Question on 629-1 Ammo

[Jack Cook]

Hi, Picked up a new 629-1in sept it was born in July 2021. I only want to shoot 240 Grn., thats enough for me. I bought 2 50 rnd boxes of PRVI PARTIZAN ammo. it is 1541 FPS and 1272 Ft. LBS. Is the to hot for my gun don't want to shake it apart. Those stats look a little hot for me for 240 Grn. New to the 44 Mag, raised on 9MM & 38 /357. Thanks.

 

[lppd4]

a 629-1 born on July 2021?

 

[Narragansett]

Welcome Jack

A 629-1 made in 2021 does not sound quite right.

As for your ammo, I do not know about endurance packages in the 629, but your ammo does sound a bit on the hot side. However, I can make no comment on the ammo without knowing the barrel length that was used to develop the velocity you posted

looks like they use a 210 mm bbl. If I am right, that would be 8.25 inches

Me personally, I would not shoot it. I am sure the recoil is stiff

 

[75Vette]

Welcome to the forum Jack. Your 629-1 was made between 1982 & 87. The factory began what is called the endurance package with the engineering change 629-E in 1989. This was to strengthen the gun for repeated hot 44 magnum loads. Random factory loads shouldn't damage the gun but I wouldn't make a habit. If you reload you can taper down the horsepower or look for 44 special at your favorite gun store. Enjoy your latest.

 

[AveragEd]

For what it's worth, Smith & Wesson added an Endurance Package to the 629-2 that was supposed to allow those guns to tolerate hotter ammunition on a more regular basis. I have a 6" 629-1 that I use for target shooting only and accordingly, feed it only 240-grain cast semi-wadcutters at a moderate velocity. There's not much sense in risking damage to a gun that is no longer made and cannot be easily replaced. Having said that, I would imagine that the occasional use of hot loads wouldn't hurt it.

Ed

 

[Goblin]

I would think the advertised velocity is optimistic. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it, but I'd run it over a chronograph to see how hot it is. Even if it's hot, it will likely shake you apart before it shakes the 629 apart.

 

[Protocall_Design]

Personally, I would not shoot that hot of a load in that gun. It might be OK, or it might blow it up. It's on the borderline of too much.

 

[Jack Cook]

Thanks to all folks, not going to shoot the mentioned ammo. Gona give the prvi partizan 240 to a friend who has a 44 mag lever action. Like you folks are saying why chance it. I shot the gun 2 weeks ago using Winchester 240 red & white box 1150 fps / 850 ft. lbs. very enjoyable fun to shoot !! I also picked up some fiocchi 1330 fps. / 950 ft. lbs. I don't think the fiocchi stats will hurt the gun, wont go any hotter though. 44 is so much fun. Why did I wait until 66 & 1/2 yrs. old to get a 44 ? Thank You all for the advice.

 

[steelslaver]

They will not blow your gun up. The endurance package did nothing to increase cylinder or frame strength. Zero zip nada. In fact you could say they made the cylinder a bit weaker by making the bolt notch longer. What it did was improve the guns lock up so that it would not jump out of battery during recoil. They modified the lockup mechanism so they kept it locked up during harsh recoil. Those improvements came after people started shooting real heavy loads in Silhouette competition and having problems with the cylinder bolt coming unlatched, and the cylinder would rotate back slightly, then the cylinder would not advance correctly for the next live round to come into battery. NOT because any of the revolvers blew up.

If those rounds cause top strap cutting, end shake, forcing cone erosion, etc. in a 629-1 they will do the same damage in a endurance package gun.

I have 4 of the 629-1 guns, 2 of them are now 45 colts that shoot pretty warm 255gr slugs and 2 of them are still 44 mags. I have never had a single problem with any of them. I don't figure I ever will unless I go firing a bunch of 300 gr bullets at top velocities.

 

[Eddietruett]

I have a 629-1 with 8 3/8" barrel. My hog hunting load is the 300gr Hammer Coated Bullet from Missouri Bullets loaded hot. Measured velocity just over 1400fps. Shot several hundred rounds working up this load with no problems except a sore hand. Not fun to shoot even with Decellatator grips. Since I don't hunt anymore, I only shoot much softer loads when playing around with the 100 yard gong. I would not hesitate to shoot any factory load in a 629-2. As @Goblin stated above, it's gonna rattle you before it does the gun.

