S&w 629

[snakereaper]

I know the smiths can't take the same loads as the ruger single action. But can they shoot some if the 300 grain pills safly? Was looking at some if the Matt's hollow points and some if the Missouri 300 grain coated hammers.(u can get 400 of the coated hammers for 63 dollers). Is the cylinder long enough in the smith to handle the 300? I know all these questions are rookie , but I have never loaded for my Smith, been a long time sence i have loaded for the 44 maggie in general. Also on loads for cast bullets when starting out is it safe to start at same as jacketed loads of same weight,like 300 cast and the 300 xtp loads. Havent loaded cast but in my 480 ruger and starting to for my 500 linbaugh.Is reason I ask .Was looking at load data for hs-6 and h110 on Hodgen web sight for 44 maggie.Also not going to try to load hot for smith prob just somewhere around middle of the road loads and what shoots the best. Just going to be shooting deer hog and bear, not Godzilla save that for the 500 linebaugh. Thanks ahead of time guys.

[mike454]

What 629 dash number do you have? It makes a bit of a difference.

[snakereaper]

It is a 629-6 , 629 classic stainless full under lug. That is the number inside the crane.

[bushog]

Oct 27, 2018 17:18:47 GMT -5 mike454 said:

What 629 dash number do you have? It makes a bit of a difference.

Which model did they start putting the endurance pkg in them?

[zeus]

-3 maybe. Can’t remember for sure.

[mar]

They started endurance package on the 629-2 and they were marked 629-2E. The only reason I know is because I recently sold a 4” 629-2 which apparently doesn’t have it from research on the internet.

[bradshaw]

snakereaper..... after the kicking and screaming, the “endurance package” fell short of improvements I had implored Smith & Wesson to incorporate in the Model 29 to regain its competitive place in IHMSA silhouette. The endurance package addressed the issue of CYLINDER FLOAT without beefing the gun to withstand hammering of a continuous diet of full house loads. It certainly didn’t equip the M-29 with stamina to withstand 300 grain bullets without loosening its guts. The Redhawk and Super Redhawk enter their own league among double actions for the heavy-bullet .44 Mag caper.

Since you have revolvers in .480 and .500, keep your Smith happy by letting the linemen handle weight. As for deer and edible hogs, the .44 Mag is right to home with a proper 240 to 260 grain bullet. Likewise bear, if that is on your menu. Just know that bear are a different animal than either deer or pig, and much easier to wound when their Lust for Life is not respected.
David Bradshaw

[mike454]

The endurance improvements were begun with the 629-e and fully phased in with the 629-3. The improvements included a hardened yoke to help slow end shake development, strengthening the internal pivot points for hammer and trigger by getting rid of stress risers on the studs, lengthening the cylinder notches and adding a bolt block to prevent the cylinder from rotating when fired. I never put a bunch of rounds through a post endurance package gun, but did shoot enough heavy loads through a no dash 629 to have enough problems to see where improvements would be desirable.

[bigbrowndog]

A good jacketed bullet that will behave like a hard cast solid is the Sierra 250 tournament master it’s little brother the 220gr. Is also good. I shoot both of them in a Marlin
Levergun that has microgroove rifling and didn’t want to worry about poor accuracy with cast bullets.
ive shot SSK 320gr bullets in my 3” 629 but just for occasional shooting not a steady diet, tracking purposes mostly. I now use the Sierra Bullet for it as well.

Trapr

[smokingun]

I just tried the 300gr hammers in my 629-1 and they fit with a little room to spare.

[jgt]

I have owned and used a boatload of 44 magnums in the last five decades. The only Smith & Wesson 44 magnum I have with the whole upgrade package is a model 29 Classic DX. I have loaded and shot bullets up to 379 grain Keith style cast SWC. Most people can not shoot a magnum cartridge to the extent done by silhouette shooters. The human body is just not built to withstand such an onslaught. These shooter end up with all kind of maladies from carpel tunnel syndrome to tennis elbow. Nearly all will develop arthritis later in life. Those few who do not, are the exceptions. This is why people who own guns today in "most powerful handgun in world" calibers do not shoot full potential loads everyday all the time in their guns. Smith & Wesson 44 magnums were built with that in mind and were not designed to handle the all day, everyday full potential loads. While it is true they upgraded their innards, it does not mean the earlier guns can not handle some rip roaring loads for hunting. These earlier guns were used all over the world to hunt large dangerous game. In the hands of people who could shoot them, they performed the assigned tasks.
For those that doubt what I am saying, feel free to send those delicate 44 magnum Smith & Wesson my way especially those old outdated five screws. I will expect a substantial discount since they are so defective in their design.

[snakereaper]

So it would be better to stay with bullets from 240 to around 280. also when starting loads should stay at what jacketed bullet loads start at for compatible weights?

[wtf]

My 629-3... Recently Acquired, Waiting for Me, Home in Texas


-Bill

[shorty500]

My oldest m629 is a -1 with 8&3/8 barrel, since it was bought new it had logged a total of 185,000 rounds. So it predates the Endurance package. I quit keeping records in ‘03 when I semi-retired it. It gets pulled out for velocity comparisons and accuracy testing of ammo now mostly. It has always been insanely accurate and on any given day keeping ammo cocsisetent from gun to gun the old gal delivers very noticeably higher numbers than typical 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 revolvers. Many 9-1/2 to 10-1/2 revolvers will not match her for speed. The old gal was never ever over-pressurized, always kept lubed and cleaned. Most were handloads using large amount of 2400, w680 and and a fair sampling of w296. Outside of 240g jhp factory stuff all slugs were either the classic Lyman 429421 or the SSK/NEI 320.430.
To date the repair list includes 4 rebound springs for trigger, replacement rear sight when original broke between the screws, an extractor spring that appeared to have corroded until breaking and a new extractor rod as the original was damaged removing it due to well set locative

[rangersedge]

Probably silly question; but just to clarify... when some ammo makers caution that certain loads are "Ruger only" loads, is it because of long term wear or catastrophic failure? In other words, would S&W shooters have to worry about doing more maintenance / repair after hundreds / thousands of rounds or having it blow up in their hands?