Hello All,

Been looking for a nice 29-2 to add to my meager collection for quite some time.

Found a 28-2, 8 3/4 bbl in very nice condition at my LGS. Clean barrel, nice lockup, very nice stocks. Bluing very nice.

They are asking $1,100.00, no box or paperwork. I think I can get it for $900, maby $950.

Really want a 6 1/2 bbl but cant find a nice one.

I don't know much about Smiths's as I am a Ruger/Colt guy for the most part.

So, whats the difference between a 28-2 and a 29-2. Both are 44 mag.

Thank you for your time,

Varooom

If the 28-2 is in 44 mag it was re barreled!

28-2's are chambered in 357 mag. Many shooters used to convert them to 44 special back in the 70's-80's!

Both are N-frames also!

8 3/4" also seems odd. More like 8 3/8", I believe.

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SWCA #3713

The Registered magnum was available in an 8 3/4 barrel back in the day!

Welcome to the Forum.

Is the finish on the M28 matte or polished bright blue? Is the top of the frame sandblasted or grooved? Sandblasted would indicate a .357 Highway Patrolman (M28) was re-barreled to .44 Magnum.

Sometimes, you run into mismarked handguns. If it has all of the features of a M29, then the revolver is mis-stamped.

A M29 should have a red ramp front sight, white outline rear sight, bull barrel, bright blue or nickel finish, target grips, grooved front and back strap, target hammer and target trigger.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Thanks for the info.

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SWCA #3713

Thanks guys,

LGS just called, main guy was not there when I stopped in.

He says some 28s were converted into 29s by S&W after the Dirty Harry movie because they could not make enough 29s.

Is this a line of BS?!?

Here is a pic, Thanks again,

Varooom

Attached Images

28-2.jpg (41.6 KB, 242 views)

The finish is bright blue, grooved top.
Definitely 8 3/4 barrel.

Thank you

Varooom

"Is this a line of BS?!?


No, it is not. Happens every now and then and not just with the M29.

Most often, the barrel length is shorter than advertised. My patrol partner back in my cop days had a M28 with a 3 7/8" barrel, but was sold as a 4".

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Sure looks like a 29.
An 8 3/4" barrel is very strange. The only way I know of to get one is to shorten the 10" silhouette barrel.

More pics.

Too many things don't sound right.

Guess I will keep looking.

Thank you all,

Varooom

Attached Images

	28-2four.jpg (146.7 KB, 216 views)
	28-2two.jpg (129.0 KB, 201 views)

If you look closely at the frames topstrap where it meets the barrel rib you will notice the frame shoulders are machined back at an angle.
This was done on frames intended for narrow rib barrels back in the day ( Model 27 and Model 28) ,
Frames that went with wide rib barrels were not.


BTW Today the frames are all just left wide.

28-2 = .357magnum Highway Patrolman w/ 4 or 6 inch barrel and mat finish.


OPs if I read the thread correctly and see bright blue pictures of a .44 magnum........only one answer


FrankenSmith!!!!!

or simply miss-stamped?

Based on the photos and the different style of ampersand on the barrel and frame, I would "guess" the Magnum started out as a Model 28-2 and was converted to 44 Magnum caliber, Model 29-2, by rechambering the cylinder and replacing the original barrel with a 29-2 barrel that is 8 3/8-inch. Also added were target stocks made of Goncalo alves, target hammer, target trigger, red ramp, and probably a white outline rear sight.

Bill

Looks like a mix master franken gun. I think the frame is 28-2, barrel and cylinders are 29/44 mag. That price is high for a gun so molested.

I would say the cylinder was replaced, not rechambered. The .357 N frame cylinders were short, this one fills the frame window.

No clue what the real story is, just another observation.

Patrick L...You are correct. I missed that.

Bill

I AGREE WITH beagleye ! ! !

IF WE "BUY THE GUN AND NOT THE STORY" WE WOULD DEVALUE THE NOTION THAT REVOLVERS LIKE THIS WERE ASSEMBLED BY THE FACTORY, DUE TO A SHORTAGE OF REAL M29s.....

IMHO, THIS REVOLVER IS THE CREATION OF A GUNSMITH WHO REBARRELED THE M28-2 FRAME, AND BORED OUT THE CHAMBERS OF THE .357 MAGNUM CYLINDER TO ACCEPT .44 MAGNUM AMMO.....

