s&w model 29 vs 629

[Dfish1247]

If you want Dirty Harry, the blued 29 is the way to go. I have a 629-6 deluxe 6.5” and it’s my favorite out of all my revolvers.

I’ve shot one box of pmc bronze 180gr through it, reloads ever since.

If you’re able to reload and you plan on shooting a lot, I’d highly suggest reloading, the 44 ain’t cheap to feed from the factory, reloading isn’t cheap right now either, but you’ll still get more for your money. If you’re the occasional shooter, stick with factory ammo because it takes a long while to recover the cost of starting reloading.

Unless you regularly shoot anti elephant ammo or go through a million rounds, you’ll never wear a smith out. Think of the stouter magnum vs special ammo as a daily driver car vs a race car, the higher the performance, the higher the wear and tear. Specials will virtually never wear out the 29/629 because either is built for more powerful magnums.

If/when you buy one, if you start with magnums, even regular range ammo, load one round your first time and see how you handle the recoil. Even the first few times if needed. Your walking in the thunder boomer room with 44.

 

[stansdds]

Nothing wrong with a 629 or an Anaconda. But they are both SS, I like the lost art of bluing. Wondering how much longer blued guns will be around? Smith already has the Model 29 Classic at over $1300 MSRP with the 629 $300 cheaper.
I like and shoot all barrel lengths

The "blue" on the Model 29 Classic is no where near the color nor depth of the Carbonia blue on the pre-1980 S&W's. It's not even as nice as the 1980 to 2000 black oxide S&W finish, in my opinion.

 

[gfors]

I, too, wanted a "Dirty Harry" gun. This was about 5 years, ago, and at the time, I didn't know about pre-lock, or MIM, or pinned and recessed, or dash numbers. I ended up buying this 29-10, new. It is a beautifully finished gun, although, definitely more black than blue. The level of polishing is very good, indeed. The gun is accurate, and durable, due to the engineering changes, over the years. If anything goes wrong, I have the factory warranty, to pay for repairs. I switched the factory grips, with older presentation grips, that have been glass-beaded to fit the frame tightly, as I like to shoot this gun, quite a bit.
I also own a 4" 629-6. When I bought this, I knew about the lock, and P&R, and all the rest, but the price was so good, I could not pass it up. I bought this to be a sidearm/back-up/coup-de-grace, for deer and elk-hunting, and protection, while fishing. Our game laws, in Colorado require a minimum 4" barrel, capable of 550 foot/pounds of energy, at 50 yards, for a handgun, that is to be used for hunting or finishing off a wounded animal. That pretty much dictates .44 magnum, at minimum. We also have moose and mountain lions where I hunt and fish. In fact, this past hunting season, I talked to a game warden, with a dead lion, in the bed of his truck. A hunter in our area shot the cat because it was stalking him. Warden said story checked out with all of the available evidence!

The 6.5 inch M29 is better at handling recoil at the range.
The 4" is a little snappier, in the recoil department. It has a wonderful trigger, and the Hogue single finger groove monogrip work better than the OEM rubbers, that came on the piece. I find that the wood spreads the recoil out a bit more. The synthetic grips are too soft, allowing the back strap to hammer the web of my hand.
I'll agree with Chief38: .44 is a bit large and loud for home defense.
Good luck, in your search!

 

[oink]

If you do plan to shoot it a bunch I recommend getting one new enough to have benefitted from the Magnum Improvement Package.

I bought mine new (6" 629-1) to carry on duty. To make sure I was truly qualified to carry it I bought 1000 midway branded cases and started loading. I loaded a lot (repeatedly) of pretty hot rounds based on 240 gr cast, gas checked semi wadcutters. I also loaded many light powder puff rounds based on a very similar bullet W/O gas checks. These were both Lee molds. I continued this for several years. It worked and I could out shoot most others shooting 38s mostly in the most commonly carried gun the 686.

I continued to shoot it a lot but not the hot loads nearly as much as it was no longer necessary. Of course the twice yearly qualification was with factory magnums, initially Winchester and later Federal. IIRC there was first a practice session which if shooting a 38 or 357 was with 38 reloads. They didn't have reloads for the 44 so it was all factory magnums but that was only about 240 factory magnums yearly.

I never did use all of the Midway branded brass as I quickly accumulated a good supply of once fired factory Winchester and Federal magnum brass. I wasn't the only guy carrying a 44 but I was the only guy reloading it. The Midway brass did hold up very well although I don't know who manufactured it.

Yes, you can wear out a 629. Mine still shoots but I don't consider it suitable for duty use, which isn't a problem for me now. It suffers mainly from the issues the Magnum Improvement Package addressed. I did stretch out some of the end shake that had developed.

I'd kinda like a newer low mileage 6" 629, new enough for the improvement package. However I don't want the lock or full underlug barrel. I also don't know that I could justify what one like that would go for now.

 

[stansdds]

From the standpoint of durability, those with the full enhancement package are the most durable. They are easy to identify by the longer stop notches in the cylinder. Can you still wear out one with the durability package? With enough shooting, you can wear out any firearm.

 

[agent00]

@gfors Thanks. It is going to be a very interesting search for the right .44 mag revolver. I am looking forward to the journey already. Your m29s really look great btw.

@stansdds and oink Thanks for the info about durability.

I am not particularly worried about that topic though.

I can only afford to shoot full power magnum rounds once in the while and I think that the standard 240 grain loads from federal and Remington are not the hottest 44 mag loads you can get. Am I right in that assumption? if so, I think any m29 should be fine using that ammo once in a while.?

it might be still not the worst idea to get a revolver that has the durability package.

