insanelupus
04-22-2012, 04:36 PM
I'm curious if anyone has a S&W 29-2 and what their tolerances are. Specifically I'm wondering what the groove diameter, chamber mouths, and the cylinder gap are.
I've had occasion to measure a 29-3 and a 629-3 and found the chamber mouths to be so grossly oversized (0.4340") it is ridiculous. Both owners asked about using cast bullets. I know each firearm is a rule unto themselves, but with groove diameter hovering around 0.429" I advised them to shoot jacketed and enjoy them.
On another occasion I've measured a 27-2 which was made in the late 70s and it was spot on, groove diameter and chamber mouths were within 0.0015" of one another, plenty close enough to work with and enjoy.
I'm going to look for a 29-2 and think I'd like an earlier S prefix model, but I'm curious how the tolerances were for the N prefix serial numbers. I suspect they will be better than the 29-3 and 629-3 I've checked in the past.
I definately want the 29-2 for the pinned barrel. I know barrels aren't supposed to turn in the newer ones, but I know of at least one which did. I also want a blued model so if I ever need any smithing done, the smith wont' be fighting the nickel finish if I need any welding, etc. The pre 29s and 29-1s are getting more scarce and have enough collector interest, I don't want to purchase one. I want to pack one in the mountains and plan to use 250-270 grain bullets at about 1050-1150 fps from the 4" barrel. I'm not shooting mastadons so that should suffice for my needs.
If anyone has the specs on their revolvers and are willing to share them, it would be appreciated. I'm hoping to be able to see if there is or isn't a significant difference between the S and N prefixes in the 29-2 model. Thank you.
I've had occasion to measure a 29-3 and a 629-3 and found the chamber mouths to be so grossly oversized (0.4340") it is ridiculous. Both owners asked about using cast bullets. I know each firearm is a rule unto themselves, but with groove diameter hovering around 0.429" I advised them to shoot jacketed and enjoy them.
On another occasion I've measured a 27-2 which was made in the late 70s and it was spot on, groove diameter and chamber mouths were within 0.0015" of one another, plenty close enough to work with and enjoy.
I'm going to look for a 29-2 and think I'd like an earlier S prefix model, but I'm curious how the tolerances were for the N prefix serial numbers. I suspect they will be better than the 29-3 and 629-3 I've checked in the past.
I definately want the 29-2 for the pinned barrel. I know barrels aren't supposed to turn in the newer ones, but I know of at least one which did. I also want a blued model so if I ever need any smithing done, the smith wont' be fighting the nickel finish if I need any welding, etc. The pre 29s and 29-1s are getting more scarce and have enough collector interest, I don't want to purchase one. I want to pack one in the mountains and plan to use 250-270 grain bullets at about 1050-1150 fps from the 4" barrel. I'm not shooting mastadons so that should suffice for my needs.
If anyone has the specs on their revolvers and are willing to share them, it would be appreciated. I'm hoping to be able to see if there is or isn't a significant difference between the S and N prefixes in the 29-2 model. Thank you.