Just curious...I've seen various "Mountain Guns" advertised, but what makes them different from a 3" or 4" barreled gun? Are there differences in barrel design, etc?

The Mountain guns use a thinner, lighter barrel. There may be other lightening features used on the frame as well, but I can't say for sure.

Tim

Also "Black Powder" bevels on the cylinder flutes I believe. Could be wrong.

Yes, the thinner, tapered, 4 inch barrel with ejector rod shroud, like on a 1950 Target or Model 27 or Highway Patrolman. Plus the black powder bevel on the front edges of the cylinder. Plus a round butt grip frame.

Plus it says so on the gun!

It's the company's name, so I guess they can decide what is and isn't one.

It's the "Mountain Gun" in cheap etching on the barrel that makes it what it is.

Still, it's one of my favorites. My is in 45 Colt and very accurate.

OK! Incomming Stupid question!

What are "black powder bevels"? And why would they be there for .357Mag, .41Mag, & .44Mag versions. These were never black powder cartridges.

Not even knowing what they are, I can figure that they would most likely be somewhat "appropriate" for the other versions.

Take Care, God Bless, And WATCH Your Back!

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SgtSam

Black powder bevels are at the bullet end of the cylinder. Instead of being squared off, the edges are gently beveled producing a gentle flow from front to back of the cylinder.

Look at the front of my Mtn Gun'd cylinder and compare it to the front of my M66-5 cylinder:





The smooth curves of the bevel is like a gentle curves of a woman rather than a fencepost.

A lot of older S&W revolvers have that rounded edge to the front of the cylinder, even for guns that never had black powder ammunition. It just looks nice, I guess, and was probably eliminated to save machining steps and thus costs.

When the Mountain Revolver first was introduced, followed by the Mountain Guns, gun magazine writers didn't refer to this as a 'black powder bevel.' They said that the rounding was to make the revolver easier to put back into a holster. Maybe I am particularly oaffish, but I could never tell any difference.

A leather holster tightly fitted (water shrunk) to the revolver can be somewhat damaged each time you holster the gun if the revolver cylinder is sharp edged.

So, some consider it an advantage to have a "black powder" bevel on the cylinder as Mountain Guns are considered to be holster guns.

Just a thought or two...

Dale53

the "black powder" bevel, thinner tapered barrel and round-butt frame all contribute to a lighter revolver when in the mountains, every oz. makes a difference
That said, I have both a 629-4 and a 629-4 Mountain Gun, both 4 inch barrels, and the difference in weight between the two is the Mountain Gun is 2 oz. lighter !
Really more "show" than "go" but it is slightly lighter and more visually pleasing to me !

I live in a valley. Where can I get a valley gun?

This mountain gun thing sounds like it's 90% marketing.

Well, when you look back on the recorded past in our Western States there is remarkably little mention of Valley Men or even Canyon Boys in the early 1800's thru later times so it's not surprising what direction the S&W Marketing Department took with this very successful model release....

It's lighter and handier than the stock model equivalent back in the late 80s and into the 90s. I think one reason S&W doesn't make nearly as many as they used to is the 329PD, which is the 21st century "Mountain Gun" as it were.

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Psalm 27:2

It's more like 100% marketing. When they first came out in 44 mag, they were marketed as a way to have a lighter, more compact revolver for outdoor activities. Think 44 magnum Kit Gun. I remember an early add that showed a fly fisherman with a chest holster. I don't think they were ever in that much demand at the start. They were aimed at the guy that lives in the suburbs and dreams of going salmon fishing in Alaska. When the marketing department realized that it was gun people, not outdoor people who were buying them, they started branching out into other configurations. As a gun guy, I love them. As an outdoorsman, it's not the first gun I think of when I go in the woods.

A valley gun is like, gag me with a spoon. I think they are outlawed in California.

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Formerly Model520Fan

You have to go to Connecticut to get a Connecticut Valley gun.

I love Julie Andrew’s Mountain Guns!

I also have both a standard 4 inch 629-4 and a mountain gun 629-4. As mentioned before, bevels on the cylinder is different. My standard 4 inch 629-4 also has a round butt grip frame since in mid production of the dash 4 series S&W started standardization to all round butt. Since the two examples I have are similar enough I’d say the biggest difference is the tapered barrel on the mountain gun. While it does shave off some weight, the most noticeable difference is it changes the balance to be more over the frame and cylinder rather than more weight further out front.

I also have a 629-4 with 6 inch barrel (square butt). The difference in balance from Mountain Gun to Standard 4 inch is much like the difference in balance from Standard 4 inch to the Standard 6 inch. I love them all, and they all have their virtues and compromises. Hope this makes sense.

Here ya go, here’s a valley gun

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213th FBINA

CH4 you had me laughing pretty hard at that.

I had a very early 629 Mountain Revolver, low serial number that I stumbled into and traded to a forum member for a very nice Hi Power which have been an addiction for as long as I can remember. I do not regret that trade...The idea that black powder beveling reduces holster wear gave me a chuckle, holster wear is like finger scratches on a fine guitar. Maybe Corporate should put those neat looking V's that ugly British Webleys sported to make it easier to holster.

