I've been having a lot of fun with my M&P .45 polymer, and I think it's time for another Smith (or 3 )

I've yet to shoot a 329PD yet, and would love to get some opinions from owners and shooters before I go check one out.

Thanks in advance,
NgNl

They are great for carry but tricky for use as there are too many gimmicks that are required; such as blast shield, lightweight cylinder, and shrouded bbl.

I tried some lead bullets in the one I was shooting and recoil pulled the 5th and 6th round. A heavy 44 Spl load was all I wanted to shoot in this light weight. I got rid of the 329 and kept my 44 Mtn gun.

If you want to pack a gun and not shoot it I recommend any of S&Ws airlite revolvers.

PS I have a M&P 45c and I love that plastic pistol.

The 329 is good for hot load 44 Specials. It's use as a 44 Mag revolver is not a good idea as its recoil is absurd. It is, however, good for laughs when you let your unsuspecting buddies shoot it with 44 Mag loads.
"H*** s***!" is the universal response :-) .

Hi, Steve here. 329PD owner ,. Bought my 329PD some years ago, i got it for a carry gun . I all ready own 2 other 44s,both 8&3/8" barrels.I all so reload for them. So when the PD came it was the first 44 with a barrel shorter than i ever shot before . It was the first air light gun i ever shot .What a challange it turned it turned out to be. Most of them all good ,it has done a lot of things i never seen before.It has caused bullets to start to pull out of ther cases. It has developed lines along the clyinder after shooting hot 44mag., loads From what apears to be the cylinder touching the top strap. They were not maximum loads,just a little hot. And most of all is you must handle the recoil. Same rules, dont fight it ,dont drop it, just find the most comfortable stand and hold .The more i shoot it the more i really like it. It is not for every body . I would recomend you try one before you buy one .

Howdy...I got one of them not too long after they came out. The thought of a .44 mag that one could tote all day while hunting in the mountains seemed awfully attractive. Not a burden to carry and the potent .44 mag cartridge on tap sounded good. It certainly didn't think of it as a target revolver and expected stout recoil. I took it to the range and attempted to fire a box of 240 gr JHP magnums in it. I left the pretty Ahrends grips on it. Well, that dang revolver HURT to shoot. I got through 24 rounds and had to stop. The skin on the web of my hand was ripped and the first joint of my thumb began to swell. It was a couple of months before I could stand to shoot anything more than a .22 with that hand. I have had some hard kicking handguns. Compared to that 329PD, my 4" 500 is a pleasure to shoot. I think its a gun to carry if weight means the difference between it or nothing...Of course, you may have tougher hands than mine...

I really like mine.

S&W329pd Information

Thanks for the responses fellas .... each are very helpful. I'm interested in a smith revolver, larger caliber but not 'that' gun, I'd like to be able to hit the side of a barn, lol ....

Thoughts on .357?

686 Mountain Gun at Lipsey's. Great shooters, easy to control and with 180 bullets very competent field round.

Lighter factory 357s for home defense and personal perfection.

OK, so you ask for info on the 329pd but you were just joking? Did you at least Google it before asking? The way you are back peddling makes it sound like you just pulled a model number out of the air.

nogoodnamesleft, I think you made the correct decision--the 329 is not for most of us.
Start exploring .357s and 44 Specials at shows and dealers. The 44 Special is my favorite all around caliber (just because it is), but the 357s make more sense as an all around, versatile revolver. Get one of each :-) .

For its purpose the 329PD is a great pistol! It is a great carry or hiking gun. For SD I use the Winchester 210 gr Silver Tips which are loaded relatively mild. For target practice after sighted in for your carry load I use 44sp and for deep woods carry in bear/mountain lion country I carry Garretts and hope I don't have to fire it- they are brutal !

Thanks for the feedback,fellas..... sounds like this beast has some kick to it!

SOME is not the operative word here. You won't need your morning coffee after firing a few through the 329.

Split the difference between the 357 and 44 mag and get the 357PD (41 mag).
Many different bullet options, especially if you reload.
It is not a gun I shoot everyday, but it is nice to be able to carry a gun all day and know that you have it in case you need it.

I thought I might shed some light as I just pulled the trigger (literally) on one of these. I had actually been looking at the now discontinued 327PD, the 8-shot 357, but I went to my local range and saw a near mint 329PD for a very good price yesterday. I immediately checked my funds and it was mine.

I have to say that this is the most well balanced and accurate revolver I have ever shot. It fits my hand perfectly and I couldn't be happier with the fit and finish of the gun. The sights are great, but I do shoot better with a fiber/v-notch set-up, and the trigger is really slick which allowed me to get used it to it quickly.

The one problem everyone seems to be bringing up is the recoil, this is where I was very surprised and delighted. Today I shot 100 rounds of WWB magnums and 50 rounds of .44 special Remington. The listed energy for these is 750 ft-lbs and 310 ft-lbs respectively. I have to say I didn't know how to handle magnums in this pistol at first. I shot about three cylinders of the special ammo, which to me felt comfortable and about the same as a full size .45 1911, before I moved into the magnums. This is where I learned quickly.

