My first nice revolver, a 29-2 8 3/8 barrel. Advice?

[Couch-Commando]

I finally got one of my "holy grail" guns, a Smith and Wesson 29-2 with a long barrel. I've wanted one of these since I watched Dirty Harry as a kid, but finally pulled the trigger because I can finally go hunting again, and my state has a handgun deer season. The revolver appears to be in perfect mechanical condition, with fairly mild holster wear on the finish. The only flaws, other than holster wear, are that the grips don't line up perfectly. There is a little circular plate riveted to the wood to lock it into the frame, and one of these is loose and falls off. The screw that holds in the crane in is a little goobered up, but based on the grit in the trigger before I detail stripped it, I'm not sure it was ever taken apart aside from routine cylinder cleaning. The trigger is way smoother once cleaned. This appears to be exactly what I was looking for; a mechanically sound shooter with just enough wear I don't feel bad shooting it.

I have a few tech questions. I am very bad at shooting revolvers, so I'm planning to shoot some ICORE to get used to shooting in double action and learn speed reloads. I am aware this is not ideal for ICORE, but I've long shot practical sports with what I have, or with home defense guns, so I'm far more concerned with learning how to use my equipment than I am with winning. With the "football" grips, I've found that Safariland speed loaders seem to work fine despite the grips not being cut out for speed loaders, however ejecting brass can be a problem with the brass impacting the grip. Should I consider buying later speedloader cut out grips to "shoot" with? Alternatively, does anyone make a "good" reproduction target grip? I haven't found any after lots of google searching, aside from Eagle Grips which are expensive and don't have the speed loader cut out, and Altamont, which have had the grips I'd want labeled temporarily unavailable for months.


I have a question about spring weights. While the trigger is smooth in double action, it is not light. I don't have a trigger gauge, but I'd guess it is 10-12 pounds in double action, and a hair over 3 pounds in single action. The single action pull is absolutely perfect, but I'm going to really struggle hitting things like smaller steel plates in ICORE with a trigger this heavy. I ordered a Wilson Combat spring kit. I don't want to go crazy light, since I want reliable ignition with hard primers. I also don't want the single stage pull any lighter. If I've read correctly here and on other forums, the main spring affects both the single and double action pull weight, but the trigger return spring primarily affects double action pull. Is this correct? Should I experiment primarily with the trigger return spring to maintain reliability?



Finally, from what I've read on this forum, the advice I recall is that SAAMI spec ammo loaded with up to 240 grain bullets should not harm or reduce the longevity of the revovler, but stout loads in excess of this bullet weight will. Is this understanding correct? I have a 44 magnum lever action with a slow twist rate, so I don't plan to load heavy bullets anyway, but am shooting for 240 grains at around 1400 fps potentially for deer hunting.



Thanks for any advice!

 

[Dave.357]

Light loads or .44 special will be enough power for any shooting game
that you will shoot double action. With the cost of bullets consider
Buying a bullet mold.Even with your long barrel ,double action with
.44 magnum takes time to get back on target.

 

[llowry61]

I think the title will get some views. 29-1's are rare. They were only made for a year and dash twos were made for close to 10.

Dave has provided good advice on the ammo.

 

[OKFC05]

Unless you have an ICORE club that is hosting CLASSIC ICORE matches, you are wasting your time shooting a long-barrel 6-shot revolver in the current ICORE matches. The ICORE club in OK City is designed for the 8-shot revolvers, and with the ICORE rules for the Par-time stages (penalty mikes) you will wind up getting a ZERO score. I asked when they planned to host a CLASSIC match, with 6-shot neutral rules, and was told "BUY A NEW 8-SHOT REVOLVER. WE DON'T HOLD CLASSIC ICORE MATCHES ANYMORE. SIX-SHOT REVOLVERS ARE OBSOLETE."

My local IDPA club allows non-standard guns to shoot, and the match director and I sometimes shoot our long-barrel smiths in our own special division just for grins. Sure, all the kids shooting semi-autos snicker at how fast they are, but we all get to shoot for score and have fun.

