Tell me about my "new" S&W revolver...

[Idaho45guy]

Finally was able to pick up my dad's S&W Model 29 he had on consignment at a shop up in Sandpoint. They shipped it to my FFL in Washington, and I had to wait 10 days and then pay $30 to get it back in my possession. Government.

So, I know very little about S&W revolvers. My dad left me two; this one and smaller version of it in .22 LR.

I know that this is the infamous "Dirty Harry" model and is older due to the firing pin and no lock. It is a 29-3. No idea of the year, but it came with the original box. It shows some holster wear and minor imperfections. Feels tight as a bank vault and has a great trigger.

The shop had it for sale at $1100. No idea if that was a fair value or not. I need the value so I can add it to my insurance policy.

I took a bunch of photos of it...

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[Tall]

Seems like a fair price for a decent M29-3 with its original box.

[HWooldridge]

Probably made in 1987 or ‘88. I’d certainly buy it at $1100, if I was in the market.

[45workhorse]

Very nice!
"You should feel lucky!"

[alfadan]

Beautiful gun!
Just count to know if you shot 6 or only 5.

[engineer401]

According to my book on Smith and Wesson guns, it was made in 1984. Like others, $1,100 seems about right.

[georgerkahn]

Finally was able to pick up my dad's S&W Model 29 he had on consignment at a shop up in Sandpoint. They shipped it to my FFL in Washington, and I had to wait 10 days and then pay $30 to get it back in my possession. Government.

So, I know very little about S&W revolvers. My dad left me two; this one and smaller version of it in .22 LR.

I know that this is the infamous "Dirty Harry" model and is older due to the firing pin and no lock. It is a 29-3. No idea of the year, but it came with the original box. It shows some holster wear and minor imperfections. Feels tight as a bank vault and has a great trigger.

The shop had it for sale at $1100. No idea if that was a fair value or not. I need the value so I can add it to my insurance policy.

I took a bunch of photos of it...

316462

316463

316464

316465


316467

316466

316468

Not to any way turn a message of communication into a social confrontation :) -- I have been under the impression that the movie-revolver Clint Eastwood employed was the model 29-2. (Several reliable sources indicate SEVERAL different revolvers were in fact used to make this movie; but, again, the "star" accompanying the famous, "did I shoot five, or did I shoot six, punk" line purportedly was a 29-2. It, believe it or not, was loaned to the studio for production as a minimum number of two identical firearms were the norm -- in case one was lost or damaged -- and they could not find a match for the original (it was nickel or stainless) revolver which they wanted to use. The revolver had a 6 1/2" barrel and is now on display in the NRA Museum. It's serial number is S206921.
Regardless, imho you have a firearm of no tangible value -- that it was your father's makes it priceless! I am so happy you were able to get it; re the $$$'s -- I would have paid twice what the consignment shop was asking!
geo

[Outpost75]

Nice revolver. My advice is that you may enjoy it more firing less than "full snort" loads. In my Model 29-2 I use mostly the Saeco #441 Keith style 265- grain bullet with 7 grains of Bullseye or 16 grains of Alliant #2400. About 1100 fps, accurate, powerful enough for general use and not punishing to shoot.

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[Hiright]

I'd read somewhere that the infamous scene actually used a Model 25 for the "big barrel" look. Anyway, nice Model 29. Loads such as those suggested above will be more fun to shoot and allow the continued reliability of the gun for generations.

[Hickok]

Slug the cylinder throats if you plan on loading cast boolits. The older S&W 29's can have throats running from about .431" to .434".

My old Model 29 has large chamber throats.

[lx2008]

If you get tired of it or no intentions of heating up the bbl., you can will it to me! lol

[murf205]

What a great fortune to get your dad's old 44 and a beautiful specimen at that. Outpost's advice about not using "full snort" loads is spot on. A 250 gr swc at 1000-1100 feet per second is still a pretty pow'ful load and it will not hurt your gun either. The model 29-3's didn't start getting the Endurance Package until 1987 and the model # will reflect that as a 29-3E and it has internal refinements that are designed to make it more durable for heavy loads, so with that in mind, your gun can benefit from less than bazooka loads. Your gun still has a cut rifled barrel and they are known for their accuracy. My old 29-2 really shines with 16.6 grs of 2400 and a 429421 Lyman traditionally lubed. Good luck and congrats.

