THEFIRST .44 MAGNUM—S&W’S DOUBLE ACTION PERFECTION
A HALF-CENTURY OF THE MODEL 29
BY JOHN TAFFIN
Please enter the serial number below. Please enter the serial number below. Introduced in 1978, the Smith & Wesson Model 629 is a stainless steel version of the Model 29. The 629 model designation derives from Smith & Wesson's practice of denoting a stainless steel version of one of their already existing designs by placing a 6 in front of the model number of the original weapon. The 629 Classic variant features a full. Smith and Wesson Serial Number Date of Manufacture J Frame Revolver Lookup. For models 36, 37, 38, 49, 50 and pre model number versions. 1950 = start at 1. They are known as 'pre-model' Smiths before the model number designations. The.45 Cal Model of 1950 was the prerunner to the Model 26 a light barreled target gun. The.45 Cal Model of 1955 was the pre-model 25. These gun serial numbers started with the prefix 'S', not 'N' as yours is. Your N prefixed serial number puts manufacture in 1976. Look up the pistol's full serial number - including all letters and numbers - in the back section of the 'Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson' book. These listings inform you of the pistol's date of manufacture, based on the serial number.
By 1950, the .44 Special Smith &Wesson reached its climax with the 1950 Target Model. This final .44 Specialwould be removed from production in 1967 and then resurrected for a short timein the 1980s as the Model 24-3 in blue and Model 624 in stainless. From 1907forward Smith & Wesson, and later Colt, provided the .44 Special sixgunsbut it remained for men like the members of the .44 Associates to bring out thebest of the .44 Special cartridge. From the 1920s to the 1950s, Associatemembers, most notably Elmer Keith, called for a 'real .44 Special'load.
Keith especially called for a'.44 Special Magnum' with a 250 grain hard cast bullet at 1200 feetper second. His pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. Ammunition companies wereafraid of heavy loaded .44 Specials taking old sixguns apart. Keith then askedfor a new cartridge 1/10 of an inch longer than the .44 Special to preclude itsbeing used in any old sixguns, and also a new sixgun chambered for the newcartridge. Again, the plea was ignored.
In the early 1950s Smith &Wesson started to listen. Working in tandem with Remington, who would supplythe new .44 Magnum ammunition, Smith & Wesson engineers went to work on thenew sixgun. In 1954, Remington gave Smith & Wesson the dimensions of a newcartridge that was 1/8' longer than the .44 Special. Smith & Wessonthen chambered four specially heat treated 1950 Target .44 Special sixguns forthe new '.44 Magnum'. The guns performed well but at the 39-ounceweight of the 1950 Target, recoil was brutal. Elmer had asked for a new .44with a 250 grain bullet at 1200 fps, and this “.44 Special Keith” loadgenerates heavy recoil in the Model 1950 Target .44 Special. Remingtondelivered a 240 grain bullet at 1500 fps that was originally fired in the same39 ounce Model 1950 Target. Ouch!
Weight had to be added, so thecylinder was lengthened to fill in the cylinder window and the 6 1/2” slimbarrel was changed to a heavy weight full bull barrel style as found on the1955 Target .45 ACP, resulting in a weight of 48 ounces. The new sixgun, as thefirst Magnum introduced twenty years earlier, was simply named by itschambering and called 'The .44 Magnum' in those pre-model numberdays.
The first .44 Magnum went toRemington, the second went to the NRA and the third, he should have receivedthe first, went to Elmer Keith.Keithquickly developed a standard loading for the new .44 Magnum consisting of thesame 250 hard cast bullet he used in his .44 Special loads and 22.0 grains of#2400. This loading is over 1400 feet per second and Keith was ecstatic aboutthe new load and sixgun. He was also much smarter than his few detractors willadmit. Writing in The Gun Digest a year later, he said that he fired the new.44 Magnum 600 times the first year. That is twelve rounds per week!
Keith urged Smith & Wesson toalso bring forth the .44 Magnum with a 4” barrel for defensive and peaceofficer use and while waiting for this to occur, he had at least one .44 Magnumcut to 4”, actually 4 1/2” and engraved and ivory stocked by the now long goneGun Re-blue Company. When I was allowed to examine Keith’s firearms Ifoundfour short barreled double action.44s, all Smith & Wessons, that were particular favorites as they were soeasy to pack. The oldest was his .44 Special 4' 1950 Target Model, fullyengraved, with a blue finish and fitted with ivory stocks that have a steerhead carved on the right grip. The steer head carved grip was an obviousfavorite as it is found on three of the four .44 DAs. I've never been able tohandle the standard Smith & Wesson grip with heavy .44 or .45 loads. Afterhandling Keith's sixguns I can see why he liked the carved steerhead on theright grip. It filled in the hand perfectly and helped control recoil.
Keith's first .44 Magnum was a 61/2' Smith and Wesson that is the one that wascut to 4 1/2', engraved and stocked bythe Gun Reblue Co.,andfeatured in the 1958 Gun Digest. Like his .44Special, it too is a beautiful specimen with its full engraving and steerheadgrips and like all of the .44s, has Keith's signature on the sideplate. CarlHellstrom, then president of Smith & Wesson, presented Elmer Keith with oneof the first factory 4' .44 Magnums and it is also part of Keith's workingcollection and is also fully engraved, and ivory stocked with an eagle carvedon the right grip, and a brass presentation medallion on the right grip.