I love the aesthetics of the MGs, but I don’t think they are much lighter than their heavier barreled siblings. I have 3 44s and 2 45 Colts.

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213th FBINA

To me a mountain gun is one that’s light enough to haul with you into the hills rather than leave it at home or in the truck.I rarely carry a 44 mag on a hike,but I will carry a government model due to the excess weight of a 44.

To me it is all balance...the combination of tapered barrel and round butt just makes it.

Have had them in .41 Magnum (2), .44 Magnum (3) and .45 ACP (4)...have never had the .45 Colt or L-frame .357 Magnum.

Still have one of the 657s and would be one to the last S&Ws to go...but wish I had kept one of the .45 ACP guns as it is probably the best defensive revolver ever made...

Bob

With a tapered barrel the barrel has a higher rib so I don't know which barrel is the heaviest but I think my M27 looks better than my M29.
IMO the best looking barrels are tapered, fixed half moon sight and no rib plus they are the lightest barrels. Larry

I believe backpackers say an ounce in the morning weighs a pound by evening. Hence what sometimes seems like obsessive attention to minuscule weight reductions on outdoor gear.

In PPT with a Valley Girl, fer sure.

I agree it is a marketing thing,, but, I helped S&W out when they overproduced this model Mountain Gun,,
I bought two of them,,,,,,,,,,

Hmmmmmmmmm,,,,
MAYBE this model is the Valley Gun of the Mountain Guns,,??

The Mountain Gun is definitely on my Bucket List in .45 Colt, but I sure wouldn't turn down any of the others. Tom

My favorite double action revolvers are my three picture MG’s. All have Ahrends non finger grove combat grips. The center gun, with light gathering front site, is a 45 Colt; and my favorite.
Bill

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Larry,

I can’t speak to different chambering of the N frames but the weights of various 4”, 45 ACP, N frames are thus.

1917, 45 ACP, 4” barrel, 35.6 ounces

28-2, 45 ACP, 4” barrel, 38.1 ounces (converted to 45 ACP with original barrel, converted to RB)

625-6, 45 ACP, 4” barrel, 38.1 ounces

22-4, 45 ACP, 4” barrel, 38.8 ounces

25-2, 45 ACP, 4” barrel, 39.2 ounces

So, it appears the taper does provide some weight reduction but the biggest charge is the addition or subtraction of the shroud and rib.

Kevin

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I think a proper MOUNTAIN GUN should have a lanyard & ring. If it slipped out of your hand - it would be gone down the mountain & gone.
My Mountain guns all have lanyards.
C. in North Georgia Mountains.

Would like to see some photo's if you have them, sounds interesting. somewhat of a Canadian Mounted Police look. Tom

You’re all wrong, a mountain gun is based strictly on elevation above sea level. The difference between a mountain gun and a hill gun in some areas can be only a few feet in elevation. If in question whether your gun is mountain or hill a USGS Topo map is least expensive way to determine. Hiring engineers to run elevation can be expensive.
Elevation my dear Watson.

I love "mountain guns" -- it is whatever you want it to be...

any S&W revolver is a thing of beuty. i also have some autos just not the same.

My favorite revolver in the woods/hills is a 1917 Brazilian Contract. You could call it a Long-Nosed Mountain Gun! In 45 ACP it will handle anything in Ohio with 2 or 4 legs. One feature I enjoy on any outdoor gun, is a lanyard ring. I prefer the way the Mounties use lanyards to the US Army.(Some people call a lanyard a "Dummy Cord")

Ivan

I do like carrying this old dude when afield...Cut down 1917 with lanyard ring.

[QUOTE=BUFF;135525941]Yes, the thinner, tapered, 4 inch barrel with ejector rod shroud, like on a 1950 Target or Model 27 or Highway Patrolman. Plus the black powder bevel on the front edges of the cylinder. Plus a round butt grip frame.

Plus it says so on the gun!

That's the most important thing !! Because it says so on the barrel. I have a couple of them. One in .44 mag and a SS version in .45 Colt. They are actually pretty nice "little" packin' guns. One rides in the survival vest, I wear when I fly the back country in N. Idaho.

Or----what ever you are willing to carry. It's all kind of relative.

Taj

My goodness, they really do exist. I thought they were like unicorns. So you own about 5 or 6 % of the guns every made by Smith and Wesson, wow, what a stash.

These all qualify as Mountain revolvers to me!

Kevin

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[QUOTE=SweetMK;141401631]I agree it is a marketing thing,, but, I helped S&W out when they overproduced this model Mountain Gun,,
I bought two of them,,,,,,,,,,

Didn't everyone?

bdGreen

Tap on image to enlarge.

Has there ever been an unfluted Mountain Gun ( or prototype). I'm aware the heavier cylinder would defeat a MGs' lighter weight purpose, just curious.

To see an Un-fluted cylinder Mountain Gun,
Fugate Firearms in Kentucky.

Interesting. A want to be Mountain Gun.

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SD social distanc'n since 1889

I always understood that the front of the cylinder was beveled to shave weight off the gun. Granted, it is not much but combined with other changes made, (the thinner barrel, the rounded butt, etc.) it added up.

Of course, I could be all wet, too.

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Let's be careful out there