OK, I'm losing it but lately I've been thinking I might like a short barreled .44 Magnum. (Pre-lock).

I know there is such a thing as a Trail Boss with 3" barrel but are there others such as a standard 29 or 629 with 3" barrels? Anybody own one or have experience with one? Obviously it's going to be a handful with anything approaching full house loads but I just like snubbies.

I realize this is not the wtb section but before I post there I wanted to get a little more knowledge.

Thank you everyone!

Steve

I have a 3" model 629-1 with a round butt and it is one of the most accurate .44mags I have ever shot. I have fired factory 240gn loads and some hand loads at about 1000fps and both shoot very well. I was very suprised at how well the pistol handled the recoil. It was actually pleasant to shoot. The gun came with a pair of rubber grips on it and I changed those to a pair of Ahrends finger groove wood grips before I shot it the first time and I think that helped a lot. You should like a 3" if you get one.

I also have a 3" 629-1 that I really like. It's a Lew Horton special from the 80's. I have a set of smooth Ahrends, and handload to 1000 FPS with a 240 grain JHP. It's a handful, but you know you're shooting a magnum. You won't regret getting one; they show up from time to time on GunBroker and GunsAmerica. You can also put in a request on Guns Wanted here on the forum. Bill.

This is my 629-4. They are really fun to shoot. I like this one because of the unfluted cylinder, I have a 6 incher to match it. Get one, you will enjoy it. If you just want one, just to have it, I dont know that one model (trailboss, backpacker etc) would be any better than the other.

I have a 29-4 that has a 3"BBL. It has a full underlug but what really sets it apart is the unfluted cylinder. It came with rubber Pachmayr grips. Mine is Mag-Na-Ported (probably not factory), but I only paid $400 for it, so I really don't care if it lost its collector value. Model 29 snubbies are a blast - you should definately get one.

Correct wood is in the boxes ... those K Round Butt Magnas on these guns are only there to illustrate just how small these frames are...

Sir, I once had a 629-1 rebarreled with a 3-inch tube. With full-power loads, the recoil wasn't much worse than a full-size gun. The noise, however, was AMAZING. I mainly shot it with cast 240s at 900-ish fps, which were both pleasant and accurate.

It was a cute little thing, but I eventually concluded it didn't offer any real advantage over a 4-inch gun, so I sold it off.

JMHO, FWIW.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

Most honest descriptions of 44 Mag recoil includes terms as we've just seen above. Bad, Worse, etc. Short barrel guns just amplify the problem because they add muzzle blast into the equation (yes, noise but also flash.) The recoil is usually described as worse because you get muzzle rise that just doesn't occur as much as with a long, heavy barrel.

If you're a glutton for punishment, get one with a ported barrel. It affords the advantage of 2 gas jets venting upward, sometimes for your forehead, and removes any hearing you might still enjoy.

All that pretty well vanishes when you use 44 Special loadings. Even those come in mild and sweeter. What makes the Magnum attractive is the ability on rare occasions to use the heavy loads. It'll be rare because most folks aren't gluttons for punishment. But you can use them.

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Dick Burg

I have the pre-lock Trail Boss , that I really like. I shoots great. I also have a 629-1 Lew Horton.I don't know how it shoots it is unfired.No reason to think that it would shoot any different.

i have the 29-3 3" with finger groove combats...a ton of fun and it shoots very well......i carry daily a 657 3"41 mag.thats ported,nite sights,action job and shoots very very well....i like the big bore snubs....practice and determine what loads work best for you...they aren't for everyone...then again neither are 22's

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Can't go wrong with a 3" 625 or 629. I also have a 3" Jovino 629 that started life as a 6" and a 629 currently at Magnaport getting cut down to 2.5". So you do have some factory choices and some aftermarket options as well.

I too am interested in one, now what is the going price for a pre-lock, pre-mim 629 with a 3" barrel? What difference is there between a backpacker, trail boss or standard 629 with a 3" barrel? Lastly, what is the going price for one, say for a patient individual willing to wait for a decent deal?

I wanted a 3 inch 629 for a long time and finally got everything together and ordered one right from Smith. They said they don’t make a regular 3 inch anymore but I was able to get this one as one of the “emergency survival kits”. I don’t care about any of the rest of the stuff but I didn’t want to compromise and get a 4.

The day I picked it up it was too late to take it out so my friend and I just kind of fondled it and wiped it down. We both thought the trigger was heavy as a brick (guessing 18-20 lbs).

I figured I might as well replace the rebound spring right off the bat so we opened it up and then the honing stones found their way out and the next thing you know we smoothed everything down like you would have to do to a Ruger, put in a 11 lbs rebound spring and bent a factory 625 main, champhered the charge holes, hosed it down with brake cleaner, oiled it up and done in less than a hour.

I think it is the lightest, smoothest Smith I have ever pulled! We were just hoping it would have enough spring to fire. The next day was the local Thursday night IDPA match so a couple hours ahead of time I shot a couple dozen bowling pin loads. (240 SWC cast over 5 gr. Titegroup) (about 650 fps in a 5 inch)

The finish was a dull gray that was easily fixed with polish and a buffing wheel.



