Speaking of what kind of loads have been shot in the past that you don't know about is a good thought . My first model 29 was a -3 w/6.5 " barrel . I took it to my local gunsmith to have it checked out and serviced . He told me that it had absorbed a lot of hot loads in the past and i needed to back off full magnum loads , and that was using " current load data " to preserve it . I later sold it , bought only 29's with the endurance pkg . I'm not saying the earlier ones aren't any good to own , just saying the earlier ones often were abused and we don't know it . You have gotten some very good advice here from " Nevada Ed " and QC Pistolero among others . Good luck , Regards, Paul