I have half a hankerin' to find a 3" 629. (Pity they never made them in blue or nickel.) How is that barrel length for accuracy?

I wanted a 3 inch 629 for well over a year and finally got everything together and ordered one right from Smith. They said they don’t make them In 3 inch anymore but I was able to get this one as one of the “emergency survival kits”.



I don’t care about any of the rest of the stuff but I didn’t want to compromise and get a 4".



The day I picked it up it was to late to take it out so my friend and I just kind of fondled it and wiped it down. We both thought the trigger was heavy as a truck (guessing 18-20 lbs).

I figured I might as well replace the rebound spring right off the bat so we opened it up and then the stones found there way out and the next thing you know we smoothed everything down like you would have to do to a Ruger, put in a 11 lbs rebound spring and a factory 625 main, champhered the charge holes, hosed it down with brake cleaner, oiled it up and done in less than a hour.

I think it is the lightest, smoothest Smith I have ever pulled! We were just hoping it would have enough spring to fire. The next day was the local Thursday night IDPA match so a couple hours ahead of time I shot a couple dozen bowling pin loads. (240 SWC cast over ******) (about 900 fps in a 6.5 inch)

The finish was a dull gray that was easily fixed with polish and a buffing wheel.

It’s a honey. I then shot a few heavy loads and it is not a beast with bear loads either. A couple hours later I shot the Thursday night match with no failures so I think I love this thing. The weight difference between this and the 625-10 SC/TI 45 acp makes all the difference in the world.

I think this is my favorite handgun of all! What makes a Lew Horton special?

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Shoot fast & live long
Warren

From an engineering standpoint, short barrels are not inherently less accurate than long barrels. But the shooter may need to build up familiarity with a shorter sight length in order to use it effectively at distances over 35-40 yards. Remember that shorter barrels and powerful rounds can generate unanticipated issues with (1) muzzle blast and (2) muzzle flip.

I don't have a "snubbie" 629, but a 627 PC with a 2-5/8" barrel shoots very well for me.

I think the short answer to decisions like this one is to go ahead and get the gun. Use it for a while. If it is not what you thought it would be or want it to be, let it move along and replace it with one that has a slightly longer barrel.

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David Wilson

If you can track down a 629 Carry Comp, you'll appreciate what a 3" N-frame can do. I have a 624 snub that comes in a shade less than 3", and it is a personal favorite.

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I'm with the banned ...

Nice, but heavy. I guess it's okay if you want to use it as a "belt gun" or for range use. But that's just me. When it comes to "big bore" snubbies, I have a beautiful 1991, Stainless Steel, 3" barreled Charter Arms Bulldog. Light, powerful, yet durable for a "carry a lot, shoot a little" revolver.

Scott

They were absolutely made in blue. The carbon steel version of the 629 is called the model 29.

My 3" 629 is one of my favorites. I have other 44's but for looks and feel, it wins out. And with its sweet trigger, if I do my part, it'll hit what I aim at. It would be one of the last guns that I would let go.

Yes...this one is fun and when I shoot the big boyz this one is a dream...

I don't have any M629s but I have M29-2s in 4, 6, and 6 1/2 in. but the .44 I carry is a 29-4 with a 3 in. barrel. I like the 3 in. barrel so much that I keep thinking about cutting a M27-2. Larry

I really like my 629-1 3" !
Really like shooting it even with 260gr as well as 300gr .44 Magnum ammo.
Great grouping as well.




Ernie

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S&W .500 Magnums RULE !

I have never heard of the Emergency Survival Kit in .44mag.I know they made it in 500mag and 460.Did your gun come with the custom fitted waterproof Pelican case and all of the survival gear?

Now that's the model I drool over. I didn't know I started this thread, but I entered it just now to answer my own question, I guess: whether they're worth the price. I have to say, what's not to like about a compact cannon, in a finish you could basically stuff in your pants without worry? I love my blue 4" 29, but finish is always on my mind. Even a no dash 629 doesn't do it for me like blue, but for a 3" barrel, I'd go stainless. It has to be old school though, like the -1 here.

Here's mine. It's a real handful with magnum loads, and the muzzle flash is huge, but it's a ball to shoot with .44 Special loads.

