super Blackhawk has digested some stupid hot loads and just keeps going. I wouldn't recommend brand new in either flavor, but keep your eyes peeled for a decently priced Dan Wesson .44. A friend has one and it's the best feeling and shooting DA .44 I've ever held.

[stinjie]

If you have the chance to have one of each at a gun shop or show to examine,let your hand tell you.One will feel better than the other.Both are great revolvers.

[megasupermagnum]

I'm sure Dan Wesson has made different models over time, but the one I got to play with in 357 super mag (357 maximum) was the most ungainly revolver I've handled. I was neither overly impressed or disappointed in the trigger or overall quality. They do shoot though, no doubt about that.

[fatelk]

Sorry to veer the thread, but I have a question for someone who shoots a lot more than I do. When people talk about shooting a revolver loose, what is actually meant by that, and how many rounds are we talking?

I ask because I have a Model 29-2 that I've had for about 30 years. I've shot it a fair amount over the years, as much as I want, but I'm not a competitor or anything. Full magnum loads through it probably number in the high hundreds to low thousands, then a lot of lighter loads. It seems as good as ever, not worn out at all. How many rounds does it generally take to shoot one loose?

[megasupermagnum]

I don't have a clue how many it takes, but generally people that say "shot loose" are going to be talking about cylinder end play, which is the back and forth movement of the cylinder. The play can be corrected easily by shims, however, your barrel to cylinder gap will continue to grow over time.

I'm sure it's into the 1000's of rounds of full power loads to really see play start to happen. The N frame smith is definitely more prone to this than a Ruger Redhawk, or a Dan Wesson. In fact the Dan Wesson is nearly impervious, because you set the barrel to cylinder gap yourself.

[murf205]

I have both a Ruger SRH and a S&W 629 with a lock and MIM parts. I have owned 9 or 10 Smith 29's over the years and 2 other 629's. Only 1 was troublesome and I traded it for the SRH I have now. My current 629 is a 4" gun and it has swallowed somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 rnds without a hiccup and some of those have been 275gr and 310gr Lee's.(ouch) It has been dunked in the Kenai River twice and was a full day before I could dry it out over the stove in the cabin, sans grips of course. Not as accurate as the 9" Ruger but hey, it's got a shorter sight radius.The rifling is EDM and I reamed the throats from a tight .429 to .430 and it does not lead a bit.
The Ruger is a beast but if you are going to hunt with a handgun, this is the one. It has a pretty good trigger and it is scary accurate with everything I have stuffed in it. Cylinder throats measure .431 and I coated it with Lauer coating . It name is Old Ugly but it has a warm spot in my safe for as long as I am alive because it shoots so well. Factory grips fit my average paw just fine and it wears a 2x Leupold.
What does all this mean? Like everybody else stated before, go shoot both and draw your own conclusion, just remember, if you buy an older S&W they are a work of art but don't try to make a bazzoka out of it. Good luckAttachment 252905Attachment 252906Like I said, it's Ugly! The second pic is with the sling attached for carry when I hunt with it.Attachment 252909

[Tom W.]

I've had several .44 mags, one a SBH with a 10 inch barrel and I got rid of it in short order. The second was a stainless steel SBH with the XR3 red frame and a fluted cylinder, and I believe a 5" barrel. I kept that for a long time until someone wanted it at an outrageous price. I'm not that stupid, and sold it for enough to get my current revolver, a SRH. I have noticed that the cylinder is longer than a Smith 29, and my 310 gr. loads won't fit in the Smith.

The SRH fits my hand just fine, and shooting it to me is a joy. The SBH, while I could shoot it, was not pleasant. I can easily put 100 full house rounds through the SRH while at the range without any pain or after effects. I seldom shoot it DA, unless there is something that needs tending to right then. Even then it just shoots better for me.

I have a late friend that had a Redhawk, and those wimpy stocks weren't to my satisfaction.

As far as the revolver being ugly, well, when I shoot it I'm looking at the sights so the ugly doesn't show!

[fatelk]

I don't have a clue how many it takes, but generally people that say "shot loose" are going to be talking about cylinder end play, which is the back and forth movement of the cylinder. The play can be corrected easily by shims, however, your barrel to cylinder gap will continue to grow over time.

