Mountain Gun

[NEKVT1]

I picked up my first mountain gun today. The 629 44 magnum. I haven’t been this excited about the release of a new firearm in years. The nice partridge sight with a gold bead creates a great sight picture. For years I had wanted one, my neighbor had one in 45 Colt at one time that I had fallen in love with. I hope that keep this series going and put in a 45 Colt at sometime. The Tyler Gunworks bear hug grips fit beautifully and look like they belong, I feel they are much better than Altamont. The gun locks up nice and tight. Looking forward to a range day this week.

 

[BluedRevolver]

I hope yours is better than mine. With mine the gold bead launched itself into another dimension within a few cylinders (only shot .44 Special cowboy loads), though the real issue is peening in two of the cylinder stop notches that S&W says is out of spec. I am sending mine back but haven’t gotten a chance to ship it yet.

 

[afret]

Glad you got it and hope it's a good one. Had to send mine back to S&W since the trigger mechanism malfunctioned after a few light rounds and the timing was off on a couple of cylinders. Waiting for them to send it back here. It is a nice looking gun though.

 

[bobsguns]

Jeez, is the whole series not being made right????

 

[Gas tube]

the mountain gun is a classic

 

[Yendor 1]

Mountain Gun?
They ought to call it the Canyon Gun.
That gap is .028”! My old 686s from the 80s are approximately.005”.

I was a sucker. I fell for the hype. I broke one of my own rules. I bought a new Smith.

When I got it home, I loaded it and couldn’t even cock the hammer SA style. I tried taking it back to the gunshop. Mind you, it was unfired. And they wouldn’t let me return it. What do you think of that?

The gold bead on mine also jettisoned itself before the 3 rd cylinder, after we got it to at least function. The action is nowhere near right.

The rear sight is jacked up so high that there’s a gap between the leaf and the frame.

I hate this thing. I feel stupid for buying it. It is going back to S&W on mon 6/30. And if Smith will make it right , I’ll take it all (every bad thing I said) back. I am not holding my breath.

 

[Doug M.]

There is no excuse for such shoddy QC, A decent design and program, put together by people who are honest to goodness experts, is going to get a bad reputation because S&W is not doing the work correctly, compounded by failures of inspection. While the .44 does not interest me, if I wanted another .357, that 7 shot 686 MG should be the pinnacle. S&W's metatarsal marksmanship is shameful.

At all levels of an organization, one should be recruiting, training, and retaining based on seeking excellence, All other criteria are unimportant even counterproductive. S&W is not alone is screwing this up; it is just seen and reported more here because this is the S&W forum.

 

[Yendor 1]

This is what a new Colt looks like.

 

[chase45]

Yikes Ive been lusting after a 629MG but boy maybe I should just be happy I got a good regular 629 out of the current production stuff

 

[blackdeuce]

Glad you got it and hope it's a good one. Had to send mine back to S&W since the trigger mechanism malfunctioned after a few light rounds and the timing was off on a couple of cylinders. Waiting for them to send it back here. It is a nice looking gun though.

It will be interesting to see the turnaround time. Mine has chipped finish on the trigger. S&W won't send me a new one. They want me to ship the gun to them. I'm not going to do that unless there are other problems. I haven't shot it.

I also bought a new 686 MG and it appears to be better made. I haven't shot it, either.

 

[doubletapp357]

I love those grips! Great pick up!

 

[Rock185]

I had one of the original/686-5 Mountain Guns and wished I'd never sold it. So when the new MG came out, decided to buy one. So far, quite happy with mine. Front sight is very tall, so mine shoots low, but no worries, I will fix that.

I didn't consider the 629 version. I'd had 29s, 629s, 57s, etc. and know my old wrist won't tolerate .41s, .44s, or .454 anymore.

 

[Mr Bean]

 

[Mr Bean]

My original 629 6.5 with rubber grips. Carried in the plains and East coast with specials, but in bear country of Colorado carried magnum. Replaced by Glock 20 with HS green dot in a chest rig.

