Smith & Wesson Model 29

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David1958

New member
Fired the M29 @ the range today. The 180gr and 240 gr .44 Magnum rounds are almost unpleasant to fire! 6" Barrel 29-2 w/Oversize Target Stocks...I thought it would absorb recoil fairly well. That's not the case! I have a apair of Fitz Gunfighter Grips and wonder if those would help with either recoil control or comfort.....any thoughts or alternate grips you'd recommend? Shot fairly accurately despite the "hand-cannon" effect. Tried .44 Specials also.....very nice. Like shooting .38's out of a Model 27/28. Maybe I should stick to them for target work. Not set up for handloading (yet) and not looking to sell the 29, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
29's are great guns. I have a fondness for the older square frame w/oversized target grips. I tried a set of rubber grips on my 4" barreled 29 and went back to the stock oversize grips. Better control + the rubber was too "grabby" and raised a few blisters.

180's are downright nasty and useless for any practical purpose in a .44 bore. Way too much velocity. IMNSHO, 200 gr should be the lightest you should go in a .44. Conversly, anything above 265 gr shouldn't find it's way into a Smith 29 of any flavor or vintage. 240's /250's are the sweet spot. (Elmer Keith pretty much figured that out a long time ago).

Once you get setup to handload, you can come real close to the big 3's (Win/Fed/Rem) factory offerings with a lot less "snap" and "blast". I load a 240 gr cast or swaged lead bullet sized to .430 over 17 to 18 gr of 2400 which fairly well duplicates the published factory figures of 1180 fps. It's a lot softer shooting though.

Enjoy your "Dirty Harry" they are really a great gun, and IMHO the .44 is the ideal caliber.
 
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