Smith & Wesson 29-3 Silhouette

[Krsanford]

My local pawnshop has a 29-3 unfluted cylinder for sale. Revolver is in great shape finish wise almost factory new. Fired very little. The 29-3 has aftermarket grips and a jeweled target trigger and hammer (no change to the trigger or hammer profile, just jeweled). Grips are not an issue and are easily replaced with a set of proper Hogue rubber grips. Since the revolver left the factory with case hardened trigger finish, how much would the jeweling affect the value?

Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[jaymoore]

An unfluted cylinder probably means it's a "Hunter" with full underlug and a 6" barrel. So not a "Silhouette". Just the four position front sight.

The jewelling would affect the value by at least the cost of proper replacement parts. Plus whatever suspicious activities that went on inside....

 

[Jeep 1]

That is actually the first Classic Hunter,
Smith and Wesson came up with the idea to name this new 44 Magnum, So they decided to have a competition allowing one of the readers to name this new 44 magnum.
And the winning name chosen was the Classic Hunter. The winner was given the New Smith and Wesson 44 Magnum "Classic Hunter" off of the cover of the magazine. In my opinion they are one of the top 5 truly most beautiful Smith and Wesson 44 Magnums

If one of you tech gurus would be so kind as to correct the direction of my pictures or enlarge them I would greatly appreciate it
Have a great day
Tom

 

[stansdds]

What's the asking price? Remember, it's a pawn shop, they likely have set the price around double what they paid for it, so there should be room for negotiation. Does it come with correct box, documents, and tools or is it just the revolver?

 

[Alton]

You didn't list the barrel length but I thought the 29-3 Silhouette came with a 10 5/8" barrel with a 4 position front sight with wood grips?

 

[Krsanford]

An unfluted cylinder probably means it's a "Hunter" with full underlug and a 6" barrel. So not a "Silhouette". Just the four position front sight.

The jewelling would affect the value by at least the cost of proper replacement parts. Plus whatever suspicious activities that went on inside....

Thanks for the the info. If I get the revolver I will check the inside.

 

[Krsanford]

What's the asking price? Remember, it's a pawn shop, they likely have set the price around double what they paid for it, so there should be room for negotiation. Does it come with correct box, documents, and tools or is it just the revolver?

Asking 1500. But I think I can get him down. Box not correct but does have documents with no tools.

 

[Krsanford]

You didn't list the barrel length but I thought the 29-3 Silhouette came with a 10 5/8" barrel with a 4 position front sight with wood grips?

6 inch full lug barrel.

 

[ken158]

No mercy for pawn shops an as noted above, they likely have less than half of asking price invested. The culture of back in the day shop owners believed that if they made a sale to the first customer on a Monday morning the week would be profitable. Take a money clip of 100's with you and start by putting 6 or 7 on the counter and watch the reaction. Add 1 at a time until they think you have topped out. Let us know how it worked!

 

[Bald1]

$1500 is high. You can get a 3" for $1500

 

[BLUEDOT37]

S&W's Gun With No Name

If one of you tech gurus would be so kind as to correct the direction of my pictures or enlarge them I would greatly appreciate it.

I have that article from the monthly issue of Sept-1987. Here's a couple of the pages from it.

It was the first N-frame to get the full under-lug of the L-frame 586s.

Ultimately it became known as "The Classic Hunter", 1987, M29-3, Product Code: 101230, Lew Horton Special, Qty: 5000

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[Krsanford]

I have that article from the monthly issue of Sept-1987. Here's a couple of the pages from it.

It was the first N-frame to get the full under-lug of the L-frame 586s.

Ultimately it became known as "The Classic Hunter", 1987, M29-3, Product Code: 101230, Lew Horton Special, Qty: 5000

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Thanks for the article. Very interested to read it.

 

[Krsanford]

I have that article from the monthly issue of Sept-1987. Here's a couple of the pages from it.

It was the first N-frame to get the full under-lug of the L-frame 586s.

Ultimately it became known as "The Classic Hunter", 1987, M29-3, Product Code: 101230, Lew Horton Special, Qty: 5000

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Thanks for the article. Loved reading it. Great information and history.

 

[madmikeb]

I stumbled across mine used when they first came out. I customized it with a Hogue stock, Millett rear sight and deluxe tuning by Andy Cannon. Sweet gun but I bet it's been 30 years since it's seen the outside of the safe!

 

[jaymoore]

Funnily enough, the 6" version got me shooting .44s in IHMSA back in the 1990s. A little later on it got "retired" when I found a 10 5/8" barreled 29-3. It took ages to find a good load for it, but a combination of the old Speer 240gr LSWC and IMR4198 made for a great Field Pistol and decent Big Bore recipe. (Wind past 100m makes for an extra challenge, especially when shooting Standing, some due to bullet drift, lots due to "shooter wobble".) The four position front sight has just enough travel to deal with the one meter change needed from 50m to 200m with the 10" barrel. The six incher actually has more adjustment range due to the shorter sight radius.

 

[Krsanford]

I stumbled across mine used when they first came out. I customized it with a Hogue stock, Millett rear sight and deluxe tuning by Andy Cannon. Sweet gun but I bet it's been 30 years since it's seen the outside of the safe!

Very nice 29-3

 

[schutz5]

Kransford,ya gotta ask yourself how often that model comes available locally where you can handle and function check it.

If indeed it is a limited run,then if you are on board owning such a unique specimen,then the convenience factors in price wise.
Yeah,you might find one online for a bit less but you can't inspect it. So its a gamble.

Bring alot of Benjamins that you can wave under the shop clerks nose and get a deal!

I think the revolver market is a little soft right now due to high cost of factory ammo and basic inflation woes.
Good luck!!

 

[stansdds]

$1500 and incorrect box? I would definitely use the incorrect box and any wear on the revolver as well as the jeweled parts and incorrect stocks as negotiation tools. Remember, pawn shops rarely have more than 50% of the asking price invested into an item. That means they likely paid no more than $700-$800 for it. Without actually seeing it, I'll take a guess that since it may have some collector interest, plan on spending $1200-$1300. Start the negotiation low and work up, cash speaks louder than a credit card and if they cave at anywhere less than $1200, you got a very good deal.

 

[H Richard]

Here's a pic of an actual "Classic Hunter" from that contest era. Mine actually got used more for bowling pun shoots than for
Silhouette or hunting.

 

[Krsanford]

Kransford,ya gotta ask yourself how often that model comes available locally where you can handle and function check it.

If indeed it is a limited run,then if you are on board owning such a unique specimen,then the convenience factors in price wise.
Yeah,you might find one online for a bit less but you can't inspect it. So its a gamble.

Bring alot of Benjamins that you can wave under the shop clerks nose and get a deal!

I think the revolver market is a little soft right now due to high cost of factory ammo and basic inflation woes.
Good luck!!

Inspected the revolver today. It had been well cared for and shot very little, no damage to the side plate screws with very little turn ring. Timing and action was smooth and blueing 99%. With the exception of the box, grips which are walnut Hogue and the jeweling. Looked like a take home. Negotiated and brought it for $1150. Rifled the box and did find the tools and some original paperwork. Now to decide if it's worth it to replace the trigger and hammer.