your highest round count with a 29/629

[Piwo]

I may be wrong but I think it was gunwriter Frank James that claimed the frame on an N frame Smith and Wesson 41 magnum would be warped beyond repair after 80, 000 full power loads...assuming one kept up with the minor maintenance and repairs. I really think it makes a difference how the gun was first set up from the factory. If the gun was assembled properly, timed properly by a skilled employee then I think the gun would last longer. I am the original owner of a 1979 29-2. I probably have about 5,000 rounds through it based on reloading records. Mostly mid to light loads, 99% single action fired. Not abused in any way. No endshake looseness, and barrel/ cylinder gap is very tight. However, I have had it retimed 4 times. 2 of the chambers were off from the factory. The hand broke before I fired 500 factory rounds through it, new. It didn't carry up within 500 more rounds after that. Another repair/tune and I basically stopped firing magnum loads out of it for 30 years. A few years ago I had it worked on by a guy who knew what he was doing and all the chambers carry up and lock tightly, evenly. I likewise had a 629-4 get lazy with carry up after 500 rounds. It has been repaired. These guns are range queens...rarely fired double action...and are not manhandled. I have many other N frames in various calibers that are not bedeviled with carry up issues and are fired double action all the time. Everyone of the other N frames carry up perfectly and evenly.

I believe the N frame itself is more than durable enough to give a lifetime of service with full power magnum ammunition. It's the smaller parts that take the beating. To maximize the lifespan off the gun, they have to be set up and fitted correctly from the start. That is an issue of quality control. We know that quality control can be fleeting, even in the best of times.

 

[rockquarry]

I may be wrong but I think it was gunwriter Frank James that claimed the frame on an N frame Smith and Wesson 41 magnum would be warped beyond repair after 80, 000 full power loads...assuming one kept up with the minor maintenance and repairs. I really think it makes a difference how the gun was first set up from the factory. If the gun was assembled properly, timed properly by a skilled employee then I think the gun would last longer. I am the original owner of a 1979 29-2. I probably have about 5,000 rounds through it based on reloading records. Mostly mid to light loads, 99% single action fired. Not abused in any way. No endshake looseness, and barrel/ cylinder gap is very tight. However, I have had it retimed 4 times. 2 of the chambers were off from the factory. The hand broke before I fired 500 factory rounds through it, new. It didn't carry up within 500 more rounds after that. Another repair/tune and I basically stopped firing magnum loads out of it for 30 years. A few years ago I had it worked on by a guy who knew what he was doing and all the chambers carry up and lock tightly, evenly. I likewise had a 629-4 get lazy with carry up after 500 rounds. It has been repaired. These guns are range queens...rarely fired double action...and are not manhandled. I have many other N frames in various calibers that are not bedeviled with carry up issues and are fired double action all the time. Everyone of the other N frames carry up perfectly and evenly.

I believe the N frame itself is more than durable enough to give a lifetime of service with full power magnum ammunition. It's the smaller parts that take the beating. To maximize the lifespan off the gun, they have to be set up and fitted correctly from the start. That is an issue of quality control. We know that quality control can be fleeting, even in the best of times.

I've seen the name Frank James in gun magazines but don't know him. I'll assume he is a credible writer. I wonder what basis he is using to justify his alleged claim about frame warpage ?

 

[Piwo]

My bad, Rockquarry...I was referencing an article he had written for Gun Digest a while back. He was writing about the 41 magnum in particular and had several high round count guns. He was expressing his belief in the longevity of the N frame in that caliber. I don't remember if these were pre or post endurance package guns either. I was trying to find the original article but alas, my Gun Digest books are all packed away in the attic! Frank James wrote in the 80s and 90s as I recall...for several publications. He was a midwest farmer as I recall that had an extensive shooting hobby. If his numbers are correct, I still find that an impressive number of full power rounds for a frame to take.

 

[MSD2343]

Hickok45 of YouTube fame claims over 70,000 rounds fired through his 29-2 that he purchased new in 1974. He said he kept count by tracking the number of primers he used in loading his mid-range magnum handloads. I believe most of his shooting was in SA. He doesn’t seem to have any issues with accuracy but has had some repairs done on the revolver over the years.

 

[jaymoore]

IHMSA 9 2018 Gainesville h — Postimages

based on the number of eight pound jugs of powder run through it, this one had a minimum of 8000 rounds expended. I lost count of the one pound canisters.

 

[RKmesa]

We put 18 rounds through a 3.5" cut barrel Model 29 - 6 shots by me and 6 by each of my two sons. They are beasts in the hand. Right after that we went back to shooting 22LR Model 17s and 38 SPL through N-Frame 357 Magnums. The only thing worse than shooting those 44 Mags is shooting .357 Magnum rounds out of one of those scandium J-Frame revolvers. VERY PAINFUL.

 

[MSD2343]

We put 18 rounds through a 3.5" cut barrel Model 29 - 6 shots by me and 6 by each of my two sons. They are beasts in the hand. Right after that we went back to shooting 22LR Model 17s and 38 SPL through N-Frame 357 Magnums. The only thing worse than shooting those 44 Mags is shooting .357 Magnum rounds out of one of those scandium J-Frame revolvers. VERY PAINFUL.

As I move into my geezerhood, I find the “lightest” revolver that I shoot .357s through with anything approaching comfort is a 4 inch Model 27. Even my 4.25 inch Python becomes painful very quickly. No interest whatsoever in messing with .44 magnums in anything less than a 6.5 inch Model 29.

 

[Bald1]

I got about 2000 thru my Magna Ported 629-1. I bought it in August of 91.
Killed a few deer and a 150lb boar with it. At one point i put a scope on it and hunted deer exclusively with it. I moved on to a .243 Encore for that purpose. Now I carry it a lot in a chest rig when in the woods but rarely hunt with it.

 

[gnappi]

As I move into my geezerhood, I find the “lightest” revolver that I shoot .357s through with anything approaching comfort is a 4 inch Model 27. Even my 4.25 inch Python becomes painful very quickly. No interest whatsoever in messing with .44 magnums in anything less than a 6.5 inch Model 29.

I too am feeling my oats with respect to shooting my big bores. I found out just how much on a recent range trip with my Ruger SA .44's and a new Anaconda.

The Anaconda beat my thumb bone and connective tissue so bad that I needed an X-ray and cortisone shot. Lesson learned.

I went and bought "Classic" Pachmayr's (now out of production) for my N frames and the Anaconda as well as pressing my padded leather motorcycle gloves into use.

But gads, I HATE the way Pachmayr's look on a nice revolver but this is a case where function over form trumps looks.

 

[rockquarry]

I too am feeling my oats with respect to shooting my big bores. I found out just how much on a recent range trip with my Ruger SA .44's and a new Anaconda.

The Anaconda beat my thumb bone and connective tissue so bad that I needed an X-ray and cortisone shot. Lesson learned.

I went and bought "Classic" Pachmayr's (now out of production) for my N frames and the Anaconda as well as pressing my padded leather motorcycle gloves into use.

But gads, I HATE the way Pachmayr's look on a nice revolver but this is a case where function over form trumps looks.

I'm in agreement regarding recoil. For many years, about forty, I seldom shot anything in a number of .44 Magnums (mostly 29s ) except cast magnum handloads. I'm not sure why as I only shot at paper targets.

I went strictly with .44 Special loads about ten years ago. So much more pleasant to shoot. Just got back from an early morning range trip. I guess I fired 150 or so rounds through a 29 and a 24.