I have a Mod 29 which I purchased new approximately 30 years ago. I have never fired a factory .44 mag round in this firearm, I have fired thousands of mild handloads thru it. When it was relatively new the rear sight screw sheared off in the frame and the rear sight when flying past my head. I sent it back to S&W and they removed the broken screw and reinstalled the sight and returned it to me n/c. I have had the hand break twice and the last failure was with a piece I believe is called a cylinder lock. It rides in a groove in the frame under the trigger and is retained by the stud on the hand. The part broke in half and locked up the revolver solid. I checked with Numrich and Brownells looking for the part and neither could find any listing of such a part on a model 29. I finally called S&W and the tech I got ahold of new exactly what I was talking about. Apparently it is a part that is not used in all model 29's. He sent me the new lock and a new hand at no charge. Even with the failures I have experienced over the years it is still my favorite revolver.

I have another N frame Model 25 in .45 acp that was purchased new for my father at approximately the same time. It has had exactly 12 rounds put thru it. It's packed away in it's presentation case and I shoot the snot out of the model 29 instead.