Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns How strong are S&W revolvers

I think reasonable care applies to certain things.

Tires with good tread shouldn't lead the user to over looking side wall condition and date codes.

I have two model 19 S&W's. They're cherished revolvers. They have weaknesses. A thin spot on the forcing cone, cylinder lock notches at thinnest part of the cylinder wall, and hammer mounted firing pin. They can and have handled heavy loads. I also have a Ruger GP100 stainless. It was bought used and is so used that the rifling at the forcing cone shows obvious wear. Thick forcing cone, one piece frame, off set lock notches, frame mounted pin. I choose the Ruger for heavy loads and hard use whenever possible. Reasonable care.

I have a model 29 S&W. Bought used, its seen better days. It can handle heavy loads, but I reserve such loads for a newer gun with more mass, and sturdier design. A brand new 29 might see more hard use if I had one. I don't. So the old one gets reasonable care.

I also periodically inspect guns. Gas cutting at the top strap on 357's, lock up, sight screws, end shake, cylinder rotation, ejector rods. All easy to do. If these guns can survive my ham handed care, they're probly good for a few life times of service.

I have been using S&W revolvers to kill game since the early 70s. Are they as strong as Rugers or Freedom arms revolvers? No, but so what?

I'd ask this question:
What animal would you hunt where a bullet exiting the gun at 1350 FPS is just not enough but one coming out at 1450 is completely fine? You see that animal and that scenario never existed and never will. So hot loading to a point that the gun may be damaged serves no purpose at all. If you need more power than what your guns gives you with safe and reasonable loads GET A MORE POWERFUL GUN, but don't try to make the existing cartridge 'more powerful" It's not wise and has no purpose.

Look at a ballistic table and see the difference between a handgun bullet with a muzzle velocity of let say 1400 FPS and one at 1325 FPS and see at what distance the 1400 FPS load is down to 1375 You'll find such hot loads are the same speed as normal loads at usually around 20 to 30 years. So the real truth is that your hot load don't really kill better and even if it did, it would only do it for an additional; 20 yards of so.

There is no good reason to load hot enough to work about one gun being stronger than another

Again some good and appreciated words guys.
I know I will be fine now as I will not be hot rodding these handguns.
That is not my style. I just was making sure I was not making a mistake wanting to load the 44 mainly, for hunting.
I doubt I will ever use the .357's hunting.

Well said Szihn. Elmer Keith found as did many of his followers, aka the "44 Associates", that a 250 gr. hard cast keith bullet at 1200 fps. would do anything that the vast majority needed. All he wanted in the .44 Magnum was that in a factory round. E

.22 Remington Jet was chambered in the Model 53; the Model 35 was a 6" version of the Model 34 .22 "Kit Gun" called the "Kit Target." Neither is an easy revolver to find at reasonable prices.

My 35 has done a great job for me since 1975! The Jet is too much for yard work unless your yard is 10 acres, IMO. Get a .22 WRM.

Yes Mesa you are correct Model 53 I was having a dyslexic moment.
I can shoot anything where I live so no problem.

I once saw a Model 29 with 5 bullets lodged in the barrel. The first a squib that was followed by 4 full power loads. The barrel being pulled forward by each bullet coming to a sudden stop that it stretched the frame to the point that it bound up the action.

That indicated to me that the gun was engineered extremely well, the correct steel was chosen & the proper heat treat was applied. Had there been one little weak link in the entire system, this episode would have found it.

Yeah, it gave up, but only after extreme misuse.

This.

Indeed.

More recently, John Linebaugh has opined that a 260 gr 45 Colt bullet with a MV of 900 FPS or so will get the job done for hunting any deer sized game you care to hunt. You don’t need magnum velocities to kill deer. A warm 44 Special load will do it, as will a SAAMI 357 Magnum, 41 Magnum, or others. Heck, I’ve killed deer with a 9mm 115 gr factory load.

The S&W N Frame is strong enough that ( I can personally attest to the fact) a 300 grain cast bullet will go completely through a bull elk standing broadside and not be recovered. I would say that is more than sufficiently strong.

Earlier versions of the 29 developed problems after sustained use of heavy loads. S&W made some changes to the lockwork and lengthened the cylinder notches to address that. The WWW experts don’t seem to agree on exactly when the changes began, but by 29-5, they appear to all be in place. It’s known as the Endurance Package. My brother had an early 629 and it would sometimes let the cylinder rotate a bit under recoil which led to skipping a chamber now and again. 29-5s and later are much more durable than the early ones. Don’t know if any of the changes made it to other N-frames.

A hot .357 or standard .45 Colt is about all the fun I want to have in my old age. I killed a doe once with the 629, but any future ones will get it from of the milder ones. Should be fine as far as I can hit well with irons or a red dot. My .44 s a rifle these days.

Writer Brian Pearce has taken deer, elk, and bear with standard-pressure .45 Colt loads from SAAs and probably others. One advantage is that they are much easier on the ears than the magnums if you don’t have time to slip in plugs before the shot.

The Endurance Package came into production on the 29 some time during the dash three period.

My brother sent his to a smith who installed a ball detent in the crane and fiddled the DA. Whatever else he did fixed the skipping problem.

Yesterday the LGS had a 6" M629-4 on consignment for $699. Damn tempting.

I would have a hard time walking out of that shop without that revolver in my hands.

This is true and by the -4's they all had it. Conventional wisdom is to buy a -4 or newer and you've got the strongest 29/629 made.

Heading back tomorrow.

I would. Never lose a dime on that gun.

My favorites are the no dash through M29-2

The pre-82 models. In 1982, they dropped the pinned barrel and recessed cylinder chambers. Otherwise, they are identical, though, and neither of those two features serves any real practical function. I've not heard about barrels unscrewing themselves, and modern rims need no additional support from a recessed chamber.

I understand liking them, though, just because they are indicators of greater effort in going above and beyond in the manufacturing process.