I'm going to look at a nice 29-1, today. From pictures, I can tell you that it has target trigger, target hammer, red ramp front sight and a nice looking set of "Coke's". Here's the dilemma, it has a 5" barrel, which I know would be EXTREMELY rare on this gun. I strongly suspect that the barrel has been cut, but wanted to ask the experts here a couple of questions. The front sight is screwed on from the top. That was never done on factory guns, correct? The barrel stampings are perfectly centered and the crown looks factory, so it would have been a very nicely done barrel shortening. Also, assuming the gun is not factory original, what would the value be. Bluing and stocks appear to be 95% or better in pictures.

Thanks in advance.

Correct, front sights were never screwed on from the top.
Cutting a 8.375" barrel to five inches, centers the rollmarks pretty well.
The EXPERTS will chime in shortly, but the collector value is destroyed with the modifications you state.
That said - if I was presented with this 29-1 with cokes for $1200 or less, I'd buy it.
A barrel could be found and/or a professional fix with another front sight would be my future options.

The front sight does not sound factory, but it is possible to have an original barrel and a replacement front sight. You are correct that it is highly unlikely to have an original 5" barrel but only a factory letter may confirm this..."may" becuase it could have had a factory 5" barrel put on afterward. Confusing, right?

Doc44 will be along with a value estimate...too many variables and unknowns to guess, I think.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I doesn't sound like a gun to buy for a collection - under any circumstances. It's just a shooter, and worth shooter prices. $1200 would be too much for me, but it is one way to get a 5-inch barreled shooter - if that appeals to you, and if the workmanship is good. JMHO. Good luck with your (potential) purchase.

Hard to estimate value without photos, but $1,000 to $1,200 seems like a reasonable place to start. You could always put a period correct barrel of the original length on the 29-1 and most likely increase its value dramatically.

Bill

I'll toss my two cents in; wish is all my thoughts might be worth. From the description we have a very rare piece, all 29-1s are extremely rare, that has been turned into a shooter. Who knows really what it is worth, it isn't like there all that many, messed with 29-1 out there to judge a value.

I go with it is worth what ever you and the seller are comfortable with as a price. I really like N frames with 5 inch barrels. Toss in a set of coke grips and I'm even happier.

I say go with your gut instinct as to value.

__________________
Bill Bates

Thanks for the input, guys. I'm still going to look at the gun, later today, but will probably pass, as it is priced at $1,695 (+ tax, as it's at a gun shop). I only have one picture, shown below. I did speak to a gunsmith at the shop it is at and he as assured me that other than the sight screw, it looks like a factory barrel.

The factory secured the ramp base/red ramp to the barrel with two pins that are polished flush to the barrel rib. If these pins are not present (may be difficult to see), the barrel definitely has been cut by a gunsmith and not by S&W.

Bill

The lettering does not look sharp as it should.
It maybe the pic however.

how about a pic of the muzzle? Mike 2796

$1700 is a significant amount.

But that 5" looks real nice. When would you see another -1 or 5"? I would go for it, try to get them down a $100 or $200, look for the proper barrel, restore the 29-1 and use the 5" barrel with another frame, maybe a later 29-2.

__________________
Mike SWCA 2865 NRA Benefactor

The #29 came from the factory (standard run) in 4", 6 1/2" & 8 3/8"...... Some special editions, ie Lew Horton came in shorter lengths, BUT NOT 5"! & definately NOT with a screwed down front sight. Be aware, very aware....

ccso7d100...S&W shipped approximately 400 44 Magnums (pre-29 through 29-2) with a 5-inch barrel from 1958-1963. Below is a photo of two of them shipped in 1963.

Bill

About the only way to know for sure what barrel length it had when it left the factory would be to get a letter. And that would take awhile. I'd bet the original barrel has been shortened from the information presented. I don't think I would plunk down the asking price, or anything close to it, without a letter, even with the Cokes.

The roll mark centering looks the same on the gun for sale and Doc44's 5" guns.

I'd like to see the front sight 'screwed from the top' better.....I don't see anything questionable from the pic you provided.

