Today I closed the deal on the Pre-29 that I asked advice about several days ago. On second inspection, the gun had a couple of issues that I hadn't noticed at first, but I decided to take it anyway. I was not looking for a collector-grade Pre-29, and this one certainly wasn't because of muzzle wear and some damage to the cokes. But it was still a high-condition shooter, and that is what I wanted.
After I got it home, I found that I had made a tyro gun buyer's mistake -- trust the gun without pulling the stocks. Turns out this gun got a factory refinish in October 1975; the R-B stamp is on the frame, and a 10 75 date code. If I hadn't seen the stamp, I would still think it was the original finish in about 95-96% condition.
Nonetheless, I am happy. I got it at a serious discount from the asking price, the refinish was well done so it is a pretty good looking gun, and the action is superb. Timing and lock-up are as brand new, and the trigger feels as though it was given attention by someone who knew what he was doing. Single action releases right now with a 1.5 pound pull, and there is no sense of creep. There is some post-release trigger travel, but that is easy enough to fix with an overtravel stop applied non-destructively to the back of the trigger. There is no push-off sensitivity, either. The trigger is one of the best I have felt on any large frame S&W.
A previous owner whittled a small groove for his little finger on the front corner of the cokes, an ugly alteration that I may seek to have repaired by one of the forum's master stock fixers.
Pretty much a standard feature four screw. S172491; 6.5 inch barrel; red ramp front sight with square white outline rear. Wide trigger and hammer.
So: a somewhat heedless purchase, but one I don't regret. I will undoubtedly find a better Pre-29 at some point, and I will probably let this one go to get into that one. I'm looking forward to taking this one to the range and seeing what it can do.
After I got it home, I found that I had made a tyro gun buyer's mistake -- trust the gun without pulling the stocks. Turns out this gun got a factory refinish in October 1975; the R-B stamp is on the frame, and a 10 75 date code. If I hadn't seen the stamp, I would still think it was the original finish in about 95-96% condition.
Nonetheless, I am happy. I got it at a serious discount from the asking price, the refinish was well done so it is a pretty good looking gun, and the action is superb. Timing and lock-up are as brand new, and the trigger feels as though it was given attention by someone who knew what he was doing. Single action releases right now with a 1.5 pound pull, and there is no sense of creep. There is some post-release trigger travel, but that is easy enough to fix with an overtravel stop applied non-destructively to the back of the trigger. There is no push-off sensitivity, either. The trigger is one of the best I have felt on any large frame S&W.
A previous owner whittled a small groove for his little finger on the front corner of the cokes, an ugly alteration that I may seek to have repaired by one of the forum's master stock fixers.
Pretty much a standard feature four screw. S172491; 6.5 inch barrel; red ramp front sight with square white outline rear. Wide trigger and hammer.
So: a somewhat heedless purchase, but one I don't regret. I will undoubtedly find a better Pre-29 at some point, and I will probably let this one go to get into that one. I'm looking forward to taking this one to the range and seeing what it can do.
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