[Thumbcocker]

I had a 4" one. Shot a lot of Keith boolits sized .431 over 7.0 of 700x. 1000fps and very clean brass.

[Rodfac]

I've had great luck with 8.0 to 8.5 grains of Unique (~1050fps) with any good 240 gr LSWC in Magnum brass. For both my Rugers, a Smith 629 & three or four M29 Smiths, I size to 0.430 with no problems with leading.

For a lighter load, that's capable of some really hot loading, try Lyman's 429215GC with the same loads and sizing. At ~220 gr weight, it's noticeably lighter in recoil and you can soften the alloy when using the GC for some expansion down to say 1000 fps. It's at least as accurate as my examples of Keith/Lyman 429421 or RCBS' 44-250. Best regards, Rod

[Dutchman]

29-2 probaby late 1970s-early 80s. Six inch bbl. Shot mostly with .44 Special.

https://images15.fotki.com/v1685/photos/4/28344/9895637/model29a-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/firearms/model29a.html)

[Idaho45guy]

Not to any way turn a message of communication into a social confrontation :) -- I have been under the impression that the movie-revolver Clint Eastwood employed was the model 29-2. (Several reliable sources indicate SEVERAL different revolvers were in fact used to make this movie; but, again, the "star" accompanying the famous, "did I shoot five, or did I shoot six, punk" line purportedly was a 29-2. It, believe it or not, was loaned to the studio for production as a minimum number of two identical firearms were the norm -- in case one was lost or damaged -- and they could not find a match for the original (it was nickel or stainless) revolver which they wanted to use. The revolver had a 6 1/2" barrel and is now on display in the NRA Museum. It's serial number is S206921.


I was being less than precise in regards to referring it to the "Dirty Harry" model. He did indeed use a blued S&W Model 29 in .44 Magnum with a 6" or so barrel. Mine is a blued S&W Model 29 in .44 Magnum with a 6" or so barrel. So I think most people would see my pistol and say it is a Dirty Harry gun. Regardless of semantics, your knowledge of the actual pistol used is impressive and I appreciate the history lesson!

[Three44s]

If I could roll the clock back one of the things I would change is that I would have begun my journey with the 44 magnum cartridge much sooner!

I was fooled by the gun rag writers into believing the rubbish about too much recoil. As a result of swallowing their misinformation, I did not get into the cartridge until I was in my early 40s.

While the recoil of full house rounds is quite robust to the uninitiated, judious hand loading and choice of grips and practice makes the transition much more palatable!

I do not mess with 44 special loading as it is not necessary to go that low. Instead I run my lowest power level at about 100 fps above that but the primary reason is that I stick with magnum cases and the pressures work out better that way.

My bottom rung powder is Hodgdons Clays... very clean and economical. Next up is the grand powder Unique at the 8.5 gr level Skeeter Skelton made much of. Then comes my absolute favorite which is HS6. I run it at just under 12 gr with the RCBS 250 K, magnum primer and it is just right on pressure (24,000 PSI) which matches the yield strength of WW lead with a bit of tin added. A perfect match!

Then I move onto 2400 and a standard primer and 20 to 20.5 gr and the same boolit. Now even this powder can be lowered and I have loaded as low as 17.5 gr but I feel a magnum primer might be better at that of a low charge.

For the heaviest work, I switch to H110 and a magnum primer.

Three44s

[rockrat]

I used to run 7.5 gr 231 under a 429421 thru my 29-2 for most of my shooting, but also ran a lot of 296 loads thru it too. Probably on the order of 35K or so, since I started with the 44mag S&W when I was 22. Started with the Ruger SBH when I turned 21 cause Dirty Harry had come out and couldn't find a S&W so went with the SBH for a year till I came across the Smith.
I use Universal Clays right now in my light 44 mag loads.