Hi AJ,

You're right about the Mod. 29. You couldn't find them anywhere after
the Dirty Harry movie came out. The local S&W distributor had a 2 yr waiting list on them and only sold to law enforcement. You had to have a
LEO order it if you wanted the list price.

I jumped on the first one I saw (4 in nickel plated) and it was very expensive. $425 was about 4 mo. rent in those days, but I was young, dumb, and lived at home. Pretty sure I was making about $1.25 an hr
then, and going to school.

In the mid 70's production started to catch up and you'd see more of them, but the price still was double the list price. AS I recall they only made them for a few months of the year. Really hated the short barrel and nickel plating, but I did have a Mod. 29.

In 1976, I found a blue 8 3/8 barrel and traded it off with no regrets and a loss.