 

[stansdds]

It's factory made 240 grain 44 Magnum ammo, it will not destroy your Model 629-1. What damages the pre-endurance package S&W 44 Magnum revolvers is full power ammo loaded with bullets weighing more than 250 grains. As for the stated velocity, it could be a bit optimistic, it might be from an unvented test barrel or it could be from an 8 inch barrel. Some ammo companies would use 8 inch barrels for 357, 41, and 44 Magnum ballistics testing so as to obtain higher velocities. Higher velocity is good marketing.

 

[Jack Cook]

Hey Folks I made a rookie mistake yesterday when i made my first post on this forum, sorry new to S & W revolvers. I have a "629-6", not a 629-1. That's why I was saying born 07/12/2021, this date is on the blue S & W case on a sticker with gun info on the sticker. I new this when I bought it 2 months ago but forgot. while cleaning it this morning I saw 629-6 stamped when I had the cylinder open, along with the serial number. It is a 6 inch barrel. I'm still guessing that 240 grn. 1542 FPS & 1272 FT LBS is still pretty hot for a 629-6. Thanks.

 

[Jack Cook]

Thank You for serving, much appreciated.

 

[Seadragon]

Why do you believe the ammo you have will produce 1542 fps and 1272 ft-lbs out of your 629? Because it's printed on the side of the ammo box? Unless you know the length of the barrel used to collect the data on ammo velocity, the manufacturer's velocity data tells you almost nothing about what you can expect from your gun. Is this ammo a full-house magnum? Yes, very likely. But if you actually chronograph it shot from your gun I'd be willing to bet that it will not produce velocities as high as 1542 fps.

Having said all that, lacking a good reason I would not go out of my way to shoot hot magnums at paper targets just for the hell of it! Your gun should handle them just fine but unless you enjoy the heavy recoil why not shoot something more pleasurable?

 

[steelslaver]

While I do not believe the ammo will blow up a 629-1 or any other quality 44 magnum and that ammunition manufactures often claiming velocities that result form pressure test barrels with no cylinder gap, (1542 for a 240 gr bullet is unlikely even with an 8 3/8 barrel) the need for velocity in big heavy handgun rounds is way over rated for most applications. A 240 gr slug traveling at 1100 fps will kill the same as one going 1400 if both bullets hit the same spot. The difference in bullet drop at 100yds with a 50 yd zero is about 5" for 1400fps vs about 7.5" for 1100fps. Most people can't hold a 2.5" group at 100 yds and those that have the ability hold a bit high. Don't even start in on over100yds as the drop for a 1400fps round is with a 50 yd zero at 150 yds is almost 17" and at 200yds it is right at 3 ft. So if you used a real 1400fps round to shoot at a deer that was 200yds away with a 150 yd hold over you would shoot under him or worse blow a leg off. VERY very few people have any business shooting at anything living beyond 100yds even with a 44 magnum.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Maybe I am getting old, but a 250 Keith at 900 for practice and that same bullet at 1,000 for defense and 1,200 for hunting is plenty for me.

 

[Jack Cook]

Thanks for all of your input and advice, I did take it all in. A friend of mine wants the ammo for his 44 lever rifle, I didn't loose any money which makes me happy. I'm going to stick with the Winchester red /white box and such, its good enough for me. I shot 44 rounds of the Winchester 240 grn a couple of weeks ago at my local outdoor range and it was a lot of fun & really enjoyable. The sights were really responsive and I got it sighted in easily. I like this 629-6 , 6 inch barrel more than I thought I was going to.

 

[__steve__]

I have a 629-6 and shoot nothing more than rated equivalent 1100 ft/lb 240 gr and under, and 1000ft/lb for 300 gr. Rough science but it gives me a starting point when loading. The resulting loads I manufacture always end up producing less than 900ft/lbs at 10' when fired over the chronograph, and they do kick some.

S&W developed the x-frame revolver for those who like hotter than typical loads