I didn't get out of work early enough to make it to the gun shop before they closed. I'll check it out tomorrow, instead. They took it out of the display counter and said that they'd hold it for me for a couple of days. In light of the information shared in this thread, it seems pretty likely that it originally came with a longer barrel and the owner had it cut down to 5". There is no question that it is not original, due to the screwed on front sight. If the gun is otherwise in excellent condition, I'll likely make an offer several hundred dollars south of their asking price. Which, they will likely decline, as it has been my experience with this shop that they wont haggle on a gun until it has been sitting in their display case for a couple of months and this one just showed up. Either way, I'll be sure to take some cell phone pics and post them here for anyone interested in seeing the gun in more detail.

Thanks again, everyone, for educating me.

For a quick reference here is the real deal.
Chuck

__________________
SWCA1517 SWHF256
Rangers LTW!

Something to consider are those coke bottle grips they are worth several hundred dollars all by themselves. A 5 inch 29 is about perfect, a nice balance between enough barrel for the cartridge and short enough to pack on your belt comfortably. I won't part with my 5 inch pre-29 shooter even at price well in excess of $1000.

__________________
Bill Bates

If the sight is screwed on from the top - rather than pinned from the side, it has no dought been modified and has lost ALL of it's collectable value. A beautiful unmolested 29-1 will bring $4000.00 these days, but being chopped will reduce it's value to a shooter grade price. Bummer.

Well, I just got home from the gun shop and, sadly, I did not buy it. I intended to take pictures, but I came so close to buying it that I didn't bother, figuring I'd take good pictures once I got it home.

So let me describe the gun so that you can all (hopefully) tell me that I did the right thing by walking away.

The barrel was clearly shortened by a very skilled machinist/gunsmith. It was done so well that I would display this gun proudly. I make my living as an Inspector in a machine shop and I was very impressed with the work. The crown/muzzle looks exactly the same as that of an original barrel. I know this, because they had a 29-3 there and I did a side-by-side comparison. There was one screw, visible from the top, in the land between the sight ramp and the rear portion of the sight base. It was blued and the coloring perfectly matched the rest of the sight. The hole in the sight was countersunk so that the screw sat flush with the top of the base. The guns bluing was in good condition, with the exception of some muzzle wear consistent with a gun that had been carried in a holster a fair amount. The rest of the barrel and frame were in very good condition. The trigger and hammer both had very nice case coloring - much nicer than what shows in the picture I posted. The gun passed all mechanical tests flawlessly - lockup, timing, end shake were all very good. There was hardly any marks on the recoil shield. I'm guessing that this gun was carried plenty, but fired sparingly. The Cokes had minor dings along the sharp corners at the butt - nothing too terrible - again, consistent with a gun that was carried in a holster, though the checkering was still surprisingly nice and sharp.

This gun was hard to put down. I wanted it so badly, if just for a super cool shooter grade 29-1.

Looking at the $1,695 price tag, I knew I'd have overpay to get this thing. I asked if their was any wiggle room and after the salesman called someone else on the phone, he said he could take $1,600 + tax. I told him that I'd be a buyer at $1,500 and that was the best I could offer. He declined the offer. I walked away and was looking at used guns in a different area when the salesman came back and said that he had called his guy back and got the price down to $1,550 + tax (Michigan's 6% sales tax would bring the final price to $1,643). I stuck to my guns and told him $1,500 + tax ($1,590) was the best I could do. He said that he couldn't go any lower.

Before I left, I asked to look at the gun one last time. By now, my self control was reaching dangerously low levels. Upon a thorough (second) inspection of the gun, I found a pretty big flaw. There was a hairline crack in the right grip panel, starting at the top and going down about an inch or so. It almost looked like a scratch, but I'm sure it was a crack - I could feel it when I scraped my fingernail over it. I took that as a sign from above that I shouldn't buy the gun.

Thanks again for all of your help.

That sounds like the best route to take, unless you really want a 5" shooter.

But $1,643 OTD does sound steep for a shooter.

__________________
You're shy a few manners.

I'd forget about today. It didn't happen. The split in the grip subtracts a lot of value, in addition to the chopped barrel. Replacing the barrel with an authentic 5-incher seems to me to be a losing proposition in all respects. That is, assuming you could even find a replacement barrel.

Sort of like falling in love with a harlot.

Good man walking away. Good eye on the crack in the stocks.

So the Guy blew the deal for $53??....Smart move,NOT.He will be kicking himself 6 Months from now when the Gun is still sitting there.

If you really want it, I think you should go back and give the dealer a standing offer of $1000 for 6 months (or whatever you feel it's worth to you) for it, and ask him to call you if he ever decides to sell. I'm not sure I'd even go as high as $1000 considering its problems.