 

[gfors]

Thanks for the kind words agent00.
I have found Magtech to be a little “hotter” than the others. This is just based on feel. I have not compared factory specs.

 

[stansdds]

@gfors Thanks. It is going to be a very interesting search for the right .44 mag revolver. I am looking forward to the journey already. Your m29s really look great btw.

@stansdds and oink Thanks for the info about durability.

I am not particularly worried about that topic though.

I can only afford to shoot full power magnum rounds once in the while and I think that the standard 240 grain loads from federal and Remington are not the hottest 44 mag loads you can get. Am I right in that assumption? if so, I think any m29 should be fine using that ammo once in a while.?

it might be still not the worst idea to get a revolver that has the durability package.

If you are going to shoot a lot of full power 44 Magnum, then I would suggest you look for a 29-5 or later variant. If you are going to shoot mostly 44 Special or reduced power 44 Magnum loads and occasionally full power ammo, then a pre-29-5 should serve you well. Honestly, your wrists are likely going to be the limiting factor with full power 240 grain 44 Magnum ammo.

 

[oink]

I think another factor to keep in mind is how you're shooting. For qualifications I'd shoot 60 timed rounds, 120 if you count the practice round. Timed means rapid fire. Slinging the heavy 44 cylinder rapid fire style is hard on stuff too. If you're just doing slow fire it's going to be much easier on stuff.

With a little practice a 6" 44 isn't hard on the wrists with factory magnums. I never had any wrist issues after qualifications. I did have goodyears on my gun. Still do actually.

 

[stansdds]

Quite true. Rapid double action shooting is hard on any double action revolver. It has been said that it is actually very hard on N-frame 357's as they have a very heavy cylinder. It was the major cause of Colt Python timing issues.

 

[Donn]

I've had a 6" Model 29 since 1978, (it was Harry Callahan's fault), so my opinion's a little skewed. That said, I also have a 6.5" Ruger Red Hawk in 41mag. The only issue with the Ruger, IMHO, is the stock grips are a little small for a gun that size. A set of Pachmyrs took care of that. If I could only have one? Glad I don't have to choose.

 

[agent00]

@Donn Even for a first gun it is not going to be easy decision. The Model 29 is my number 1 choice but the Ruger Redhawk is also a very beautiful gun.

@oink Yes that makes sense that the way of shooting is also very important to consider.
With Full magnum loads I would take my time between the shots. As a pure target shooter there is no need to master rapid fire with full power mag loads.

Only with .44 special I am going to practice to shoot faster for a potential home defense scenario.

 

[M29since14]

I think the bottom line is, if you want a pretty .44, then buy a 29-2 or earlier model. If you’re into the durability thing, then buy a 29-5/629-3 or later version.

I’ve been fortunate to own and/or shoot a lot of S&W .44s. I like them all. You can hardly choose a bad one. My own first choice is a 6-1/2” 29-2. They’re beautiful guns, and I rarely put a handgun in a holster these days. If I were going to use the revolver in rough, outdoor conditions, I’d be looking for a 629-4, or -3.

A properly used and cared for 29-2 should stand up to a lot of shooting with modern-day factory 240-grain .44s. If you happen to buy one with minor issues, like endshake or timing, get it fixed before using the gun. It is not difficult or expensive. Limit fast DA shooting, and, as I have been told since I was a young lad, “keep the gun clean!”

 

[kamloops67]

Good luck with whatever you choose , there are no wrong answers if you choose a S&W
Personally , I prefer the stainless 4(1/4)” version
I have owned both blued and stainless in 6 1/2” 6” 5”and 4 1/4” I find the 4 1/4” the most handy and I found my 6”629 to be the most accurate
The 5” full under lug feels the heaviest and gets left at home often
The 29-2 did weird things when loaded with hot ammo , would sometimes fire two rounds like a double tap or would skip a round … it got sold with a warning lol
If you use your guns a lot you will see wear in the bluing over time , the stainless just gets a rub every now and then to keep them looking nice
Also , you didn’t ask but I would suggest looking at a model 69 ,5 shots of 44 magnum goodness coming from a 686 frame size ,that you already know
I have one in 4 1/4” and really like it
I use hogue hardwood fingergroove grips and have found that how a grip fits your hand is more important than what the grip is made of

 

[agent00]

@M29since14 You describe the baseline pretty well. I will stick to it.

@kamloops67 Thanks for your answer and the warning about the M29-2 using weird stuff when using hot ammo.

Your advice about the grip is also very valuable, especially when using a gun with a very powerful cartridge.

Also thanks for mentioning model 69. I have considered other guns besides the m29 and 629 seriously but it is never a bad idea to check out other models as well if I can.

 

[stansdds]

The 29-2 did weird things when loaded with hot ammo , would sometimes fire two rounds like a double tap or would skip a round … it got sold with a warning lol

That is the classic issue with pre-Model 29-5's. The recoil from ammo loaded with bullets weighing more than 250 grains would cause the cylinder stop to drop down just enough to allow the cylinder to rotate a tiny bit, usually rotating backwards. The result was the next pull of the trigger would put the chamber that was just fired back in the firing position. Heavier cylinder stop springs helped a little, but the final solution to this issue was a longer stop notch in the cylinder.

 

[agent00]

@sansdds That is valuable information. Thanks. Luckily i won't get my hands on loads that are heavier than 240 grain so the strain on my potential model 29-2 should not be that big. Still good to know that is better to keep of my hands from the real heavy hitters when using the Model 29-2.