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03-12-2017, 05:00 PM
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Was almost a wall hanger (29-2)
Okay, I have a passion for "rescuing" guns. I just enjoy seeing unloved, dirty, or neglected guns brought back to action. I don't know why, it just is what it is. Beautiful safe queens, while great, just don't have the same effect on me.
One of my local gun shops gets batches of police confiscated guns from time to time. As you can imagine, these guns usually have issues. I was there when a batch came in, and got to see some. Literally a box full of guns was set in front of me and I got to rummage through it (which absolutely made my day!). Right off the bat, I could see an N-Frame Smith in the pile that was wearing target stocks.
I pulled it out and it was a Model 29-2! I don't even see 29s in my neck of the woods, so this was pretty cool. This gun was scroungy and LOOSE (end shake and side to side play), but I got offered it for $325 so I decided it was worth a try, and bought it.
I got the gun home and cleaned it up. I started listing all of the things I saw that I wanted addressed, and the list just kept growing. I decided to send it in to S&W for fixing because it was going to need a LOT of love. Here is what I found wrong with it:
1. End shake
2. Side to side play
3. Cylinder "skipped" out of notches on rapid dry firing
4. Ejector rod center pin needed replacing
5. Rear sight blade bent and needed replacing
6. Rear sight base screw head stripped and needed replacing
With my list made, I packaged up the 29 and sent it off to S&W. A couple of weeks later, I got an estimate of $262, which surprised me for being a low number compared to what I had been expecting. The S&W gunsmith had noted that in addition to what I had listed, they had also found that the forcing cone had erosion and they would have to turn the barrel and re-cut the forcing cone. Also, the center pin hole on the recoil shield was egg shaped from years of use and was responsible for part of the side to side play, and they would "tighten it up the best they could". Things were sounding pretty bleak.
A week after receiving the estimate, I received a phone call saying that the gunsmith couldn't turn my barrel because it was seized to the frame. He wanted to cut the barrel off and install a new one and only charge me for labor. The barrel was a $290 part, so it was definitely a good deal. The labor cost was the same as it would have been for turning the original barrel.
Well, I didn't know what to expect, but my gun just came back and it looks great. It is tight as a drum. No wiggle at all. The barrel looks great and doesn't look mismatched or anything. The grand total (tax and everything) for this Model 29-2 adventure is $610.77, and the total from S&W came in cheaper than the estimate at $253.77.
This is my first Model 29, and my first .44 Magnum, and I'm really happy at how this rescue turned out. I think this old gal was on the brink of doom. I want to give kudos to the people at S&W. I believe that they could easily have told me this old gun simply wasn't worth the effort.
Serial number is N859492. Can someone tell me when she shipped? Thanks.
-lc
Here are a couple pics
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03-12-2017, 05:06 PM
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Nice rescue.
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03-12-2017, 05:08 PM
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That is awesome. Heck, I rarely see 29s less than $700 locally so all in all I think you got a swell deal, the fact the factory did the work and gave it a once over is a bonus. Well done!
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03-12-2017, 05:10 PM
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I don't have a shipping date for you, but the gun was manufactured 1980-1983.
Someone with more data can probably pin it down closer than I can.
The gun looks good.
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03-12-2017, 05:16 PM
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That is cool beyond words. Really not that bad of cash outlay for that fine Model 29-2, and it's a 4" to boot. Also, such a great story when you take it out of the safe or the gun box at the range.
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03-12-2017, 05:17 PM
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You can quit your search and rescue operation now... you will never have a greater success than this one. Well done indeed!
I have a 29-2 that suffered through having its 4" barrel replaced with an 8 3/8" barrel and a bit of silhouette shooting. It likes the old Ideal Keith style bullet cast relatively hard, 50-50 Alox lube and a warm load of 2400 to do its best for that job... the same bullet with a milder load of Unique for fun shooting.
Froggie
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03-12-2017, 05:40 PM
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If I saw that gun for sale for that price, I'd likely pull my shoulder out of joint reaching for my wallet. I'm envious.