The last of the four short-barreled.44s was obviously the favorite as it was carried daily and shows extensiveblue wear. Strangely enough, this is a plain-jane .44 Magnum except for theivory stocks and the name engraved on the sideplate. While all of the rest ofthe .44s were carried in flower carved holsters, this no frills working gun wascarried in a plain no-nonsense holster, one of Milt Sparks' FBI style with ahammer extension to protect the inside lining of Keith's coat. In aconversation with Ted Keith, verification was given that this was the sixgun thatKeith packed everyday.
Theoriginal .44 Magnum by Smith & Wesson is one of the most beautiful sixgunsever offered to us sixgunners and in the 4” length especially it is second onlyto the Colt Single Action Army in being deserving of engraving. All of theearly .44 Magnums from Smith & Wesson were finished in the incomparableBright Blue finish, and carried a wide target trigger and hammer, and thefinest sixgun sights then available, a fully adjustable white outline rearsight mated up with a ramp front sight with a red insert. Actions were superblytuned and smooth.
Elmer Keith did not develop the .44Magnum. He, and others of his ilk thatloaded the .44 Special heavy were directly responsible for the .44Magnum. But Elmer was as surprised as anyone when he received that call fromSmith & Wesson in December of 1955 informing him that they were sending himone of the first .44 Magnums. He retired his .44 Specials and carried a 4”Smith & Wesson .44 Magnumdailyuntil his incapacitating stroke in 1981. Not being an experimenter in the truesense of the word, Keith found one .44 Magnum load and used it exclusively. Asmentioned earlier, that load was his .44 caliber 250 grain bullet over 22.0grains of #2400, and as with all of his sixgun loads, he used standard primersonly.This is a very powerful load andrecoil in a 4” .44 Magnum is definitely noticeable. I never could understandhow Keith could handle this load in his guns. His hands were small so his Smith& Wesson .44s wore small Magna style grips instead of those that filled inbehind the trigger guard, and all of his grips were ivory with a carved figuresuch as a steerhead on the right side.
The .44 Magnum was developed jointlyby Remington working on the cartridge and Smith & Wesson working on thesixgun. The early Smith & Wesson .44 Magnums came very close to theprecision fitting of the 1907 Triple-lock and carried a beautiful finish knownthen as S&W Bright Blue. That was 1956 and the Smith & Wesson,beautifully finished and with a magnificently smooth action and trigger pull,sold for $140. As a teenager I was making $15 a week with a paper route at thetime. One of the first .44 Magnum 4” models to hit my part of the country wasrented out by a local gunstore/outdoor shooting range for all who wanted to trythe big .44 Magnum. The recoil was absolutely awful, though few would admit itat the time.The first Smith &Wesson .44 Magnums were absolutely beautiful residing in their fitted woodencases; and this new .44 was especially welcomed by guides, outfitters, andhandgun hunters, as well as those who simply wanted The World’s Most PowerfulHandgun.
Remember, at this time, in the1950s, there were no hard-kickin' handguns. The HandCannons of SSK and the .454Casull were decades into the future and the .44 Magnum recoil was unlikeanything ever experienced before. Heavy recoil of the time period was thoughtto be the .45 ACP in the Government Model Colt 1911 and the .357 Magnum in theheavyweight Smith and Wesson. A well-respected writer of the time, MajorHatcher of the NRA Staff reported the recoil of the .44 Magnum Smith &Wesson as quite unpleasant. Hatcher writing in the March 1956 issue stated:'In shooting the .44 Magnum, we found it advisable to use gloves, as therecoil can only be described as severe. Without gloves, the checkering hurtsthe hand, and the sharp edges of the cylinder latch are almost certain to shaveoff bits of skin. After firing many heavy handloads in the .44 Special, weexpected a heavy recoil with this ultra-powerful new cartridge. At the firstshot the gun rose up a bit, and the first reaction was that it was not as badas we had expected. Just about this time, however, we suddenly experienced asharp stinging sensation over the entire hand, as though we were hitting a fastbaseball with a cracked bat. I fired quite a few shots with this gun, but Imust honestly confess it is not an unmixed pleasure.'
Elmer Keith writing in The GunDigest looked upon the .44 Magnum quite differently than Major Hatcher.'The big gun is, I would say, pleasant to shoot, as it does not jar thehand as much as do my heavy .44 Special loads from the much lighter 4” barreled.44 Special S&W guns. It is definitely not a ladies gun but I have knownwomen who would enjoy shooting it. The recoil has not bothered me in theslightest, nor have several old sixgun men complained who have fired itextensively, including Hank Benson and Don Martin. The recoil is not as severeas that of a two-inch Airweight Chief's Special with high speed .38 Specials.With .44 Special factory loads it is just as pleasant to shoot as a K-22 andwith the .44 Magnum loads, which give the heaviest recoil, it will not bother aseasoned sixgun man at all. Recoil with my heaviest loads of 22.0 grains of2400 and the Keith 250 grain bullet is much less than that of the factory load.The factory load, fired with one hand, flips the barrel up almostvertical.'
Whowas telling the truth? Both were. They were simply relating what they perceivedas the felt recoil. As a teenager, when I fired one of the first S&W .44Magnums in my area I felt that if anything, Hatcher had understated the recoilof the .44 Magnum. Most shooters of the time believed Keith at least until theyfired their first few rounds and then Hatcher was vindicated and most gunstoreshad at least one 'used' .44 Magnum for sale with a box of factory .44Magnum ammunition with six, or at the most, twelve rounds missing.
Keith convinced himself that the .44Magnum was pleasant to shoot. Most of us cannot do this. And for about twentyyears, no one thought much about it. A .44 Magnum was purchased, fired a fewtimes every now and then, or down-loaded to a more manageable level. I stillfind the original Keith load of 250 grain bullet and 22.0 grains to be a real kickerin short barrelled Smith & Wesson sixguns.