It’s a honey. I then shot a few heavy loads and it is not a beast with bear loads either. A couple hours later I shot the Thursday night match with no failures, I love this thing.

I think this is my favorite handgun of all! This is it now.

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Shoot fast & live long
Warren

Despite having an IL, the 629 Carry Comp might be worth considering. Can be had for around $1k, in the same range that many sellers are pricing pre-lock N-frames, and comes with the PC pedigree.

Here's a photo of my fixed sighted Model 629-5 (Pre-IL Lock) 2 1/2" .44 magnum revolver. I also have a S & W Model 629 3" adjustable sighted .44 magnum revolver. I really like both of them!

Attached Images

DSC01411.jpg (51.0 KB, 996 views)

...and yet another 629-5 2.5" snub

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C & L

Hey Ralph! How you doing these days! Long Time Bro!.... Like your shorty-forty-four!

QUOTE; I know there is such a thing as a Trail Boss with 3" barrel but are there others such as a standard 29 or 629 with 3" barrels? Anybody own one or have experience with one? Obviously it's going to be a handful with anything approaching full house loads but I just like snubbies.

Thank you everyone!
Steve QUOTE;
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My only experience is with the 629-1 Magnaport Custom with a 2 1/2 inch barrel shown below.

The gun has had the barrel cut off, crowned and ball bearing detent inserted to hold the cylinder in place. Also, has a very nice trigger job and rounded butt. I am very pleased with this gun.

I can tell you it is pure joy to shoot with .44 special loads, and with 200 grain light .44 magnum loads.

Surprisingly accurate and little recoil.

I think with full .44 magnum loads, I would stick to 4 inches or more, as I have never tried full magnum loads in this gun.
However, I have shot full magnum loads (Super Vel) in 3 inch 629's. It wasn't a lot of fun.

augy

I'm doing great Drew...older yet more handsome and intelligent with each passing year! Hope you're doing fine your way.

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C & L

I agree with the comments on 3" muzzle blast being less enjoyable than on a 4".

Given moderate 1000 fps loads, my own 3" RB shoots as accurately as my 4" SB. Recoil is not too different.

The muzzle blast I don't like such that 44 special loads are my preference in the 3".

I don't really understand how the 900~1000 fps muzzle blast with the same 240 SWC slug, can be so different with just 1" of barrel length.

so many guns.....so little time.....

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

I have a 3 inch 29-4 which is unfluted with a round butt, and a 3 inch 29-10 with a square butt. They are both great guns which I shoot often and carry occasionally. The gun with the round butt is more pleasant to shoot and easier to conceal. You really should have a few 3" N frames.

Last time I shot this one it bit me!

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Fair Winds & Following Seas

I have the 629-3 Lew Horton 3" Backpacker. have replaced the wooden Combat grips with Pachmayr Decelarators. The load is 200 gr. JHP .44 Special Silvertips. Works very well in my Kramer IWB, OWB, Bianchi 5BHL, and the Nevada Gunleather vertical Shoulder Holster (similar to the Bianchi X-15.) Also have 2 other 4" as well.

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NRA Life Member and Instructor

I want me one of those.

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Steve

I got me one of them -

Bruce

629-4 3"

I regret selling this one....had a quite a bit of flash and muzzle jump but it was a hoot ta shoot.......

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Bob Giese

I'm somewhat interested in picking up a roundbutt one myself. A load like the 200gr Gold Dot (1075fps) should be pretty shootable.

I too have a 'Backpacker', purchased new, I don't recall when. Great gun to handle, look at, but not to shoot with heavy weight 44 magnum rounds. I believe the reason for the remarkable difference in noise, muzzle blast, and flash with only a one inch difference from the 4 inch is powder burn. Depending on the load, manufacturer, and the powder they use, it is not completely burned in a 3 inch, where the 4 inch has burned up considerably more.....in just that one inch. Same ammo in a 6 inch, less blast and noise. In a 8 3/8's, even less......in that perhaps all the powder has burned completely. Powder that is still burning is still producing the ignition noise and obviously the muzzle flash, having left the barrel still igniting. JMHO.

Hi Col,

I picked up a stainless 629 talo off GB. I think they'll be about the cheapest of the 629 snubbies you're going to run into. I've seen them go for as little as $680 on GB.

As far as I know its just a standard 3 inch 629 with a fancy rosewood grip. It doesn't have trailboss or anything written on it, which I like. It does have MIM parts and the lock, neither of which bother me.

I haven't shot it a lot, other than to zero it. All I have on hand are some pretty stout Speer 270gr loads and it shoots them fine.

Even with them I don't think the recoil is unmanageable. Its not pleasant, but not so bad you wouldn't want to keep shooting it. After a few shots the grips rattled loose, and it tore my hand up a little, but it put everything where it was supposed to go.

Shooting it one handed and gripping it low seems to help dissipate some of the kick.

I think it would be pretty heavy for concealed carry, and I don't think the balance is as good as with the 4 inch N frames, but the sight radius seems fine, the fit and finish and trigger are excellent, and it seems to be incredibly accurate.

I have a 3" 29 with rosewood grips which I bought LNIB on consignment. I shot it one time, about 20 rounds. I won't shoot it again until I get rubber grips. It hurts to much.

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Dennis
He's got a gun!