I did not have the appropriate grip for this kind of power, and this caused the gun to want to slide up in my hands as I kept shooting. What worked for me was to go back to the special loads and shoot fairly slowly (5 sec between shots) and concentrate on where my shots were being placed and why. Soon I had developed a grip which allowed me to dump a full cylinder into one hole in about 10 seconds, also there is no tendency to flinch from recoil with the specials. The holes were about 1-2" at 10 yards, and I think the grip/trigger finger placement was the cause.

Now that I had run out of specials, I started shooting magnums. Knowing that they are powerful I practiced dry firing at my target in between reloads to help my hand ease the recoil. I went slow as before and kept doing the dry firing exercise between reloads. By the time I finished two boxes I was able to put three full power magnums into the same hole(and the bullseye!), at 10 yards. Now I know this is not a very long distance, but considering this is the first time I ever shot a 44 I felt pretty good about it.

In summary, I had never shot a 44 mag before in my life, and with some patience and adjustments I shot a good amount of ammo and the recoil was manageable. I would have to say shooting this for the first time reminded me of when I first shot a 357. I just took it slow, and now I would feel comfortable making a kill shot out to 25 yards on a human or bear with the 329PD if my life depended on it. This is now the nicest firearm I own, and especially with lighter loads the most accurate. By the way I put on the rubber grips when shooting. I haven't tried with the wood ones yet.

It is the nicest 44 special you could ever want. Carry it all day and hardly notice it is there. Shoot any 44 special load you want and have the option of switching to the 44 mag if desired.

Recoil can hurt with the mags! Some have recommended going to the grip designed for the 500's and yes it does fit the 329 perfectly. Choose the grip you like and match it to the loads you want to shoot. It's a great revolver and I truly like mine.

Ward

Wow... I shot 18 rounds of full-power magnum ammunition through one (wood Ahrend's grips installed) about a year ago and had no interest in shooting more magnum ammo thought it until we installed Hogue rubber grips. Even then, I didn't shoot more that a few more cylinders full of magnum ammunition that day. However, shooting specials was a real pleasure.

Brutal is the right word. Fun, but brutal.

Hey thanks, Dieben .... that was a nice review.

I'm going to a pretty large gun show this weekend, and that's one of the models on the 'buy it if ya find it' list (price depending) ....

I think the rubber grips someone mentioned would deff be right up my ally when firing magnum rounds..

Also looking for G27, M&P 15 in 5.56, 10 and 12 gauge shotguns (just looking for a cheap-o at this point), some more optics (reports of fake ACOGs are starting to make me rethink that) and ammo ammo ammo....

Gonna do my best to stick to the budget this show, how is it you always find ANOTHER weapon you like at a gun show?

Nogood, I have been reading on this forums for quite some time and thought the info might be useful. After reviewing all the comments here, I think you may want to try and find the 327PD. Virtually the same gun in 8-357, and I have some Buffalo Bore loads that are well into the 700 Ft-Lb range, so I don't think you would ever be undergunned if that was a concern. Hell, they probably have more energy than the WWB magnums. And you are very correct about finding the "other" weapon, most of my purchases I convince myself I don't need until they are in my hands. I hope you find some good stuff!

I have a 329, 340, 342, and 386. Of these, it is the 340PD that hurts the mostest. The 329PD, since I replaced the stock grips with SW500 grips, is not too bad to shoot with .44 mags. It does not turn it into a pleasant all day target pistol, but I have no problem emptying it into a target. I think all of these serve their intended purposes well, which is to carry often and shoot sparingly.

ETA: In addition to the 329, I have a number of 29's and Anacondas. But if I want to shoot .44 mags in an extended session, or shoot hot loads or heavy hardcast loads, out comes the old Ruger Redhawk.

Just about the best part of your whole post, which was already pretty good. Glad to hear things worked out well for you! If you want to keep feeling good about this gun, don't even bother trying the wooden grips.

I have a 325PD which I was just about ready to sell (something I don't do very much these days), when I tried some Hogues which really saved that gun for me. Obviously, if a slow 230gr bullet recoiled too much with all but the best grips, a medium- to high-speed 240gr would pose greater problems.

Although things worked out well for you, and your experience contains useful information for all, I would caution anyone against buying such a pocket rocket without trying one first. It could easily be a waste of money. However, for those who can make it work, the utility and convenience should be obvious.

__________________
Formerly Model520Fan

520Fan,

I was so excited about this new revolver I went back to the range today. You are very correct about the wood grips. With specials it wasn't awful, but much more noticeable, and I wouldn't ever use these with the magnum loads, EVER. Also, after putting 150 special and 150 magnum loads through the gun in two days, the web of my hand is definitely feeling different. It doesn't really hurt, but very tender. And the comment about try before you buy if a definite must. I let a couple of the guys who work at my range shoot it, and it attracted a crowd, observations were either Holy s*** my hand hurts, or a big grin with nothing in between. I got mine for ~$620 in near mint shape, maybe half a box of ammo through it, so I knew I could always sell for profit if I didn't like it.


Beemerphile,

When you said the 500 grips work, are you referring to all models made for it or just the factory grips? I would really like to get some.

Thanks