Keith reported that he had fired the big .44 Smith & Wesson atleast 600 times during the first year using both handloads and factoryammunition. By today's standards, this is not much of a test. In the early daysof silhouetting, competitors often shot this many rounds in a week, and I haveoften run through 600 rounds and even more in a single day of testing guns andammunition.
Troubles with the .44 Magnum revolverssurfaced when silhouetters started pounding thousands of rounds through it inshort periods of time, and .44 silhouetters began to choose Dan Wesson and NewModel Ruger .44s for the simple reason that they would take more punishment, inthe form of both more loads and heavier loads, as well as imparting less feltrecoil.
Istill like the original .44s, the Ruger Flat-tops and the Smiths & Wessons.Weighing in at three pounds instead of four, they pack easily. I especiallylike Smiths. The originals had the best trigger pulls, both double and singleaction, of any factory revolver.Theyare also without a doubt the best looking double action revolver to ever exit afactory. The lines of a Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum sixgun can only bedescribed as classic. The Smith .44 performs perfectly for me, BUT, I rarelypush them anymore. I started with the Keith load but eventually dropped down to20.0-21.0 grains of #2400 with the 250 grain cast Keith bullet. These loadsgave muzzle velocities of 1200-1350 fps, depending upon barrel length, andcombined accuracy, power, and longer gun life. They are in reality not muchmore than heavy .44 Special loads as that is exactly what I use the Smith &Wesson .44 Magnum as, a heavy .44 Special. One Smith & Wesson .44 Magnumthat I bought new in 1961 is still like new after thousands of rounds simplybecause it has never had a load through it any heavier than a 250 grain castbullet at 1300 fps, and these days my most used load is most likely to be thesame Keith bullet over 10.0 grains of Unique for around 1150 fps. We understandeach other. I don't abuse it and it continues to perform perfectly for me.
When it comes to double action .44 Magnums,Smith & Wessons are like Thoroughbreds, while Dan Wesson, Rugers, andTaurus .44s, being much larger and heavier, are like Clydesdales. Both horsesare beautiful, both are winners, but they serve different purposes. The Smith& Wesson is a 'gentlemen's' sixgun; the others are sixguns thatwill take heavy loads, rough service and still come up shooting.
The .44 Magnum lasted in productionfor 43 years. The first .44 Magnum, the one that went to Remington, wascompleted on December 29, 1955 and serially numbered S130927. Along the way changes haveoccurred, some to improve the .44 Magnum, others to make production easier orless expensive or both. The first of such changes occurred in 1956, as theupper sideplate screw was dropped. The five-screw .44 Magnum was now afour-screw with three screws attaching the sideplate, and one in the front ofthe trigger guard. This change occurred at serial number S167500.
In 1957, the .44 Magnum became theModel 29 as Smith & Wesson switched from such names as the Outdoorsman, theCombat Magnum, the Highway Patrolman, and the Heavy Duty to a system of modelnumbers. We lost something here as Model 15 just doesn't evoke the same emotionas Combat Masterpiece. Stamping of the .44 Magnum with Model 29 inside thecrane began at serial number S179000.
It was about this same time that thefirst of the long barreled .44 Magnums arrived as the Model 29 joined the Model27 .357 Magnum with an 8 3/8” barrel length. These quickly became quite popularwith hunters and long-range shooters. At this same time in 1958, the H.H.Harris Co., a Chicagodistributor, placed an order for 500 5” barreled Model 29s. These sixguns arenow very rare and quite valuable.
One of the problems with those early.44 Magnums was the fact that the ejector rod screw would loosen under recoil,back out and move forward making it impossible to open the cylinder. In 1960,this rod was given a reverse left thread so it would tighten rather than loosenunder recoil. With this change, the Model 29-1 had arrived with serial numberS270000.
The 29-1 is quite rare as the 29-2arrived just one year later. Previous to this change the screw in front of thetrigger guard held a spring plunger that provided power to the cylinder stop orcylinder bolt. This screw was dropped and we now had a three screw .44 Magnumwith the cylinder stop spring riding in a hole in front of the trigger guard.
The 29-2 is the .44 Magnum mostprevalent on the used gun market as it stayed in production from 1961 to 1982.During this time of production, the serial numbering was changed to an N prefixin 1969, while the 6 1/2” barrel was shortened to 6”, a negative move in myestimation. The meager extra one-half inch of the original barrel length seemsto balance much better in my hands and it definitely looks better.
With the dawning of 1982, and Smith& Wesson under the control of those who seemingly cared nothing aboutproviding quality sixguns, two major changes were made to cut costs. The 29-3arrived without the pinned barrel and also counter-bored cylinders disappeared.Up to this point in time, all Smith and Wesson barrels were held tightly inplace not just by thread pressure but also by a pin that transversed the framethrough a slot in the top of the barrel threads. With today's strong brass,counter bored cylinders, or cylinders that completely enclose the rim of thecartridge case, are probably not needed. They also fill with crud and must beperiodically cleaned or cases will not chamber BUT they are a sign ofmanufacturing quality and they are gone.
For years, Smith & Wessonrefused to acknowledge a problem that definitely existed. It became especiallyprevalent when silhouette shooters started pounding hundreds of rounds offullhouse loads down range in a single day. When a cartridge was fired, thecylinder would unlock, rotate backwards and when the hammer was cocked, thefired round would be back under the firing pin. Silhouetters literally turnedtheir collective backs to the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum for competition.About the same time silhouetters were pounding 240 grain bullets unmercilesslythrough the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum, handgun hunters discovered 300 grainbullets which put a further strain on the mechanism whose basic design wentback to 1899.
