opinions on refinished 4-screw Mod 29?

[davrenn]

Guys, serious question...what would you do with a gun like this?

1959/1960... has S&W refinish rectangle under the grip. June, 1970

The bad news...look what they did to the logo...and also there is a small ding under the muzzle, like it was dropped on concrete.

Bought it many years ago at a reasonable price ....but it always bothered me to no end how valuable a gun it WOULD have been if it wasn't a re-finish and without the ding.

What are your feelings about having a gun like this in your collection?

1. say "Oh well, it was almost a great one..." ?
2. trade it ?
3. try to find a similar vintage sideplate ?
4. have logo polished out, ? S & W told me it can't be re-stamped.

Just seriously wondered about the opinions of a bunch of enthusiasts like you guys.

Thanks

 

[VM]

Since you "Bought it many years ago at a reasonable price " .......enjoy it, shoot it and don't worry about it. It is a shooter. Refinishing a refinished gun doesn't make sense.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Just because the S&W logo isn't dep and puckered up, doesn't mean it didn't originally ship that way. I have a 29 that has a stamp that is very similar that I thought the same thing about, but after looking at quite a few others like mine that I know haven't been re-finished, I think it is simply a matter of the stamping die having just about served out its useful life. I have a fairly early 57 that was unfired when I bought it, and the stamp is only marginally deeper than my 29, and not a whole lot deeper than yours. The factory is usually very, very good about not buffing of stamps and roll marks. The ding on the barrel would bother me much more than the re-finish.

I think way too much is made out of the fact that some guns have been re-finished. They are still great guns, and they are never going to make them like these old ones anymore, so being re-finished isn't a big deal to me. I do understand how it would bother someone who only collects mint examples though.
It looks like your cokes have been re-finished too, going by the rounded edges of the football relief. So what? They are still cokes, and someone like Keith Brown could probably make them look like new again.

Keep it, shoot it, and enjoy it. There aren't a lot of 4 screw 4" 29's out there, and if your gun was originally nickel, that makes it even more scarce.

I disagree with having it re-finished not making sense. If you got it for a good price a long time ago, and it would make you feel better to own it in better condition, by all means have it re-finished by the factory.

 

[M29since14]

...Just seriously wondered about the opinions of a bunch of enthusiasts like you guys.

I am not a real collector, but do consider myself an enthusiast. There was a time when a gun like that would really bother me, and I probably would have traded it off. Nowadays, I don't worry much about them and enjoy shooting them and sitting around in the evening with one on the end table, just keeping it company.

I wouldn't do anything to it, unless there was damage to the crown that hampered accuracy.

 

[CT Smith Fan]

I'm sure that if you were to decide to sell this gun somebody will buy it for the right price. I have to agree with the others,It's a great shooter with some scars, that I would be proud to carry and enjoy.

 

[29aholic]

Shoot the dog s**t out of it. There are those of here with pristine guns we would like to shoot but wont. You have a gun we would like to have because we could shoot it with no remorse.

 

[s3dcor]

Your gun has character. It would not bother me to keep it just the way it is and shoot it. I have a few that I don't shoot and won't shoot so it is nice to have a few around that I will shoot.

 

[W.D.Truitt]

What has been said, I think is the right advice. I'd keep it and shoot it, and think of Elmer, he carried a 4" 29, and there's alot to be said for that.
Enjoy.
W.D.

 

[davrenn]

There are those of here with pristine guns we would like to shoot but wont. You have a gun we would like to have because we could shoot it with no remorse.

Thanks for those comments, fellas. In a way, you put a whole different slant on my gun that I hadn't been considering...

The way the world is currently heading, one of my real regrets was not buying all of the gold Eagles and Buffalos I was pouring over when gold was $650-700...

Vintage S & W's that are actual "shooters" could be a class of "hard assets" that one of these days has an explosion of interest...in the same way that the " muscle car movement" has put so many of the classic cars back on the road...actually being DRIVEN and ENJOYED by modern day enthusiasts.

 

[HeloMt]

Very cool gun....go make some memories with it. Pack it and shoot it, all of us here would!

 

[mtb1bkr]

I'm with most here, shot the hell out of it and enjoy it. On that note, the logo can be recut. Not by S&W, but by one of the greats in gunsmithing work for S&Ws. Dave Chicoine of Old West Gunsmiths can and has done recuts of markings and he does amazing work. The problem with this is, you will spend a lot more $$$ than you could ever recoupe if you were to sell it, and you would have a gun that's "too pretty" to shoot. Dave has a commercial 1917 of mine that was nickled. He's taking the nickle off of it and doing a factory quality re-blue of it. Fortunately, who ever nickled it didn't do to much damage to it, so the markings and all are still there. I should have it back in the next few months and will post before and after photos. I figure that if I keep it until I'm about 90, then I should be able to get my moneys worth out of it.

Bill

 

[Iggy]

You have the perfect every day gun. Don't do nuthin' but shoot and clean it.. That's what it was built for.

 

[AL Deputy]

AL Deputy

I would carry it, shoot it, sit and look at it.....you got it at a great price so don't down grade it .
When I was it Germany my mother-in-law was buying Kugerands for 32 US dollars each, and I was buying Beer for less than a Mark . She did not leave any to me, Rands or beer .
I only wished I could afford a Mod 29 !
AL Deputy

 

[buckeyeshooter1]

Looks great to me. I would shoot it and enjoy it.

 

[LLN]

Good advice here--be happy you have shooter--shoot it and clean it-larry

 

[wraco]

I recall reading that Fords can re-stamp your sideplate. Can't imagine it costing the farm to do it either.

Ford's Custom Gun Refinishing - Ford's Desert Eagle Sights

Rod