Picked up my new .44!!!

Roadrunner

Roadrunner

Joined
Jun 9, 1999
Messages
4,729
Yes, that's right, I have sitting right in front of me a vintage stainless steel .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson model 629 Classic Hunter with factory Hogue wood grips, an 8 3/8" full underlug barrel and an unfluted cylinder. :D I've had it on layaway at the local Gander Mountain for about a month and finally got my GI Bill payment from the Army today, so naturally I went and picked it up. I like this gun more everytime I hold it, these Hogue grips are incredible. It has a few scratches and some very light rust spots on the frame, but a little Flitz should take that off. I have to go to work or I'd post a few pics, but I figured I'd take a moment to gloat.. er, I mean share my good fortune with you all. :) Pics coming tomorrow.
 
Congratulations. I love .44 magnums. I've always wanted a Smith, but ended up with a Colt Anaconda. A little bulky, but a really nice shooter with a sweet trigger.
 
That's cool. Hope you enjoy it. Try some .44Spec. loads, or handload some milder .44mag. stuff for fun plinking. By the way...you said vintage in your description of the 629. Makes me feel old as I got my Model 29 in about 1983 long before they beefed-up the 629 series and called them the Classic. :o

Jeff
 
Great. How much was it? They want bucks for wheel guns today. Not the workingman's choice anymore. Well, few things the working man can buy easily.


munk
 
wow, very nice.

I have a 8 3/8 stainless steel .44 (Targus) that I really like! with hot loads that thing shoots out a foot or two of fire :eek:
 
sounds like a real sweetheart of a gun! I'd still love to get a .44 mag some time myself. It's hard to beat the versatility and ammo selection for 'em.
 
Neat thing to have. Congrats.

Load .44 mag brass to .44 special specs and shoot it a lot...

can't wait to get back into reloading.



Ad Astra
 
Man that is cool as all get out. Have fun.
 
Congratulations Roadrunner on your new pistol! You will love it for sure.

I enclosed a pic of my Classic, 5" bbl.
 

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Roadrunner said:
Yes, that's right, I have sitting right in front of me a vintage stainless steel .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson model 629 Classic Hunter with factory Hogue wood grips, an 8 3/8" full underlug barrel and an unfluted cylinder. :D I've had it on layaway at the local Gander Mountain for about a month and finally got my GI Bill payment from the Army today, so naturally I went and picked it up. I like this gun more everytime I hold it, these Hogue grips are incredible. It has a few scratches and some very light rust spots on the frame, but a little Flitz should take that off. I have to go to work or I'd post a few pics, but I figured I'd take a moment to gloat.. er, I mean share my good fortune with you all. :) Pics coming tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Great GUN! I have one also, but with the fluted cylinder. Very accurate, especially at longer ranges.

Really makes a bang. Get some hearing protection! I wear hearing aids now because when I began shooting many years ago, they did not think that hearing protection was needed. Especially outdoors. I never saw an inside range until the 1990s.

Would also suggest reloading. You can get all kinds of diffent effects. I even loaded a few with black powder! Not recommended and you better clean it well afterwards, but the smoke! WOW! A full load 44 mag? With black powder?

BOOM! (Cough, Cough). Suggested at an outside range only! There was some made in Mexico ammo that did that also. Big bang and very little recoil. I guess that I better not draw parallels ----
 
I'll try a larger pic. I do use my pistols for hunting. I shot a 160 lb pig with my M29 6 1/2" bbl, using reloads. 265 grn Hornadys [the rifle bullet] 21 grns H110. It did not expand much. I guess it would have worked allot better if the hog was 300lbs. I guess better luck next time.;)
 

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Thanks for the comments everyone.

devo, yeah, I know vintage maybe isn't the best word to describe it yet, but it is kind of old, and it doesn't have the dratted locking system they're putting on the new ones. :barf:

hollow, you bet we can. :D I'm going to practice on groundhogs next summer, then bag a deer in the fall.

munk, I got it for $550, right about at Blue Book. It's incredibly clean, there isn't even any carbon on the front of the cylinder.

sams, nice collection! I can only aspire to such heights...
1.gif
;)

Bill, I hear you (pun intended). :rolleyes: I have very sensitive ears and ALWAYS wear hearing protection unless I'm hunting big game. I used to wear plugs in the woods, but then I can't hear the deer coming. I figure that a little hearing loss is fair trade, since the deer is definitely getting the short end of the stick. Oh, and Dad has a reloading press, I plan to get it set up once I find a bigger house.

Mustn't forget the pics too, as promised. My photography isn't the best, but you get the general idea.

1st pic: From the left...
#2: and the right.
#3: Nice clean cylinder.
#4: No frame mounted firing pins here!
#5: Feelin' lucky punk?
 

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...continued.

#6: Family portrait. From left to right we have a S&W Model 10 in .38 SPL, next a Kel-Tec P11 in 9mm which rides on my right hip everywhere it can legally do so, and last of course the new Model 629.

#7: Roadrunner to Wile E. Coyote; go ahead, make my day. :cool:
 

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cliff355 said:
My 6" 629 was bought in the same time frame - price was $225. Since then they have apparently strenghthened the M29 series, though mine has been shot alot and never developed any problems.

I have a Dillon 630P setup for .44 and mainly load 5 gr. Bullseye & 240 gr. Saeco RNF cast from whatever will melt - lubed with beeswax/vaselline. The same bullet works well with a full case of 2400 for other "applications."
Click to expand...

$225...? Seems like you got a good deal, even back then. Mine developed some top-strap cutting, but I understand the cutting doesn't go any deeper after a certain point. Eventually I scoped mine with a Burris 2X and went deer hunting. The scope really messes with what was a very well balanced and handy revolver.

After my first deer hunting trip, which was successful, I decided that hunting with a handgun needs to be approached in a similar way to hunting with a bow. You need a good steady rest and the deer needs to be within 30 yards or so. Anything else isn't very fair to the quarry (JMHO).

Jeff
 
Nice piece there, Kurt. I take it that it's mechanically in good condition? Timing's on, no endplay, etc?

And what is up with guys getting out of the military and growing beards? :)
 
Dave, it looks good mechanically as far as I can tell, and there's a 90 day warranty in case I'm wrong. One of the internal pieces makes an annoying rattle that I can't track down, but my .38 does it too and has functioned perfectly so I'm not too worried. That is a funny thing about the beards now that you mention it, seems to be one of the universal constants when we get our freedom back. :)
 
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