Instead of listening to silhouettersor hunters about this problem, Smith & Wesson refused to publiclyacknowledge that anything was amiss and instead brought forth a SilhouetteModel in 1983.This model featured a 105/8” bull barrel and sights with a standard adjustable rear sight with a higherblade and also a four position adjustable front sight. The front sight was tobe set for the four distances addressed in long range silhouetting. Nothing wasdone to correct the mechanical problem. Of all the .44 Magnum Smith &Wesson sixguns I have shot over the past five decades, this one, Smith &Wesson's answer to the unlocking cylinder problem, is the only one that I haveever encountered in which the cylinder unlocked and rotated backwards on aregular basis! Needless to say, silhouetters did not flock to the .44 MagnumSilhouette Model.
Finally with a change of management,Smith & Wesson began to address some of the problems associated with the.44 Magnum Model 29. By now, both Ruger and Dan Wesson had heavy-duty .44Magnum sixguns on the market that were designed around heavy usage. The Smith& Wesson had a distinct disadvantage as it was built on a platform goingback to 1908. Should they scrap it and start over? Or should they try to fixwhat they had? They opted for the latter. In 1988, the 29-4 was ushered in withtwo changes. The retention system on the yoke or cylinder crane was strengthenedand studs within the frame were radiused to help remove metal stress. It wasnot enough. At the same time 8 3/8” models were made available with integralscope mounts on the barrel rib.
The 29-4 lasted only two years to bereplaced by the 29-5 in 1990. Now we began to see obvious outer changes in theModel 29 as the cylinder notches were made longer to prevent the bolt fromjumping out of the notch upon recoil. At the same time the bolt was changed andthe innards of the Model 29-5 were changed to provide a method of holdingeverything tightly together when the .44 was fired to prevent battering underrecoil. The 29-6 arrived in 1994 with the main changes being a switch fromwooden grips to Hogue's rubber Monogrip. The wooden stocks from Smith & Wessonhad been deteriorating for many years changing from a useable, smoothly roundedstock that filled in behind the trigger guard in 1956 to a pair of sharp bulkysaw handles that had so much wood removed from behind the trigger guard thatthe knuckles were routinely punished in the 1980s. Hogue's Monogrips were awelcome change and though not having the beautiful grain of Goncala Alves wood,they were at least useable.
The 29-6 also arrived with a rearsight assembly rounded at the front of the frame signifying its being drilledand tapped for scope mounts. Since then all N-frame Smith & Wessons, .44Magnum and other calibers, are all drilled and tapped for scope mounts. For thefirst time, the basic outline of the Model 29 was changed with the arrival of the.44 Classic series in 1991. The 29-5 was also available with a full underlugbarrel, non-fluted cylinder, drilled and tapped for scope mounts plus the'strengthening' package offered in the standard Model 29-5 and 29-6.The Classic .44 was available both as a 29-5 and a 29-6 from 1991 to 1994 inblue finish and barrel lengths of 6 1/2”, 8 3/8”, and for the first time in astandard factory production .44 Magnum, a 5” barrel. The Classic also usheredin the round-butted grip frame on the N-frame series of Smith & Wessonsixguns.
A deluxe version of the Classic was offered as the .44 Classic DX with 61/2” and 8 3/8” barrel lengths, round butted grip frame, and the choice offinger groove Smith & Wesson stocks or Hogue's Monogrips that changed thegrip profile from round to square butt. Most importantly, a new front sightsystem was present on the Classic DX with five interchangeable front sightsincluding a gold bead as available on a custom order prior to the 1970s. Aspecial custom deluxe 1 of 3000 Magna Classic was issued in 1990 with a barrellength not seen since before World War II on Smith & Wesson sixguns, namelya 7 1/2” length. These were all 29-5 sixguns with serial numbers running fromMAG0001 to MAG3000.
By the time the 29-7 arrived in 1998the final changes were made to the Model 29. It now had an MIM trigger andhammer, a frame mounted firing pin, and more changes to the internal lockworks. All of the changes are not necessarily bad however they also are not theoriginal .44 Magnum. Finally in 1999, Smith & Wesson blew taps over theModel 29 and it was gone! Dead and buried. It had lasted from December 1956 toApril 1999. The original had changed so much hardly anyone even missed it.
There have been numerous specialruns of the Model 29 over the years other than the 500 5” sixguns ordered bythe H.H. Harris Co. back in the late 1950s. Some notable ones are the 3” LewHorton Special in 1984, a Combat Magnum, round-butted style of defensivesixgun; and the Elmer Keith Commemorative in 1985, a 4”specially engraved Model29-3 serial numbered from EMK001 to EMK2500. The first 100 of these Elmer Keithsixguns were deluxe models with ivory stocks. Distributor Lew Horton alsoordered 5,000 Classic Hunter Specials in 1987 with 6” full underlug barrels andthe four position front sight. These were all 29-3 sixguns. In 1989, 2500Classic Hunter Model 29-4s with 8 3/8” barrels were manufactured, followed bythe re-introduction of the 6” Classic Hunter in 1991. A small number of 3” and5” Model 29-4s with full underlug barrels were also offered in 1989.
Now to celebrate the 50thAnniversary of the Model 29 a special edition of the Model 29 is back for 2006only. No it is not exactly the same as it was 50 years ago. The original .44Magnum was built on a design from the 19th-century originating with theMilitary & Police in 1899 and enlarged in size in 1907.This is now the 21st century and much as wemay like to go all the way back to the 1950s we are limited in our efforts.Having to work by 21st century standards, spelled internal locks andframe-mounted firing pins, and production methods Smith & Wesson has donean excellent job of resurrecting old memories with a new renovation of theoriginal .44 Magnum. Some things are the same, some things are different; Iwould have preferred an exact duplicate, but my realistic side says this isjust never going to happen.
