Hello, I am newly registered to this forum but have been lurking for some time and the forum has always been able to answer any question I've had without me having to ask, up until now.

I recently picked up a S&W 629-1 3" with the wood combat grips and ive been attempting to figure out the date of manufacture and if it is a Lew Horton. The serial number is ANC68xx and from what I've been able to find online, the ANC prefix indicates a Lew Horton but when I emailed them, they informed me that it was not one of theirs. I also emailed Smith and Wesson but have yet to receive any information.

If anyone on this great site could provide me with any information, it would be greatly appreciated. I'll post up some pics when I figure out how. Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on finding a really fine revolver.
I think you will find that it's a real handful with full power loads. Mine was quite the 'wrist turner' as well as otherwise being uncomfortable to shoot until I toned down the loads and retired the beautiful but impractical wood combat grips for some Pachmyer grippers. Those wood combat grips are nice to look at, but the Pachmyers are good to shoot with. I keep the combats for dress up and the Pachmyers for going to the shooting range.
I bought my 629-1 with the 3" barrel brand new in December 1987. It is apparently newer than yours since it has a serial number of AWT45XX. I say apparently because I'm not sure S&W strictly assigned serial numbers in sequence or shipped their firearms in sequence. You can check the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (SCSW) to get a better idea, but yours probably dates prior to 12/87. Enjoy!

Thanks for the welcome! I've already fired 300 rounds through it and I agree, the grips look great but are less than ideal. I've already ordered some of the S&W 500 hogues so I'm looking forward to trying those out.

I'm also going to order the Standard catalog of Smith and Wesson as well because I just picked up a 27-2 6" that's pinned and recessed and I'm looking for info on that too but I'm just really curious on the 629-1 and can't wait, lol.

Welcome to the forum!
My 629-1 was purchased used several years ago, so I'm out on the manufacturing date. Ser. number AWP83XX.
I love shooting this gun.