Got a S&W Model 29-3 today. Doin' a happy dance.

A 29 Smith is a 29 Smith, no way you can go wrong if you got it for a good price. You can always find grips

Nice! What caliber is that please? I'm guessing it's a .44 Magnum?

May I ask what you paid for it? I'm trying to learn about revolvers.

THANKS!

Very nice and enjoy your new revolver. They are sweet revolvers.

@ NeveraVictimAgain, yes, it would be a .44 Magnum and depending on variables I am seeing Model 29s in the $600 to $900 range with some going higher. Any gun on any given day is worth what someone who wants it is willing to pay for it.

Ron

Nice guns - happy for you !

Remember that those rubber grips may be ugly to you, but a boat load of them have been installed on guns over the years, and for good reason. Get your nice looking wood grips, but you might not want to get read of these until you do some shooting with booth sets to compare.

mnrivrat said:

Nice guns - happy for you !

Remember that those rubber grips may be ugly to you, but a boat load of them have been installed on guns over the years, and for good reason. Get your nice looking wood grips, but you might not want to get read of these until you do some shooting with booth sets to compare.

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The original wood grips for my Model 29-5 reside in a box.

That is the only revolver I prefer to shoot with the rubber grips that are seen on it.



Ron

not sure if the picture worked, but nice wood grips will let you know you've shot something after a bunch full power loads.

Another 29-3



and a 29-2

Cocked & Locked, liking that 29-2! Nickel or high polished stainless?

Ron

Reloadron said:

Cocked & Locked, liking that 29-2! Nickel or high polished stainless?

Ron

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S&W factory lettered blued and nickel "two-tone" aka "half plate" or "pinto." Shipped that way from S&W in May, 1975. Bought it years ago and traded it off about 2-3 years ago. Gone but not forgotten. I never could bring myself to shoot so moved it out.

Cool M29 Cocked & Locked. I have a "two toned" Colt OP in 22 that I consider quite a prize.

I prefer Goodyear grips to factory grips on the big bores. They aren't pretty, but they work.

Twiki357 said:

Bought a S&W Model 29-3 on a FTF transaction today. It looked good in the posted pictures, but the pictures didn't do it justice. The gun looks like it is unfired. absolutely no trace of carbon on the front of the cylinder or the forcing cone. Bluing is almost perfect, a couple of small marks on the muzzle and a very fine line on the cylinder that I actually had to look for to see it. Seller said it was a 1992 manufacture and it looks like it's bee a safe queen ever since. The only down side is the ugly after market rubber grips. It even came with 20 round box of Hornady 225gr FTX.

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Actually for this type of weapon if your hand is large enough and fingers long enough the Pachmayr or Uncle Mike's boot grips are the best one can get. These are no uglier then boxy factory wooden grips with coarse checkering it probably came with. The only S&W grips I ever liked were those smooth wooden ones with finger grooves someone made for them. You found nice handgun. Good luck with it.

Cocked & Locked said:

S&W factory lettered blued and nickel "two-tone" aka "half plate" or "pinto." Shipped that way from S&W in May, 1975. Bought it years ago and traded it off about 2-3 years ago. Gone but not forgotten. I never could bring myself to shoot so moved it out.

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I can understand that. All of my guns get shot and having a new in box one of those is not something I would do. A beautiful example of a 29 and I am not generally the two tone type, only a few guns.

Thanks for the Answer
Ron

Congrats. That's a nice looking one. I actually CCWed my 29-2 yesterday. Not something I do often, but every once in a while, just for the heck of it.

I love a good N frame!

Here is a pair I use often.



629-2.44 Mountain Gun and .45 ACP 625.

Deaf

That's a nice looking one. I actually CCWed my 29-2 yesterday. Not something I do often, but every once in a while, just for the heck of it.

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Pictures, or it didn't happen, lol

Congrats on your model 29 and enjoy shooting it.

Congrats on the 29-3! My biggest gun regret is getting rid of a 29-1. I hope you love it as much as I did!

The 29-1 formerly known as "mine":

I almost bought a 29-3 a couple of weeks ago, but for some reason I held off (I already have a 4" 29 and a 6.5" 629-4). Two days ago this unfired 29-2 walked into my LGS and I couldn't resist.



The picture doesn't do it justice. Very faint turn line and not a single flaw in the bluing.

The gun looks to be in GREAT shape. If the lockup matches the looks are clean you got yourself a real winner.

Twiki, some folks actually like the Pachmayers that are on your gun at the moment. Others, me included, hate them. It seems like those of us with bigger hands find that the Pachmayers are too long front to back and not wide enough. This produces a loose fit in our grips on the sides so there's simply less support. At the same time the fairly narrow back strap area bites in harder during recoil due to less supportive area.

Check out some guns that use Hogue grips in either wood or rubber. A far better, but still not quite ideal shape for us folks with big hands.

Even better are a set of Arrends smooth grips that I got a while back for my N frame Model 28. They fit my hands well with pretty consistent pressure all around and are not so fat around the base that I feel like my pinky is being pushed out into the cold.

The .44Mag is a reloader's dream cartridge. If you don't reload already then consider starting soon. If you shoot this gun much at all it'll quickly save you a bucket load of money and you can also tailor the amount of recoil to suit yourself easily. Otherwise if you insist on factory ammo I suspect the gun will become a seldom used piece after the novelty wears off due to sticker shock when buying ammo. It's silly too since even .44Mag can be reloaded for under 20 cents a round in the US. And about 23 cents a round up this way.

I have have a 29-4 made in 1988 or 1989 that I got used in 1997 at a pawn shop for $200 LNIB, and should have been $450 in 1997.
Mine has had a steady diet of 24 gr 240 gr JHP ~~ 30kpsi ~~1400 fps and is still tight like new.

I have really enjoyed owning that revolver and I hope you enjoy your 29-3.

I took off the wood grips and put them in the box.
There is a trade off, the wood makes me feel the recoil less, but I also feel like I have less control.

I think if most people try with the rubber grips, they will like that better.

my 29-2 in case,i retired it and shoot it rarly now. eastbank.