TheBright Blue finish almost rivals that of 50 years ago, the sights are a whiteoutline rear and a red ramp front as on the original, and the barrel length isthe original 6 1/2” not 6”. It was easy to sight the 50thAnniversary Model in simply by moving the rear sight a few clicks down and afew clicks to the right. The hammer and trigger are the original checkered andserrated style and from the side the hammer has the best looking profile I’veever seen on a Smith & Wesson sixgun, or just about any other factoryproduced sixgun for that matter.
Thestocks are the same color, though a lighter shade, as the originals and alsohave the diamond around the grip screw holes; they also feel much better thanthe originals being slightly thinner in overall feel and tapered quite a bit tothe top of the grip frame. Unfortunately, they are not inletted to the gripframe completely but instead depend upon pins to hold them solidly. It doesn’twork and they move when firing heavy .44 Special or .44 Magnum loads, howeverthe original “diamond coke bottle” grips will fit just as they do on theoriginals .44 Magnum of 50 years ago.
Itdoes shoot well. The best groups came from Starline .44 Magnum brass with aCast Performance Bullet Co. 255 Hard Cast over 21.0 grains of #2400 for 1331fps and a group of 1”, while the 250 Keith over 21.0 grains of #2400 groupedinto 1 1/8” and clocked out at 1376 fps.
TheSmith & Wesson Model 29 in its original configuration is the sixgun bywhich all other .44 Magnums are judged. When it comes to performance some fallshort, other surpass it. This writer views it as the finest looking doubleaction revolver ever made, and it is definitely the slickest handling of all.44 Magnums over the years. For an everyday Packin’ Pistol with standard loadsusing 240-250 grain bullets or even heavy duty .44 Special loads it is still atthe top of the mountain when it comes to double action sixguns.
21-1) The 1950 Target.44 Special evolved into the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum.
Both are stillexcellent sixguns and high-ranking candidates for the title of Perfect Packin’
Pistol.
21-2) Birthday presents don't come any better thanthis!Diamond Dot
commissioned Jim Riggs to engrave this .44 MagnumSmith & Wesson.
Leather is by El Paso Saddlery and ivory micartastocks are by BearHug.
21-3) Four-inch .44 Magnums with the original “Cokebottle” diamond stocks
are excellent choices for self defense work whenproperly loaded.
21-4) As a tribute toElmer Keith, Taffin had Dave Lauck tune and smooth these two S&W
Model 29-2s to perfection.
21-5) Nickel-plated .44 Magnums worked over by DaveLauck, stag grips,
Tyler grip adapters, carved leather from El Paso, alladd up to a Dynamic Duo.
21-6) This 6 1/2” Smith & Wesson 29-2 .44 Magnumand George Lawrence
carved #34 holster both date back to the early 1960s.Stocks are by BearHug.
21-7) Smith & Wesson issued this Elmer KeithCommemorative in the 1980s
to recognize the contributions of the MasterSixgunner.
21-8) Sixguns are for shooting; even engraved .44Magnums.
21-9) A grand and glorious summer in the PayetteNational Forest in 1967 was
enjoyed by the author along with a pair of Smith &Wesson .44 Magnums.
21-10) Smith & Wesson brought out a special 105/8” Silhouette Model .44
Magnum in the 1980s; it was too little, too late.
21-11) Elmer Keith's .44s, three .44 Magnums and one.44 Special along with his
carry leather: top center holster is by Ed Bohlin,right and left by George Lawrence,
and his everyday packing rig at the bottom by MiltSparks. Note the strategic
carving on each ivory grip panel to help control feltrecoil.
21-12) This is abeautiful example of a fully engraved and ivory stocked Model 29 Classic;
it is almost toopretty to shoot.
Photo courtesy of Jim Supica’s ArmChairGunShow.com.
21-13) Great sixguns provide a perfect canvas forartistry in medal. The photo of this 8 3/8”
.44 Magnum is courtesy of Jim Supica’sArmChairGunShow.com.
21-14) The first Smith & Wesson .44 Magnums hadfive screws and were simply
known as the .44 Magnum and today are referred to aspre-29s.
Photo courtesyof Jim Supica’s ArmsBid.com.
21-15) Since the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum evolvedfrom the slim-barreled
1950 Target, S&W took a backward step forwardswith the Mountain Gun in
.44 Magnum but with a .44 Special style barrel.
21-16) To commemorate 50 years of the .44 Magnum Smith& Wesson issued
their 50th Anniversary Model.
21-17) A beautiful example of a 6 1/2” pre-29 stockedby Roy Fishpaw in fancy walnut.
The holster is the Taffin Triple-Lock offered bysixgunner.com.
21-18) It carries all the 21st Century requirementsand manufacturing style,
however the 50th Anniversary Model of the .44 Magnumis still a fine sixgun
and an excellent shooter.
21-19 and 21-20) To help control felt recoil Smith& Wesson’s Classic 29 has a
heavy underlug barrel as on this 5” version.
Photo courtesyof Ted McIntyre.
21-21) The author shooting a special addition Classic29, the 3” version
offered by Lew Horton in 1989.
21-22) Elmer Keith had the first .44 Magnum hereceived from Smith & Wesson
cut back to 4 1/2” and engraved and ivory stocked bythe now long gone Gun ReBlue Co.
