S&W Model 69 vs. 329 PD

[DiamondD]

So I am in the market for a 4” .44 DA that would live almost entirely on Skeeter .44 Special loads with the occasional Kieth .44 Special loads being shot through it also. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and really wanted the GP100 5” to be that gun as I love the .327 GP I have. I’ve heard too many reports of the thin forcing cone in the GP not living up to even warm loads, so had almost decided the M69 was it. Then I got to thinking that if I was going to treat the gun as a .44 Special anyway, why not go with the 329 and save a bit of weight? Would like some feedback from those who have owned, shot and or carried both.

thanks, 
Dean

[bula]

I've never owned a 329PD but it was on my short list,tried a Mtn gun M29 and a M629, all 4". The M69 4" came home,then traded for the 2.75". Both solid, no issue guns. It was just less bulky and fit my hands better. Only give away was the drop to a 5-shot. If I had chosen the GP44, your not gonna like to hear this, I'd not shoot full wadcutters or SWC. That sharp outer edge isn't doing that thin forcing cone any favors. IMHO.. Both M69's, the 4" no longer here, handled everything up to and including the BB305gr. Read Paul105's extensive and in depth threadson the M69.

[DiamondD]

Thanks Bula. Yeah the GP is out of the running. Like I said I love my 5” .327 but I’m not going to carry a 44 Specialthat won’t take a steady diet of even Skeeters load. Paul 105s thread on the M69 is what got me started thinking this way to begin with. I should just go ahead and try one. For some reason many seem to like the 2 3/4” 69 over the 4”, seems almost universal but I’m really thinking I’ll stick with the 4”. Appreciate your feedback.

[bula]

For me, came down to the 4" not a huntable length for Ohio, and not as concealable as the snubby. Nephew got a 4" right after I did, he was here the day I bought mine. Says it's his most accurate hand gun. He's talking of a dot sight of some kind and using for hogs.

[paul105]

I have both and have shot both quite a bit. The 329 was my all day everyday carry gun for the better part of a decade. My current go to is the M69 but still have two 329s and a 2 1/2" 329 Alaska Backpacker. The M69 is a easier to shoot because of the sights (which can be changed on the 329) and additional weight. It is also more robust. As Bula said, you give up one round in the M69.

Here's a thread started by seancase on the 329.

singleactions.proboards.com/thread/25281/preserving-329pd

FWIW,

Paul

[bula]

Umm..wrong thread link ? 

[paul105]

Link fixed above. Sorry, had two windows open and copied the wrong link.

[bula]

Thank you.

[magman]

I had a 329PD and currently own a 69. If I had been wise, would've kept the 329. The 69 just doesn't interest me.

I'd like to see an actual/factual report on the gp100. An isolated issue doesn't cur it.

[DiamondD]

To me the forcing cone on the GP 100 looks even thinner than what I remember of the 696, and it was ridiculously thin. It’s a shame because looking at the S&W 69 and the GP side by side, the GP looks like a much beefier gun. Yet there are plenty that shoot full house magnums in the 69.

[ezekiel38]

Shot the 329 and found the Skeeter load to be uncomfortable. Own a 69 4.25" 44 Magnum and it has become my favorite 44. It fits my hand better than any of the N frames. It is more compact yet powerful. It is the most accurate 44 I own and I have several including a Pre 29 5" 44.

It's no heavier than an Lframe and packs like an L frame.

Mine is her till I pass on.

[groo]

Groo here
I don't have a 329 but I do have a 325 TR and an M-69 2 3/4 in.
If I was going with the 329 I would send it to S&W and have it fitted with a second steel cylinder.
Allowing you to add weight for the range and take it off for carry.[about 5 or 6 oz.]
The 325 TR is about all most want with millspec or heavy loads [much like 44 spec Skeeter and Keith loads]
The M-69 2 3/4 is about 4 oz. heaver than the 325 / 329 with steel cylinder and I think about minimum for rang shooting with magnums.
I will be shooting 44 spec most of the time BUT as most stores with ammo have 44 mag---I like the option....

[DiamondD]

Jan 24, 2020 12:36:24 GMT -5 groo said:

Groo here
I don't have a 329 but I do have a 325 TR and an M-69 2 3/4 in.
If I was going with the 329 I would send it to S&W and have it fitted with a second steel cylinder.
Allowing you to add weight for the range and take it off for carry.[about 5 or 6 oz.]
The 325 TR is about all most want with millspec or heavy loads [much like 44 spec Skeeter and Keith loads]
The M-69 2 3/4 is about 4 oz. heaver than the 325 / 329 with steel cylinder and I think about minimum for rang shooting with magnums.
I will be shooting 44 spec most of the time BUT as most stores with ammo have 44 mag---I like the option....

That is a good point also. I doubt I’d shoot much, if any commercial ammo in it, but in a pinch everyone carries .44 mag ammo.

[firedude]

paul105 is the man on these guns. He probably has more shooting through these guns than all of us together.
I have had all the light weights in the smith 44 family. If I was only going to carry and shoot very, very little, I guess the PD would still be in my safe. I do shoot these guns quite a bit though and that gun was not fun to shoot with heavy hitters. Bullet creep was also a fight. I have both versions of the 69 since they came out and like them very much. I think they are a great packing pistol that can also be shot for fun at the range.

[bradshaw]

If I carried an aluminum .44 Magnum it might be that Smith & Wesson thing. But the Model 69 sits in mind much more comfortably. Which is all fantasy, since the 4-inch M-29 has never had to apologize for anything; it’s ready to perform in its sleep. I am not immune to recoil. Which is not say I’m allergic to recoil. I’ve tried to practice CONSERVATION of ANATOMY for at least forty years, even when volumes of fire make it difficult.

Were I to carry an M-69 or the ugly M-329, mostly cast bullets would ride DEEP SEATED in .44 Mag brass, to punt a 240-250 SWC @ 850 fps----somewhere in that neighborhood. Rather suspect other old timers, Dick Thompson and John Taffin included, cultivate the performance window of .44’s cruising below Rocks & Dynamite. After all, a Smith & Wesson is a Smith & Wesson, and we are only human.

It is my humble experience deep seating in the .44 Mag case holds peak pressure rearward, a plus with short barrels and a plus mid-range loads. And since a grain or two less powder does the same as conventional seating, bullet pull should be less. Deep seating certainly reduces sideblast & muzzle blast. (Same is true of the .45 Colt.)
David Bradshaw