Hard to get rid of a good S&W revolver

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wgp

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I did a gun show this weekend and took my Model 29-3 4" to sell or trade. I rarely shoot it, and since I also have a 329PD, and I was looking for a high-capacity 9mm, I thought this was the thing to do. I was immediately offered $$$ by a couple of dealers, but one wanted me to take off the Hogue grips and put on the original combat finger-groove wood grips before he'd buy. I changed the grips, and the gun looked so good that I decided it was a bad move to trade a nearly perfect classic blue-steel Smith revolver for a plastic something or other. So there.

I did not fail to notice at the show that my Colt SAA and my .22 Diamondback are now worth a lot more than I paid. I wonder what a Glock will be worth in a few years.
 
I have just as hard a time selling any of mine. To be honest I'd probably have sold the 329PD before thinking about the 29-3.
 
Don't do it, or if you must, why not trade/sell the 329 PD for some auto instead of the 29?

FWIW, if you are in the market for a 9mm poly auto, I would really suggest you take a look at the FNP, especially side by side with the Glock you are considering, in a setting where you can try the trigger out. The FNP, in my book, beats out the Glocks by a massive margin in every way, except for the subcompact Glocks, they are a different animal.

Hang on to the 29 though, please.
 
Just so you true believers out there don't misjudge me, the reference to a Glock was generic. I know they work but I just have never liked them, still don't, and that's after handling a 4th generation. I handed it back to the guy and said, "It still feels like a Glock". He said, "Well, it IS a Glock". 'Nuff said. I had gone to the show, determined to find a Tupperware gun that would accept a light and join the current century. I tried lots of candidates. The S&W M&P came closest, but in the end I just could not do it. I am a 1911, HiPower etc guy and that's just that.

As for the 329PD, I actually like it even if it hurts to shoot full-bore loads. I think it is a truly inventive idea and is certainly my favorite .44 Special gun, at least.

By the way, I have several other S&W wheelguns. They are safe with me. Have faith.
 
I have either traded or sold all my Glocks and Springfield XD's, and now own 4 S&W M&P's. They are simply so much better than the others to me. I also own a couple Ruger Speed Sixes that will never leave the family and a very good shooting, not so pretty S&W model 65 (not sure which iteration). Just so you dont accuse me of being a blasphemer in the revolver section...lol.

Bass
 
WGP...I am not anti "combat tupperware" but even if all were equal (which it isn't) the joy and pride of ownership of a fine old revolver is much superior to anything polymer
 
I am a 1911, HiPower etc guy and that's just that.
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I am not 100% on this, but that kind of leads me to believe the FNP would get along with you best in class, the two backstraps are flat, so a touch wider and shorter front to back than a 1911, and arched, feels about how I imagine the BHP to feel, having owned a compact descendant of it (CZ PCR).

Glad to know S&W is safe there, just curious, do you shoot full-power Magnums out of your 329 PD much? How does it feel? How does .44 Special feel from it?
 
I have fired 240 gr magnum loads. Recoil is pretty violent, and I have noticed that in a few handloads that were not sufficiently crimped, recoil was causing bullets to back out of their cases in the cylinder. I have not had that issue with factory loads and would not if I got the crimp right in the handloads. By the 4th or 5th round the recoil hurts. I did substitute the Hogue grips for the wooden grips that came on the gun, and I have heard that the Hogue grips for the .500 S&W are even better. I have not tried the Buffalo Bore reduced recoil loads that are available, but I have read that they work very well in this gun. On the other hand, .44 Specials are stiff but completely manageable. Other people who have shot the gun say the same thing.

You can say that it's pointless to have a gun that hurts to shoot, but what I say is that the gun is so light that it carries like a charm. I'll admit to leaving the 29 at home on deer hunts because of the weight, but the 329 goes along. If I should need someday to shoot at something that is trying to bite me I doubt I'll notice recoil. If I load with .44 Specials, I have a gun that is lighter than my 696 and holds 6 instead of 5. I also like the big dot sights. I would completely agree that the Smith Scandium revolvers like the 329PD are meant to be carried more than fired, but that does not bother me. My 442 with +P loads might fit the same category.
 
That is like trading a Porsche for a Nissan
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Roger that, but amazingly, people do it all the time, so now you see how gun show vendors stay in business with their high-priced crap - they buy or trade in so low from the koolaid drinkers (and similar young and/or unknowledgeable people) that it's impossible not to turn an extremely high profit. For every wise individual like this one who turns back from the brink of madness, 5 don't, and this works to the benefit of the vendors nearest the entrance to the shows.

Now a hillary hole smith for a pos glock is a much closer call.
 
I've pondered this on one of my S&W Model 19-4s, and a S&W Model 15-3. It's not going to happen unless I go completely broke and it's the only thing keeping me and my kids from starving(if it's just me I could starve for a couple weeks, get rid of some of the baby fat).

That's what I like about Smiths and also most Ruger revolvers, once you buy them, if you take real good care of them, you can get a lifetime of enjoyment out and pass them onto the next generation. God knows I'm only 25 and have enough handguns for two kids when they turn adult.

If you ever feel the need to let that 629 go, pm me, we'll try and see if we can find a good price for it that ticks the gunshops off but leaves both of us happy. And I've plenty of plastic guns to FFL transfer(Bersa, Glock) and a couple Taurus PT 92. I'd hate to see a gun shop take you at a low for a Glock and then sell it to me at a ridiculous high.
 
If you are ever in a weak moment about a trade, consider that my aversion to getting rid of good revolvers is hard-earned: in my own past weak moments I have traded away a 8 3/8" Model 29 and a Lew Horton 3" .41 Mag. At least they did not go for plastic and I have learned. It still have a 13, 17, 696, 29, 329PD and a 442 so I'm keeping the faith better now.
 
wgp,
Glad you decided to keep your M29. As for the M329, I would suggest trying ammo with a lighter bullet to cut back on some of the recoil. Federal makes a JHP round with a 180gr bullet that should help reduce the felt recoil.
 
You are wise.
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Not that wise. He admits to intending to get rid of that finely blued Model 29 so that he could get a "high-capacity 9mm" and came to his senses only after he put the factory grips back on it and was "reminded" just how nice his Smith is. Sounds like an almost foolish move changed into a smart decision only at the last minute-I won't be hiking up the mountain top seeking his advice on which gun to buy and which gun to sell anytime soon; not until I'm sure he's wised-up for good. :D
 
Jeezus.

Even if you consider the prices of new guns, not collectibility, Cabela's has a blue 4" 29 Mountain Gun right now for $799. Right next to it, you can get any number of hi-cap plastic guns for 500 bucks.

I'm glad your insanity was temporary.

I have nothing against combat tupperware. I just wouldn't trade a classic Porsche for a used Nissan.

Come to think of it, I once did trade an old Porsche for a Toyota truck, but the Toyota was brand new, I was a broke college student, and the Porsche was costing me a lot of money just to keep it running... (Why does that sound like someone's excuse for doing porn when they were young?)

And I STILL sometimes wish I had that old Porsche back so I could restore it now. Okay, and soup it up a little. No, a LOT.:D
 
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I like Glock, usually carry one. There's no way I would trade a finely made classic S&W revolver for one though. You can get Glocks by the wheelbarrow full, old S&Ws, not so much (and you better have a bunch of money if you do find one)
 
Nothing wrong with Glock, I carry one every day. But as much as I like them & as hard as I agitated to get them at work I wouldn't sell a nice Smith to get one either. In fact, I have 3 S&W revolvers and still just 1 Glock.
 
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