Mod. 29 with unrecessed cylinder

[AkRay]

I saw a 6 1/2" Model 29 dash nothing at the show today. A friend of mine pointed it out to me and I looked at it a couple of times. It was a 4 screw gun, with the screw on the front of the trigger guard. It had some Pachmayr grippers on it, with no original stocks. We didn't notice the couple times we examined the revolver, but the owner pointed out that the cylinder wasn't recessed to enclose the cartridge case heads. I told him that the cylinder had been replaced but he wasn't convinced. When did Smith & Wesson start using the non-recessed cylinders in their 44 Magnums? He wanted $750 for it.

 

[Doug M.]

I think you are right. I'm thinking about the -3 change, but that thought and enough change will get you a cup of coffee. Is it pinned? I am almost certain (never say never) that the cylinder should have been recessed on any M29.

 

[jjbrewst1]

Recessed

-3 is correct...Although I think there might have been a few transitional -2's without a recessed cylinder...But not many...

 

[JSR III]

Something doesn't seem right here. The trigger guard screw was eliminated in 1962 with the 29-2 and the counterbored cylinder and pinned barrel were eliminated in 1982 with the 29-3.

These two features are 20 years apart so something is not correct. I could see the possibility if a 29-2 receiving the non counterbored cylinder but all the way back to a 29 no dash seems highly unlikely. It is possible that the cylinder is a later replacement or also possible the - mark is too light and was missed.

 

[AkRay]

The gun had some oil around the Mod. 29 stamp but I'm pretty sure it said Mod 29 and nothing else. I think the original cylinder was damaged at some point and was replaced with a current cylinder. The extractor star was the old style and not the square style that Smith & Wesson uses now.

 

[bamabiker]

Wouldn't a non-recessed cylinder have to be shorten to work? A recessed cylinder fits very close to the frame on the back side. If you just put a NR one in I don't think it would close when loaded.

 

[Doc44]

The 29 is not correct and has been modified from its original configuration.

Bill