Hi All,

I just acquired a 29-2 8 3/8" with a dull silver finish (I believe it is a 'Satin' Nickel). I have never seen one like this before.

Do you know anything about this finish? Was it a standard factory finish or a special distributer order?

Thanks!

Welcome to the forum!

I don't believe that the finish is nickel. More likely some type of chrome or after market finish like Metaloy. It's hard to be accurate from your pictures.

I will tell you this- you have an S prefix gun there and they are worth more than later N prefix guns, especially in original finish. Your gun has the pinned on front sight that is black instead of a nickel finished integral ramp base. It looks like the lazy ampersand on the barrel as well which also indicates an earlier version-2 along with the black front sight.

Are you sure it is a 29-2, and not a 29-1 or 29? I can't tell if there's a screw in the front of the trigger guard or not, so that's why I asked. If you can give the serial number it would help narrow down the time frame. If you want, just XX out the last couple of numbers.

Thanks, that is interesting.

The serial is N651xx. It is a 29-2, I did check that specifically. The unusual finish is what caught my eye. It is very even, and looks factory. It looks like a deliberate 'anti-glare' type finish.

Any idea as to worth? I couldn't find this one in my SCSW when I checked.

The book puts your gun at somewhere around late '72 for DOM. No idea on what it's worth since the finish is most likely after market. A lot of the companies that did and still do that type of finish did/do excellent work, so it would look like factory. Mag-Na-Port uses what they call a "Velvet Hone" finish that looks an awful lot like what you have, and they do outstanding work.

I can't and won't say for sure that the factory didn't do electoless nickel on some guns, but I have not seen any that I recall, especially from that time frame. It is possible that your gun shipped with a 4" or 6/6.5" barrel and was re-barreled with an earlier 8 3/8" barrel with the pinned on ramp/blade at some point. Maybe when finished in the matte finish. Is the ampersand the lazy type, or the more commonly seen later upright type? If you're not sure, you can go to Doc44's commentary at the top of the forum in expert commentary, and read about them. The upright ampersand would have been used during the early '70's, not to mention the site, which is why I think it may be a re-barreled gun.

Congratulations on the purchase of a great looking S&W revolver.

Long barrel... rubber grips... hard chrome refinish...

Somebody was deer hunting with this revolver.

__________________
No life story has happy end.

Thanks folks for the info. I don't have it in front of me (CA 10-day wait period) so I can't check the ampersand.

It came with a nice leather rig, so I do believe this was someone's hunting gun.





Incidentally, the rig is for sale since it fits a narrower waist them mine. It is size 32-38 inch waist approx, so a medium to large size man.

FS: Very Nice Cowboy/Hunting Rig (fits large frame 8" handguns) - Cast Boolits

Looks like Armalloy. VERY hard and thin finish from the 70's and 80's.