I have a S&W 629 that I won in a pin-shooting match back in 1987. I had a pistolsmith do work on the DA trigger pull. I have been using this fine revolver ever since at pin matches across the USA. My pin load is a 215 gr wadcutter at 1200 FPS. The next match is on Sat 28Oct2017 in neighboring NH. Wish this 61-year-old man luck.
S&W 629
- Thread starter otasan
- Start date
SonOfScubaDiver
New member
Show them young whippersnappers how it's done!
I recently went to a USPSA match and one of the shooters was 79 years old. He was quick on his feet and could hit the targets like nobody's business. He told me he has been reloading for over 60 years!
I recently went to a USPSA match and one of the shooters was 79 years old. He was quick on his feet and could hit the targets like nobody's business. He told me he has been reloading for over 60 years!
buck460XVR
New member
This cannot be true! According to the internet, no 629 can take a steady diet of loads that stiff without being completely shot loose after only a hundred rounds or so!
Best of luck......
Your bullet, Otasan, soundsl like Lyman's 429215GC, an old Thompson design, and one that is the most accurate in all of my .44's. I load mine with Skeeter's old load, 7.5 gr of Unique in Special brass for slightly over 1000 fps...a good, all around load for plinking, and everyday chores here on the farm, or into town for an afternoon's pick-ups.
My guns, of choice are a Smith M69, three Ruger .44 Special Flat Tops, and a 629 Smith. All get regular work outs, all are sighted in for the above load, and by far the most comfortable is the new Smith M69 weighing in at a descrete 38 oz. unloaded.
Good luck, Padnuh...those of us long past the 60 yo threshold are with you in spirit.
Rod
My guns, of choice are a Smith M69, three Ruger .44 Special Flat Tops, and a 629 Smith. All get regular work outs, all are sighted in for the above load, and by far the most comfortable is the new Smith M69 weighing in at a descrete 38 oz. unloaded.
Good luck, Padnuh...those of us long past the 60 yo threshold are with you in spirit.
Rod
dontcatchmany
New member
rodfac, Welcome Home Brother! Vietnam, 68/69!
OP, 61? ...geez, you are just a mere child....when you grow up, tell us about your youthful shooting! LOL!
69 here (beautiful age) and so happy to be here....rodfac will more likely understand as per my first paragraph!
Please come back and tell us how that 629 does.
I am looking at the 629 (just recently got a 627) but have to justify a need for 44 magnum and will probably do the "because I want it" and "because I don't have one" justification!
Do well and enjoy!
OP, 61? ...geez, you are just a mere child....when you grow up, tell us about your youthful shooting! LOL!
69 here (beautiful age) and so happy to be here....rodfac will more likely understand as per my first paragraph!
Please come back and tell us how that 629 does.
I am looking at the 629 (just recently got a 627) but have to justify a need for 44 magnum and will probably do the "because I want it" and "because I don't have one" justification!
Do well and enjoy!
I was off Saigon in late April 1975 on a Navy destroyer for the evacuation of Saigon. Saw a lot of wasted helicopters being thrown overboard off of the carrier Midway.
Emerson Biggies
New member
Got my second 29 six months ago and have not fired it yet.
I use 200 grain X-Tremes with 8.3 of Red dot for pleasant shooting with my other 29.
I use 200 grain X-Tremes with 8.3 of Red dot for pleasant shooting with my other 29.
Is it time to form a Vietnam Veterans' .44 Magnum Club? I was in Vietnam October 1969 to October 1970 stationed in Saigon. I was in a Military Intelligence unit and I suppose (?) no one knew that because I generally wore civilian clothing. I drove my "subtle" blue and white jeep to Tay Ninh on one assignment - it was my only opportunity to view the Black Virgin Mountain. I have a Ruger Original Vaquero .44 Mag and an S&W 629 8 3/8" .44 Mag, both purchased new many years ago. I took the 629 on a whitetail hunt one time - didn't see a deer within range.
no one knew that because I generally wore civilian clothing. I drove my "subtle" blue and white jeep to Tay Ninh on one assignment - it was my only opportunity to view the Black Virgin Mountain. I have a Ruger Original Vaquero .44 Mag and an S&W 629 8 3/8" .44 Mag, both purchased new many years ago. I took the 629 on a whitetail hunt one time - didn't see a deer within range.Didn'tcatchmany and lefeye, welcome home to you as well.