I deer hunt with a long barrel 686, and since all my hunting shots are single-action, practice on the rifle range up to 100 yards, shooting single action. If you have to take a fast double-action shot at a deer, you should pass it up, IMHO.
Good luck!

 

[Couch-Commando]

The 29-1 thing was a typo. I've corrected it. As far as ICORE goes, I'm mainly looking for a forum to practice shooting revolvers. I don't expect to be the next Jerry Miculek.




I am simultaneously getting into handloading. One reason I went with this revolver is that I recently ended up with a 44 magnum Winchester 94, which while modified and worthless by collector standards, is quite accurate and fun to shoot. My plan is to make a light 44 special load for ICORE and for suppressed 44 magnum in the lever action (I had planned to buy a pistol suppressor, but bought this instead), a 44 special +p/light magnum which will likely be my main hunting load in the revolver, and a full power load for the rifle which will become my main handgun hunting load if I develop the skill to hit deer at extended range (greater than 50 yards) with the revolver.

 

[teletech]

Good to hear you are getting into reloading, it has good potential in these guns. Make sure to slug and measure the barrel and to run plug gauges through the cylinder throats, sometimes one or more are large or small and it's prudent to uniform them and buy/cast the right size projectile for your particular gun if you want good accuracy.

 

[NYlakesider]

Well I have hunted and got a few deer with a 29-2. Have both a 4'' and the 8 3/8 versions.

For me as I did tons of PPC shooting and am quite comfortable shooting double action, most times you get a shot you will be better off in single action..

Note I did take our a deer one handed double action but it was a unusual situation. (circa 1981) I was sitting behind a tree on the top of a hill looking down to the area the deer normally crossed and a deer came up behind me. No way could I turn around and get off a shot before the deer spooked. I had the 8 3/8'' laying in my lap, slowly picked up the gun and transversed over to the deer. As stated I only had a 1 hand grip and the deer was getting ready to leave. I brought the gun over and double actioned it. Hit the deer straight between the fore legs and dropped him. Was using factory 240G loads!

I could not hear at all for about a 1/2 hour and my head rung for a few hours more, talk about Excedrin headache.

One last thing before I totally bore you to death I carried that 8 3/8 in a Bianchi shoulder holster for a couple reasons. That large gun on your hip will hit and thump everything in the woods. Carried under your arm with a jacket on, you and your gun can move much easier threw serious wooded areas. Gun is also better protected in inclement weather!

 

[BigMuddy]

I don’t know what ICORE is but assume it is a type of combat competition? If I were doing that with my M-29 I would have some rubber grips on the gun, Pachmayrs or Houges. Easy access for speed loaders as well as better recoil control compared to the nice looking target grips on your gun.

Loads at 1400 fps will definitely work but aren’t necessary for deer hunting. I have taken several Missouri white tails, rarely with loads that heavy. I have NEVER recovered a bullet from one yet. 1000 fps 44 Specials work just fine. Most of mine have been taken with loads in the 1200 fps range.

The advice of a shoulder rig for your big 44 is good. I prefer chest rigs for easier access and they are more comfortable for me.

Welcome to the world of handgun hunting. The best advice I can ever give is practice a lot, then practice some more. I can tell you already understand that. My first handgun deer was in 1984. I sighted in my revolver, a Ruger Redhawk, and went hunting. Made an absolutely horrible shot, and after 4 hours of tracking, crawling on hands and knees looking for specks of blood in the leaves, I recovered that deer. Told myself I’d never make that mistake again. Now I only use guns/loads that I am completely familiar and confident with.

Good luck with your pursuit and that is sure a fine looking M-29.

Dan

 

[Protocall_Design]

I'm in the KC ICORE (International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts) club. Couch Commando and any other revolver shooter is welcome to come shoot with us. The object of the game is to make friends and learn how to shoot better, and have fun doing it. If you just want to try it out, let us know ahead of time, bring some ammo and we will supply the rest of the gear.