What is going on with the cost/availability of Model 29s?!

The average price for a used 29 on GunBroker is currently $1,102.92. Add a grand if your looking for a pre-29...
I'd like to know the details on the one that went for over $6K.

N frame revolvers are becoming dinosaurs...very expensive dinosaurs.
Tyrannosaurus Rex was a pretty nasty dinosaur.

I think revolvers will be around for quite a while. At least until the next large meteor hits.
 
Model 29s are only produced for limited times every year. They are a standard catalog item, but only so much time and so many resources can be allocated to making them. It's just the way it is.

I finally got a 6-1/2" 29-10 Classic last year, and I had waited at least a year for those to show up on the market. I have been patiently waiting for 4" 29-10 Classics to make a comeback. But with Covid and supply chain issues I realize that might not happen for maybe another year or two, and possibly longer. It is what it is.
 
29-2 have been pretty costly here in Kalifornistan for ages.

Wait a minute... <counts on fangers>

'70 & earlier are 50YO now... might be roster exempt! :D

Our "not-too-unsafe" roster artificially inflates prices on just about anything of interest to me. :mad:
 
I'd kinda like a newer 6" without the full lug. My -1 is a bit tired. For short one I like my -4 Trail Boss just fine. Mine came with 2 Hogue rubber grips. One with a lanyard ring and one without but I don't really like them. I have wood Hogues on it. A 5" would be cool. I won't pay stupid money for one. I think prices will come back down providing the Dems don't really mess up the gun laws.
 
We're in the middle of a buying frenzy in the middle of a pandemic. Prices are through the roof on everything. You'll either have to wait or just just accept the fact anything we buy right now comes with a hefty premium.
 
I have 4 S&W 29's, 629's and a Ruger Super Black Hawk. I bought them early when the prices were less. At the time they were expensive, but not like todays prices. They will never go down in price, mine are all pre-lock old school Smith & Wesson's. So, if you can find one, suck it up and buy it.
This is my 5" 629-4, unfluted cylinder bought in 1997 for $515 dollars. Expensive then, bargain now.



My Ruger Super Black Hawk 1995 for $432 out the door. Both 44's are my backpacking guns.



My S&W 629-3 bought for $761 in 2011 also a backpacking gun.



And my S&W 29-3 6" barrel bought in 1985 for... wait for it, $342 dollars. A real beauty.

 
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Why is everyone so convinced that prices absolutely will not go back?

I do not think the prices will drop until the baby boomer collections hit the market. Especially on the big N frames.

I would like to find another 4" no dash or -1 629. just to hoard it. If you look at the auction sites and sales sites, there are mighty slim pickins out there
 
I have 4 S&W 29's, 629's and a Ruger Super Black Hawk. I bought them early when the prices were less. At the time they were expensive, but not like todays prices. They will never go down in price, mine are all pre-lock old school Smith & Wesson's. So, if you can find one, suck it up and buy it.
This is my 5" 629-4, unfluted cylinder bought in 1997 for $515 dollars. Expensive then, bargain now.



My Ruger Super Black Hawk 1995 for $432 out the door. Both 44's are my backpacking guns.



My S&W 629-3 bought for $761 in 2011 also a backpacking gun.



And my S&W 29-3 6" barrel bought in 1985 for... wait for it, $342 dollars. A real beauty.


You have been teasing us with just one pic of that 29-3 for awhile now.How about some more if you find the time to take some more.
 
I’m glad I bought all mine before the frenzy...


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In a year this stuff will fall to pre panic price, more or less.

Let's return next year and revisit this. Common plastic guns and Rs may return to lower prices but I see revolvers staying high as fewer and fewer are being produced. This sub forum 1980 - present is probably a little misleading too. IT used to mean new guns w/o collector status. That's not true at all niw. 1980 - 2000 even to 2005 revolvers have collector status. You will never see a 629 no dash to a 629-4 3" gun under a $1,000 unless you stumble on someone stuck in a time warp. Let's see how cheap they are next Feb.
I agree about ammo. If we never get back to ammo availability and ammo at a reasonable price then guns will be sold cheap.
 
I guess I did OK with my 629-6, born in 2016 IIRC. They had a tag on it for $750, they gave me 550 for a GP100 5" that I really didn't like. So about $250 OTD. I was going to pay the $750 if they didn't want either of my Rugers. I got to keep the best of the 2. $750 seemed pretty good to me, and that little hole on the side doesn't bother me. BTW, is that the oil port?
 
I'm among the new gun owners that started last year. My first 44 mag was a 69 model. I got it because most of the ammo available in my area was 44 mag. Then i got a 29-10 around September, then a month after I walked into my local store looking for a 325 thunder ranch and walked out with 629 6.5" deluxe, and about a week ago I traded my 69 for a 629 4". Love the 44 mag. Most the prices I paid were close to the advertised MSRP I didn't mind much I just wanted them. Oh I forgot as for N frames also have a 27-2 and TRR8 also bought last year. 27-2 was my birthday gift. I think if this administration passes the magazines limitations the demand for revolvers and 1911s are going to skyrocket. I rather carry 8 or 7 rounds of 357 than 10 rounds of 9mm or 380
 
Prices on new firearms will come back down. Manufacturers are focused on cranking out semiautos and ARs right now to satisfy demand. Revolvers will resume production to normal levels later this year and inventories will slowly build.

As far as ammo, it will be much longer for things to normalize. I would guess next year. Folks are still hoarding and panic buying.
 
I paid $995 for a model 629-6 6in. this past December. Call it FOMO or a kneejerk to the election result. Had a model 29 nickel 6 in. bought in the late 80's for around $425. Should never have sold it.
 
Being in limited production nowadays, I'm not sure that they'll necessarily return to pre-pandemic prices, but they will most likely settle somewhere for less than the currently inflated prices.
 

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