.44's are easy to load for, most any bullet weight if the slug is a good one, will shoot to perfection. Keith's venerable 240-250 gr LSWC's at 0.430" dia. are always a good...hell, a GREAT choice. Penetration, a good wound channel, easy loading... and superb accuracy, what's not to like. Unique, Herco, Win 231 will all give 1000-1100 fps loads, and tight clusters from the 25 yd line. 4227, 2400, Acc#9 all have their uses for real barn burners. Magnum or Special, you can't find a more accurate revolver than a Smith .44....
BTW, I'm coming up on 72 in a few months...but with good glasses, and the sun behind me the guns still have the address to get things done.
Best Regards, Rod
.44's are easy to load for, most any bullet weight if the slug is a good one, will shoot to perfection. Keith's venerable 240-250 gr LSWC's at 0.430" dia. are always a good...hell, a GREAT choice. Penetration, a good wound channel, easy loading... and superb accuracy, what's not to like. Unique, Herco, Win 231 will all give 1000-1100 fps loads, and tight clusters from the 25 yd line. 4227, 2400, Acc#9 all have their uses for real barn burners. Magnum or Special, you can't find a more accurate revolver than a Smith .44....
BTW, I'm coming up on 72 in a few months...but with good glasses, and the sun behind me the guns still have the address to get things done.
Best Regards, Rod
Actually, it is a 210 grain wadcutter.
dontcatchmany
New member
Yeah, a Vietnam Veterans forum would be nice...naybe.
To all of my brothers/sisters Welcome Home!
Well, I have made up a need for the 629.....er....ah....my arthritis is causing me problems racking the slide of a couple of my semiautos...,. yeah, thats it.
Worked out a trade of a Sig P938 +cash for a 629 classic 4SS 4" barrel. Not necessarily the best financial move, but I am getting rid of the P938 which had a couple of issues and I no longer trust it and it would have just sat in the safe forever. Works for me as I have another 9mm that is just fine.
Soon as I take the Sig to my FFL the 629 will get ordered.
To all of my brothers/sisters Welcome Home!
Well, I have made up a need for the 629.....er....ah....my arthritis is causing me problems racking the slide of a couple of my semiautos...,. yeah, thats it.
Worked out a trade of a Sig P938 +cash for a 629 classic 4SS 4" barrel. Not necessarily the best financial move, but I am getting rid of the P938 which had a couple of issues and I no longer trust it and it would have just sat in the safe forever. Works for me as I have another 9mm that is just fine.
Soon as I take the Sig to my FFL the 629 will get ordered.
dontcatchmany
New member
Got my 629 today and, of course, I had to shoot it.
It is a M629-6 4" barrel according to the blue box data.
Got other 44 Mag and 44 special on order, but picked up a box of Ultramax 200 gr 44 Special (all they had) so I could scratch my itch. The Ultramax box said smokeless, but was not...lol. Also a box of Fiocchi 240 gr SJHP.
For grins and giggles (I wanted to make sure of recoil as I have never shot 44 and was unsure) I started with the 44 Special. Anticipating recoil, my first shot was a flinch and it hit about 2 inches high at 7 yards....aaarrrgghh!. There was virtually no recoil and the ammo did smoke somewhat.
Then went to the 44 Magnum. Again was expecting more recoil and I was a couple inches from point of aim. 44 magnum did have a small bit of umph but not enough to notice.
After the initial shots with each caliber I was very satisfied with the 629....just need to get more accustomed to the gun.
Shot 36 rounds of 44 Special and 24 of 44 Magnum.
The recoil was almost negligible, but I do tend to be less sensitive to recoil than some others. Also, with the 4" barrel I was expecting more muzzle flip which was almost non existent. The specs on the gun say it has Hogue rubber grips and they cover the entire grip, front, sides and back. That is different than the 627 that I have so i will probably get Hogue grips like them for the 627 that I have.
Was not paying attention to which caliber but after shooting, the cylinder and all around both sides of the gun there was a lot of residue.......guessing the "smokeless" 44 Special.
