pittspilot
New member
Take a look at the model 69. I really like mine. I also own a 29 and a 629 and love both of them.
44 Magnum
- Thread starter desertstormvet
- Start date
highpower3006
New member
I have a 629 and I like it, but, there is something that is just so right about a blued steel and wood .44 mag:
I disagree with the 6 inch barrel.
First off you don’t lose that much energy dropping down 2 inches and since you already have a lot of power I don’t feel that should be a concern.
Second the flash is not that much reduced and if you don’t want the flash of a high power gun buy a 24 or 624 (44 special).
Last and to me the most important reason for staying with a 4 inch is balance. The 6 inch is not a well balanced gun in your hand. Its barrel heavy. The 4 inch if you’re talking 21, 24, 25 or 29 or with a 6 in front of those, is a better balanced gun.
The only advantage of the 6 inch is the <100 FPS increase in velocity, the accuracy improvement due to the longer sight radius and that’s about it.
That’s my opinion and its worth what you paid for it.
Give the 4 inch a chance you’re like the balance the best of all.
First off you don’t lose that much energy dropping down 2 inches and since you already have a lot of power I don’t feel that should be a concern.
Second the flash is not that much reduced and if you don’t want the flash of a high power gun buy a 24 or 624 (44 special).
Last and to me the most important reason for staying with a 4 inch is balance. The 6 inch is not a well balanced gun in your hand. Its barrel heavy. The 4 inch if you’re talking 21, 24, 25 or 29 or with a 6 in front of those, is a better balanced gun.
The only advantage of the 6 inch is the <100 FPS increase in velocity, the accuracy improvement due to the longer sight radius and that’s about it.
That’s my opinion and its worth what you paid for it.
Give the 4 inch a chance you’re like the balance the best of all.
I've had a 4" Redhawk SS and 4" M29 roundbutt. Love them both. Stainless is more practical if you are going to be out in the rain and snow, and is usually my default choice. But I got the M29 when M629 was hard to find. I came to really like that dark blue and walnut.
Other bbl lengths may be good or better but I'll stick with a handy 4".
Other bbl lengths may be good or better but I'll stick with a handy 4".
The glorious .44 mag!
Mine is a 629 Mountain Gun, pre-lock!
Those are the ones with the tapered 4" barrel.
My heavy is a 7.5" Redhawk.
I have a lot of Smiths in other calibers with 4 to 8 3/8" barrels so I can compare balance and sight radius.
For packin' you want a 4" barrel. For more precision, a longer barrel is grand.
Once your eye sight falls off the proveribal cliff ........ you'll do better all around with the shorter barrels ....... its about not having to focus in so many different focal lengths.
As to loads ...... this is where it gets interesting:
I load from mild to the top but reserve most of my high power for the Redhawk ......... it just makes sense .....
Trust me, I will pack appropriate bear stompers in the Smith MG ... but don't run them regularily at dirt clods.
My drop dead favorite bullet is a cast one .... the RCBS 250K.
My favorite load also makes a Mountain Gun pleasant to shoot but still deadly:
I run the 250K ahead of HS-6 powder at 11.8 gr. with a Federal magnum primer (I would assume any mag primer is fine)
This load is from the timeless Hodgdon's 26 manual and runs at 1066 fps with a mere 7 fps SD from my 4" and at 1076 fps from my 7.5" RH.
What I can't overhaul with that load in my neck of the woods and sagebrush ........ is a mighty short list.
And like I said ............ it's very agreeable on my end!
Best regards
Three 44s
Mine is a 629 Mountain Gun, pre-lock!
Those are the ones with the tapered 4" barrel.
My heavy is a 7.5" Redhawk.
I have a lot of Smiths in other calibers with 4 to 8 3/8" barrels so I can compare balance and sight radius.
For packin' you want a 4" barrel. For more precision, a longer barrel is grand.
Once your eye sight falls off the proveribal cliff ........ you'll do better all around with the shorter barrels ....... its about not having to focus in so many different focal lengths.
As to loads ...... this is where it gets interesting:
I load from mild to the top but reserve most of my high power for the Redhawk ......... it just makes sense .....
Trust me, I will pack appropriate bear stompers in the Smith MG ... but don't run them regularily at dirt clods.
My drop dead favorite bullet is a cast one .... the RCBS 250K.
My favorite load also makes a Mountain Gun pleasant to shoot but still deadly:
I run the 250K ahead of HS-6 powder at 11.8 gr. with a Federal magnum primer (I would assume any mag primer is fine)
This load is from the timeless Hodgdon's 26 manual and runs at 1066 fps with a mere 7 fps SD from my 4" and at 1076 fps from my 7.5" RH.
What I can't overhaul with that load in my neck of the woods and sagebrush ........ is a mighty short list.
And like I said ............ it's very agreeable on my end!
Best regards
Three 44s
desertstormvet
New member
I have purchased a S&W 629-1 w/ 6" barrel, which includes the original (and very worn box and cleaning kit). It appears to be in great shape, including no visible wear to the wood grips. (I haven't checked to see if the are original, but am assuming they are.) With that being said, it could use a little TLC (i.e. hand polishing) to get it to that "like new" condition. My question...is it possible to remove the thumb piece without full disassembly...and can a non-gunsmith put it back together? Removing grips and cylinder is a non-issue for me. I want to avoid being the guy that takes my revolver to a gunsmith, in pieces and in a shoe box. Thanks.
Do a search for a video on dissembling a S&W 29 and look at several to see which is best.
I have used that many times to dissemble guns I didn’t know that well and wanted to make sure I didn’t break something.
Then you can make up your own mind.
One thing you have to have is the correct sized screw drivers otherwise you can mar up the heads and remove a lot of value in the gun.
I have used that many times to dissemble guns I didn’t know that well and wanted to make sure I didn’t break something.
Then you can make up your own mind.
One thing you have to have is the correct sized screw drivers otherwise you can mar up the heads and remove a lot of value in the gun.
I have owned several 44 magnums.
I still have the 1st one I ever got, a Ruger Super Blackhawk, but it's now on its 2nd barrel.
Since I was a teen I have had three 4" M-29s,
Two 6" M-29s
Two 6 1/2" M-29s
And two 8 3/8" M-29s
As well as one Stainless 7.5" Redhawk
And one Blue 5" Redhawk.
I have sold or traded all of them off except one 4" M-29 and my old Super Blackhawk.
Every one of them was a great gun.
I find the S&W feels a bit better to me than the Red Hawk, but that's not to say it's “better".
The Redhawk may be the best of the bunch as far as design goes.
However the human factor is at least as important to how well you will shoot as the mechanical factor.
Get one you like. You can't go very far wrong with either S&W or Ruger.
I still have the 1st one I ever got, a Ruger Super Blackhawk, but it's now on its 2nd barrel.
Since I was a teen I have had three 4" M-29s,
Two 6" M-29s
Two 6 1/2" M-29s
And two 8 3/8" M-29s
As well as one Stainless 7.5" Redhawk
And one Blue 5" Redhawk.
I have sold or traded all of them off except one 4" M-29 and my old Super Blackhawk.
Every one of them was a great gun.
I find the S&W feels a bit better to me than the Red Hawk, but that's not to say it's “better".
The Redhawk may be the best of the bunch as far as design goes.
However the human factor is at least as important to how well you will shoot as the mechanical factor.
Get one you like. You can't go very far wrong with either S&W or Ruger.
I'm quite happy with good .44 special loads even on medium game !