Smith and Wesson 629 preformance center 44

[idahojackie]

Good morning all
I just got a 629 pc 44 mag and im not sure if it will shoot cast because the measurement's seem way off.
the barrel grooves are 434 and the cyc throats are 428.5 .Maybe im wrong but the 434 seems way big and if im thinking right id have to have the throats
reamed to 436 and then it would not shoot jacketed stuff good anymore>>>>maybe>>> so what do you think

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

That doesn't sound good. I assumed you slugged the throats and barrel, then measured the lead slugs with a 1" Mic. as opposed to measuring the gun directly with a dial caliper.

[Shuz]

I have several Smith 629's that have throats that are .4285 such as yours. I am too lazy to try and slug the bbls since they are too hard to measure with the 5 grooves. I can tell you that all of them shoot extremely well with boolits that measure from .429 to .431. I find it hard to believe that a PC firearm would be so far out of spec as to have .434 bores. My suggestion is to try some .429 sized boolits and see what happens.

[Hickok]

Get in contact with DougGuy, he can fix up those tight throats for ya!

[DougGuy]

I just got done with one that left the bakery the same way. I can take throats to .4315" ~ .4317" and it will very happily shoot .431" cast and/or .429" .430" j-words as well. Gotta remember that j words have a dead soft core in the gilding metal jacket which once you fire one there is enough pressure to obturate it to the cylinder throats before it even leaves the cylinder. It may be a .429" at the moment of ignition, but it's going to leave the cylinder at whatever diameter the throat is. You actually have the best of both worlds reaming the throats to .4315" or even .4325" if you want to load .432" cast boolits.

Also,

I have several Smith 629's that have throats that are .4285 such as yours. I am too lazy to try and slug the bbls since they are too hard to measure with the 5 grooves.

You can slug the bore and use the cylinder throat for a go/no-go gauge. It's quite difficult to measure 5 lands and grooves with a mic, but if the slug shaves lead trying to force it into the throats, that's about all the measurement that really matters. You want the cylinder throats to take that slug with just a bit of a drag fit. This is perfect fitment from throat to bore, in ANY centerfire revolver, no matter make or caliber.

[idahojackie]

I used pin gauges to measure the throats

[Hickok]

Idahojackie, I believe most of the 629's over the last few years have been made with .4285" diameter throats. Mine had the same demensions.

I have another Model 29, a Super Blackhawk, a Contender and a Win. 94 AE, all in .44 mag and all need boolits sized larger than the tight throat on 629. I grew weary of this situation, so I had DougGuy open my throats up to .4315" on the 629. Doug did a fantastic job!

Groups tightened up and are very uniform, nice and round, those unexplained flyers disappeared. Any leading I was getting in the forcing cone was eliminated entirely.

It was money well spent. Doug knows his revolvers and his work is excellent!

[Mal Paso]

S&W has stated they cut the throats for jackets and I've reamed 2 629s that were .4285" but I would check the bore again. .005" is huge today! If S&W can't hold tolerances of .0005" something is WRONG!

Pin gauge the bore, lands should be .006" X 2 give or take. See if .417" or .418" doesn't fit

That should be an electro-chemical machined barrel. My Anaconda was a similar process and the bore is smooth. as glass with no tooling marks.

[DougGuy]

Hmm there are some photos floating around the web of these same "electro machined" barrels, that have some odd looking artifacts in the grooves just ahead of the forcing cone. I have seen pics of several that looked like an arrowhead in the groove. Some suggested it was leading and others said that it was steel and not lead. We have a member here that has gone round and round with S&W over this issue in a .357 with barrel rifled by the same process. I guess you have to look at each one individually.

If throats are .4315" that should be sufficiently over groove diameter to make an excellent shooter with no leading, unless the forcing cone is a bit wonky.

[Mal Paso]

He said Groove was .434", I am suspicious the measurement is wrong as that is .005" oversize.

I saw those pics too and it makes me nervous cuz I need another 629.

[Frank V]

I'm not trying to be smart or anything, but if it were mine I'd shoot it first & see how it shot.

[DougGuy]

He said Groove was .434", I am suspicious the measurement is wrong as that is .005" oversize.

I saw those pics too and it makes me nervous cuz I need another 629.

Performance center barrel at .433" or bigger? Something doesn't sound right at all. That is WAY above SAAMI specs and those specs are one thing that S&W and Ruger rigidly adhere to. That barrel should be right at .430" or maybe a half thou tighter.

I am willing to speculate that a slug driven through a thoroughly cleaned and lightly oiled bore will go into a .4315" throat very nicely, but that is just me speculating..

[Hickok]

Just me, but long ago I gave up on slugging revolver barrels to get groove dimensions. Right or wrong, I simply go by cylinder throat diameter. I do slug my rifle barrels.


All my revolvers are S&W and Rugers, and slugging the cylinder throats has worked for me. Don't always like what the micrometer tells me, but it is where I start before any casting and sizing for a revolver. The barrel throat and thread constriction between the frame and barrel can also be a concern, but that is a whole different topic.

[idahojackie]

I will slug it again to be sure but .433 is what I was getting last time with my micrometer

[mdi]

I don't have any .44s that are less than 17 years old, and my 629 is about 1986 manufacture. All my revolvers (Ruger, Dan Wesson, and S&W) all have .431" throats and .429"-.430" groove diameters. I wonder about S&W, making so many "wrong" cylinder throats at .429" or less, unless they designed/use them only for jacketed bullets. BTW .433" groove diameter is way too big by SAAMI standards even for rifle barrels (.431")

[idahojackie]

yea I know I wonder if smith will be willing to fix that for me

[Tatume]

Fix what? They will not ream the cylinder throats for you. However, if the barrel is truly as out of spec as you said it is, they will probably replace the barrel.

[44man]

A lot of bores only have rifling .003" to .004" so a pin gauge in the bore will not tell much unless you know rifling depth.
5 lands and grooves are too hard to measure without proper tools.
Listen to DougGuy and slug the bore and see if they fit the throats.

[Frank V]

yea I know I wonder if smith will be willing to fix that for me


I am still curious idahojackie, have you shot it on paper yet to see what it's doing?
One reason I ask is a couple of years ago when S&W brought back the mods. 21 & 22 Mike Venturino bought a .45ACP & called S&W saying the grooves are so shallow they probably won't shoot lead bullets. The S&W rep asked have you shot it yet? Mike hadn't but did & found it shot very well.
Let us know. Good shooting.

[idahojackie]

that's what I was getting at

[Ed_Shot]

I bought a new SW 629-6 last month. I bought a .430 sizing die for my Lyman 450 before I got the weapon. Didn't measure bore or throats and really don't care. With both Lyman 429421 and Lee 429-240-2R sized .430 it will make all six holes touch at 10 yds. Not a hint of lead in the cylinder or bore. My first S&W and I'm impressed.

[idahojackie]

I haven't shoot any cast out of it because at 433 and 428.5 im not sure what to size the projectiles at

[williamwaco]

I haven't shoot any cast out of it because at 433 and 428.5 im not sure what to size the projectiles at

.429 or .430 whichever you have. Either will work well.

Bought my first .44 Mag in 1957 and I have owned at least a dozen and a half and loaded for several more. I have never seen one that would not shoot .429 or .430 with great accuracy.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Why get all worked up [smilie=w:, before you know there is a problem??? I start looking for problems if I can't make the weapon shoot.
But everyone to their own...have fun and I hope you figure it out. I have had lots of pistols, S&W , and Ruger, never had to send one back....just lucky ????:bigsmyl2:

[Frank V]

How does it shoot now just like it is?