Your thoughts on a 3" 629

My thought (that is what you asked for, right?) is that the .44 Magnum is wasted power in a 3" barrel. Even .44 Spl. is hobbled in a bbl. that short, but sometimes concealability is the determinant, more so than ballistic performance. When I CCW, it's usually a .38, and I'm a big guy, but I'm confident in my marksmanship (gulp). Just sayin'.

Larry
 
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lebomm said:
My thought (that is what you asked for, right?) is that the .44 Magnum is wasted power in a 3" barrel. Even .44 Spl. is hobbled in a bbl. that short, but sometimes concealability is the determinant, more so than ballistic performance. When I CCW, it's usually a .38, and I'm a big guy, but I'm confident in my marksmanship (gulp). Just sayin'.

Larry
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I respect your opinion... And I'm a marksman too... But would you feel comfortable carrying your .38Special... CCW style for your "Woods-Gun?"

ETA: I'm a huge Vintage and Current Production "J" frame/M36 fan myself. I often carry one and sometimes two on an occasion or three for Street Carry... But in the woods a 3" M629 with a warm and fuzzy Full-House Mag that you are proficient with is way more capable than anything lesser when concealability is/can be an issue... I'm a fly under the radar kind of guy because I'm a big ol' boy too and get enough looks being a large built man... We have a family mountain home that nestles up to the Nantahala National Forest where we Kayak, Fish, Hike, etc... It's pretty yuppie (not my style), and the very thought of any kind of gun amidst these "Liberal Types" would result in multiple calls, cell phone pics, and videos of us to the local Sheriff's office if I were spotted... So the 3" 629 makes sense. And yes, we have an all too comfortable black bear(s) that use our house as it's own cedar plank scratching post as well as urinates upon my 15' Rubicon to show their presence etc... I love .38Special LSWCHP's for around town use though my friend!
RM8ddsv.jpg
 
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DRJ said:
I just picked up a new 629 Deluxe 3" this week and I love it. I had been without a 44mag long enough.
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Awesome choice! .44Special in 200 grain flavor Gold Dot's are your friend for "Around Town" carry if you so desire to CCW it... I carry mine in an OWB holster with a Beltman Belt 50% of the time with Bianchi speed strips more and more these days. For Woods Loads Fiocchi, PRVI Partizan, and PMC have some great loads available in 300 grain flavors... Buffalo Bore has some quality loads too with hard cast offerings as well... I bought 5 different makes/manufacturers of both each in.44Special and .44Magnum to find my favorite preference load in each of the respective caliber/loads. I have to say that CCI/Speer, Fiocchi, PMC, Buffalo Bore, Underwood, Winchester, S&B, Hornady & Remington have all been great... none have disappointed. Just stay away from "Ultramax" is all I'm sayin'... It's up to you to find your revolver's favorite loading in .44Special/Magnum. YMMV...
 
I believe in a 3" 629 so much that back in the day I kept missing the LH offerings, so I had the guys that made the 3" LH for S&W make one for me.

It's my constant companion in the woods.

It's Mag-Na-Ported and I have grips on it that fit my hand right, so I can lob 265g cast out of it all day long with 22g of W296 behind it.
 
See what you have done-- Now I am going to have to buy the 629 3" for 675$ is saw at the show last week. 95%+, great trigger, but has the internal lock. I saw HamHands gun with repair and it looks nice. I thought I would last longer!! Be Safe,
 
S&WsRsweet said:
Well thought out set up I like that holster and gun.
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Thank you. Notice how there is plenty of protection for the rear sight and how the retaining strap can be fastened so it is completely out of the way.

I made a "belt slide" (OWB concealment) type of holster for it also, but I did not like how the gun carried with it, so I sold it.
 
Warren Sear said:
^^^ Thank you. Mine came with the "fish scale" plywood grips. I didn't like them at all. Are these the grips you reference?
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Yes, I don't have them in front of me, but those look like my grips. My problem with them is they fill in the area behind the trigger guard a bit too much and push my hand down the grip a bit too far.
 
Got a .44 Mag Mountain Gun and don't wan't any
lighter .44 Mag with full load cartridges.

Buddy bought a 3" 629 and I haha'ed it until I shot mid-range
(+- 1000 fps) load in it and I was convinced. I could control
it accurately and the recoil and blast didn't take me out of my
concentration.

I'd still take the MG with 240 gr "warm" .44 Spl's though!
 
Abbynormal said:
Got a .44 Mag Mountain Gun and don't wan't any
lighter .44 Mag with full load cartridges.

Buddy bought a 3" 629 and I haha'ed it until I shot mid-range
(+- 1000 fps) load in it and I was convinced. I could control
it accurately and the recoil and blast didn't take me out of my
concentration.

I'd still take the MG with 240 gr "warm" .44 Spl's though!
Click to expand...

I agree completely. This is not a gun you would want to shoot all day with full-powered .44 Magnum level ammo. On the other hand, if you did need to shoot a cylinder full of them, doing so would not be a problem either.
 
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