I WOULD ONLY CONSIDER PURCHASING THIS REVOLVER AS A KNOCK-AROUND FIELD GUN, IF THE ASKING PRICE WAS MUCH LOWER......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Um...I'm no expert but it seems to me the easy answer is the gun was stamped incorrectly as a 28 when it should have been a 29.

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No life story has happy end.

Is 28-2 stamped inside the cylinder?

Inside the cylinder? Like in the chamber(s)? Not to my knowledge. The serial is stamped on the rear face of the cylinder but not inside it.

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No life story has happy end.

Is the frame a matte finish while the barrel and cylinder are shiny? It kinda looks a little off in the one pic. I don't think is it a miss stamped 29

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-Matt

I feel like I am on a gameshow.

Patrick, Yours and Doc44's combine synopsis is 100% correct. Final answer for the win. I am locking it in win lose or draw. I came here to win big or go home

28-2 N prefix meets donor S prefix 29 for a barrel and cylinder swap. Most likely the 3 T's were added but could have possible been ordered on a 28-2 just as RR and WO could have been,, although highly unlikely,, and if that barrel measures a whopping 8 3/4 as stated more than once in this thread by the OP instead of a standard 8 3/8 Ill eat it and put it on youtube for everyone to laugh at me and call me names. I came on this game show with nothing and If I leave with nothing,,,, well I broke even.

J.F.

The lazy ambersand on the barrel has debunked that theory on this particular gun anyway. Not saying you cant make an 8 3/4 inch barrel out of a 10 inch silhouette barrel which is actually 10 5/8th's. You can get creative and make about anything these days but you still cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Although many have tried.

That would definitely come to mind as a logical easy answer until you dig deeper and compare the mixed matched finishes of two different revolvers mated together. The matte blue frame vs polished deep blue cylinder and barrel and the mismatched ambersands then it becomes clear beyond a reasonable doubt its not a factory era. But rather a Frankenstein or as Gene Wilder back in 1974 would have wanted it pronounced Fronkonsteen. Either way you can say the gun is,,,,,,,

RIGHT YOU ARE, John.....

IMHO, LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL HAS EXPOSED THIS REVOLVER AS THE WORK OF A GUNSMITH.....

COUPLED WITH John's STATEMENT ABOUT A SOW'S EAR, I CAN ADD THE TRUISM THAT YOU CAN'T MAKE CHICKEN SALAD OUT OF CHICKEN MANURE EITHER........

THIS REVOLVER FAILS BOTH THE SILK PURSE, AND THE CHICKEN SALAD TEST ! ! !

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Ok now we have resolved that mystery, can anyone tell me if this is the real Mona Lisa or just something that's been a lathe and customized. From one angle it doesn't look just right but from another angle it doesnt look right either.

As much as I enjoyed the game show it appears the answer could have been squeezed out of the original poster (OP) with a simple question about its finish. The Model 28 was the only S&W in modern times to have a sand blasted sort of finish on the frame's topstrap, front end, grippstraps and inside and outside surfaces of the trigger guard. I suspect the OP misreported the top strap as striated when the grooves are only in the rear sight leaf.

On the positive side, those Target Stocks sure look like rosewood. That's Abby Normal on a Trooper's 28.

May I approach ? We are going to need more time to conclude discovery on the grip material your honor. The forensic team will have a detailed report on my desk within 24 hours.

We will reconvene , but when I don't know.

It's not an $1100 revolver! I don't even think it is a $900 revolver. I suspect it started life as a 357 Magnum Model 28-2 and whoever owned it really wanted a 44 Magnum S&W, but either could not find one or decided it was less expensive to convert a Model 28 to 44 Magnum. Either way, it's far from being original, so even if it had the box and papers it still would not be worth that much.

Looking at the pictures, I think there is a little freckling of the finish, this would further de-value this revolver. Assuming that everything was done correctly and the lockwork is still within specs, it's an interesting shooter grade piece, but it is a mongrel. For me, I'd be a buyer at $500, but I certainly would not go much above that amount not knowing for certain the history of this piece.

This is the original, before it was "photoshopped" to hang in some museum in Paris.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

Not sure what all the argument is about.

The difference is +1.

No argument whatsoever,,