What Is Your Favorite Self Defense Revolver? S&W629

The biggest, baddest cartridge on the block is of no use if you can't put round*s* on target. For most folk, .357 Magnum is their limit for actual controllability in a tense situation. For most people, .357 is the best, I'd think. For those willing to except long term damage hands/wrists, but are fine with the trade-off, .44 Magnum is good too.

Mr. Mosin said:

The biggest, baddest cartridge on the block is of no use if you can't put round*s* on target.

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I agree.

44's are great, as long as you can realistically shoot them well. I have a couple around here and while fun to shoot, they wouldnt be my first choice for a daily "people" gun.

I also have a 3" S&W 696 in 44 Special and it would be my choice over the 44, but you give up a round as you go down in size.

I have a bunch of 2"-4" K frame S&W's in .38 and .357 to choose from. First pick, Id probably go with my 2.5" 686+. A bit handler and you get the extra round. Not that that extra round really matters, as I usually find them on the ground when scrounging my brass. Guess my brain is wired to dump them at 6.

44 mag is a great hunting round, carried a 6" 629 in the woods for years but full house loads are to much of a good thing for self defense, not to mention the fact that the gun seems to have gained a lot of weight over the years.
Now a days I carry a model 625 mountain gun in .45 Colt. I load it up with a cast performance 265gr. WFNGC bullet over 8.5gr. of Universal which produces 900fps. out of my gun. Very accurate and comfortable to shoot allowing for fast follow up shots. Don't shoot a lot of these out of the Smith, keep it to about a dozen rounds a year just to make sure I haven't lost my zero, then I just compensate when shooting standard target loads.
I figure this load is more than adequate for anything I might encounter in my neck of the woods, unless of course global warming sends the polar bears further south.

IMHO, the M69 covers the bases for a mild to wild revolver. Unless I was in need of serious power I would carry it with 44spl loads. Skeeter's load is nothing to laugh at.

I too have a M696 and it carries and conceals very well as long as it's not super hot outside. It is accurate enough that I expect hits at extended ranges (25-50 yds) and has a double action trigger stroke that would put a smile on anyone's face. If a M69 can be made to shoot/handle as well as my 696 I'd be all over it.

AK103K said:

I agree.

44's are great, as long as you can realistically shoot them well. I have a couple around here and while fun to shoot, they wouldnt be my first choice for a daily "people" gun.

I also have a 3" S&W 696 in 44 Special and it would be my choice over the 44, but you give up a round as you go down in size.

I have a bunch of 2"-4" K frame S&W's in .38 and .357 to choose from. First pick, Id probably go with my 2.5" 686+. A bit handler and you get the extra round. Not that that extra round really matters, as I usually find them on the ground when scrounging my brass. Guess my brain is wired to dump them at 6.

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For serious social work, I'd take a Mdl 21 or 24 over a Mdl 29. Heck. I'd almost take a Vaquero in .45 Colt over a Mdl 29 stoked with full house Magnums.

For home defense and general purpose use my Model 686 is more than up for the job. For a more discrete EDC I go with my Model 649. Just the right size and weight and always a solid and dependable performer for concealed carry.

It's what I carry so I will go with this one. It is a total titanium Model 731 Taurus in .32 H&R Magnum. 6 shot small frame an light enough to not be bothersome using the carry method I have to manage with in a wheel chair.

44 special is good enough for two-legged varmints.

This Bulldog is easy to carry and I shoot it just fine.

For human threats in a defensive shooter context, a S&W 640 Pro loaded with 158 grain Buffalo Bore LSWCHP .38 Special rounds.

For animal threats in a defensive shooter context, a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in .454 Casull loaded with heavy 45 Colt rounds.

-Stan

If I had just one gun, it would be a 357mag.

I am a big fan of the 44 mag though too, my 329pd is a great gun and I've owned others as well

My bedside gun is my 4" 629 no dash with night sights and Pachmayr Presentation grips. It's loaded with nominal full performance .44 loads, like the 240 gr JSP WWB or 300 gr Fed Cast Core. My most likely home defense scenario at our mountain home is a black bear coming through an at-grade bedroom window versus a two-legged entrant, but the .44 works for both.

Kleanbore said:

I wouldn't choose either unless I wore hearing protection all the time.

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I'd rather a .357 over a .44 if I had to fire one w/o hearing protection

357 Mag all the bark of 44 Mag and none of the bite... 357 Magnum is by far the worst thing I have ever done to my unprotected ears, it is every bit as loud if not louder than 44 Mag.

