Some people asked me what I shoot through my little beast, so I figured I'd post a range report:

This Smith and Wesson Model 629 is a Talo Exclusive.



Its has a heavy barrel that makes the 3" barrelled weapon weight only 1.9oz less than the 4" model. The total 39.6oz weight makes shooting heavier loads much less punishing than one would assume. I sent it S&W for the master revolver action package and for a fixed C&S extreme duty rear sight.


At first, I was worried that the recoil was going to be extreme but its actually not bad. At the first range trip I shot 150 rounds worth. The first 130 all double action; I figure in a self-defense situation I won't be cocking a hammer.

First I fired 50 rounds of 44 Magnum Magtech 240gr. SJSP and the recoil was not that bad at all, color me surprised. Then I went through 50 rounds of 200gr. 44 SPL CCI Blazer (very very mild). Then I shot 30 rounds of the carry load I pick for this gun, Fiocchi Extrema 240 Hornady XTP hollow points. Honestly, I could not tell the difference between these and the Magtech loads. Finally, just for stupidity sake I shot 20rds or Corbon 300gr. penetrator loads. Those were quite snappy, but still managable in SA.

The group below is the Fiocchi Extrema loads at 10 yards (sorry for the cell pic). I threw two shots away:




Here is the ammo I have used in this weapon to date shot through my chrony (results are per 10 shot average):

44 Mag Corbon 300 grain - 910fps
44 Mag Hornady 240 grain - 1175fps
44 Mag Fiocchi 240 grain - 1122fps
44 SPL Hornady Critical Defense 165 grain - 915fps
44 SPL CCI Blazer 200 grain - 720fps
44 SPL Winchester 200 grain - 772fps

Here is a video of the 44 Mag Corbon 300 grain Penetrator loads at 17 yards when I first got the gun:
YouTube - 3 inch barrel .44 Mag S&W 629-6 Deluxe Talo Edition with Corbon 300 grain Penetrator loads

This is after owning it for a while with DoubleTap 300gr. Nosler JHP loads at 14 yards (notice I am no longer adjusting my grip after each shot, perfect practice makes perfect):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPspXB3_4iY

Thanks for reading,
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Grouping 3 44 mag S&W 629-6.jpg

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NRA Certified Instructor

Nice shooting. That would make a good IDPA gun!

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Rolan Kraps
Gainesville, Ga

Great shooting and a great looking revolver

Nice !!! I had similar results with my Talo 629 3". I love it ! It shoots great, feels great and conceals easily. I shot the bottom group then the top and adjusted the sights for the middle group. These rounds were handloads. 240 gr LSWC loaded to 950 FPS ( out of my Ruger Vaqueros). It's a soft load but shoots good and is pleasant to shoot. Most (75% or so) were shot single action.

I wouldn't consider that one flyer in the 8 ring a throw away. If you look at the position it's very likely a hit on the spinal column, which means that your opponent would drop immediately. As for the hip shot, he'd be in one big hurt and most likely unable to avoid a followup. Sum it up and even your "misses" were effective hits, especially with a 44 Mag.

Thanks for the write-up. I picked mine up yesterday.
Love the stocks!

LOL I just got one back from S&W its a -3, fired 12 250gr Keith HC with 7.2gr of 231 - will see how I do at a qualifier with it for SSR

Good luck with that

Just got mine with the intention of using it as my hunting/hiking sidearm.
Will shoot it soon and post a report. Really impressed with it out of the box, one of only to S&W's I own that have the "Lock" feature.

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303