Groo here
I have 3in n frames in 45acp,44mag 44spec,and 41mag..
I find that the 3in is what a belt gun should have been.
The first 357 smiths were in 3 1/2 in not 4, and if you look, the
cylinder was shorter than today making them about the same as a modern 3in.
This along with the 5 in model are the correct lengths of barrels,
not 4in and 6in.

I love mine. I sent it mine to S&W for the master revolver action package and for a fixed C&S extreme duty rear sight. It is possibly the handgun I enjoy shooting the most.Its great fun at the range and more accurate than you might imagine.







VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQfBl9RiVyU



Here she is with some Buffalo Bore Deer Grenades:

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NRA Certified Instructor

I love my 3" M-629! It is a great carry sidearm for taking walks in the woods. I have seen 3" 29's in both Blue and Nickle, but I think they were special runs for Lew Horton Dist.

Here is mine:

They say there's one at every bar and in this thread, I guess I'm going to be it. I'm not a fan of big-bore magnums - or any magnum - with short barrels. The muzzle flash and blast render them useless for more than one shot in a self-defense situation and a shot taken in the woods has about the same results.

My woods carry gun is either a 4" 66 or a 4" 686 loaded with three .38 Special shot loads for the creepy crawlers we come across during fall deer scouting and three 125-grain .38 Special hollow-point factory loads for anything bigger. I will only fire a full-house .357 Magnum or larger load with lots of ear protection and use Walker Game Ears when hunting. And for that, I use my 5" 629-3 Classic DX while our son uses a 6-1/2" 629-4 Classic.

If I were to carry something for self-defense, it would be my 5" 1911 in .45ACP loaded with 185-grain hollow-points. If you're going to have the weight of a .44 hanging on your belt, the gun may as well be able to be fired eight times quickly with little muzzle flash and blast while having a slim profile and offering good on-target energy.

Sometime you want your eyes opened, run some magnum loads over your chronograph from one of those snub-nosed revolvers. When you see the reduced velocity numbers, you'll ask yourself why you are tolerating the noise, flash, recoil and weight on your hip. "Cool" only goes so far but as they say, "whatever trips your trigger."

In fairness, I should say that the snub-nose craze has never hit in this household so perhaps that is another reason why I don't appreciate guns like a 3" .44 Magnum. My only "snubbie" is a 2-1/2" 66-4 and I only bought that a year or so ago because it was like new and the price was right - $416.

Ed

Wow... so it kills AND cooks the deer at the same time. Well I'll have no trouble getting a survival fire going, or alerting rescuers to my location, or making the guys on the ISS report a missile launch....

What... a hooker?

Just kidding. Your opinion is legit and based in reason, which I respect. I think mid-bores are great -- good +P .38s -- but I also like .44 Special, and I have a ton of it, which is what I'm going to carry. I don't think I'll suffer too much from muzzle flash. If I were going to go blind, it would have been in 1968, for reasons I won't go into here.

I bought my 3" model 629 on an impulse 3 years ago, and I love it. It is one of the last handguns I would ever sell. I paid full retail price for it, but I could have sold it on many occasions for what I paid for it.

Don't knock it until you try it, as the old saying goes.

As far as "accuracy" goes; you're kiddin', right?

I don't have my chronograph info handy right now, but there is very little loss compared to a 4", and a 4" gives up not a whole lot to a 6". 8-3/6" and longer, and it becomes a different matter.

(edited to add) The trigger pull on mine was wonderful, right out of the box.

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You did not "fix" the finish, but rather "changed" the finish.

Whoa! I'm not only not knocking it, I just bought one today : )

My bad assumption about accuracy was corrected long ago. I hear it's just fine.

I feel inadequate. My 629 .44 magnum falls short of the 3" mark. Plus, quality control was bad as someone left the rear sight off and went skimpy on the front one.

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C & L

I think they're worth it. It's number 3 on my bucket list

Looks like Colt_SAA and I have the same gun...an RSR Special, I believe.

I can say one thing about it...if you run out of Roman Candles some holiday evening about dusk, just touch off a cylinder of full loads. It will turn heads!

Bob

Please accept my apology. After reading my post again I noticed a harshness I never intended.

Congratulations on your new purchase!

This thread is killing me. I just bought a 6-inch 629 from the forum classifieds. I haven't even shot it yet and now I am wanting a 3-inch/snub. This forum is the worst thing to happen to my Smith addiction. Ever.

