Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns S&W 329PD help.

Don't discount a middle of the road load that produces less recoil. A buddy of mine saved his life fall before last with a 2" 44special shooting 245gr cast bullets at 900fps. Shot a Brooks range grizzly that was in full charge at 12 feet and folded him up, one shot DA to the cranium and it was lights out. He was miles from the road on a backpack sheep hunt, solo, so it truly was life or death.
I've shot through bear and hogs endways with a 245 cast bullet at less than 1100fps.

Winchester white box 240s seem to be some of the sharpest recoiling 44 ammo around to me. And the bullets have a very shallow crimp groove. I don't believe them to be a really good bullet for deep penetration either judging by shooting them into phone books and the like.

Find or load something that works and practice with it.

Not your typical "sporting good store" A very large Mom and Pop
actually with some very sharp employees

Welcome to the fire I find 629s to be quite a handful personally
Hank

The google link had a report after 3000 rounds fired.

"Summary: In my opinion as a member of the great unwashed mass of hunters and backpackers who chose to be armed, the S&W329pd is the best carry solution for bitey-scratchy critters. I'm comfortable with this revolver now and this is the right solution for me. My happiness level is high.

The rest of this web page is collection of bits and pieces that I hope you will find helpful whether you are pondering a purchase or just looking for ideas."

I like Mom and Pop stores. My bad.

But on the 300gr thing. He is wrong. Momentum, barrel time with heavy vs lighter weight bullet.

Jay's isn't exactly Mom & Pop. It's bigger than a lot of Cabelas (78,000sf). The only thing that a 300gr bullet might help with is that the longer bearing surface in the case might provide enough extra friction to keep the bullet from jumping.

There ya go. I think we solved the problem. Use Barnes XPB bullets. Tough, lower density/bearing surface, lighter weight for length and a good deep cannelure.

I use them in the 500 S&W. Very good Bullet.


PS: Still use some rosin.

One of the main reasons I sold my S&W 329 was because of the guns light weight causing bullets to jump crimp because of the severe recoil. That and the fact that it felt like a fuggin mule kicking my hand on every shot!

The only load I could get to shoot with out the bullet jumping the crimp and locking up the cylinder was a 260 grain LBT WFN Cast bullet at 850 FPS.

And I'm not recoil sensitive. I've shot .475 Linbaughs and 500 S&W handguns with more manageable recoil than the S&W 329.

I also replaced the Model 329 with the new S&W Model 69 L-frame .44 mag, and have been very pleased. No more problems with the bullets jumping the crimp, and MUCH more pleasant to shoot.

MM, I was a little surprised to see your post about your negative experience with the 329PD. When I was hunting brown bear in AK fairly regularly, I started out carrying a S&W 629 5" Classic as my tent gun for bear protection. I eventually decided that a S&W 329 PD was a better choice on those backpack hunts, because of the significantly lower weight.

I settled on the CorBon 300 grain load as the only one I used in my 329PD. I practiced with that load before each trip and never had a problem either with a bullet jumping the crimp or the 329 failing to deliver a full cylinder fired double action. The recoil was stout, but controllable.

My only regret is that I sold the 329 PD and wish I had it back for those times when a powerful gun comes in handy when a trip into bear - black or brown - country is on the menu. A great gun for the use you have in mind, but I'm afraid the problem is very likely to be with the loads you've chosen for it.

Stick with the 329 and choose a different load. It's a perfect choice for a 'packing' revolver!