629 versus redhawk

[gray1]

If you were thinking of getting a 629 and it looks like a redhawk is priced close the same .Do you think the smith would be hands down the most accurate or would there be that much noticeable difference ?

[bradshaw]

Mar 27, 2021 19:35:43 GMT -5 gray1 said:

If you were thinking of getting a 629 and it looks like a redhawk is priced close the same .Do you think the smith would be hands down the most accurate or would there be that much noticeable difference ?

*****

Comes down to individual example. To saw an old horse, the guns are utterly different animals. Once, before a hunt, I took an M-629 6-inch and a 5-1/2” Redhawk out to see which I shot better. Same ammo, offhand @ 50 and 100 yards. Same accuracy. On that day I could not make one outshoot the other. For that hunt I took the Redhawk. The M-629 single action trigger breaks cleaner, and it can be made a little lighter. Double action stroke of a tuned M-629 is more uniform throughout, facilitating all-important FOLLOW THROUGH.

The Redhawk eats Rocks & Dynamite, the Model 629 does not.

Compatibility of grip to shooter becomes paramount on big bore revolvers. The Firing Line is the only place in the world to learn this.
David Bradshaw

[taffin]

Mar 27, 2021 19:35:43 GMT -5 gray1 said:

If you were thinking of getting a 629 and it looks like a redhawk is priced close the same .Do you think the smith would be hands down the most accurate or would there be that much noticeable difference ?

YOU WONT KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY. DECIDE WHETHER YOU WANT A THOUGHOBRED OR A CLYDESDALE. BOTH GREAT HORSES BUT YOU HAVE TO DEFINE WHAT YOU WANT.

[hombre]

I own an early 80's RedHawk with the 7 inch barrel, the thing is a beast and has been fired many thousands of times. It will eat a steady diet of hot loaded Garret, down to my 44 special hand loads using a fast burning powder. I use slow burning 296 and H110 for my hot jacketed bullet loads. It is far more accurate than I can hold on target, of coarse the S&W will have a better trigger and is accurate in it's own right, the RedHawk is a beefier and a well make revolver with it's solid monolithic frame. JMHO

[Longhunter1750]

Do like I did and buy both, see which you like best then you could always sell the other one. Ok! yea I still own both, but that wasn't my point. The only love I have for one over the other is the Smith has a better trigger.

[JM]

Redhawk is much more stout for heavier loads.

S&W feels more refined.

Do you intend to carry with a belt & holster? S&W may be more comfortable.

[RDW]

Depends entirely on you sir, The shooter. M29, 629, is in most eyes a well refined Revolver with many, many sold and enjoyed.
However If you like to load 44 monster mag Lowdanboomer supreme deluxe lazer beam loads. It will loosen up a smidge.
One of my old Redhawks that i Reamed for 454 Casual,   hahahaha, No not Casual, Just kiddin . 454 CASULL. Sorry guys i just couldnt help myself!! ( from another thread for those that saw it).
Original cylinder and Re barreled and thousands of full house rounds thru it by now is just as snappy and tight as it was when i did it in the late 80s.
The Redhawks are ignorant tough as nails.
It ( The RedHawk) as like the Ruger BlackHawks Lends it self to be modified and improved way more than the smith.
But for elegant lines and tradition the SW N frame is a piece of SERIOUS ARTWORK And with normal loading is a fine piece of equipment.
As i stated its up to your hands and mindset brother. Both have their own downfalls, But many positive Attributes.
Hell, BUY ONE OR TEN OF EACH.  You wont be disappointed.

[gray1]

Thanks

[RDW]

Mar 27, 2021 21:58:19 GMT -5 taffin said:

Mar 27, 2021 19:35:43 GMT -5 gray1 said:

If you were thinking of getting a 629 and it looks like a redhawk is priced close the same .Do you think the smith would be hands down the most accurate or would there be that much noticeable difference ?

YOU WONT KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY. DECIDE WHETHER YOU WANT A THOUGHOBRED OR A CLYDESDALE. BOTH GREAT HORSES BUT YOU HAVE TO DEFINE WHAT YOU WANT.

Great Analogy Sir! do you want a Race Horse , or do you want to pull down a Mountain?

[jfs]

When hunting there is nothing like a good S&W single action trigger but the Redhawk, whose single action is good, can handle loads I`ed never shoot in a Smith... The Redhawk grip is perfect for my hand while some guys don`t like it. One year in Alaska, I carried the Redhawk loaded with Buffalo Bore`s 340gr LBT +P ammo which is not to be shot in the Smith.. You know what???............... Get both and you`ll see what I`am talking about 

[rangersedge]

Have both. Can't really fault either. Don't shoot thousands of rounds annually.
Don't shoot lots of max pressure loads either. Prefer the S&W.

Think you really need to handle each if possible. Different barrel lengths / configurations make a big difference.

[gray1]

Now I have bid on a smith .

[matt56]

I have 4 629s and about 6 model 29s. The are my favorite frame size/caliber combination. The single action trigger allows for some precise long range work, not a hair of creep in any of them.

The guns I prefer are from the 90s, pre lock but post endurance package, starting in the late 80s S&W finally acknowledged their guns weren’t holding up to the pounding of continuous magnum use and they started making improvements. In 94-96 they were at their peak.

My 2 long barrel 629s are dash 4 variations, everything you want and nothing you don’t.

[gray1]

I bid on two 629s Sunday but didn't win either . Now I have some saved that I'm watching .You can get a 629 cheaper than a 29 .I'm watching a redhawk also.Thanks for responding.

[bradshaw]

All this talk about what is a good M-29 or M-629 resurrects the inscrutable fact that Smith & Wesson made great examples and lousy examples during the same time period under Bangor Punta ownership. A fine example is just that. A lousy example may may not be remediable. Just as Ruger’s Security-Six brought about the S&W L-frame, so too, the Redhawk forced S&W finally to address CYLINDER FLOAT. I had detailed as literately as possible the mechanics of CYLINDER FLOAT, which took the factory one to two years to acknowledge, and did not address basic strength issues. Of course, the revolver battles of handgun silhouette kept the durability issue on there front burner----the Firing Line.

When you burn out the barrel face of an M-29 through normal shooting and the factory sets back the barrel and you end up with examples you wouldn’t trade for a new gun, that tells you the gun was built right in the first place. To operate below the pressure ceiling imparts longevity to these grand revolvers. The .44 Magnum cartridge delivers silhouette-grade accuracy at below-max, so-called max, and sometimes a bit north of max. In other words, the cartridge possesses great INTRINSIC ACCURACY over a spectrum of loads. (Note: no load adjustment or a different powder cures an inaccurate bullet.)

For those who like Rocks & Dynamite in a double action, the Redhawk/Super Redhawk owns the landscape.
David Bradshaw