21-23) Before the arrival of the .44 Magnum thisengraved and ivory stocked
.44 Special by the Gun ReBlue Co. was Elmer Keith'severyday carry gun.
21-24) This .44 Magnum has served the author for morethan four decades.
It is stillgoing strong and mostly sees loads assembled with 250 grain Keith bullets
over 10.0 grains of Unique. Stocks are Skeeter SkeltonStyle by BearHug.
Chapter 20Chapter 22
THE STAINLESS STEEL 44 MAGNUM THEMODEL 629
BY JOHN TAFFIN
Thenumber one variation on the Model 29 theme is the Model 629, a stainless steel.44 Magnum introduced in 1978 with serial numbers N629062 to N629200 for aspecial run of 'pre-production' guns followed by the first productiongun, serial number N748564 all with 6” barrels. In 1980 both 4” and 8 3/8”barrels were added to the catalog. A very few 5” barrels have been offered.
In 1982, the 629-1 joined the 29-3in dropping the pinned barrel and counter bored cylinder features. The 629-1lasted until 1988 with 8,000 also offered with three-inch barrels and roundbutts.In 1988, the Model 629-2 arrivedwith the same internal changes as the Model 29-4. Transitional changes weremade in 1989 along with the cylinder crane being hardened and these 629s werestamped 629-2E.
In 1990, the 629-3 ushered in thesame changes as found on the blued 29-5. Four years later, the addition ofHogue Monogrips, frame drilled and tapped for scope mounting, and a change inthe extractor brought forth the Model 629-4. This model wasproduced with barrel lengths of 4”, 6”, and 83/8” Hogue grips, target hammer and trigger, and red ramp front and whiteoutline rear sight.
As with the blued 29, the stainless629 received the Classic treatment with full underlug barrels first beingoffered in 1990. These were produced as 629-4s with 5”, 6”, and 8 3/8”barrellengths. One year later, the Classic DX 629 arrived in the latter two barrellengths with interchangeable front sights. By 1998, the 629-5 had an MIM hammerand trigger and frame mounted firing pin.
As with the Model 29, severalspecial variations of the Model 629 have been offered over the years since itsintroduction. One most notable ones is the 629-3 Magna-Classic. These werehighly polished, heavy-underlugged, 7 1/2” barreled .44 Magnums withinterchangeable front sights and marked on the barrel '1 of 3000'.All Magna Classics I know of have been superbly accurate sixguns. Mine issighted in for 100 yards using the gold bead front sight insert and 300 graincast bullets over 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110; more on this sixgun shortly.
As with the blued Model 29-3, thestainless 629-1 was offered by Lew Horton in a 3” Combat Magnum version with5,000 of these manufactured in 1985. The 629 also received the Classic Huntertreatment with 5,000 6” guns brought forth in 1988, 2,500 being offered with 83/8” barrels in 1989, 3,200 3” barreled models in 1989, and 2,000 8 3/8”barreled 629-3s in 1991.
The most famous, and probably themost sought after, Model 629 is the Mountain Gun. There were three runs ofMountain Guns in .44 Magnum all with round butts and 4” .44 Special type slimtapered barrels. The first run consisted of special group of blued Model 29sfor the Smith & Wesson Collector's Association's 25th Anniversary. Theregular factory production of the Mountain Gun consisted of 629-2MountainRevolvers in 1989 followed by a second run in 1993.
The 629 has also been offered innumerous 3” barrel lengths such as the 629-3 Carry Comp and Carry Comp IIStainless sixguns from the PerformanceCenter through LewHorton, a run of 5,000 standard 629s with 3” barrels, semi-target hammer,smooth trigger, standard 29/629 sights, and wooden stocks. In 1994, the samebasic sixgun as the latter was offered as the BackPacker. All productionfigures and model variation information comes from the excellent book thatevery Smith & Wesson devotee must have, The Standard Catalog of Smith &Wesson by Richard Nahas and Jim Supica, (Krause, 2001).
In 1989 S&W began to add theEndurance Package to both the 29 and 629. Using high-speed photos, Smith &Wesson engineers studied the .44 Magnum under recoil and concluded thatproblems arose as various parts moved under recoil. The frame recoiledbackwards and the cylinder pin did not. The result was the cylinder was free torotate. Heavy recoil was causing the trigger to kick back and the hammer wasbouncing and hitting the primer a second time resulting in two indents on theprimer. The engineers went to work. Longer notches were machined in thecylinder so the cylinder stop could not bounce out under heavy recoil. A boltblock was added that keeps the bolt from transmitting movement to thetrigger.All mounting studs for reboundslide, trigger, hammer, etc., were radiused where they attach to the frame asround corners are less likely to 'tear' then sharp corners; allreceiving holes were also radiused for the same reason. To help increasestrength, the bearing surface on the cylinder yoke was increased and the yokealso received a new heat treatment. All of these improvements were phased intothe S&W .44 Magnums in the late 1980s and those with the complete packagehave a noticeable longer bolt slot cut into the cylinder.
The first .44 Magnum to have all ofthese improvements was the semi-custom sixgun, the MagnaClassic. Three thousandof these were made and mine has '008' hand inscribed inside thecrane. Smith & Wesson described this gun as 'the most beautiful gun you'llprobably never shoot' referring to the fact that many would purchase thegun and put it away for a future investment. The best investment is in shootingpleasure and I have shot it and shot it hard.
At first glance the MagnaClassicappears to be a nickel-plated Model 29 but is instead a highly polishedstainless Model 629 and is one of the most beautiful sixguns to ever come outof the Smith & Wesson factory. The lettering on the side of the barrel, isquite attractive and has a classic look with the right side of the heavy 7 1/2”barrelmarked in two lines with'629 MagnaClassic' over '1 of3000', and on the left side of the barrel we find 'Smith &Wesson' above '44 Magnum'. This is probably the nicest letteringI have ever seen on a factory revolver.
