Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns S&W 29-2

I have been after Dick to write a book, if even a compilation of all his short stories for at least 10 years. Probably more like 15 years now. He is a wealth of knowledge and has been doing what so many only talk about, handgun hunting on public lands, and doing so successfully. Stories like the one above are only icing on the cake!

My first 29-2 (and first Model 29) was a 6.5". I have put many thousands of rounds through that gun. For a long time it was my only centerfire revolver, so it filled a lot of roles.

After years of reading articles by Ross Seyfried, John Taffin, Elmer Keith, etc, I contemplated for considerable time on what would be my ideal "Perfect .44".

I finally decided to have it built.

My favorite 29-2 is my 5" that was built from an 8 & 3/8ths" gun. The barrel was cut back and set up with the same interchangeable front sight system as the Classic/DX revolvers. The wide serrated trigger was narrowed and polished.







From experience I found that the 5" was the sweet spot.

4" barrels were outstanding for a gun carried on the belt in a traditional holster. There was no reason to go shorter either as it did not gain you anything. With a 4" gun, with typical .44 Mag loads, recoil was still quite considerable. The sight radius was a disadvantage as compared to a 6.5" gun, but with practice you could still turn in some good accuracy.

The 6.5" guns, without question were the tops (for me) for hunting. Bear in mind that this is all in the pre-red dot sight days. As far as iron sight shooting, the 6.5" barreled Model 29 was perfect for getting optimal accuracy, especially at any decent distance. The downside was that it was not great for a belt carried gun, and getting into and out of a pickup truck on a regular basis. Great for hunting, but not great for a daily carry type gun.

The 5" gun was the ideal spot between. It was short enough, that when paired with a high quality holster like a 55BN from Milt Sparks, it was comfortable to carry all day on the belt, and was not a hinderance getting into and out of vehicles. The sight radius was such that I definitely shot it better than a 4" gun. As far as recoil goes. That extra 1" of barrel was notable. The 5" barrel really is the ideal barrel length for N Frames for me. It may not be for others, for various reasons such as height, or build or other reasons, but for me, it is perfect.

Plab: You are welcome and indeed your Model 29 does have the "target trigger, target hammer and target stocks (the "3 T's")" so it can be called "target model" if you wish.

Others: I heard from a "Hollywood type" that Clint Eastwood actually was "packin" a 41 Magnum during filming - that was declared to be a "44 Magnum revolver" in the movie.
The rumor was they could not readily obtain a 44 Magnum - IDK?
I look down the bore every time I watch the movie and I think I agree with that "rumor" though.
By the way the movie cost $4,000,000.00 (four million dollars) to make and initial theater release brought in $36,000,000.00 (thirty six million dollars) for the producers!
Thus some sequels.

I used to buy and sell S&W Model 29's VERY regularly!
Never was much for shooting them just seeking "profits".
I am down to just 5 Model 29's today some of which are new unfired in presentation boxes.
(2) Model 29-2's with 8 3/8" barrels
(1) Model 29-2 with 6 1/2" barrel (nickel plated)
(2) Model 29-6's with 6" barrels
Long live the pre-lock Smith & Wesson revolvers!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Because apparently you've not seen the standard model. They didn't even come in the mahogany box.

I've been shooting Model 29s for most of my adult life and I had no idea that a factory non-3T version existed. Can you point me to pics?

Genuinely curious, not busting your chops.

Thanks,


Okie John

No, just seeing them in person in the mid 70's at the huge gun shop & police supply that we used to visit to dream of such things. Their police supply department may have been the source there.

But... before the gun control act of `68, & somewhat past that, S&W's could be had various ways, or special order. Much like American made vehicles of the day. Find one on the lot or not uncommon was to sit down & check of a list of offered options & wait a month or 2 longer & get exactly what you wanted.

I have a 1975 Outdoor Sports Headquarters master catalog that was a giant distributor in the day that used to list some of the more popular options of Smiths & others, seems the blue book of gun values would list the value of a gun & have adders for certain options. But by '75, Smiths were so scarce they stopped doing that. A dealer took what they could get & options weren't asked for, just a bonus if a gun came with some. For instance, a dealer might have to buy 10 model 10's to get a model 19, or the like.

Googling might find old S&W catalogs or option list. I didn't have much luck, but know they existed.

One of mine had a Patridge front sight. I sold it to Travis.

I've seen it, but would love to see it again, not to mention the younger guy could see how neat Smiths were in the day.

Any chance of a few photo's of that catalog?