S&W 629-3 Magna Classic 7.5" limited edition

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Ninjato

New member
About 6 months ago I had the chance to shoot a M629 w/ a 4" barrel w/ no underlug. It was my first time shooting a .44 mag and I thought it was terrible. Recoil was too much, the stock grips felt too big, my skill was too little...everything was just not right. I figured a .44mag was not a gun I could shoot. My hand was numb after a cylinder. I did not equate the feeling I had in my hand to "fun".

Well over the course of trying different guns and shooting cases of ammo from .380. .38sp, .45acp, .357mag if finally decided to give the .44 mag a whirl again. I went shopping, visited a few gun stores and saw a mint, never been shot, 1990 M629 Magna Classic w/ a high polish stainless finish and a 7.5" barrel. The full underlug was appealing, being that I shoot my 686 real well and like the way it shot.

According to serial# it's #917 out of 3000 made :D :D :D
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I went to the range and got a case of .44 Specials and a case of .44 magnums. I got thru 2 boxes of specials and 1 box of magnums. I set my targets out to 15 yards and just put all the shots in the black. The DA and SA pull was suprisingly glassy smooth for never being shot. The carved wood grips fit my hand very nice although at first it may seem a bit small compared to the rubber Hogue grip on my 686.
 
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Beautiful firearm. I think you did well coming back to the 44 to give it another go. It may not be a plinker, but it certainly isn't bad when fired out of full size handguns.
 
That's a beautiful gun and I'm glad you've decided to shoot it. I have three S&W N-frames, limited production, in the fancy boxes too. I've shot one M-57 and the M-25 and M-27 will get shot one day, heck with collector value. :)
I have a S&W 29 Classic in 6 inch which is probally quite similar to your gun. I shoot downloaded .44 mags in it and other .44's I own mostly for plinking and the occational hot handloaded .44's for fun.
With grips that fit your hand and a proper hold they're not bad in these large frame guns. Even my 3 inch 629 is manageable once you learn it isn't going to hurt you.
 
This is just an observation but do you guys feel that the grip on this gun looks disproportionate to the gun itself?

Don't get me wrong the grip feels great in my hand. The stock plow handle grips just suck IMO.....they look nice and make the gun look like a gun but they sure are terrible for shooting use.
 
I Own One Of The Four Final Prototypes For The Magna Classic.

The first thing I did after shooting it for the first time was change the stocks. The factory stocks look sorta cool, in an odd sort of way, but once changed to a set of custom stocks that changed the gun from ROUND BUTT to SQUARE BUTT on the external dimensions the sixgun handles many times better, the extra muzzle heaviness is alleviated, and recoil is less in the palm of my hand.
In '91 I remember standing at the 100 yard firing line one morning and shooting up an entire case of 44MAG-240 and an entire case of 44SPL-240 without so much as a tired hand when we broke for lunch.
Also, try and find a set of the interchangable front sights S&W made for these guns. They came in a black slipcase and offer 6 or 8 different sight blades that slip in and out easy as you please. My favorite is the Patridge with the Call gold bead set in it, and the one with the McGivern bead is just as good
The SMITH & WESSON MAGNA CLASSIC 7 1/2" 44MAG may well be the most accurate 44 caliber DA sixgun I've ever fired, and I've shot 'em all.
 
Thanks WIL,

The small grip does cause it to feel muzzle heavy. Do you think a set of the rubber hogue grips would work?

If you noticed the black box in the picture. It contains 5 extra sights. I got the gun new w/ all the paperwork. The previous owner never fired it....why do people do that? :( .....I prefer the partridge sight w/ the white dot but then it doesn't fit in the wood case w/ that sight :rolleyes:

It is very accurate. My wife who is not a 44mag fan had no problems putting 6 in the black at 10 yards. I was impressed as she was. She prefers shooting the .44sp and my hand can only handle a box worth of 44mag before it starts to "ring". It is a heavy gun. The 686 was a joy to shoot after.
 
NINJATO, IF YOU PUT A SET OF HOGUE RUBBER GRIPS ON THAT BEAUTIFUL S&W

I will drive back to Philadelphia, PA and throttle you with in an inch of your life!!! Well...almost...maybe...or I'll just take the sixgun back here to South Dakota and only let you have visitation rights in the winter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That gorgeous sixgun deserves a set of custom stocks in fine grade walnut or any other really classy wood. My favorite stocks for any S&W sixgun are the Skeeter Skelton style stocks made by Tedd Adamovich at Blu-Magnum in Colorado Springs. He's busy as all gittout, it takes forever, costs and arm and a leg, but by golly when you put 'em on that MAGNA CLASSIC 44MAG sixgun for the first time it'll take your breath away!!! I also highly recommend you get the ROUND-BUTT-TO-SQUARE-BUTT stocks as they make all the difference in the world in handling that classy 44MAG sixgun. If you're a little chary of doing this just get yore butt on the plane, fly out here to South Dakota, and you can take my gun up in the Black Hills shootin'. You'll know in six or twelve rounds all by yore lonesome that I am not pullin' yore leg.
 
HAHAHAH Wil, you crack me up!!!!. Yes the rubber grip does take away from the looks somewhat.

Can you email me a pic of the stocks you have on yours to lantran@comcast.net or post one here?

I was looking on the S&W site and they have the round to square conversion but all the grip look "ho-hum" for $65.

I checked out http://www.sixgunner.com/blumagnum/default.htm for the Skeeter Skelton grips. Impressive. I'll keep that in mind.


What do you think of these? http://www.eaglegrips.com/classic.htm
They say it has the thinner neck and a raised palm swell on the right side. Sounds comfortable.
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I Am Sorry Ol' Pard But I Don't Know A Thing About Emuling Pictures.

The stocks on my gun are the Skeeter Skeltons made a bit on the thin side. Actually, I embarrassingly forgot about Eagle grips in this discussion. The fellow who runs Eagle, Raj Singh, is a pal of mine too--just a peach of a sweet fellow--and he does excellent work with both SA and DA sixguns. I think the pair you pictured would work beautifully if they fit your hands okay. I have medium sized hands--8 1/2 glove size--and they look like they'd fit me fine. Call them and ask if they will make the stocks to your hand size. If you're gonna do that 44MAG sixgun justice you probably should spend the bucks to have the stocks made to your very own hand size.
 
Wish I could come up with some suitable recommendations for high grade, commercial walnut grips. One attachment is a composit available from S&W on their website. I've tried some exotic wood monogrips from hogue but they would not fit the frame.

The figured walnuts in one of the attachements is from smith and wesson but this picture makes them appear a richer color than they appear in bright light. The picture on the Smith site is pretty representative of them though. They are under accessories/ presentation and smooth target grips which is kind of confusing as they are checkered.
 
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The Heritage grips look similar to the Herrett - Jordan Trooper grips I have on my M19 which are my favorite feeking wood grips. I know the Hogue rubber grips are not aesthetically pleasing ot the eye but I find them pretty good....not great but not bad.

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I am interested in trying to get a set of these custom Herrett grips to fit the Magna CLassic 629

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