I still need to shoot the gun more and become more familiar with it, but it is totally way beyond satisfactory to me. I like it a lot....with big grin.
Two problems: 1) I subconsciously was allowing myself grip the revolver like a semi and my shots were different ans less accurate than with a proper (for me) grip. 2) a couple of times with 44 Special ammo, the extractor was difficult to push and get the spent cartridges out. I attribute that to the ammo because I did not have a problem with extracting four sets of 44 magnum.
I like this revolver (a lot) and am very well pleased with it. Same with the 627 I purchased a couple of months ago. Both are better shooters than I am at my age.
60 total rounds and even though at 7 yards, only a half dozen rounds were way out of whack and that was me.
Eventually I will try a step up in bullet weight with 44 Magnum.
I have 250 rounds of Special and 250 rounds of Magnum ordered but after seeing the prices I will probably stay with the Magnums.
It is a M629-6 4" barrel according to the blue box data.
Got other 44 Mag and 44 special on order, but picked up a box of Ultramax 200 gr 44 Special (all they had) so I could scratch my itch. The Ultramax box said smokeless, but was not...lol. Also a box of Fiocchi 240 gr SJHP.
For grins and giggles (I wanted to make sure of recoil as I have never shot 44 and was unsure) I started with the 44 Special. Anticipating recoil, my first shot was a flinch and it hit about 2 inches high at 7 yards....aaarrrgghh!. There was virtually no recoil and the ammo did smoke somewhat.
Then went to the 44 Magnum. Again was expecting more recoil and I was a couple inches from point of aim. 44 magnum did have a small bit of umph but not enough to notice.
After the initial shots with each caliber I was very satisfied with the 629....just need to get more accustomed to the gun.
Shot 36 rounds of 44 Special and 24 of 44 Magnum.
The recoil was almost negligible, but I do tend to be less sensitive to recoil than some others. Also, with the 4" barrel I was expecting more muzzle flip which was almost non existent. The specs on the gun say it has Hogue rubber grips and they cover the entire grip, front, sides and back. That is different than the 627 that I have so i will probably get Hogue grips like them for the 627 that I have.
Was not paying attention to which caliber but after shooting, the cylinder and all around both sides of the gun there was a lot of residue.......guessing the "smokeless" 44 Special.
I still need to shoot the gun more and become more familiar with it, but it is totally way beyond satisfactory to me. I like it a lot....with big grin.
Two problems: 1) I subconsciously was allowing myself grip the revolver like a semi and my shots were different ans less accurate than with a proper (for me) grip. 2) a couple of times with 44 Special ammo, the extractor was difficult to push and get the spent cartridges out. I attribute that to the ammo because I did not have a problem with extracting four sets of 44 magnum.
I like this revolver (a lot) and am very well pleased with it. Same with the 627 I purchased a couple of months ago. Both are better shooters than I am at my age.
60 total rounds and even though at 7 yards, only a half dozen rounds were way out of whack and that was me.
Eventually I will try a step up in bullet weight with 44 Magnum.
I have 250 rounds of Special and 250 rounds of Magnum ordered but after seeing the prices I will probably stay with the Magnums.
black mamba
New member
The most accurate revolver I've ever owned is this 6½" 629-5 Classic. With the red dot on it, I've fired a 5-shot group at 100 yds. off sandbags that measured 4.45" center to center. Load was 270 gr Gold Dot over 18.5 gr of Accurate 4100 and WLP primers for just under 1300 fps.
Back in early 2000 I was bitten by the .44 bug. I have 3 S&W .44 Magnums, a 629-1, 29-2 and a 29-8. Also have 3 S&W .44 Spl that I enjoy just as much.
I like to keep the velocity of the mags down to 1100 fps with a 250 gr Keith style bullet. For the Spl I like 950 fps for the same bullet.
Are we all veterans? I was in Phu Bai Aug 69 to Sept 70.
I like to keep the velocity of the mags down to 1100 fps with a 250 gr Keith style bullet. For the Spl I like 950 fps for the same bullet.
Are we all veterans? I was in Phu Bai Aug 69 to Sept 70.