S&W Model 29-2 factory or re-blue plum barrel?

[Kevenn]

Hello. I'm a new user and just picked up my first Model 29-2. Serial dating puts it at 1979- late 79 I believe. I know these were transition guns with now 6" barrels and different bluing process. I've seen many others online in that 79-83 time frame with plum barrels, receivers etc. Mine is no different. Got it from a guy who inherited from his father. Apparently he bought it new, and I asked him if it was refinished and he said no. I believed him. If you look closely you can tell the barrel top rib is a darker black than the receiver (I've seen that before) and the barrel has a dull, milky plum looking barrel. Left side you can see length long scratches that I assume is from holstering. For those with a better eye then I can you tell if it's factory or refinish? Do the letterings appear sharp enough? Hopefully the pictures do the pistol justice. You can def tell it was taken care of with light handling marks. Thank you and I've enjoyed this forum.

 

[rct269]

A somewhat SWAG:

Given I don't know diddly about "transition guns-----and different bluing process" vis-a-vis different colorations emerging therefrom, I'm inclined to attribute this to sloppy work---symptomatic of S&W's then pretty well entrenched philosophy of building their products at the lowest possible cost.

Given the implementation of such at an earlier point in time, when the then philosophy of building the best possible product for the price was extant, I'm inclined to believe they would have spent both the time and money to thoroughly test the new process---BEFORE implementing it---and BEFORE releasing product for sale.

One man's opinion---one who's both been there and done that when it comes to running a commercial venture.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[Kevenn]

Thank you for the reply. Even I can live with sloppy work if it's truly factory done…maybe a Monday or Tuesday gun?!? When I referred to a transition gun I meant the move from the 29-2 to the 29-3. Here's another picture which might help.

 

[Bald1]

Would be helpful to see while gun on both sides to compare barrel to frame and look for other signs of refinish

 

[Truckman]

It may just be the lighting when photographed, but I can't see a difference, and the stamping looks good......Ben

 

[Kevenn]

Here's another pict. Only letting me do 1 picture at a time. I'll take as many others as you think I need. Thank you

 

[22hipower]

Some sharp focused pictures in good light (outside in shade if possible) would help, both sides and closeups of the side plate and cylinder and barrel. You can post five pictures in each comment.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[Kevenn]

Finally got it to work. Thx for everyone's assistance.

 

[22hipower]

The barrel does look a little different and that can mean a barrel change, or a refinish of the barrel, but not necessarily so. I don't see obvious signs of a refinish on the rest of the gun. If I bought that gun to shoot and use at a fair price I wouldn't worry about the difference. If it were presented as an investment piece with box, unused tools and papers and I paid a premium price for it I might make an issue of it. If not, use it, enjoy it. And welcome to the Forum. These things, Model 29s, are like potato chips, nobody can have just one.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[series guy]

It looks all factory to me. The color change over time comes from the different alloys and heat treat for different parts of the gun.

 

[Kevenn]

Here's a few more from outside. You can definitely see the plum or "rose" tint coloration. You can also see in the pict of the top barrel rib how much darker the finish is compared to the rib near the rear sight. I know other factory barrels went "plum". My DW 44mag had this happen to the receiver.

 

[Engine49guy]

I have an early 29-3 with the same plum barrel issue , the cylinder is also the same plum colour,
Years ago someone commented that they believed the blueing salts were used too long.

 

[Kevenn]

Engine49. Did the top rib above the barrel seem a lot darker (deeper black) then the rib closer to the rear sight on your 29-3? Or Scratches length wise along the barrel you could see in the finish?

 

[Echo40]

As someone who actually finds the plum-colored bluing aesthetically superior to the traditional black-colored bluing, I wouldn't care how it happened but simply treasure it.

That being said, I've done thorough research into the subject and here is what I have gathered from a number of reliable sources... Plum-colored bluing is the result of one thing and one thing only, a batch of spent bluing salts which weren't properly rotated out. Furthermore, plum-colored bluing is purely aesthetic and is every bit as durable/corrosion-resistant as ordinary black-colored bluing.
So what actually happened to that barrel is likely as simple as being made on a Friday night as part of a batch using bluing salts which were already due for disposal, but they wanted to get one more batch out of it before they dumped it.

The result? You've got a Model 29 with a rare, unique, accidental color variation, and should either keep it as is or trade it for another that is more to your liking. If I had an ordinary 29 of my own, then I would be happy to arrange such a trade, but alas, I do not, which is regrettable because to me the black sheep, the runt, and the stone that was rejected by the builders would become the cornerstone of my collection.

 

[moosedog]

Your 29-2 falls into the timeline of when S&W experimented with bluing the gun parts separately, rather than the whole gun at one time. I've only seen it in the 29-2s. It didn't work out very well and people ended up with two tone guns.
I had one of these that I ordered for a duty gun in four inch in 1979. I ended up sending it back to S&W and had them reblue it under warranty.

 

[stansdds]

I think it is original. Moosedog is likely correct, this 29-2 was likely assembled using parts that were blued separately.

 

[Doc44]

If your 29-2 was shipped in 1979, it was blued using the hot oven carbona blue process. The new, liquid penetrating blue process was not begun until November 19, 1980. S&W stated it would take six months to completely change all models over to the new process.

I have seen similar situations to the one on your 29-2. I believe your 29-2 is original and has not been reworked or refinished in any way.

Bill

 

[Kevenn]

Thx all for your responses. It definitely makes me feel better that it's most likely a factory blue job. My serial num is N686xxx so I assumed that was late 1979 but other sites claimed it could be 1980.

 

[Hawg Rider]

Welcome to the Forum! I believe that you've gotten some excellent information about the bluing color issue from our Forum gurus. The color differences are purely aesthetic and in no way affect the performance or durability of your .44 Magnum. I have one 29-2 in my modest collection that is close to your s/n...N631156 is also 6" bbl. from 1979 (it doesn't appear to have the plum color on the barrel). But with everything that has been said, you still have a sweet and original Model 29-2...the stocks are nice, and the color case hardening on the hammer and trigger are beautiful. Enjoy!

 

[Kevenn]

Again thank you everyone for your reassurance. Though I do take care of my firearms (almost to a fault! Lol) I DO shoot them! This one I shot about a 1/2 box the day I got it last week. One thing I did notice is the barrel pin drifted out to the right slightly during the range session. I was able to lightly tap it back so it was even on both sides. I did see where this has happened with other users…any ideas or just an anomaly? I will shoot it again this weekend so I'll keep my eye on it.