S&W model 58 in .44 mag?

Gumm38: Keep in mind that when the Dirty Harry "It'll blow your head clean off..." craze occurred in the 1970s, demand for .44Mag M29s shot through the roof and greatly outstripped supply. However, demand for .41Mag N frames was soft because the cartridge wasn't well accepted, and many LE agencies were passing up the heavy .357Mag M27 & M28 in favor of the lighter and easier-to-carry K frame M13 & M19.

Waiting lists & over-MSRP buyer premiums for .44Mag N frames + soft demand and surplus stock of .357Mag & .41Mag N frames = a suspicious number of .357Mag & .41Mag guns leaving stores with .44Mag barrels and cylinders in them. :rolleyes:
 
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Mike Irwin wrote:

A 7 3/8" barrel is NOT a factory length barrel, but it could be a simple mismeasurement and would relate to the 8 3/8" barrel that has been a factory staple for nearly 100 years.
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Mike, I hate to dispute such an august authority as you, but I think the original barrels were introduce with the .357 Magnum around 1935. These were 8 3/4" in length. However, they were later shortened to 8 3/8" when it was noted they exceeded the sight radius requirements set by the old United States Revovler Association, of Springfield, Mass.

Bob Wright

P.S. I belonged to the USRA for a few years in the 'Fifties.
 
Me either...

Here's my 58 .44 mag.

IMGP0968-1-1.jpg
 
at one time there was a person on the S & W forum website that had a fixed sight M-29 with a 3 inch barrel (may have been a little shorter or longer but no more than a 4 inch barrel). there was something like only 4 or 5 of them made by S & W. I think that if you searched deeply enough there is a picture of it.
 
I've seen that one. The "29-58". It's why you can never say never when it comes to Smiths.

And has been mentioned, there was the 629 fixed sight guns done in a couple special runs as well. I bought one of the Camfour 2" guns with the intention of customizing it, but they went up in value too much for me to do it.

S&W could sell fixed sight guns if they made the right ones, but it seems like they think the public isn't interested. Keeps Cylinder and Slide in the business of selling their Extreme Duty fixed sights, even to S&W.
 
Those supposed guns (I don't believe it's ever been confirmed that S&W actually made them) would not have been marked 58, however, unless someone really screwed up at the factory -- multiple times in a row. And sorry, given that factory mismarks are never in production strings (most of the mismarks are caught and remarked, with one getting out here and there) I simply don't buy it.

I stand by my assessment that yes, while you never can say never, you can also say that the odds of S&W actually having made any one of these reported guns is EXCEPTIONALLY slim.
 
Mike, the guns steveno and I referred to aren't mismarks. They are stamped 29, but were marked 29-58 on the box. And yes, they are very much confirmed to exist. One is owned by an extremely accomplished S&W collector and expert on N frames, known as Doc44 on the S&W forum. If you are an SWCA member you can see who that is. His bonafides are above reproach.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1961-1980/244138-model-29-58-gripping-story.html

But you are correct, most of the strange guns you see are put together after leaving the factory. But there are also a number of exceedingly rare prototypes, special runs, one offs, and even factory gift guns that are out there. I own a couple of them myself.
 
OK, I didn't follow that we had switched over to discussing the few, but known, revolvers that were marked 29-58.

That's not what Mr. Gumm described, or at least he made no reference to it being marked 29-58, which is why I answered as I did.

As I said, numerous people over the years have claimed to have revolvers marked 58 that were specifically manufactured by S&W in .44 Mag., but without the 29- marking.

I've yet to see one.
 
No, steveno and I were not talking about Mr. Gumm's gun. I agree with you in that I doubt he has what he thinks he has, which is why I responded as I did about it.
 
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