S&W .44mag Mountain Gun vs 329PD

[cmdc]

I have posted in the rifle section regarding the Marlin .45-70 for use in the mountains, and have gotten a lot of great info. I am also trying to decide which revolver to carry and as the title says, I want to know how much difference there is in carrying the two afore mentioned revolvers all day while hiking/backpacking. I have a mountain gun but would get the 329PD if it would be a lot better weight-wise. I have lots of revolvers and semi-automatics already, so feel free to make other suggestions as well. About the only one I don't have is the 329.

Please note this is not a caliber vs bear thread. I have already read tons of those and though entertaining, that is not my question. I just want input on ease of all day carry vs effectiveness for general use, realizing that my biggest concern would probably be humans, but keeping animals in mind as well. I have in the past hiked extensively, and many times wished I had a weapon when I met up with suspicious, hinky acting people on the trails. It does happen.

 

[Lucky Derby]

I personally would carry the extra weight of the mountain gun to have less felt recoil. If you really just want to carry the lighter gun and don't plan on doing any pleasure shooting the 329 is a significant weight reduction. Get some X frame grips, they will make the gun more controllable.

 

[cmdc]

I have some X grips ordered for the Mountain Gun, it is a handful with magnums with the standard grips. Not so much that the recoil is that bad, but the gun wants to torque in my hands, so I'm not as accurate with magnums as with specials. Consequently, I wouldn't even THINK about shooting the 329 without the X grips with magnums. I am curious as to how the 329 does with .44 specials, though. I have some Buffalo Bore .44 specials that would probably do double duty, though they are a bit more robust than regular specials.

 

[cougar1717]

Nearby gunshop had a used 329 priced pretty low, so I asked to look at it and got a good laugh when I felt how incredibly light it was for the caliber. It's a nice piece to look at, but definitely a wrist breaker with regular 44mag loads. I'm sure someone will say they have one and full house loads is all they shoot and they can handle them fine and shoot them all the time, but FWIW, save yourself the carpal tunnel surgery, sacrifice a little weight, and take something that won't produce a monster flinch. Or take a gun more suited for the two legged variety since that is your intended purpose.

 

[Lucky Derby]

For comparison sake I had a .44 mountain gun and a 296 .44 Special. Slightly smaller than the 329, but similar construction/weight.
The 629 Mountain gun had less recoil with any Magnum ammo that I tried, than the 296 did with Silver Tip 200 grain Winchester.44 specials. The STs are not a particularly hot .44 special.

 

[Oro]

I have never found a few ounces of weight shaving really important anywhere except making sales at the retail counter. Or if you need a meat tenderizer. In that case the 329 is excellent for softening up and pounding the meat of your strong hand.

I personally go with a 3" all-steel .44 mag for this application. Recoil is about like a mountain gun or really a 4" regular 29, so it is pleasant enough to shoot casually, and it recovers to the target so much faster than a 329. I really never find carrying a 40oz. or so gun that tiresome when you are out moving around all day hiking or riding. Plus, you need to compare loaded weights - specs give you empty weights. A loaded 329 vs. a loaded mountain gun is a smaller difference than just comparing the bare/empty weight.

 

[bsms]

I was reading Bill Jordan's book "No Second Place Winner". He had a picture of him shooting a 44 magnum. It looks like someone has just punched him in the face. He commented that the expression wasn't posed, but reflected his feeling!

I'm still working on how to shoot a 40 oz Alaskan with full power loads. I don't want to think about what it would be like at significantly less weight.

 

[Wolfeye]

I went through the same thread of thinking a while ago, trying to choose a good handgun for hiking. I've packed a 6" Smith 629, a snubbie Ruger Sp101, and an airweight Smith 642. Given that I already pack bear spray when hiking in places that have any kind of bears, the airweight is the gun I've personally settled on. The others felt like overkill & dead weight.

Leaving the bear spray out of the equation, I'd feel protected in most of the lower 48 if packing a gun in either .357 magnum or .44 special. Of the two guns listed, I'd pick the 329, put a compact rubber grip on it (Pachmayr's?), and load it with specials. I'd get it ported if I planned on shooting any magnums out of it.