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03-12-2017, 06:02 PM
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They did a nice job, even drilling the hole for the barrel pin on the current non-pinned barrel. I'd guess 1982-ish on the production, late in the pinned/recessed 29-2 era. Enjoy!
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03-12-2017, 06:40 PM
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Good shooter
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03-12-2017, 06:44 PM
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I'm not a .44 magnum guy but ....... that is sweeeet..... for $600.....
now shooting .44 Special out of a 4" 29.........
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03-12-2017, 06:47 PM
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Customer service at it's best!
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03-12-2017, 06:54 PM
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That was a great find. Like you, I also like doing the same thing to guns. I'd rather do that than buy a new one any day. I also like that about my vehicles too. I get a much bigger kick out of "fixing up" a gun even though I also like a LNIB gun. I have a 15-7 project getting "fixed" now as we speak. I shot almost all .44 spec. in my guns as they do what I like most and didn't beat up my tired wrists as much. Buffalo Bore has several really nice loads for various uses that I like. Reloading is also a good option.
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03-12-2017, 07:46 PM
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Wow! Well done. How long ago did you do this? I'm kind of surprised the factory had a pinned barrel to put in, unless they used a new one and cut it to accept a pin. Any idea?
To me the 4" 29 (p&r) is absolutely the most aesthetically pleasing S&W ever.
Last edited by S&W Fan; 03-12-2017 at 08:38 PM.
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03-12-2017, 08:05 PM
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A few passes with a small file in the right place and a unpinned barrel would become exactly like a pinned one. It is just a small shallow square bottomed notch. Just slightly deeper than the threads and a bit wider than the pin. Nothing technical or very precision about it. Anyone who can change a barrel had better be able to do that.
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03-12-2017, 08:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steelslaver
A few passes with a small file in the right place and a unpinned barrel would become exactly like a pinned one. It is just a small shallow square bottomed notch. Just slightly deeper than the threads and a bit wider than the pin. Nothing technical or very precision about it. Anyone who can change a barrel had better be able to do that.
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Yes, but did the gunsmith have to do it? Could've just slapped the new barrel on and called it good .
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SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220
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03-12-2017, 08:16 PM
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I am a 44 guy , have 3 but no older ones . that will be my next purchase , but I'm in no rush , has to be the right deal . That was a nice save , enjoy it and shoot it often . mid range loads and 44spl +P make great " shoot all day loads " with the real " Keith " swc , not some clone ( Keith type ) .
Last edited by cowboy4evr; 03-12-2017 at 08:25 PM.
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03-12-2017, 11:51 PM
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Could you photo where they worked on the hole in the breech face for the center pin? Love to see what they did. Had one done by Cylinder and Slide and they drilled it out and installed a bushing.
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03-13-2017, 12:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tennexplorer
Could you photo where they worked on the hole in the breech face for the center pin? Love to see what they did. Had one done by Cylinder and Slide and they drilled it out and installed a bushing.
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Tennexplorer, I'm looking at it now, and I have no idea what they did. Maybe it ended up being not all that bad and the new cylinder stop cured the problem. I do see the wear to the hole that the gunsmith noted, but the cylinder locks up absolutely tight. There is zero play. If they did anything to the hole, my eyes can't discern it.
I have read of the Cylinder and Slide fix, because I researched it on this forum when I learned of my gun's problem. I was curious to see what "tightening it up" entailed. Maybe someone will chime in and help.
I will try to snap a pic tomorrow.
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03-13-2017, 01:40 AM
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It doesn't get much better that that!
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03-13-2017, 10:24 AM
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I think that if I ever came across a frame that had a wallowed out hole in recoil shield where extractor pin engaged, would remove barrel, mound frame in mill so I could use about a 3/8" end mill and make a blind hole as deep as possible without going all the way through exactly centered on old location. Then make an insert out of an air hardening steel like A2 that had the correct sized center hole and was a couple 10 thousands larger than blind hole. Then super cool the insert and warm the frame to about 400f and press in the cold shrunk insert. Once temps went to room temp it would be shrunk fit and never move. If you made insert so it ended up a few thousands high you could mount frame in mill again and use a carbide mill to face it of dead flat to recoil shield. Would be a bit of a challenge.