The .44 MagnaClassic was probablyone of the first S&Ws with the rear sight leaf not squared off at the frontof the leaf but rounded and dovetailed into the top of the frame. The frontsight was a radical departure for Smith & Wesson being of theinterchangeable style, easily removed and replaced by pushing rearward on thefront sight and lifting out. A sight package was offered consisting of eightfront sights in a special box, four black patridge styles in heights of.187', .208', .227', and .250' marked on the bottom side asto height; two more .250' patridge style sights were included, one with awhite dot and the other with a gold bead; and rounding out the package were tworamp front sights, both of .250' height, one with a red insert and theother plain black.
Interchangeable front sight bladesare one of the best features of the .44 MagnaClassic and should be offered onall adjustable sighted sixguns. Smith and Wesson provided a detailed chartshowing the trajectory data for different sights heights. This is fine onpaper. The problem is that each of us holds guns differently and sees sightsdifferently and none of this enters into the mathematical equations. It is amatter of finding what works best for each individual. For example, I normallyshoot lower than most other shooters do with the same gun, load and sightsetting. The MagnaClassic sight system allowed each shooter to choose the bestpossible front sight combination of height and configuration. My shootingchores with the MagnaClassic are being well-handled by the gold bead frontsight.
Hammer and trigger on theMagnaClassic are the standard checkered and serrated target style, which isloved by many and also destined to be reshaped and made smaller by many others.The grip frame is the by then standard round-butt style and fitted with fingergroove grips. This is the one feature I do not particularly care for on theMagnaClassic. The grip is certainly much more comfortable to use with heavyloads than the former standard target grips, however the improved recoilhandling qualities of the round butt notwithstanding, I do not have a realfeeling of security, as the long heavy barrel of the MagnaClassic seems to meto be incompatible with the stubby round-butt design which would be betterappreciated by this sixgunner on a short barreled revolver. If, however, I wasforced to choose between using the blocky 'target' grips longprovided on the .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson, and these smaller round-buttgrips, I would opt for the improvement.
A better solution is the use ofcustom grips. The MagnaClassic now wears Herrett’s Jordan Stocks as does thecompanion Model 629-3 with the standard finish, heavy underlugged 8 3/8”barrel, and this also one wears a special set of long range sights consistingof an undercut front post and a Bo-Mar rear sight. TheMagna Classic performsexceptionally well with some of my favorite hunting loads. Garrett Cartridges’load of 320 grain cast bullet at 1315 fps puts six shots into one-inch at 25yards while my handloads consisting of BRP's NEI 295 grain Keith bullet over21.5 grains of WW296 for 1,290 fps, andNEI's #260.429 Keith bullet over 25.0 grains of WW296 for 1,473 fpsboth go into 1 1/4”
The real test of a sixgun, as theold-time sixgunners would say, is what she'll do at long range. Using mylong-time favorite silhouette load consisting of Hornady's 240 grain full metaljacket bullet over 23.0 grains of WW296 for right at 1300 fps, and guessing atthe sight setting I set up a 200 meter ram bolted down, and put five shots onthe ram’s body the first time I shot this excellent sixgun at long range. I nowhave it sighted in for 100 yards putting me about three inches high at 50yards.
Forty years after the advent of theoriginal .44 Magnum, the Model 629 Classic Deluxe with PowerPort arrived and itdiffers from the 1956 significantly. The 629 Classic is weather resistantstainless steel rather than the blue carbon steel of the original, the lockworkis the improved style to prevent as much stress wear as possible and still maintainthe original size and feel, the barrel of the 629 Classic is of the heavierfull underlug style, 6” in length rather than the original 6 1/2”, and thesights are greatly improved being black instead of a red ramp insert matched upwith a white outline rear sight. The front sight is also a black post, orPatridge style, which for me at least is much easier to see. The front sightdoes not extend all the way to the end of the barrel, but rather sets backabout one half-inch.
The 629 Classic is also scope ready.That is, removal of the rear sight reveals three holes drilled and tapped toaccept a scope base, the wide trigger is of the much preferred smooth stylerather than the finger annoying serrated trigger of the 1956 .44 Magnum, thegrip frame is the standard round-butted style allowing a greater latitude infitting custom grips, stocks provided are the highly functional Hogue pebblegrained finger groove rubber grips, and to further reduce felt recoil, the 629Classic .44 Magnum carries a slot cut longitudinally through the barrel infront of the front sight. This Smith & Wesson answer to reduce felt recoilis known as PowerPort.
The original .44 Magnum carried full target stocks that on the plus sidefilled in behind the trigger and were shaped so there were no hot spots.Unfortunately they were checkered to eat into the palm under recoil and asmooth grip was soon offered to counteract this problem. Over the years, theSmith & Wesson stocks somehow became blockier and filled in less behind thetrigger guard accentuating recoil even more.
The rubber finger groove grips byHogue are a great improvement over the late issue Smith & Wesson woodstocks. However, I still prefer wood and this Classic 629 now wears a beautifulpair of Hogue's Tulipwood finger groove grips. Hogue's grips are onepiece-style that slide up and over the grip frame and fasten with a stirrup andscrew entering the bottom of the grip. They are easy to install and lock uptight with no wobble. They also look great matched up with the stainless finishof the 629 Classic. Normally I prefer grips without finger grooves for everydayuse and especially for fast work from a holster. However I find them veryuseful, almost mandatory on a heavy, hard kickin' handgun or a sixgun with a scopeand heavy underlugged barrel. Hogue's grips fill the bill nicely for theseapplications. With all these changes it is easy to see this 629 which arrivedin 1996 is far removed from the .44 Magnum of 1956. The latter looks a wholelot better to my biased eyes; but I have to admit, the Classic PowerPort notonly shoots easier, it also shoots better.
