My New to Me 3" barreled M29...***1st Range Report*** S&W Historical Letter uploaded.

[HamHands]

My New to Me 3" barreled M29...***1st Range Report*** S&W Historical Letter uploaded.

I picked her up yesterday from my FFL after winning her on GB. I loved shooting and woods carrying my 629 so much I wanted to get a blued version in the vintage flavor. It's a Lew Horton "Overrun" according to the S&W signed & stamped historian letter from Roy Jinks… and was manufactured in 1985. It's a 29-3 which was a must for my likes/needs and It hasn't been shot much at all from the forcing cone and top strap from everything I can tell. The trigger in both DA and SA I'd say is 25% smoother and more crisp than my beloved below pictured 629; of which has at least 2K dry fires and 700-800 live fire double action pulls. The 629's trigger is actually pretty nice now but the M25 is more refined in the crispness department. Anyways, these are my Woods Carry pieces for when we are at our "Shared Family Mountain Home" in Highlands NC...The 629 has carried and shot so nicely I figured.... "Why not have a New York Reload... but for the Woods? Hahahaha!

We have an all too comfortable Black Bear that is pulling gutters, rubbing itself against the cedar planks, crapping and urinating on/by my Rubicon, scratching and digging up the moss, and bumping against the house anytime after we grill in the late afternoon/early evening.

Underwood's 255grain Hard Cast Keith in .44Special shoots really nice out of the 629. I imagine it will shoot even softer because of the slightly longer ejector shroud & slightly extra weight of the M29. I'll find out soon enough! Thanks for looking fellas!

 

[75Vette]

Looks like you found a nice one. I bought one a few months back and is fun to shoot with the right loads. Enjoy!

 

[Shark Bait]

Great looking gun! The closest thing I have to that is a 3 inch 24-3. It likes the Buffalo Bore 255 Keith. Haven't tried Underwood.

 

[Shark Bait]

Looks like you found a nice one. I bought one a few months back and is fun to shoot with the right loads. Enjoy!

Hey Vette. I am concerned about what all that eastern humidity could do to that nice blued finish. Maybe you should send it to me to enjoy the dry NM air.

 

[HamHands]

Looks like you found a nice one. I bought one a few months back and is fun to shoot with the right loads. Enjoy!

Looks like you found the minty-est M29 I've seen in many years 75Vette! Wow, look at the graining on those stocks... and the deepness of the bluing... and of course not a scratch/nick! Good for you brother! You're the guy with all the bad *** 44's aren't ya I just realized?

The Underwood's 255 grain Keith's and the 200 grain full wad cutters rated at 1,000 fps are pretty kitten out of my 629. The same grain pills loaded at 1,300fps in Full-House-Mag are a little much but I put 24 rounds thru the 629 a couple weeks ago just to see how hard the AR500 plate would thump and for POA/POI...

Prvi Partizan and Fiocchi both make some really nice and accurate factory 240 grain loads that I'd rate a nice medium magnum load... Meaning... to shoot a box of 50 for practice is just fine!

 

[HamHands]

Great looking gun! The closest thing I have to that is a 3 inch 24-3. It likes the Buffalo Bore 255 Keith. Haven't tried Underwood.

Thanks Shark Bait. A 3" Lew Horton M24 is what I started bidding on. I lost (3) back to back models and finally lucked into the M29.

 

[75Vette]

Hey Vette. I am concerned about what all that eastern humidity could do to that nice blued finish. Maybe you should send it to me to enjoy the dry NM air.

Don't be worried. I've got a nice de-humidified home for all my chillen's!!

 

[Geronimo Jim]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Nice.

 

[Trooper224]

This is one on my must have list. Congrats.

 

[HamHands]

This is one on my must have list. Congrats.

Thank you my friend! This Revo certainly was/is number "4" on my top 5 "must haves" revolver list! #4 started out being a 3" barreled Model 25 in .45ACP/Super but after a year of searching on local trader/forum sites... I got a 3" 629 and new I was hooked on the .44Special/.44Magnum cartridge! So a M29 just seemed to be the natural substitute. In my opinion, .44Mag/Special is the most versatile hand-gunner cartridge ever invented! YMMV...

 

[Kingspoke]

29-3 3"

I just bought one myself, the other day, but haven't picked it up yet. They're very attractive looking and should go well with my 629's. I paid too much for mine, but the hurt is over now!

 

[HamHands]

I just bought one myself, the other day, but haven't picked it up yet. They're very attractive looking and should go well with my 629's. I paid too much for mine, but the hurt is over now!

Nice! Post your thoughts after you pick it up for sure!

I paid too much for mine too but I'm selling something that I have 6 of; and for almost exactly what I paid for this M29... So it doesn't hurt that much at all... now, hahaha!

I love my 3" 629... But this M29 certainly has a "couple hairs" better build and fit quality, a noticeably crisper trigger, and seems to balance a touch better too. I think the latter might be due to the slightly longer ejector shroud and resulting more weight in the right place...

 

[ShadyDrifter]

I love mine

 

[Kingspoke]

Nice! Post your thoughts after you pick it up for sure!

I paid too much for mine too but I'm selling something that I have 6 of; and for almost exactly what I paid for this M29... So it doesn't hurt that much at all... now, hahaha!

