Back in the early 80's I bought a pair of 6" 629 no dash guns. After about 500 full power rounds through each gun, both started having problems with the cylinders backing up. So bad, they were basically two shot guns and that was with 240gr bullets. I'm not sure when that issue was fixed, but I don't think was until the dash 3's came out.
Edited to add, if you plan to hunt with an early Smith, you don't want the counter bored (recessed) cylinder either. Brush particles, and various other dirt and grim get down in that recess and cause problems with the rims not going all the way flush. That recess is a pain to clean.....it was just a bad idea all the way around. Early guns are not always "better".
This.
A 250-grain bullet at 1,100 fps is about right for a pre-Endurance Smith. That load will do almost anything you need a handgun to do.
Okie John