 

[pharman]

I bought one of the new 629-9 Mountain Guns...I have to admit I fell into listening to all the hype about this new model including the reports about the Bear Hug grips being so fantastic...the QC on those grips left a LOT to be desired...even though after looking thoroughly at mine AND not having fired it, after listening to ALL the negativity regarding quality control issues I decided to SELL it NIB UNFIRED...It is GONE...has a NEW owner...I hope he has good luck with it...I just don't have the time to mess with quality control issues and sending it back, etc...that should NOT have to be done for a NEW S&W revolver...Actually realized I did NOT need it...Roger

 

[Rock185]

Wow, So due to internet gripes/chatter, you sold your new revolver without ever firing it?

I've had my MG to the range now a couple times, using .357 and .38 Spcl. factory ammo. As I mentioned, POI is low, but otherwise everything works quite well. Glad I bought it, and have no desire to sell or trade it on the next shiny thing that catches my eye

 

[pharman]

Rock185 above you made a statement "Wow" about my post regarding selling my NIB 629-9 Mountain Gun...please go to the "Lounge" and look at "What has happened to QC at Smith and Wesson"...it is a real eye opener!

 

[SteveA]

I picked one up a couple of weeks ago. Not a lot of rounds downrange yet but no issues at all. The action is slicker than my 629-5 that has been fired and carried a great deal. The front sight is fine after a few 300 grain hot handloads. Love the grips. I have nothing to complain about. Guess I was lucky.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I bought one of the new 629-9 Mountain Guns...I have to admit I fell into listening to all the hype about this new model including the reports about the Bear Hug grips being so fantastic...the QC on those grips left a LOT to be desired...even though after looking thoroughly at mine AND not having fired it, after listening to ALL the negativity regarding quality control issues I decided to SELL it NIB UNFIRED...It is GONE...has a NEW owner...I hope he has good luck with it...I just don't have the time to mess with quality control issues and sending it back, etc...that should NOT have to be done for a NEW S&W revolver...Actually realized I did NOT need it...Roger

Ya never know if a woman can dance till ya ask out onto the dance floor.............I say your action was premature.

 

[Cartwright Jones]

I picked up my first mountain gun today. The 629 44 magnum. I haven’t been this excited about the release of a new firearm in years. The nice partridge sight with a gold bead creates a great sight picture. For years I had wanted one, my neighbor had one in 45 Colt at one time that I had fallen in love with. I hope that keep this series going and put in a 45 Colt at sometime. The Tyler Gunworks bear hug grips fit beautifully and look like they belong, I feel they are much better than Altamont. The gun locks up nice and tight. Looking forward to a range day this week. View attachment 771355View attachment 771356

I used to have that same gun! Not exactly, since mine had Pachmeyer grips, but it was basically the same .44 magnum Mountain Gun. It kicked like H-E-L-L! It was NOT a gun anyone sane wanted to fire full power loads from. But it IS a testament to S&W's commitment to giving the customer what they want!

 

[NEKVT1]

My 686 Mountain Gun just came in as well and picked it up. Now I need to get time to test the 44 and 357. I also have the Colt Kodiak that I want to get out and shoot. I might just have to have a sick day soon! I will post some results of running various types of ammunition through them. I am very curious about comparison between the Colt and Smith. I really like the feel of the 357 mountain gun.

 

[Law-dog]

Wow, So due to internet gripes/chatter, you sold your new revolver without ever firing it?

I've had my MG to the range now a couple times, using .357 and .38 Spcl. factory ammo. As I mentioned, POI is low, but otherwise everything works quite well. Glad I bought it, and have no desire to sell or trade it on the next shiny thing that catches my eye
View attachment 772042

And here is one of those shiny new ones.Got this add today. I am one who believes that every person who owns a big gun, should have a copy in 22, just for training, and fun, and fun, and training and fun and teaching others to have fun.

 

[Rick O'Shea]

And here is one of those shiny new ones.Got this add today. I am one who believes that every person who owns a big gun, should have a copy in 22, just for training, and fun, and fun, and training and fun and teaching others to have fun.