 

[cmdc]

Thanks for the input. I am pretty much in agreement with the consensus here which is that the 329 won't be fun to shoot. And it's expensive. I also liked what couger1717 said about humans being my biggest concern. Soooo, I think I'll switch gears and take my Glock 29. Plenty of power for any critter I'll see where I'll be going, two or four legged. What do you guys think about that?

 

[Oro]

I think a 10mm if loaded properly is adequate for mountains. I know of a few Alaskan guides who use the caliber, and know of one who has put down an aggressive grizzly with it. In that power range I like a .357 revolver better, but if the 29 is reliable with hard lead loads then it will do the job.

 

[CraigC]

I'll take the Mountain Gun every time. It's as light as I wanna go.

 

[DFW1911]

This is from a previous response I made re: my 329PD:

I carry a 329PD as a back-up gun when I go fishing in Alaska. It's been through some pretty tough conditions: constant rain, salt water, sand, etc, and still looks like new, with the exception of some rust that developed on the rear sight.

A word of caution, though. As it comes from the factory, the 329PD is the most painful gun I've ever fired and I'm not adverse to recoil. I'd compare it to someone hitting your hand with a baseball bat.

I had to send mine to S&W for porting and I changed the wooden grips to Pachmayr Recoil Reducers (or something like that). Now I can shoot it without it being painful. It still has some stout recoil, but nothing like the stock revolver before I had it modified.

Shooting .44 Specials out of it is a lot of fun and recoil is not an issue at all.

Hope this helps.

DFW1911

 

[jamesjames]

I've shot the Mountain Gun and the 329PD side by side. The Mountain gun does not tame hot loads very well. In the interest of full disclosure, I own the 329PD.

The 329PD carries so well you forget you have it on your hip. Not so with a 40oz. Mountain Gun. The 27 oz. 329PD has a 4-inch barrel, so it is the perfect compromise between a lightweight short barrel and an accurate long barrel. The short-barrel on the Mountain gun makes it accurate at only very short ranges (at 3 inches its almost a snubbie and magnums lose some of their muzzle velocity out of the short barrel).

I would like to finish up with 3 truisms that are inescapable in a discussion of the 329PD:

1. The 329PD is a gun to be carried much and shot little (I don't know how many times I've read that from others, but its truetruetrue).

2. In a combat situation, you will never feel the recoil of .44 maggies in this gun.

3. This is the one of the best .44 specials ever built (even Taffin says so in his Book of the .44).

Get a 329PD, shoot .44 specials in it for the most part. Shoot the occasional cylinder of maggies to know the POI of your trail carry load. Enjoy a fantastically engineered and fun to own revolver. You will never leave it in the truck because its "too heavy". Loaded with .44 specials its effective against anything in the lower 48. Loaded with maggies, its not a gun for a day at the range. Loaded with maggies (Buffalo Bore reduced recoil .44 magnum), its a formidable and accurate weapon you can handle in an adrenalized situation.

 

[mec]

This might be more of a problem with the scandium frame than with the mountain gun


Unlike this revolver, you can find early mountain guns that don't have the internal lock:

This one didn't seem prone to engage the lock with moderate loads but did so regularly with magnums.

 

[CraigC]

The short-barrel on the Mountain gun makes it accurate at only very short ranges (at 3 inches its almost a snubbie and magnums lose some of their muzzle velocity out of the short barrel).

The Mountain Gun has always been a tapered four inch barrel, regardless of chambering. The 3" is a different version of the 629 (Trail Boss?). Mine shoots into 2"@50yds so I think that puts the accuracy question to rest.

 

[jamesjames]

retracted

 

[akadave]

.44 Mt Gun carries like a dream. Get a Galco pancake holster. I carry my 45 LC Mt Gun that way. Carries easier than any of my 1911's

 

[mec]

This mid-1990s Mountain gun is only a little more challenging to shoot than a 6 or 8 3/8ths-inch barrel model

 

[cmdc]

Holy moly! What happened to that blown up 329PD? A defect in the metal or a nuclear load? This is all good information. As you read in my last post, I was leaning towards the Glock 10mm, but now I'm thinking the 329 with Buffalo Bore specials might be a good way to go as well. I think the 10mm would probably have better terminal performance than a .44 special, but I could always do the reduced recoil magnum load if needed, I suppose. I am definitely wanting to keep weight to a minimum and maintain adequate firepower. The above picture of the 329 notwithstanding, how rugged/durable is the gun?