I'm sure it's into the 1000's of rounds of full power loads to really see play start to happen. The N frame smith is definitely more prone to this than a Ruger Redhawk, or a Dan Wesson. In fact the Dan Wesson is nearly impervious, because you set the barrel to cylinder gap yourself.

Now I'm remembering- the shims. I have some somewhere. A long time ago I had a nickel plated 4" 29-2 that I bought well-used. It was loose and a gun shop guy gave me a shim that fixed it right up. That beat up old gun was a favorite until someone stole it out of my truck 20 years ago.

Funny thing is, I remember I ended up also putting a shim in my old Dan Wesson model 15. As I recall, the problem wasn't the cylinder gap, but the movement of the cylinder in the frame itself, like the frame had stretched. Now that I think about it, that's a fairly common problem, isn't it? If the SRH never has that issue, kudos to Ruger!

[Petrol & Powder]

".......The D/A Ruger / S&W debate has existed since DA Rugers appeared on the market in the early 1970's. ...."

AND THE DEBATE IS STILL ALIVE

[6bg6ga]

Now we're in for 30 pages of I like the S&W or I like the Ruger. Give me a break.

[megasupermagnum]

Now I'm remembering- the shims. I have some somewhere. A long time ago I had a nickel plated 4" 29-2 that I bought well-used. It was loose and a gun shop guy gave me a shim that fixed it right up. That beat up old gun was a favorite until someone stole it out of my truck 20 years ago.

Funny thing is, I remember I ended up also putting a shim in my old Dan Wesson model 15. As I recall, the problem wasn't the cylinder gap, but the movement of the cylinder in the frame itself, like the frame had stretched. Now that I think about it, that's a fairly common problem, isn't it? If the SRH never has that issue, kudos to Ruger!

Dan Wesson and Ruger's can certainly work loose. Both are generally considered to be much more robust than S&W in this regard. I have never had one get loose on me from any brand. Only my model 57-1 needed shims, and I bought it that way.

I do not believe the frame stretches, at least it should not. I would think it would be more the cylinder itself that wears out.

[Petrol & Powder]

Now we're in for 30 pages of I like the S&W or I like the Ruger. Give me a break.

Yep........

[If1Hitu]

I have the Ruger Redhawk .44 Mag. 4" it's a big revolver and i like it. I don't have S&W 629 .44 Mag. I don't have a opinion on one. I do have a S&W 69 .44 Mag. 4.2" I really enjoy shooting .44 specials in it.

[onelight]

Sorry to veer the thread, but I have a question for someone who shoots a lot more than I do. When people talk about shooting a revolver loose, what is actually meant by that, and how many rounds are we talking?

I ask because I have a Model 29-2 that I've had for about 30 years. I've shot it a fair amount over the years, as much as I want, but I'm not a competitor or anything. Full magnum loads through it probably number in the high hundreds to low thousands, then a lot of lighter loads. It seems as good as ever, not worn out at all. How many rounds does it generally take to shoot one loose?

I have a 61/2 " mod,29 I bought new I in the mid to late 70s , it has been fed a diet similar to yours mostly the Lyman 250 grain Keith bullet at 900 to 1000 FPS , and at least a 1000 240 grain GC bullet on 25 grains of 296 .
I put shims in mine last year. You can measure cylinder end play with feeler gauges hold the cylinder back against the recoil shield and measure barrel cyl.gap then hold the cylinder forward toward the barrel and measure again
The movement ideally will be less than .002 , if it is more than this go to trigger shims dot comm. he has shims and I think tutorials on putting them in..
If you let it get really bad you cylinder may unlock with heavy loads.

[Shuz]

I recently picked up a used Model 69 Smith 4.2" 44 magnum. Built on the L frame it is light and accurate. I am considering it might replace the Redhawk 5.5 inch solely because of weight issues. The last times I have spent days in the hills I have not packed the Redhawk solely due to weight.
The L frame Smith is not a gun to shoot a lot of 300+ grain loads with but it will be there when I need it.

What he said^^^^. I have several Smith 629's in -3 and -4 and -5 and I prefer my Mdl 69 to all of them due to it's feel and the trigger job I did.