View attachment 772272

Yeah, I just got the same email with the 617 and the 610.
What's killing me is,
1.) those are the main two models that I have been craving, to the point of even buying them with the lock, and..
2.) now I'm seeing all these reports of QC issues, and..
3.) I don't have $2500 floating around.

 

[Yendor 1]

I wrote post #6.

I have a 629-4 Mountain Gun. It’s fantastic. An engineering marvel. A work of art. I run 240 XTPs and 429421s at 1200+ FPS. I don’t think it recoils any more than a regular 4 inch 629.

The 686 Plus MG is a fabulous concept. (I’d love to have one in a 3.5”)
I am glad others got a good one. I remember when ALL smiths were good.
The lemon I got must have been the last one off the line, scraping the bottom of the barrel for whatever junk parts they could come up with to cobble together something that looked somewhat like a revolver.

The underneath of the trigger guard and frame look like that area didn’t get a final polish. The side plate screw unscrewed itself.

The (1)loose screw, (2)missing gold bead, (3) polishishing the trigger guard, (4) too low rear sight blade, and even (5) sticky action are all easy fixes. (6) But that .028” gap between the frame and crane….I'm worried about whether or not they will fix that.

I still have high hopes that when it comes back, it’ll have a clean bill of health. Like I said, it’s a great concept.

 

[CH4]

I am glad to Smith moving in the right direction, but I am glad I have my 629-2, 625-6. As far as 10mm, I have a 5” 610 ND that scratches that itch. Other than aesthetics, the slight weight difference isn’t noticeable in a chest rig. I just carried my 625-6 45 Colt through the Sierras on a 4 day trek. Didn’t know it was there. I flipped a coin between the MGs, other 4 and 5 inch N frames and my 4” Kodiak.

 

[rpking]

My experience with one of the new Mountain guns.
I started my search for a 629 .44mag at a dealer local to me.
A Smith and Wesson and a Lipsey exclusive dealer gun shop. This was in January when all the podcasts and hype was getting started about these firearms. The owner of the shop told me that the guns were allocated meaning he could get 1 or none, maybe he would get 6 or more.
He put my name on the waiting list.
Fast forward to June 11th.
He called me said he had one.
It was dirty, looked like it had a half box of 50 rounds shot through it. I bought it anyway.
Decided to give it a good cleaning, took the grips off and found they were busted and had been glued together in a few places. And not in a few other places.
See pics.
The broken part was actually pushing against the flat spring inside the grip frame.
I decided to e mail Lipsey, hats off to them, they had me a new set with in a week.
I will sum this up,
I thought these guns were going to be special, top of line, making a fella smile from ear to ear whenever it was held in the hand.
It shoots well, the brass bead in the front sight is still there, I still like S&W.
BUT in the future I will not get excited when I hear Lipsey, Tyler Gun Works, Smith and Wesson or any other brand of gun in the same sentence.
No one cares anymore, no quality control whatsoever.
I have bought nicer, cleaner guns at Dunham sports for well under half the cost.
I still like S&W firearms, I just feel they should have done a lot better on this collaboration.
Their reputation for producing the best firearms just slipped closer to the bottom of my list.

 

[afret]

Sorry to read about your bad experience. I read of another case with very poor fitting Bear Hugs that Tyler took care of but nothing like yours. I wonder if this one could have been returned and was just sent out to your LGS?

 

[jrc1]

These are from my new 686 MG I fixed them but I probably will see about getting a replacement set

 

[DrMark]

Just picked up one of the new 686 Mountain Guns.

Haven't shot it yet. We'll see how it does.

 

[GFU]

I’m happy to see Smith and Wesson making positive choices like no lock revolvers and these new Mountain guns. There are several Smiths that I am interested in buying. I hope that these QC issues are the exception, with lots of scrutiny due to the internet, and I hope production smoothest out with time. I have not lived in grizzly country for awhile, but I still enjoy my 625-6 Mountain