 

[cmdc]

mec, your pics of the target just downloaded, so I didn't see them before my last post. Good shooting! Was that with specials or magnums?

 

[cmdc]

Oh, and another question: What is the best way to carry the weapon when hiking but not carrying a backpack? I have looked online and can't find a good website for carry options outdoors. I want it concealed because I don't want to freak anyone out on the trail, but it needs to be readily accessible as well.

 

[mec]

Kraemer leather makes a good strong side belt holster for the MG. Dillon did and may still sell it. Comfortable rig that hides under an untuicked shirt.

People have been guessing about that blow up. The odd metal guns seem to be a rule to themselves but the usual hot load blow up has the cylinder sheared in half with the top strap standing straight up or gone altogether. One theory is that the cylinder was enough out of time that a portion of the bullet slammed into the rear of the barrel= hard to say what happened. One person noticed that the frame broke right where the steel incert goes into the alloy right above the cylinder gap.
Very likely that target was with either 44 special level loads or a 250 grain bullet at about 1,000 fps. That's the hottest load Ive used in that revolver lately and I really prefer shooting specials in it.

 

[DFW1911]

As jamesjames stated, the 329 is great to carry. It became a replacement for a Taurus .44 I was carrying that just got too heavy to have on constantly.

Keep in mind that we go to some pretty remote spots in Alaska, so you have to have a firearm on you at all times, even in camp. The 329 is perfect for that role.

It's great to shoot .44 Specials out of. When we get back to camp from fishing and decide it's time to "go loud," I switch out the magnums for the specials and we have a great time. Accuracy is very good.

Re: kaboomed 329, maybe I've been lucky. I've fired some very stout loads out of mine and, as of yet, no damage to the gun. Again, this one should be carried a lot and shot very little if you're using powerhouse loads. If you're carrying milder magnums or specials, carry and shoot all you want!

 

[ArmedBear]

In a combat situation, you will never feel the recoil of .44 maggies in this gun.

"Feel" has got nothing to do with it. The laws of physics are not subject to how you feel, and it will be slower to get off multiple shots on target with the lighter gun, because it will rise more under recoil for any given shooter. If you have strong, big hands, the Mountain Gun will still be faster on target multiple times than the 329PD.

A Mountain Gun is quite shootable. I have one, and I only put my 240 grain maxed-out handloads through it. No sense practicing with .44 Specials; I have a number of guns that are smaller and lighter, or higher-capacity, not to mention cheaper to replace if they're lost or destroyed, if I don't need .44 Magnum.

Some people can shoot the 329PD well, though many probably can't. The irony is that those who truly can shoot it well, probably don't care so much about a few ounces. They will likely have a good amount of body weight that will negate the effects of the recoil. (I don't mean with .44 Specials. Anyone can shoot a .475 Linebaugh one-handed if you download it far enough. That's not the point.)

Again, I'm not talking about pain or soreness. I am talking about the actual displacement of the gun under recoil.

Another thing... Part of my definition of a defensive handgun is that I must be able to fire it from an awkward position with one hand. If you are counting on your ability to get into a perfect isosceles position with nice, firm 60-40 grip pressure, you are not using your head. Maybe you'll get lucky and have time and level ground, but maybe you will have to shoot from the ground, with the hand you just extricated from your sleeping bag. You can probably do that with a Mountain Gun without having it fly out of your hand. If you get in the right position, the barrel won't even come up and break your nose. Want to try that with a 329PD?

 

[cmdc]

OK, so I went to the range today to shoot/sight in the Mountain Gun, and it is shooting way left, with specials and magnums. I had to move the sight waaaay over to bring it to center. I do not have that problem with other handguns. I have a 657 w/ 6in. barrel, and a Redhawk w/ 5.5in. barrel, and assorted .357s, all of which shoot to point of aim without moving the sights at all, so I really don't think it's me. Any suggestions?