I have an M29 with 6.5 inch full underlug barrel and a Rossi M92 16-inch 44 Mag. I was super excited to finally have a pistol and carbine pair in the same cartridge. I worked up a load that works well in both guns so I only have to have one load.


...And I never carry either of them. My old Model 10 in 38 Special and my 300 BO AR pistol with suppressor get significantly more carry/field time than my 44 Mags. I whole heartedly agree the 44 Mag is more capable and versatile than 38 Special and in many ways on par with 300 BO but the that versatility does not make them better for what I am using my 38 Special and 300 BO for and so the old 44 Mags hide in the safe while the other two get carried.

tomrkba said:

These 35 caliber guns are just weak and unmanly, resulting in failures. Elmer Kieth and company were "dissatisfied with the 35 calibers performance".

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Yes, 0.35 is too weak, but that extra 0.007 makes all the difference.

I actually did carry .44 and .41 Magnums, as duty handguns, and much/most personal-time carry, from 1984 to 1989 or 1990. A Model 629, for a year, and then a Model 58. Yes, Elmer Keith’s writing was part of why I did so. Except for my fingers and thumbs, I have long hands, so an N-Frame just feels right. I could not get enough index finger on the trigger, for DA shooting, however, unless I used an improper grip, which put the base joint of my thumb in harm’s way, and that caused my wrist to be torqued badly, with each shot. I switched to .45 ACP duty pistols, single-column-mag, for three years.

When I returned to using revolvers, for duty and carry, in 1993, I better knew about proper weapon handling and ergonomics/kinesiology, and had admitted to myself that my hand/finger size equation was/is K/L/GP100. I resumed using big bore autos, in the duty rig, in 1997, but have remained “comfortable” with .357 Magnum, to this day.

I still enjoy carrying big bores, from time to time, in retirement, but in weapons that fit my hands, such as 1911 pistols, and single-action sixguns.

occasionally carry a S&W Baby Chief.

ms6852 said:

My 686.
View attachment 957145

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When it comes to defensive revolvers, its really hard to beat an L frame 357 mag with 3-4 inch barrel

Not sure I’d every carry my 629 5” barreled .44 anywhere other than the woods. If I ever carry a revolver for personal defense it would be my Taurus 617 7 shot .357 Mag. But, I have too many other semi auto pistols to choose from so the 617 is my truck gun.

These 35 caliber guns are just weak and unmanly, resulting in failures. Elmer Kieth and company were "dissatisfied with the 35 calibers performance".

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Hilarious!...Really?

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Yes, Elmer Keith wrote about it in "Gun Notes."

For 44 Magnum, I really like 240 grain bullets at 1,000-1,050 FPS. It's mild, has more power than 45 ACP, and doesn't beat up your hand and wrist. As much as I like Federal 44A at 1250, and Remington UMC 180's, many are right: too many over time will cause hand problems.

Mr. Mosin said:

I'd rather a .357 over a .44 if I had to fire one w/o hearing protection

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Having shot both without hearing protection I'd rather shoot the .44 with ear pro but I'd rather not shoot either.

entropy said:

The 5 1/2" Redhawk can handle rounds that will turn a Smith into a pile of stainless shards.

My favorite Self defense revolver was my 2.5" Python, followed by the 2" Cobra. Wish I still had both.

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I think that's a gross overstatement. A Smith will survive any published load. A steady diet of that stuff will cause excessive wear though.

A bit of hyperbole, true. But from my own experience, I loaded up some 300 XTP's with a hot charge of Blue Dot, and my Dad would not even try them out of his 629. My Redhawk swallowed them without a hiccup, and asked for more . (Figurately speaking) So I gave it my Dad's leftover .44 Ruger carbine loads. I had to shave the JFP's down to the jacket to get them to fit in the cylinder. Made my moose loads seem tame. Again, the Redhawk took them in stride.

Note Bowen and Leinbaugh didn't build .454's, .480's, and .500's on the N-frame. Mostly Redhawks, Super Redhawks, and Super Blackhawks. Smith had to come out with the X-Frame in order to not be left out of that market, and it is more ungainly and more ugly than the Rugers. The 29 looks better than the Rugers.

entropy said:

Smith had to come out with the X-Frame in order to not be left out of that market, and it is more ungainly and more ugly than the Rugers. The 29 looks better than the Rugers.

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This is subjective of course, while the x frames are a bit ungainly, I've yet to see any revolver uglier than a Redhawk.