I am looking to buy an N-frame revolver, but the market seems to be drying up. Totally impossible to find what I want in Finland now (6.5" 629 Classic). Moving my search out to other countries I have found in Germany two possible options so far:


-S&W 629 Classic Champion 6.5" 899 euros. This gun is not a factory model but made by a german company called Wischo, it has a partridge front sight, millet rear sight, unlfuted cylinder, and nill grips. It is new according to the dealer. Finish is glass bead blasted.

-S&W 29-5 Classic DX 6.5" 480 euros. This one is used but the dealer claims it's "neuwertig" or "as new". It's blued and polished as I understand and I think it has wooden grips, the dealer said he would send pictures tomorrow or on monday.



I think I am the moment leaning to the 629 for reasons of it being new and while the grips are a useless to me target model you can only use with one hand, I can probably sell those for a profit. I am ofcourse open to all suggestions, the 29 looks a lot nicer to my eyes and it is cheaper too, and it is a DX.

Here's what the 629 is supposed to look like:

I would go with the 29-5, especially if it is a factory original gun. I prefer blued guns over stainless and the 629 has been modified.
Either one will be fine guns however, I just prefer guns that haven't been modified.
I own a 29-5 that I bought new and it is a fine revolver and has not given me any problems over the years.

I never really considered the other gun modified since it's an actual model made by Wischo.

Ofcourse I would not keep the 29 factory either, it would at the least get a partridge front sight and possibly a bowen or LPA rear sight.

About three years ago I sold a Model 24 to a young lady in Sweden. I put the gun on Gunsamerica and she bought it through a dealer in Colorado who handled the export for her. Took her about 6 months to actually receive the gun.

Yes export from america is a trick business post 9/11 and it keeps getting worse. I exported an AR-15 in .22lr in 2008 myself and it was a maze of paperwork and money to get it out of the country.

I tried buying a factory new 629 Classic from Frankonia in Germany, they are a huge dealer but apparently now things have been tightened even further and now have to sign an end-user agreement to not re-export parts or guns. So all new guns they got can only be sold in Germany, same for any american gun or primer, ammo, etc.

Which to me sounds like it is going to utterly wreck the internal EU distribution system since most countries don't have their own importers, it's almost all exported from the US to one country, from there into rest of EU.

Well it appears the 629 is off the board now. The seller replied and he would let another company export it, 110 euros for that. He can forget that! I have never before had to pay any bloody fees to export a gun from germany, only the shipping costs.

I just hope the other seller, also german, is not going to try and outsource a simple operation that shuold cost nothing to a third party operation that obviously likes to rake in money for an overpriced service.

EDIT: Well he's still on the board, I just don't know where else I can find a gun if the 29-5 isn't up to expectations....

Well I suppose thats settled then, the 629 Classic it is.

Hi HDS:

Let me know if you sell those grips. I have looked at the Wischo website and always thought the grips were different. Good luck with your new purchase.

Regards,
Bob

Today I got an actual picture of the revolver I've bought



Here was the model 29 that lost the contest:

"HDS-Yes export from america is a tricky business post 9/11 and it keeps getting worse. I exported an AR-15 in .22lr in 2008 myself and it was a maze of paperwork and money to get it out of the country.

I tried buying a factory new 629 Classic from Frankonia in Germany, they are a huge dealer but apparently now things have been tightened even further and now have to sign an end-user agreement to not re-export parts or guns. So all new guns they got can only be sold in Germany, same for any american gun or primer, ammo, etc.

Which to me sounds like it is going to utterly wreck the internal EU distribution system since most countries don't have their own importers, it's almost all exported from the US to one country, from there into rest of EU."
"it's almost all exported from the US to one country, from there into rest of EU."
I thought this last sentence was interesting, most guns were exported from the US to one country to the rest of Europe and now they can't do that with paying a fee to someone a third party?? This is Jan 2010.
Is something going on internationally restricting people from being able to by guns.
Is this the U.S. or the EU? Doing this or even possibly the United Nations?
Does anybody know anything about this? Making guns & accessories so expensive and restricted with various laws, that they will get everyone shutdown from buying them??