The fixed sight carry comp is the the way to go for 3 inch 629

No worries, brother. I didn't hear harshness, I just wanted to correct the record. I've been wrestling with how to carry a 6" 29-3 for a couple of weeks, and I solved my problem in the best possible way. Well... not best -- I sold the 29-3 to finance this -- so second best.

Bummer about the guys with the 2 3/4" guns. As we all know, size matters.

Here's what I bought. The story is that the seller's dad fired 100 rds through it and put it away, but the Dad swears it was 20. I'm with Dad. ; )

Apparently, Dad never throws boxes away, so the son is looking through boxes stacked to the ceiling of teh gun room to find it. I'm crossing my fingers, and buying papers while I wait. The tool kit will be harder, and a box, impossible. They only made one. I love the color of the grips. It reminds me of the East Indian rosewood they put on guitars since the Brazilian is all gone. I may be seeing the limitation of lighting or the camera, but it will still be nice. As nice as they are, I would rather have round butt walnut magnas and a T grip. Pity they never made any.

Very very nice brokenprism!

And a pre-lock model with firing pin on the hammer too. Nice find!

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NRA Certified Instructor

Thanks Mesinge2. I didn't 'find' it so much as pay the high tariff on it. It cost $1200, the price I blurted out when I started this thread a week or two ago. I was surprised that the seller offered free shipping on it.

Use 44 Special for social purposes. If you want 44 Magnum, then use Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 44 Magnum (200 grain JHP). Velocity is only 1075 FPS. It's manageable with a snubby. I prefer 44 Special though.

I guess folks like the 3" model as to carry? I carried a full size 5" 1911 and could hide it pretty good so i wouldn't pay more for a 3" over a 4" model if i had to choose.

I think short barrel N-Frames are worth it...though mine is a .41 magnum. I load up 250 grain hard cast at 900 fps and it shoots nicely.

I have 600 rds of 240 gr LSWC .44SPC that showed excellent accuracy in a 4" 624 I had last summer. I just got a box of Gold Dot Short Barrel, and man that hollow point looks like the CCI of old with their flying ashtrays. I also have some medium velocity Winchester 250 gr LSWC. I hear those move out at just under 1000 fps, so I have plenty of options.

I have lots of full velocity .44 mag, which I'll shoot sparingly, or not at all, depending on how the first 6 rds go. I want a stainless Super Blackhawk to shoot that in. I'm tracking a 4 5/8 model now.

Dang that is nice!! I had one of those about 5 years ago. It shot great with full house loads. Don't remember trouble controlling it.

Bear with me here. A 1911 is 45 ACP is my favorite handgun...

The 44 Mag is The best all round handgun cartridge...

A S&W Revolver is the 3rd best handgun on the planet...

I have used all three as Duty Guns...

So I see NO need for a 44 Mag under 3"... UNLESS...

You have other 44 Mags, and want a smaller, more compact revolver in a calibre you already shoot.

Then IMHO a 2 to 3" 44 Mag makes perfect sense.

Just as you do not have to shoot full power Hunting loads in you defensive 4" and up 44 Mag, you do not need to shjoot full power loads in your Snub 44 Mag either. There are several great 44 Special and 44 Mag loads designed for personal defense.

My theory is as long as your loads are in the same power range of 45 ACP loads then you have a great self defensive revolver.

I do not have a 44 Mag under 4", but I do have a S&W Night Guard in 45 ACP. With full power 45 ACP loads this Big Bore Snubby is very controlable, and 100% reliable. I like it so much I keep it under my pillow every night.

I also have an anti carjacking holster for it I got from South Africa, and I wear it on long road trips. I much prefer a revolver for "grappling" situations.

If I was doing as many out of state hunting trips, where I always carry a 4" 44Mag in the field as I used to, I would have a 2" to 3" S&W 44 Mag to carry as a No2. when hunting, I would carry my S&W Mod 34 2" 22LR as a No2, to the 4" 44 Mag.

A 3" N frame is the same length and height as a 5" 1911 just wider:

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NRA Certified Instructor

That makes an N frame a pretty big gun compaired to my CW9.. I guess if i needed to stop a T800 it would be worth it but not for a CCW.

Why are the 5inch barrels so hard to find? For me it is the perfect length as well

I REALLY don't like this thread. The snub .44 is #3 on my list also and since I just picked up #1 a week ago.......it might not hurt to skip #2 for awhile?