I'll acknowledge the fact that I am old fart school. When I needed a gun to carry in mountain hiking/high altitude, I chose the S&W M629-4 Mountain Gun. I grew up on 6 & 6-1/2" N frame .357's and .44's. So I figured a 4" ;44 Mag, N frame wouldn't be that much different. Unfortunately, the 4", is a different animal.

Recoil on a skinny barrel 4" .44 Magnum vs a 6" standard heavy barrel is like the difference of night and day.

I wouldn't even think about carrying or shooting a lighter weight .44!

I do have a 4" M28 as my "Indiana woods/comfort/plinking/kinda race gun /packin' gun" and I shoot it a lot and I am more comfortable with it than any of my 6'er's. However, the 4" Mtn Gun is a different beast. It kicks like a friggin' mule and I REALLY have to focus and concentrate hard to get a good grouping.

Please remember, this comes from a guy who has shot HOT handloaded 6" and 6-1/2".44 Mags for over 30 years!

I would never go to a lighter gun than the 629 Mtn Gun. I practice and carry locally with hot .44 Spl's (1000-1200 fps). I am as good with that combo as I am the M28 4", but with .higher velocity, heavy bullet 44 Mags, my accuracy diminishes. The recoil and the blast are horrendous!

After 2 or 3 rounds, I develop a flinch, but I work hard on trying to disregard it. I figure if I need to use the Mtg Gun in the field, hopefully being able to accurately put 1 or 2 shots of 260+ grain .44 Mags will do the trick.

I'd advise AGAINST the M-329.