Looking for info on circa 1972 S&W mod.29-2 4" .44magnum. This model has a property stamping low on left side of frame located in lower portion between rear of trigger gaurd & bellow the thumb down position of the left grip. Stamping is well done, possibly factory but most likely done by a well equiped armorer. Stamping is property of Louisville Police Department in conjuction with the vintage police badge. Havnt found much on these guns. My understanding is they are few & in the day, caused a bit of "STINK" so to speak, within the Jefferson county community. HELP if you can.

I will add some pics soon.

The Louisville Division of Police was under fire at the time, because officers could only carry standard ammunition. They were permitted to carry .38 Special, .44 Special, .45 Colt, or in some cases .45ACP. There were a lot of N frame magnums issued and personally bought. The officers wanted to carry magnum revolvers, with the greater stopping power. Their brethren officers on the other side of border streets and avenues, in Jefferson County were carrying Model 19 S&W's with .357 Magnum issue ammo.

However, the so-called "community activists" and the Board of Aldermen were afraid that magnum ammunition would go through ten houses and kill some innocent ghetto dweller. Despite the ballistic tests that showed hollow point ammunition to actually penetrate less, that never stopped the "know nots", and their ilk. This period was the aftermath of the riots of 1968, and everyone wanted the cops to be kinder and gentler.

This was also the time in which officers had stopped carrying night sticks; although a lot were carrying the sap. You still had to get up close and personal with some cretan who might kill you with his bare hands.

Officers opted for the relatively higher stopping power of the .45 Colt, .44 Special, and in some cases, the .45ACP (Model 25-2). It wasn't ideal, and the heavier N frames were not favorites to carry on the duty belt. However, they were comforting.

Hey thanks Dennis, I was aware of some of this info you spoke of. I would really like to know just how many of these Mod. 29's louisville PD had. I believe my next move is Smith & Wesson and see what they can tell. Thanks again Dennis.

My 625 was always a comfort to me on my duty belt. I don't blame them.

Here are some pics.

Just one more. starting to have fun with this. Photograghy isnt as much fun as shooting irons...but I guess its still shootin ?

Speaking as a retired Louisville Police Officer I can tell you that the .44 S&Ws were only issued to commanding officers and member of the Tactical Unit with the promise that all officers would one day be issued the weapon. The promise went unkept. Shortly thereafter the department issued .38 S&W stainless steel revolvers to the officers and then later switched to the S&W 9mm and after that the Glcok .40. Before the 9mm were authorized uniformed officers were not allowed to carry automatics as their service weapons.

back in the late 1960's, our officers were only allowed to carry .38 spec & .357 mag pistols using ONLY .38 spec 158gr round nosed lead bullets. One day an armed robber, while fleeing pursuit in his car, ran over an infant in a baby stroller in a crosswalk. Our sgt. had put 3 rounds into the driver's door about 4 blocks before, all failing to penetrate the door.

That day, the Chief rescinded the Police Boards standing directive & allowed any officer to carry any pistol .357mag & above, revolver or semi auto if they qualified with it..........our sgt retired shortly after, & blamed himself always...........

That revolver looks familiar!!!!! I am glad you are liking it.

Rick
Falls City Firearms

I like that old 29-2! Neat history.

You are exactly right Sir Rick ! You DO recognize that old mod.29, and I am "LIKIN" it. I do believe it slightly outshoots my trusty old 29-2 circa 1978. Thanks again Rick ! Good to hear from you sir.

Thanks Dusty R. Thats good info. Wondering if you know what holsters the few Sgts. & whatnot who had these mod.29,s at Louisville may have used.

No sir I can't help you with that. I purchased my own .44 Smith & Wesson and carried it. I don't recall what type holster I used. FYI, the cylinder on the Mod 29 started to get loose after a couple of years. I fired Mags and Specials through the thing but was still somewhat surprised. I traded it to a friend for a S&W .357.

I can just imagine the typical urban police department recruit trying to qualify with a 4" 44 Magnum.

__________________
No life story has happy end.

I just ran across this old post, it brought back memories! I bought and carried my own S&W mod. 29 when with LPD. As mentioned the department guns were only issued to the tact team and staff level commanding officers (Captains and up). Holsters were whatever Gabe's Pawn Shop sold us, corafam with a hammer strap, nothing fancy. Carrying only a .38 with a total of 18 rounds of ammo, we were easily out gunned. I felt with my .44 spec. at least if I got off the first shot it would have enough knockdown power that there may not be any additional shots exchanged. As mentioned, the .44s were controversial, but actually more humane.

Loaded with (presumably) 246gr .44spl factory loads , the recoil per se would have been less than a .357 , and not too different from .38+P .

The problems would have been with the physical size of the gun/ grips.