I love my 3" 629... But this M29 certainly has a "couple hairs" better build and fit quality, a noticeably crisper trigger, and seems to balance a touch better too. I think the latter might be due to the slightly longer ejector shroud and resulting more weight in the right place...

My thoughts exactly, so I have one of my 629's scheduled for a new home to offset the expense of the ritzy girl!

 

[HamHands]

I love mine

Beautiful! This configuration of revolver sold so fast from everything I've read it's a real shame that S&W didn't make more of an attempt to keep up with demand.

/A 3" revolver is the sweet spot in optimal performance to weight from my experience in the last 2 years with "N" frames of different calibers and length of barrel. I switched from a 1911 that I personally converted to run .45Super "Keith" hard cast pills reliably.

The 1911 is smooth, easy recoiling, quick to put into action, and of upmost impetus... Reliable! However, you just can't shoehorn the kind of horse power into a semi-auto as you can a wheel-gun... This 1911 will consistently run a 255grain Keith HC loaded in the range of 1000 to 1150fps. But you couldn't count on running a 230gr .45Acp at 800fps with a 23lb recoil and boosted-up main spring poundage. These "N" frames will comfortably push a wide range of loads from 700fps to 1500fps; my favorite being a 255gr Keith Hard Cast in the range of 1150-1225fps for woods carry and the 200gr Gold Dot in .44-Special pushed up to 900fps in this 3" barrel.

Lastly, I'm sending both of these "N" frames to Clark Custom Guns to get the cylinders machined for Moon-Clips. I got so fast at ejecting and filling a cylinder in my 625 that it rivaled a mag swap in the 1911. And I found a couple full Moon Clips carries quite comfortably in the front pocket(s) of the nice fitting pair of khaki's, jeans, and/or cargo's. Moons with just a modicum of practice really raises the bar closer in the reload and capacity argument that the semi-auto clearly has the advantage in. But trigger and horsepower is the argument the revolver will always run the table

I'm becoming more & more comfortable in a defensive situation with a combat revolver... (even more so with a Moon Clip equipped cylinder), than ever before; and I have the upmost confidence in the Woods with a combat Revo… I'm far more comfortable with my "N" frames the semi-auto's I have & that I've grown up with that have been pushed & ingrained into use/service by my generation. YMMV...

 

[HamHands]

My thoughts exactly, so I have one of my 629's scheduled for a new home to offset the expense of the ritzy girl!

I agree with your decision, 100%! Up trading is the way that I've acquired exactly what I want in regards to firearms. I've bought a lot of middle of the road models just to get into a certain platform I was interested in. Then I use them as is for 6 months to a year or so to get comfortable/good and see what mods I want/need... or, upgrade to a better model that is more refined to my needs.

This 629 was my introduction to this wonderful caliber(s), the .44Special/.44Magnum. And it's been great handling everything I have ran thru it and is just as tight mechanically as when I got her! This 629-6 is just a solidly built piece of pure Americana! But so is your 3" M29 as well as mine. So again, I agree with your decision to sell your 629!

I'm selling a 14.7" barreled (perm muzzle device) AR. I have 2 others similarly configured... and 3 others set up to my exact needs so I can sell her to a longtime friend/family member without any trepidation!

 

[Hanek1911]

Just joined and this is my first post to say congratulations Hamhands. After chasing brass for years I'm becoming very fond of 3" smiths. Keep the nice 29 for good and shoot the heck outa the 629. Great stress reliever.

 

[DuneShoot]

Very nice, congrats!

 

[HamHands]

Well, a 25K pound tree fell across our house this weekend while I was out of town to attend my sister's wedding. I get down to Savannah and 30 minutes later the wifey called me with the news. Luckily her and my daughter were out and about when it happened. Long story short... I needed to get to the range to alleviate some stress; so I took my "new to me" Model 29 to my club with 10 different loadings/weights of both .44Special and .44Mags. I put 60 of each caliber thru her and started with my favorite carry load; the Aluminum Cased, 200Grain Gold Dots... of which were light recoiling and stellar and POA/POI repeatable, every time! Next up were Fiocchi, then PMC, then Winchester, PRVI Partizan, Underwood... the whole gamut! All shots were taken at 10 yards while I was getting to the double action break.


Next up, .44Magnums... They performed stellar if I did my part with Federal 240 grain HP's, & Blazer 240 grain LSWCHP's shooting predictably @ 10 Meters. The Fiocchi did rather well too. Everything I put thru her was manageable and nothing hurt, hahaha! I did wear a pair of svelte leather gloves to be honest but they are just a nice pair of "Cop Gloves" with good leather/stitching but certainly aren't padded by any means. This 3" barreled baby is... "My New Baby!" It handled everything I loaded her up with and even put a few cylinders full of Underwood "Full-House" ammo thru it sans the gloves to replicate the feel of how it would be if I had to draw down on a Woods Threat. Surprisingly it was still manageable. Like previously mentioned, 60 and 60 of Specials and Magnums. I'm really happy with this purchase and would buy this one all over again. Pic below of me getting used to the trigger break on my first silhouette!

 

[3rdgeargrndrr]

I hate you all for posting these pics and range reports.

How much are these 3" 29's going for?
I need one now