Wyatt Burp
Member
Could it be a Lew Horton 24-3 barrel remarked to .44 Mag then the forcing cone shortened? Maybe someone already mentioned that.
Mystery 29-2
- Thread starter BillyN
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- Messages
- 27,660
- Reaction score
- 21,315
You could do that...or just get the factory barrel pictured above and put the pin slot in.
Last edited:
That would seem to be a real clue to the mystery behind this gun.
Is the barrel marked with the same SN that is on the butt of the gun? If not, the most logical conclusion would seem to be that it has had a newer barrel swapped onto an older frame.
This certainly wouldn't be the first example we've seen of someone "building" a gun to match a rare configuration in order to get just the gun they wanted, but couldn't otherwise obtain.
Like I said before, even if its not original, it is still a cool gun - one that I would love to own.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- Messages
- 27,660
- Reaction score
- 21,315
The model 29-2 was made well after the "soft fitting" era, so no matching numbered barrels or cylinders. 
It's a barrel swap, not an original. Markings on the barrel are on the wrong sides for a 29-2 and the contour of the right side of the ejector rod shroud is that of the 29-3 and later versions of the Model 29.
LittleAugieMo
Member
Would welcome that into my accumulation for sure depending on price as long as it would be w/ current trends. And of course...lose those pearles..lol. Great looking shooter!!
There are two known 44 Magnums with a 3 1/2-inch barrel (S177427, 44 Magnum shipped in 1959, and S252057, Model 29-2 shipped in 1965). In 1985, S&W made a special run of Model 29-3s for Lew Horton. Two hundred "44 Combat Magnums" were made with a 3-inch bull barrel, K-frame grip with a round butt, contoured wooden stocks, red ramp, white outline, and bright blue finish. I owned one of these for a time, but the recoil and blast with 44 Magnum rounds prompted me to sell it fairly quickly.
Bill
Bill
Well BillyN, you've caused quite a stir with your interesting Model 29-2. I assume that the model no. is stamped in the yoke area along with the s/n and that dates your revolver's manufacture to 1967. The barrel is definitely not original to your revolver. Although the "SCSW 5th Ed." mentions that "7-1/2", 4-1/2", and 3-1/2" barrels have been reported", I've never seen one discussed or presented here on the Forum. There were quite a few Model 29 versions released with 3" barrels, but none were done for the 29-2. Even the later Lew Horton .44 Magnum Combat Magnum 3" (29-3; 1984-85) had the ".44 Magnum" stamped on the right side of the barrel and "Smith & Wesson" stamped on the left side of the barrel (see below). I'm not sure when S&W reversed their stamping procedure but it looks like it was sometime between the 29-5 (and .44 Classic) and the 29-10. I'm sure that some other Forum members have more info on this. I noticed too that the 3" barrel has a much nicer finish than the much older 29-2 frame, so this to me also indicates a barrel swap. However, I think you found yourself an exceptional .44 Magnum snubby revolver that most of us would be happy to have in our collection. Enjoy!
Attachments
My wrist started to hurt just looking at those!
The model 29-2 was made well after the "soft fitting" era, so no matching numbered barrels or cylinders.
Good info. I didn't know when they discontinued stamping the SN on different parts.
