Year of Manufacture

[jebb45]

:Fire: Can anyone tell me where I can find the year of manufacture of my Smith and Wesson Model 29-3.

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.........THANKS/jebb45 :drinks: :drinks:

[felix]

Around 1980. ... felix

[XBT]

If you post the serial number with the last three numbers replaced by “xxx” we might be able to narrow it down a little more.

[jebb45]

:Fire:

XBT,

The serial number is (N946XXX). It is new in the box, with all the 3T's, 6 inch
barrel and smooth magnum grips. It is a very deep and dark blue.

Thanks/jebb45:drinks:

[Char-Gar]

Looks to be 1983.. The last year of the "N" prefix serial numbers

[jebb45]

CHARGER........

Thank you sir. Is there somewhere on the internet that this list can be found like ruger or winchester???? If so, where might it be???? Thanks/jebb45:Fire: :drinks: :drinks: :castmine:

[XBT]

Agreed. 1983 and one of the last of the “N” prefix serial numbers. The 29’s are one of the very best .44’s around, and the only one that I enjoy shooting. All the rest hurt my hand.

[XBT]

My information is from the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas. The third edition is about to be released.

I am not aware of any websites with this information, but you can find a bunch of S & W stuff at http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/

[jebb45]

:drinks: :drinks: :drinks:

Thanks one and all for the information on my 29-3.

:Fire: :Fire: :Fire: :Fire: jebb45

[Four Fingers of Death]

Can you help with my L frame? AEL96xx. Bit worn and tired, my first centrefire handgun, I'm quiet attached to it. Mick.

[felix]

L frames did not start until the eighties. I'd say offhand early to mid 80s. ... felix

[StarMetal]

I believe it was around 1981

Joe

[Char-Gar]

1) My information comes from the 2nd edition of the STandard Catalog. I am not aware of any place on the net, that has this information.

2) The "triple alpha, triple numeric" serial numbers are a morass to deal with. As best as I can figure, the "AE" numbers are 1984.

[Bucks Owin]

Agreed. 1983 and one of the last of the “N” prefix serial numbers. The 29’s are one of the very best .44’s around, and the only one that I enjoy shooting. All the rest hurt my hand.

I guess this shows that everyone's different...

My 8.375" M29-2 seems to recoil harder than my 10" Ruger Flattop....

The S&W kicks "back" and the Ruger kicks "up" if you savvy what I mean...

FWIW,

Dennis :Fire:

[Baldy]

Old Smiths serial numbers are like a can of worms. Hard to figure out and sometimes impossible. Good Luck.

[XBT]

I guess this shows that everyone's different...

My 8.375" M29-2 seems to recoil harder than my 10" Ruger Flattop....

The S&W kicks "back" and the Ruger kicks "up" if you savvy what I mean...

FWIW,

Dennis :Fire:

Dennis,

Yup, I’ve owned Ruger super blackhawks and redhawks and had decided that I really didn’t like the .44’s very much. I changed my mind after trying an 8 3/8" bbl. M-29. It seems easer on my hands and I shoot it a lot. As you said, it seems to kick back rather than up but seems more comfortable to me.

To add to this weirdness I find the 1911, which everyone else seems to like, very uncomfortable to shoot also. I never get hammer bite, but a 1911 with stock grips will bloody the web of my hand after 150-200 rnds.

[Char-Gar]

One of the quickest ways to get in an argument is to suggest that one design of pistol is easier to shoot than another. Folks have lots of different opinions on the matter and there has never been concensus.

I find the single action harder to shoot better than a double action and the SA handles recoil worse than the DA. I have no idea what all of this "roll up in your hand" stuff is all about. If I have a grip on a SA good enough to shoot it well, it doesn't "roll up".

Conversely, the DA sixgun is far easier for me to shoot well and handles recoil better. At leasti in my opinion.

I have tried, several time, over the years to sign on as a member of the SA Cult, but I just can't make it happen for me.

I have had very little problem with hammer bite on the 1911. My new Colt GM did bite a mite while my two Norinco's don't. The difference is the length of the tang on the grip safety. The Colt being shorter than the Norincos's. A few minutes on the grinder, some hand polish and colt blue and the Colt hammer spur was trimmed back just enough to pull it's teeth.

Different strokes for different folks!!!

[Jack Stanley]

The 29's that I drive are very comfortable for me even with the Hogue nylon mono grips on them . But then , the loads they normally get are lead bullets weighing between two hundred and two hundred fifty grains . Velocities are from eight hundred to about a thousand feet per second unless it's a deer hunting load . Those loads that I use for deer have a cast hollow point weighing about two hundred forty-six grains and are pushed with twenty-one grains of Hercules 2400 . I only use them in the six inch revolver 'cause yes , the four inch hurts right smartly with them .
The single action revolvers shoot ok for me , but I do have to pay more attention to it to get good hits . That might be due to the fact that I've never worn out a barrel or cylinder on one of them . The Twenty-nine however has been shot enough to wear out two barrels and cylinders so far . This last time it came home from a S&W rebuild it looked so purty ..... I just can't bring myself to keep pouring lead through it :castmine: I suppose no longer competing might have something to do with that too [smilie=1:

When I used to fool around with the 1911 It would take a couple of range sessions and I'd get a callous on the web of my hand . As long as I keep up the shooting program it never bothered me . I never have shot as well with any centerfire as well as I have the "N" frame Smiths . My average was never enough to make me stand out in the crowd , but was reliable enough the captain could count on it .

Jack

[Bucks Owin]

Dennis,

Yup, I’ve owned Ruger super blackhawks and redhawks and had decided that I really didn’t like the .44’s very much. I changed my mind after trying an 8 3/8" bbl. M-29. It seems easer on my hands and I shoot it a lot. As you said, it seems to kick back rather than up but seems more comfortable to me.

To add to this weirdness I find the 1911, which everyone else seems to like, very uncomfortable to shoot also. I never get hammer bite, but a 1911 with stock grips will bloody the web of my hand after 150-200 rnds.


My 29-2 has checkered grips which I also find kinda annoying although they look somewhat nicer than plain I guess...(I'm not a huge fan of Goncalo Alves anyway)

But if I want to drive a 260 gr cast "Keith" to 1450 fps I turn to "Ol' Betsy" (Ruger S/A). More comfortable IMO....

FWIW,

Dennis

BTW Jack, did your 29 have the S&W "endurance package" installed? I've heard a 29's lockwork is the first to go under heavy usage....(Mine still seems OK without any "package", but then it doesn't seem to handle the loads the Ruger will without "sticky cases" so it doesn't get "pushed"....)

8.375" M29-2 and 6" M19-4 "CHP Edition"

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/BucksOwin/SW001.jpg

"Ol' Betsy" and her very first 25 yd group when I brought her home. (Hence the odd target) Love this ol' sixgun...:D

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/BucksOwin/Flattopelk.jpg

[Bucks Owin]

I have no idea what all of this "roll up in your hand" stuff is all about. If I have a grip on a SA good enough to shoot it well, it doesn't "roll up".

I have tried, several time, over the years to sign on as a member of the SA Cult, but I just can't make it happen for me.

Different strokes for different folks!!!

I don't know what this "roll up" business is either. If I don't "have aholt" of Ol Betsy it'll bite my middle knuckle a good one! I even swapped off the original XR3 gripframe for the "Redesigned" frame from an OM Single Six for that reason....(extra 1/8" clearance)

But still, even with the long tube it recoils more "up" than "back" which seems less "jarring" to me.....

Different strokes for sure! :-D

Dennis