You do not mention if your gun delivers good accuracy, in spite of a bit of leading. Personally, I would tolerate a bit of leading if the gun shot well.......to me, that means ragged one hole groups at 25 yds from a 629.

I have two 629-4's that were purchased new back in the mid 90's. Serial #'s are BSUxxxx and BSLxxxx. Both have .429 throats, and both routinely shoot lead or jacketed bullets sized at .430 into small groups. Some time ago, I spoke with Dave Manson(the guy that makes the cylinder reamers) about opening them up a smidge. I was thinking they were a bit on the tight side and was wondering if I could get further gains in accuracy. He kind of left me with the impression that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I've always stayed a bit below max load data for both of these guns knowing that my .430 bullets were launched from tight chambers. I have never slugged the barrels of either of these revolvers, but I've always been a happy camper with the chamber/barrel match that S&W dialed into these two guns.

Before you go to all the time and trouble of looking for specially sized bullets, make sure a rough forcing cone is not the gremlin behind your leading problem. Life is too short to fuss with guns that are prone to fouling barrels, especially if they don't deliver tight groups. If your 629-3 looks like it may be a problem child, sell it and look for a 629-4 with serial #'s close to the above. Any time I buy a revolver that I can physically examine, I always have three things with me: my small flashlight, a feeler gauge, and a few bullets to drop in those throats. The salesman may think I'm a bit much, but it's MY MONEY, and I'm not looking to buy a mediocre shooter. This goes for new or used!!!........just my 2 cents!

No, it really doesn't shoot all that great either with the 800-1000 fps. loads that I am looking for. It also shoots high for me; 6" at 25 yds. with the light loads. It is probably just me, but I find most handguns I shoot hit high.
Maybe one of the newer 629's with the removable front sights is in order. I don't know if the 5" has it, but I really like that length.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve D:
When did S&W go to tighter throats, or didn't they? What are the current ones?

previous thread link

Thanks, that is what I thought. My 629-3 from around 1990-1994 is the .432. I guess I will look for a 629-4, and carry a couple of 429-430 jacketed bullets in my pocket for the next gun show.
I only paid $425 for the 629-3, so I can probably sell it for that. I was wanting the 4" with round butt anyhow. You don't see them too often here where I live, so the search is on. That is half the fun.

I had a 629-6 with a 6in barrel. The chamber throats were .4285 with barrel running at at tight .429. The revolver was accurate but would not take upper loadings with jacketed bullets. The presure was just too high. I split cases with 21 grains 2400 and 240 grain gold dots. Hard extraction too. I do not think the tight chamber Smith is the vehicle to launch high velocity jacketed bullets. Cast bullets at .429 were ok, but I limit my load of 2400 to 20 grains even with them, in all my smith .44s. I would have to go with the 5.5 Redhawk, or an earlier 629 with large chambers. If I wanted to use jacketed bullets at high velocity..i.e. 240 grains at 1300-1500 fps, and lets face it, most of them have to go that fast to open up.

Actually, that is just what I want, except in 4". I have a Ruger Super Redhawk for blasting, and wanted a smaller 44 for light loads.
I really wanted a more modern 44 special type gun. I hope I am not banned from this forum, but the Taurus 44 Tracker 4" is interesting looking.

Thanks Steve, this is an interesting thread. It lead me to check the cylinder throats on both of my 629's. Not having the right tool, I used a .430 240 grain Hornady XTP as a gauge. It is loose in the 629-2 Mountain Revolver and will not pass through the 629-4 Classic. The -4 groups really well with those and the -2 is not even close. I'll have to try something a little larger in the -2.

With jacketed bullets I think it isn't quite as critical. Even with cast, if you are shooting relatively fast, the bullets will obdurate(expand) a bit in the chambers. When you get down to 700-800 fps, things don't seem to go as smoothly.
Perhaps owners can report on their oversize model 24's and 624's. I thought one of these would be great, but I don't think I have seen great accuracy reports.
I might as well get a -4 or later, that way there is one less major variable. With cast bullets it is a bit more challenging, but also rewarding.
I have a 3" 60-4 38 special that is .3575, and it shoots everything well.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve D:
...Perhaps owners can report on their oversize model 24's and 624's. I thought one of these would be great, but I don't think I have seen great accuracy reports.

As mentioned, I shoot a fairly soft LBT 260WFN-PB / .433" / 10BHN In my 4" S&W 624. Trailboss 4.8, or (favorite to date) VV N-330 6.8 are both good loads. I suspect WW231 would work well also.

These bullets are .434" when delivered, & I size them for correct fit the throats.

As far as I'm concerned, it's all about bullet fitment & hardness. Powder choice will get you the velocity you are looking for.

This revolver has been my favorite shooter for some time. If it was not accurate, I would not find it interesting in the least.

Load undersize bullets (unless real soft), it will lead. Load commercial cast bevel base bullets that are too hard - even if sized right, it will lead.

Correct sizing / Correct alloy / Enjoy life!

Sorry for the grainy pic:

Nice looking 624. Those are not too easy to come by. I would also like one of the L frame 5 shots; 396? One of these would be a keeper. I bet most of the 624s were with the longer barrel. I would also prefer round butt frame size, especially on the 4".

Per a tip from the Cast Boolits website: use 3 tiny strips of aluminum tape (the hardware store type) between the mould blocks of your .44 bullet mould. Your bullets will increase in diameter by about .002". It works great for my large throated revolvers. My Model 25-2 with .455 throats shot 6" groups with .452 bullets and leaded accordingly. Using the tape in my mould produced bullets of .4545 dia. The gun now shoots miniscule groups and is virtually lead free.

I have a 629-6 Mountain Gun and a regular barrel 629-6, 4-inch. Both have cylinder throat diameters of .4293 to .4294. (Smith told me that their specs are .4295 +/- .0005 for the cylinder throats.) I bought these guns new in approx 2002.

I buy or size bullets per John Taffin's advice that for accuracy, the bullet should just push through the cylinder throat. In jacketed bullets, Speer fits my guns best. Maybe Sierra too, but not sure yet.

One of my guns came with burrs on the front edges of the cylinder throats, as if made by a dull chamfering tool. The burrs were pushed into the throats. They were .003 per side, so .006 on the diameter! I mean the burr reduced the diameter by .006. So in my gun, the bullet was having to rip through a hole about .423 diameter! I would check for this.

I was able to cut these burrs off myself, and keep the corner nice. Wasn't easy, as quite a bit of material was involved. Told production at Smith about it and they were sincerely unhappy it happened.

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: adk44,

quote:

Originally posted by GCF:
Exactly when they changed to the smaller spec, I can't say for sure. I think sometime in the mid 80's.

Several recent related posts on this board, you might find interesting.

I think this is the thread you are referring to.

.44 Throat diameter change