It might be possible to ream out the existing wallowed just enough to round it out and then make a center pin that was slightly oversized to fit that hole and then ream extractor to accept it, but then you would never be able to use stock parts in those locations again.
I would seem to me that a gun would really have to be used a tremendous amount or used with a bent yoke or extractor assy or something to wallow out that hole though. I have a couple older well used guns and none of them seem to be very loose in that location.
Anyone else seen this problem?
If the hole was .001 over radius or .002 over ideal diameter that would only make the cylinder .054 degrees out of square over its length. It needs a certain amount of clearance just to engage and disengage smoothly.I would think front of cylinder's chamber alignment to forcing cone would be more critical. Brass od has to have a certain amount of clearance to chamber. AS bullet is much heavier than case head with gun level round would lay with a bit of downward "tilt". When fired this would be corrected some as case head slammed into recoil shield. This has got me thinking all kinds of thoughts about revolver tolerances and how amazingly accurate they can be despite the necessary tolerances to rotate and lock up using 6 separate chambers.
Drifting again
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03-13-2017, 10:32 AM
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From one revolver-rescuer to another, good job! Glad it all worked out and you ended up with a good shooter at a reasonable price.
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03-13-2017, 04:31 PM
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Nobody asked, What else was in the box of derelict guns?
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03-13-2017, 05:15 PM
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Another happy ending.
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03-13-2017, 07:19 PM
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I bought a S&W 58 on gb yrs ago . The ad said " bank vault " tight lockup. It was the absolutely worst case of side slop I had ever seen . You could almost measure the slop with a tape measure . I didn't get any help from the seller so I sent it back to the factory . They tightened it up pretty well . I was told by a local gunsmith that they " peened " metal back in place . I have often thought that what steelslayer talked about how to fix it made a lot of sense . My 58 is still not "bank vault tight "lock up but much much better than before .
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03-13-2017, 07:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blue70chevelle
Nobody asked, What else was in the box of derelict guns?
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Well, there were some decent and not so decent guns in the mix, (a nice detective Special was already spoken for) but here is another one that came home with me from that trip.
It's a no-dash 586 6". The poor thing looked so bad when I saw it that I said that I wasn't interested at first. It was wearing a rotten pair of Pachmayr grippers (complete with rusted screw) and had dirt and surface rust all over it like it had been in a tackle box or something.
It was mechanically perfect and cleaned up nice. All of the surface rust is gone, and it is wearing some target stocks that I had on hand. It shoots great.
Sorry for the poor quality pic.
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03-13-2017, 08:57 PM
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SWCA Member Absent Comrade
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"Anyone else seen this problem?"
One of my first sergeants carried a 6-1/2 inch M-29 as a duty weapon back in the 1970's. He cast his own bullets and liked to get them "nice and warm." The hole under discussion got quite out-of-round, he said. The factory said they couldn't help, the frame was just worn out.
We had a great gunsmith here who has since passed on. He fixed the frame like Steelslaver suggested, drilling a bigger whole and made a bushing to fit. Re-cut the rear of the barrel and shoulder and replaced some lockwork parts. John wouldn't let him reblue it, he said it was honest wear.
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03-15-2017, 05:14 PM
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My 29-2 which I bought new in the 80s, developed a lot of issues including hammer push off and hair trigger. It was no longer safe to shoot. I sent it off to S&W earlier this year and just got it back a few weeks ago.
Work done:
Repair front gage by turning in barrel and re-cutting forcing cone
Put in new trigger
Repair hammer push off
Replace damaged firing pin bushing
Repair cylinder stop
This came to $287 and they paid shipping both ways. The gun feels like new now and shoots great. Well worth it to me to get my gun back in safe shooting condition. The serial number on my gun is close to yours...N859757.
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03-16-2017, 02:49 PM
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That's awesome. On the auction sites, these are going for double what you paid for it. Great story and a great find.
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