Check out my refinished 3" S&W M29 "Bounty Hunter" Mag-na-port custom

[WC145]

It started life as a Bud's Gun Shop *Exclusive* called the "Bounty Hunter" and was sent to Mag-na-port where it got their 4-Port "Dual Trapezoidal" porting, an incredible action job (as good as any I've felt), 11deg target muzzle crown, chamfered forcing cone, and the grip reduced to K-frame round butt dimensions. So far, so good. Then the unthinkable was done - the gun was painted with OD green Gunkote!!! The cylinder was left black for the ever desirable "two-tone" look. And that's how it was when I got it. If it wasn't such a great shooter and if it didn't have such a terrific action and if it wasn't so loaded with potential I'd have just turned it over and moved on. But, it was really a nice gun, a very ugly, really nice gun.

So I took it to my friends at Dietrich Gunsmithy, they've worked on a number of guns for me, many of which have been posted here. I had them blast off all of the green, bevel the front edge of the cylinder, chamfer the charge holes, bright polish the hammer and trigger, and parkerize it. I just picked it up and the transformation is amazing. It is still a great shooting gun with a great action but now it's easier to load and holster and it has a nice, businesslike look about it with just enough bling to catch your eye. It very closely resembles my 586 L-Comp that received the same treatment a couple of years ago.

Anyway, here's some pics that show how it was and how looks now. Let me know what you think!

This is what it would have looked like originally-


This is what it looked like when I got it-


And this is what it looks like today-



Posing with my 586 L-Comp-

 

[sidheshooter]

 

[Chuck Perry]

I'm interested in your impression of the grip frame change. I love N frames, but the grip is to large for me, I can never maintain a correct grip and be able to get enough finger on the trigger for double action work. The K/L frame grips suit me much better. Does the Magnaport coversion make the N completely the same as a K?

 

[Rodentman]

Looks great!

I like the look. I agree the tow toned green was ugly, and I'm somewhat of an authority on ugly.

 

[bikemutt]

Looks nice, but it's got to be kissing on a $2k gun by now.

 

[WC145]

I'm interested in your impression of the grip frame change. I love N frames, but the grip is to large for me, I can never maintain a correct grip and be able to get enough finger on the trigger for double action work. The K/L frame grips suit me much better. Does the Magnaport coversion make the N completely the same as a K?

I like the grip conversions, I have an Austin Behlert custom S&W 25-2 that has a k-round grip frame as well. The only thing is that a lot of grips don't fit correctly at the top of the grip frame, as you can see in this pic of the 29 when it was green-

However, the Pachmayr Compacs seem to fit them perfectly.

Looks nice, but it's got to be kissing on a $2k gun by now.

Actually, I'm into it for right at a grand total. I got a decent deal on it when it was green, considering all the work that had been done.



.

 

[bluethunder1962]

cool guns all.

 

[duckjihad]

Very nice. I like.

 

[Fishslayer]

Very nice improvement!

I would venture a guess that the previous owner is partial to OD Glocks as well...

 

[Jaymo]

It looks a LOT better now.
Is that parkerized? I like the flat, dark gray/black.

The green just didn't look right.

I remember, the Smith custom shop made some sort of .38 Super(IIRC) hunting revolver in the early 2000s and it was OD green like that.
I thought it would have looked better blue or black.

Much praise for your Pachmayrs. I'm a huge fan of Pachmayr grips.
I had Grippers on my model 65, and Speed Six. I've always swapped the grips on my .38 snubs and Charter .44 Bulldogs out for Pachmayr Compacs.

I've tried to like the Hogue rubber grips, I really have. They just feel like a dead snake in my hands.


I take it, sir, that you are also a fan of short, handy, powerful revolvers.
They are great, aren't they?

 

[bdb benzino]

Love it! I remember seeing it when it was green before, but with the parkirizing and the grip change it is a beaut. I bet it shoots amazing with all that custom work on it! Congrats.

 

[critter]

Beautiful gun! However, I'd want to be sure that when I shot it with full power loads to have my arms at FULL EXTENSION. I can imagine the blast from the ports to be impressive. Hearing protection not optional.

 

[skt239]

WC145,

You always impress me with your revolvers, this one is no exception. Kudos on the rescue.

 

[WC145]

Thanks guys!

Jaymo- yes, that is freshly parkerized.

Critter - you're right, it's very loud. The upside is that it is really easy to shoot, less muzzle jump and felt recoil than my friend's 7.5" Redhawk.

Fishslayer- the story I got was that the original owner had it coated to match a 1911, a Les Baer or something similar.