Who has one and how do you like it? I'm looking at one but unsure. Got to be pretty brutal with full-house magnums but it could be tamed, I think. What's current value on one? I have lots of .44s but nothing like this.

I've got several Night Guards, one of which is a 329NG.

Weight, with factory grips, is 27.5 oz, so expect some recoil with full loads but it's not as light as a 4" 329PD with Ti cylinder (25.2 oz).

If it's in good shape &, a price you can bear, you better get it quick because the NGs go fast.

If you don't get it, for whatever reason, I really like my 2-3/4" bbl. M69 a lot &, even though it's a 5 shot in the L-frame (34 oz), it handles recoil well for a snubby.

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Waiting for the break of day

While I am not a 44 person, I also have several Night Guards . . . 310NG, 327NG & 357NG. My 310 has been opened up to shoot 10MM Magnum

I have fired one of the 3" 329PDs, this is easily the most brutal recoil of any Smith & Wesson ever manufactured . . . even worse than the 500s or the 340/360s with full Magnum ammunition

The 329 Night Guard will be noticeably less brutal.

Though this is not the firearm for a day of plinking out on the farm.

This is the firearm to save your butt when you turn down that wrong alley at 2 AM

Presuming that you are not overly sensitive to recoil, these can be controlled. Then of course you can always water down the ammunition as far as you want if you are a hand loader or fire 44 Specials if you do not roll your own

Make sure the grips fit your hand. This is a part of recoil management that is far too often overlooked. So many shooters think that any rubber grip reduces recoil. Grips that fit your hand is what allows you to handle recoil

Partway through the Night Guard offering the factory changed grips. For me the older Pachmayr compacs fit me better than the rubber finger groove grips that replaced them

It is very hard to fix value when there are so few of these that change hands in the secondary market place.

While you have not mentioned condition, box or paperwork, a buddy of mine bought one last summer for $1,200 in what I will call hardly fired condition. He was very happy at that price.

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"Acta non verba"

Thanks for the helpful replies. I'll let you know if I get it. It's in excellent condition with box and all that came with it.

Would you say it was worse than an AirLite Ti J-frame with .357 ? ? ?

I like .44 Magnums and you can always load this one with Underwood ammo's .44 Special +P 200gr. Bonded Jacketed Hollow Point that using Speer's Gold Dot .44 Special bullet at 975 FPS out of a 4" test barrel. I have been drooling over a S&W Performance Center 629 2.6" that I would love to have if I could sell my Ithaca Deerslayer III 12ga. dedicated slug gun to fund the project. I would think the Underwood load would be perfect in a 329 Night Guard sort of like a .44 Magnum "lite" from what I have read. You might check them out as a possibility and I hope this helps.

Rocky

Noticeably so

I own two Model 340s both of which are only fired with full magnum ammunition. They have over 8,000 rounds through them so far.

I won't own a 3" 329PD

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"Acta non verba"

I don't have a NG, but do have a 2.5" Alaska Backpacker -- I think it is pretty much the same except for the adjustable sights.

Here is what I wrote on a different forum when I first got it:

Picked up this 329 PD Alaskan Backpacker from my LGS yesterday. LGS said orig owner mentioned shooting only 30 rounds thru it. Looked brand new to me, cleaner than most new guns I've purchased recently. No turn line, and blast shield unblemished. Put some modified S&W 500 grips on it to test recoil and took it to the range. Ran 30 plus rounds of 240gr JSP over 23.5gr H110 before I got run off by the rain.

A couple of observations. Recoil was quite manageable - definitely "snappier" than the 2 3/4" M69, but it weighs a half pound less. Recoil less than my 4" 329 PD (I'm guessing due to less velocity from the shorter bbl). A bit more difficult to shoot accurately due to lighter weight and weight distribution (due to SS cylinder) and v-notch/gold dot sights. Once I figured out where to hold, 25 yd steel plate rack targets were quite doable single action. Felt bulky and top heavy to me -- but, I've been shooting the 2 3/4" M69 quite a bit lately, so that's probably the reason. Would have shot more if weather had permitted.

Here's a cell phone picture.



For those that don't know, it's a 2 1/2" S&W 329 PD with a stainless steel cylinder. The 4" 329 PD weighs 26 oz -- the backpacker weighs 27 oz (extra weigh due to stainless cylinder).


Paul

I would not own one.

Reasons:

a. I have a had reliability issues with unmodified S&W revolvers with internal firing pins.
b. I'm not going to regularly shoot full tilt 44 thru it.
c. How do I know a gun works if I don't shoot it?

Great logic on your reasons Doc

And I wouldn't expect you to want a 329NG (44 MAG).

Aren't you the one that said your 325NG (45ACP) was a hard recoiling revolver & got rid of it?

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Waiting for the break of day