Right before this danged kung flu hit Paul (forum member Weatherby) sent a message telling me he'd seen a 44 that had my name all over it. I couldn't believe it when I heard it. It was a 12" barrel Extreme Hunter. I figured I'd never get lucky enough to hold one, much less own one. Paul, being the nice guy that he is, ran back by the gun store and bought the gun on the last day before the Mass. gov shut down all "non-essential" businesses. A month and a half later (and a Federal Court ruling) the gun stores were considered once again essential and Paul was able to send that gun down south to it's permanent home. Thanks for all your trouble buddy!
This gun has a little story behind it on its own. Word is that a S&W big shot liked the Extreme Hunters but wanted one done to suit his tastes. No fluted cylinder, no bead blast finish, a gold bead front patridge sight and what feels like a very slick action job courtesy of the Performance Center. (I measured just over 3 lbs sa trigger) The gun also came with a 2 1/2-8x Leupold scope mounted and a handsome set of walnut Nill Griffe grips.
I had it shipped to my local range so I got to test drive it right away. I ran the last 35 rounds of 44 spl LSWCs I had through it to dirty it up good (cause I like dirty gun pics ) and 20 rounds of my usual load of 44 magnums. The gun is 'weighty'. Just enough to give you that wobble and sway with a two hand hold standing. I took the first five standing, the next thirty rested (on my elbows, nothing fancy) and finished off the last twenty magnum rounds standing. With all that steel, the recoil is almost non-existent, even with the wood grips. I'm glad I'm able to add this one to the collection.
I also want to thank my rich Uncle Donald for helping to pay for this foot-long beast.













Dirty pics and first shots.







And here's a copy of a Lew Horton letter I found here on the forum. My serial number prefix is CHK which, according to the 4th edition would make mine a 2004 gun.



Thanks for letting me share y'all!

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Nice pictures buddy.

Surprised a grip guy sent it to you with those shoes.

Yeah that's a high up employee gun and the guy had taste.

Oh good you got the dog hair off the exteme case....lol

__________________
Paul
S&WCA #2726

What you want me to say? Nice gun....is that capturing it? ENJOY IT in all caps.

Like I said, you're one of the NICE guys!
I'd always wondered what Nills felt like and now I know. I'm a lefty and they still fit me like a glove. Thanks for all your leg work. You're a GREAT enabler!!!

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

It's not going to spend its life in the safe...guaranteed. Thanks!!

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Great gun! Those grips sure look good on there.
Amazing piece! Does it look like the scope mount has a sight on it, right in the front? Or is it a rear sight on it, but on the mount, for shooting without the scope?
??

that’s gonna take up a lot of room on your pool table. Very nice, I like long barrels on a 44 for sure. 12” is hard to top. Congratulations.

Good eye Lou. I'd never seen a ramped front sight mounted on a scope rail before. Apparently that was normal for that mount. There is a small allen head set screw holding it in place. Might take it off. I'd like to scoot the scope back a little more. Decisions decisions.

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Congratulations on your new 2004 S&W 629-5
Extreme Hunter 44Rem Mag, 12"Bbl.

That is one Unique S&W.

Thank you, also for the Unique Back Story and great
Pictures.

PC Light Hunter 6"Bbl

Attached Images

WIN_20200328_16_13_05_Pro.jpg (77.0 KB, 58 views)

__________________
SD social distanc'n since 1889

Wow! Congratulations!

I'm gonna guess the original grips had a sling swivel to match the hole in the underlug?

Congratulations on a wonderful addition to the Family

__________________
"Acta non verba"

Yessir. The original rubber Hogues, front & rear swivels and original (stock) rear sight were in a bag in the case. I am missing the sling. I'd like to find out what type of sling S&W used and replace it if possible.

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Nice gun... May want to consider a bipod like the 14'' barreled 460PC..

l can think of a better home for 0le Footlong than Nuunan JauJa;-)

not a bad looking gun at all !

75Vette,

You drive a hard bargain, but I’ve thought it over and “I’ll take it”





Great score

Cory

Not so fast Cory. Old Footlong has a permanent home.

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

to carry it you may want to use a sling. I had a Model 29 "Hunter", 8/38" barrel and without a scope, it got heavy real fast.
I killed a nice white tailed buck one year with it, took it home cleaned it and put it back in the safe. I got rid of it shortly after that for something a bit more practical, but still a .44 magnum.

I have a leather sling ordered, just to complete the package. The original was a cheap nylon Uncle Mike's. I don't plan on toting this one in the woods. And you're right, the scope throws a lot of weight on the gun making it impossible to hold steady for more than 5 or 6 shots.
I stripped it down yesterday to see how much of a difference it would make and it was substantial. I was able to hold it steady for a good half hour of shooting at the range today. Turns out the factory supplied grips with this particular gun were X frame Tamers. I'll shoot it a little w/o the scope but it will be mounted back on again.

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

I've heard the term lunch box guns.

Seems this is more of the garbage bag variety.


Hefty Hefty Hefty

__________________
Paul
S&WCA #2726

Sweet!
That is awesome
That will lead the pac on the 4 foot prop rod
Congrats to you
And
Good on you Paul, very nice move on your part especially with all that’s going on.
This is the second one of these I’ve seen, member madmike( A Mainer )
Had one and offered it up to me a year or two back, unfortunately I passed
It’s in the 629 club thread....wondering if it’s the same one

Congrats again you guys

chris

Good to see you still kicking!! I remember madmike's gun. Not the same one. His was bead blasted and had the fluted cylinder.
Still an amazing gun.
Take care rodbuster.

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Great Gun!!! I have one of the 181 WMT SN ones...

__________________
Richard
Engraved S&W fan

That's sharp! I bet you paid the engraver overtime to scratch up the extra barrel length.

__________________
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Nice cannon. With a barrel like that and miss, you could poke your prey in the eye!