.44 Mag 28-2?

[one eye joe]

No way the factory did the conversion and I'm sure Roy Jinks would say the same thing.

I MUST AGREE WITH S&WIowegan, WHO HAPPENS TO BE A SWCA MEMBER. AS SUCH, HE PROBABLY HAS A BIT MORE KNOWLEDGE, ABOUT MATTERS LIKE THIS, THAN US NON COLLECTORS...........

 

[Bakebfr480]

My dad used to convert 28's to 44 spl. back in the 70's several times a year. I still have one in fact. Shoots like a champ too!

 

[Jack Flash]

I can vouch for the fact that dealers were charging 2 to 3 times the list for .44 Magnums after Dirty Harry hit the theaters!! Even the, they were very hard to find. I saw one in a gun shop in Illinois back shortly after the first DH movie and it was priced around $800!! I bought my first one in 1968 for $125.

I remember reading that in order for a dealer to get a .44 Magnum during the Dirty Harry Craze, S&W insisted that the dealer also order a lot of slower selling models along with it. Perhaps the dealers knew the slow movers would be on their shelves a long, long time and therefore priced the .44 Mag to offset this forced "investment".

 

[S&WIowegan]

I remember reading that in order for a dealer to get a .44 Magnum during the Dirty Harry Craze, S&W insisted that the dealer also order a lot of slower selling models along with it. Perhaps the dealers knew the slow movers would be on their shelves a long, long time and therefore priced the .44 Mag to offset this forced "investment".

I've wondered for a long time why S&W didn't ramp up production of Model 29s to meet the Dirty Harry craze and take advantage of it. They probably worried about getting stuck with inventory when people found out 44 Magnums hurt when you first start shooting them.

 

[Jersey Doug]

conversion parts

Here's the cylinder and barrel off the M-28 (from 1971) after converted to .44 special. For a little extra money they machined and added the red insert.

 

[BigBill]

Yup during the Dirty Harry craze I seen the nib m29/6 1/2” barrel 44 mag go for $750 it came out of the salesman’s trunk of his car. They were scalped on the black market. That turned me off from buying s&w products for many decades. If you wanted a m29 you paid dearly. It was so bad guys were buying up any n frame in any caliber.

 

[BigBill]

I've wondered for a long time why S&W didn't ramp up production of Model 29s to meet the Dirty Harry craze and take advantage of it. They probably worried about getting stuck with inventory when people found out 44 Magnums hurt when you first start shooting them.

They probably did ramp up the production but I think the demand was far greater. It couldn’t keep up with the demand, I wonder what the sales/production numbers were during this time.

 

[Jersey Doug]

At that time,, when couldn't score a M-29 opted for a 6" M-28 ,, few months after another a 4" M-28. Left one .357 the other converted to .44 special. The four inch now .44 special left no additional need for power after using hand loaded maxed out rounds, ( RBCS press with Speer bullets were the main sellers in my area then). One shot with the .357 without ear protection, never did that again.

Wasn't long before our group was splitting magnum range time with .22s. I bought a M-18 my friend a 48 with both cylinders. So the Dirty Harry craze did bring shooting to other type guns in the process.

The salesmen and or store owners would tell us, " I can get you a Model 29 but will cost you more than double." Every nearby Gunshop in every town, none were about to put a 29 in the glass display cabinet at regular prices when can get nearly triple for them. Then there was "The Waiting List."

 

[Capt. F.]

The factory would have restruck the model number.

Maybe on some but not all. I had a Model 57 factory re-barreled and re-cylindered to .44 Magnum back in the Dirty Harry days, but mine is still stamped Model 57 ( no dash by the way).
Oh, and the cost? Seventy five bucks!

 

[Jack Flash]

At a gun show in the mid 1980s, a dealer had Llama Super Comanche .44 Magnums (Spanish revolver somewhat of a copy of the M29) for $180 each. He sold out the first day. And this was about 15 years after the first DH movie. My 1980 Gun Digest puts the MSRP of an M29 at $331.50. But that price was often discounted.

My point is: It must have STILL been hard to get an M29 even at that point! After all, wouldn't most people spring an extra $100 to have the genuine item rather than a Spanish copy from some here today gone tomorrow gun show dealer?

 

[crsides]

I remember reading that in order for a dealer to get a .44 Magnum during the Dirty Harry Craze, S&W insisted that the dealer also order a lot of slower selling models along with it. Perhaps the dealers knew the slow movers would be on their shelves a long, long time and therefore priced the .44 Mag to offset this forced "investment".

The dealer told me back then when paying a 50% premium for a model 60, they had to take S&W holsters and ammo that they didn't want or need to get the hot models. The 50% premium brought the total to $165

Charlie

 

[Drm50]

Back in Dirty Harry craze not only other S&W guns but they extorted you to buy S&W holsters, police equippment , and
S&W accessories to get your place in line for 29s. Most of the
LSGs had a list of customers that wanted 29s. They all wanted
the 83/8" barrels. The 1st one I got back then was a 4". I didn't
have it very long and a guy that run local HWD store made me
a trade I couldn't refuse. He promptly sent it into S&W and had
the 83/8 barrel put on it. He was so proud of it he had it on
display in his store, in his empty pistol case that he cleaned out
to trade me. Being a little HWD he had a FFL but wasn't willing
to buy the extra stuff to get 29s. When I look back on it buying
the extra stuff to get 29s was probably a loss for most small
dealers. The guns would sell but a lot of holsters and police stuff
ended up in sale bin. On top of that it wasn't like you could order
all the 29s you wanted, S&W were alloting them to distributors.
It depended on your status with your Dist. For your supply.

 

[D1911]

Here's the cylinder and barrel off the M-28 (from 1971) after converted to .44 special. For a little extra money they machined and added the red insert.

Any chance you'd like to part with those??? Tried to send you a PM but your mailbox is full.

 

[BigBill]

Back in the DH craze I purchased the ruger SBH 7 1/2” barrel with a shoulder holster for ccw carry. The Next one came when the Redhawk was first offered in 44 mag with 5 1/2” & 7 1/2” barrels in s/s. I shot the snots out of the SBH. I regretted not getting the RedHawks in 357 & 41 mag.