What's the best model S&W 44. Mag?

B

Bennett Richards

New member
Hi,

30 years ago I had a 4 inch Smith Model 29 that I loved. Great balance and accurate as hell. I was thinking of getting another. What would be my best bet as to quality? I was thinking of stainless. Get a used older gun? What serial range on an older gun... or are the new ones OK?

Thanks,

Rich
 
Most "serious S&W people" prefer the blue 29 to the stainless 629. An older blue Smith is a real thing of beauty. I personally prefer the ones made in the 50's and 60's but it gets harder and harder to find really nice ones. Or you find a NIB example but then it is SO nice you can't bear to turn it into a real using gun. I like a 4" 629 for a holster gun but I'm definitely partial to the blue 29. If it has an S serial number and original diamond grips, I'm in serious trouble!

Gregg
 
Seeing as how you live in the People's Republic of Kalifornia your choices are severely limited.

If you want an older Smith, you'll have to find a private owner or a shop that sells on consignment. The older Smiths have not been approved for sale here in Kommifornia.

The newer Smiths are nice (even though I don't own anything past 1980), and we can buy a 29-8 mountain gun in 44 mag. But that's the only blued steel 44 mag available for retail sale here.

With the newer Smiths, there has been speculation about the locking mechanism jamming the gun at critical times. Dunno about that. Don't own one. Just know what I read.

So, if you find a 29 pinned and recessed in four inch barrel, buy two........
AND SELL ME THE OTHER!
 
Rich... of course there is no "best", there are just a variety of wonderful choices depending on your needs and what you like.

I have quite a few Smiths blued and stainless. Of course the blue ones are real lookers, that's for sure. But when it comes to regular use and practicality, stainless makes a lot more sense. It's easy to retouch the finish on a stainless gun when the gun takes a scuff or scrape. But on a blued gun, ain't no picnic at all!

I don't hunt with handguns and don't anticipate shooting great distances, so my choice was a 629 with 3" barrel. I love the gun. But I don't love shooting full house .44 maggie loads in it, so I roll my own to get a 200 gr. JHP moving at about 1050 or so. Very comfortable to shoot and does pack a good punch, for sure. Easy on the gun as well as on me.

Here she is:

M629_Left.jpg


M629_Right.jpg


M629_LF.jpg


I think a 4" barrel would be a nice choice as well.

If you want to shoot the really heavy loads a lot, get one with the "endurance" package (S&W made some strengthening modifications), select a 629-3 or later version and 29-5 and later. If you shoot mostly lighter than full-house loads, any version is plenty strong.
 
30 years ago your Model 29 probably had the square frame and the old style Smith oversized target grips.

Newer Smiths all have the round butt frame.

The round butt doesn't balance or heft like the older square butt. If you want to duplicate what you had, look for a Model 29-2 or a 29-3. (open the cylinder and the model number with the dash will be stamped inside)
 
Smith 44 Mag

Do any 29's or 629's have the counter-sunk cylinder like my old 29 where the case heade sit flush with the top surface of the cylinder face.. or has that been eliminated to save costs?

:confused:
 
For everyday carry I prefer my stainless 4" 629. Yep, it's new, it's got the lock, but it shoots great.
Like DHart I use downloaded rounds. I like a 240-grain bullet at about 1050 fps. The reason I chose that is that is about what I get with the 240-grain Hydra-Shok out of a 4" tube, so it lets me practice with rounds that recoil like my defense rounds.
 
Most "serious S&W people" prefer the blue 29 to the stainless 629.
Click to expand...

Maybe collectors and occasional users. Most serious users prefer the newer models with the endurance package. Blue or stainless unless you are in a high humidity area like Fla. Then its definately stainless.
 
In the late 80s or early 90s Smith & Wesson changed the heat treating on the 44 magnums and made other changes to improve their strength and over come problems discovered when silhoutte shooters started running enormous amounts of heavy magnum loads with 300 gr bullets through them.

S&W also upgraded the K frame magnums around the same time.

If you go to the Smith & Wesson forum they can tell you what model dash number these became effective on. IIRC it was the 629-3 and 29-4 or 5, but they can tell you better than I can.
 
Best S&W 44 mag. ???

I have 2 S&W 629-1's that are great. I shoot the 4 inch much more than the 6 inch. It just feels better to me. I had a Blue 29 that I loaned to a friend when he went back packing in Wyoming. It was rusted when I got it back about a week later. Not to bad but it was noticeable. I sold it and have no regrets about getting the stainless. I just like them better than blue. :)
 
I bought a 6" 629-1 with rosewood grips about a year ago. It was made somewhere around 1987. The gun is solid, shoots well, and was in great shape. It was one of my proudest purchases yet. I fell in love with the gun at first sight:-)
 
I have a S&W Mod 29-4 blued that I love. I recently decided to start shooting it again. I added leupold rings and mounts with a leupold 2X scope. It outshoots my winchester 94 , 44 mag every day.
The thing that surprises me is the accuracy at 100 yards. I'm not a very good pistol shot but am now able to group in the 6" range at 100 yards. My goal is to be accurate enough to hunt with it this year.
Bill
 
Hi,

I showed you in earlier posts my 629, now with the 3" barrel (it was a 6"). I bought it used, and it has a very strange serial# : ADS0008
It´s marked on the back of the square butt grip and on the cylinder arm. It´s also stamped in ink (like a real stamp) on the inside of the wood grip.
What do you think ? It´s strange, ´cause it doesn´t follow the numbers SW usually use...

Regards,

Andre Tiba - Brazil
 
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