S W Model 29 Serial Numbers Chart
With the 629 Classic .44 being scopeready, it only seemed natural to scope it for test-firing. Weigand's CombatHandguns one piece scope mount mates up with the pre-drilled and tapped holesin the 629 Classic under the rear sight and three Weaver rings were used tomount a bright finished Leupold 4X EER pistol scope. I've always found Leupoldscopes to be rugged and also easy to focus. If I recall correctly, my firstLeupold scope was mounted on a hard kickin' Contender in 1981, and I've neverhad a scope problem under normal circumstances. The combination of heavyunderlug barrel, Hogue finger groove grips, Weigand scope base, rings, andLeupold scope, all combined with PowerPort made this the most pleasant Smith& Wesson I have fired in forty years. Four decades have not dulled thememory of my first experience with a 4” Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum withfull-house loads!
As noted several times, Keith's originalload worked out for the .44 Magnum was 22.0 grains of #2400 under a 250 grainplain based bullet of his design. About the same time, Ray Thompson designed a.44 bullet for Lyman with Keith's basic semi-wadcutter design incorporating agas check. This is Lyman's #431244GC and is a superb performer in most .44Magnum sixguns. The 629 Classic is no exception. Loaded over Keith'srecommended 22.0 grains of #2400 iginited by a CCI #350 Magnum pistol primer,the Thompson .44 clocks out at 1,460 fps and puts five shots in 1 1/8”at 50yards. It can't get much better than this!
For a heavy bullet handload, RCBS's#44-300GC is an excellent performer. Loaded over 21.5 grains of H110, muzzlevelocity is 1,330 fps from the 6” barreled 629 and shoots well within twoinches at fifty yards. This is a heavy load and I only use it sparingly in the629. When factory loads are employedfor deer sized game I reach for Black Hills240 grain XTP loaded .44 Magnum ammunition. This is not a heavy load clockingout at an easy shooting 1,228 fps. However, the combination of the performanceof the Hornady XTP Bullet and the accuracy of Black Hillsammunition does the job as I have used it to take several whitetail deer and acougar cleanly. In the 629 Classic, Black Hills'240 .44 Magnum load groups five shots into a most satisfying 1 1/8”.
The 629 Classic really tames thefelt recoil of the .44 Magnum especially when compared to the first firing ofthe 4” Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum a half-century ago. Could any S&W .44ever be worse than that original short-barreled Magnum? We find out next.
22-1) The Smith & Wesson 629 Classic carrieseasily for hunting in this #44
shoulder holster by Idaho Leather.
22-2) One of the finest shooting sixguns evermanufactured by Smith & Wesson
was the 629 MagnaClassic in high polish stainless andlimited to 3000 pieces.
22-3) Both of these 629 Classic .44 Magnums areexceptionally suited for long-range shooting.
The top Classic has long-range sights while theMagnaClassic has Smith & Wesson's
interchangeable sight system. Both wear stocks byHerrett’s.
22-4) Great shooting .44s by Smith & Wesson: 61/2” Model 29, 6” Model 629,
5” Model 629 all with BearHug Skeeter Skelton Stylestocks;
and a 6” Classic 629 with Herrett’s stocks.
22-5) The special edition 629 MagnaClassic featured aninterchangeable front
sight system with all these options.
22-6) Four examples of629s and custom stocks: 5” with Eagle Grips, 6” with
BearHug grips, and apair of 629 Classics stocked by Herrett’s.
22-7) BearHug Skeeter Skelton stocks grace this pairof 629 Classic .44 Magnums.
22-8) Taffin considers the 629 Classic to be one ofthe finest long-range
shooting .44 Magnums he has ever experienced.
22-9) Five shots on the 200-meter silhouette ram usinga 629 Classic.
22-10) What Smith & Wesson did not do, a customsixgunsmith can; a 5” 629
with ivory micarta stocks by BearHug.
22-11) It came along too late for silhouetting,however this 629 Classic .44
Magnum is an excellent long-range sixgun.
22-13) These 629 .44 Magnum sixguns cover mostsixgunning situations: a
7 1/2” for long-range shooting, a 6” for hunting, anda 5” for every day carry.
22-14 The gold beadfront sight on the 629 MagnaClassic is excellent for
long-range shooting.
22-15) Four ways to shoot Smith & Wesson .44Magnums: an 8 3/8” Model 29,
an 8 3/8” Model 629, a 6” 629 Classic, all stocked byBearHug; and the 7 1/2”
629 MagnaClassic with factory stocks.
22-16) Smith and Wesson has never seen fit to issue a5” 629; Jim Stroh tuned,
tightened, and shortened this 629.
22-17) The 4” 629 and 4” Model 29 both make excellentevery day
Sw Model 29 Serial Numbers
Perfect Packin’ Pistols. Photo courtesy of TedMcIntyre.
22-18) This Model 629 with PowerPort and a scope is anexceptionally easy
shooting and accurate .44 Magnum.
Sw Model 29 Serial Numbers Pictures
22-19) One man’s Perfect Packin’ Pistol, the S&WModel 629 Classic 5”
How To Look Up Gun Model By Serial Number
Photo courtesyof Glen Fryxell.
List Of Sw Serial Numbers
Chapter 21Chapter 23