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Post by x101airborne on May 9, 2023 22:10:51 GMT -5
Yeah, I went and done it. Smith 29-3, 4 inch has been sitting at my LGS for a month and a half now. Not the original grips but the bluing is in really nice shape with just a faint turn line on the cylinder. Action is super smooth but the single action break is so light I am going to check the strain screw tomorrow. I bought this for an EDC / ranch carry gun with starting load 44 Mag cast lead loads, so more of a 44 Special +P+. Rifling is crisp and well defined with wear on the forcing cone as even as I could tell by eye. Has a 4 inch barrel. Any warnings or cautionary tales yall want to give me? I figure while I am working with one hand I might as well try to hone my one handed reflexive shooting. If I get an accurate load to push a 250 grain hollow point to 1150 fps., that is about where I will leave it. All comments welcome.
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Post by wendigo on May 9, 2023 22:39:33 GMT -5
I've got one in the exact same flavor. Back when the Speer short jacket bullets were available I ran those with HS6 at around 1100. Once the Speers became unobtainium I never found a medium load it really liked, but it does very well with a 250 Keith (either the RCBS 44-250K or Lyman 429421) and 20 grains of 2400. Makes an honest 1200 f/s from the 4" barrel.
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Post by bradshaw on May 10, 2023 7:21:55 GMT -5
Yeah, I went and done it. Smith 29-3, 4 inch has been sitting at my LGS for a month and a half now. Not the original grips but the bluing is in really nice shape with just a faint turn line on the cylinder. Action is super smooth but the single action break is so light I am going to check the strain screw tomorrow. I bought this for an EDC / ranch carry gun with starting load 44 Mag cast lead loads, so more of a 44 Special +P+. Rifling is crisp and well defined with wear on the forcing cone as even as I could tell by eye. Has a 4 inch barrel. Any warnings or cautionary tales yall want to give me? I figure while I am working with one hand I might as well try to hone my one handed reflexive shooting. If I get an accurate load to push a 250 grain hollow point to 1150 fps., that is about where I will leave it. All comments welcome. ***** Trey.... trust your M-29 4-inch turns out to be a fine example of the breed. My preference for handling mag loads is the Pachmayr Gripper of a small-size Pachmayr Presentation. Recoil from a short barrel delivers sharper shock to the base of the thumb. Loads, .44 Mag brassThe M-29 4” has done considerable work for me with a cast 240 SWC DEEP SEATed over 5.5/Hodgdon HP-38 (or its namesake Winchester 231) ball powder. Same bullet over 10.6/Hodgdon HS-6 boosts velocity slightly. Your cast, powder coat bullets, carefully delivered, will be knockouts. Facing west, I once I shot across a lake with one or the other of these cast 240 SWC loads. Recall holding a majority of the front sight. A stiff wind hurled from the south, 9 o’clock, bending my bullets to the north, equal or more their looping trajectory. Amazed me to see how clustered the bullets splashed. I saw no sign of ricochet. At close range that cluster would represent a serious spread. I treat the M-29 4” as a wand, not a cannon. Federal 44B accounts for most of the factory ammo I’ve pushed through the 4-inch M-29 is Federal 44B 180 JHP, with the Federal 44A 240 JHP second. Excellent rounds both, as venison and other meat has proven. These Federal bullets look like they came from Sierra, but Federal makes its own. Double action triggerS&W used to offer a LIGHT REBOUND SPRING. This gives lighter DA squeeze without shortening the factory rebound sporing. When cutting the factory rebound spring, I never removed more than 2 coils, and finish the cut end with a fine file or stone. Don’t go trimmer the STRAIN SCREW (mainspring tension screw) before establishing where you want it. S&W always advised the strain screw should be tightened to not vibrate loose from shooting and thereby weaken hammer fall. I adjust the strain screw for DA reliability in deep freezing weather. PPC shooters (Practical Pigeon Cartridge) tuned their double action for the easiest-to-ignite Federal 100 small pistol primer, a practice verboten on a field gun. For those who don’t regularly check their equipment or possess a sensitive finger, better to follow S&W’s advice. Ejector rodThe EJECTOR ROD screws into the EXTRACTOR via left-hand thread (counter-clockwise). To tighten or loosen the ejector rod, chamber empty brass to hold the extractor, then wrap the knurled rod with lead flashing to before applying the plier. David Bradshaw |
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Post by bigmuddy on May 10, 2023 8:52:54 GMT -5
Hard to beat a 4” M29 for your intended purpose. I too like to use loads in the 1100/1150 fps range and Hodgdon Longshot is my powder of choice. David’s deep seated bullet load with WW231 has proven amazingly accurate in my m29 and doesn’t need sight adjustment from Longshot loads. Recoil feels like a .38 Special and I always keep some on hand.
Dan
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rufus
.30 Stingray
Posts: 454
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Post by rufus on May 10, 2023 9:32:57 GMT -5
I have a 5.5” Blackhawk (stainless) (not super Blackhawk) in 44 mag that is my farm carry. I’m also clocking loads round bout 1100 fps
Will kill anything around these parts that needs killing.
I have a 6.5” 629 that I will hunt with on occasion but don’t carry it much, normally pack that one in a backpack.
29/629 is a fine platform for sure.
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Post by bigbrowndog on May 10, 2023 10:11:52 GMT -5
Trey, when I was shooting my 3” a lot, a 240swc at just under 1000 was a pleasure able load and very accurate. I feel I’d never need more for anything in Texas, the wife enjoyed shooting that load as well.
Trapr
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Post by Encore64 on May 10, 2023 10:17:16 GMT -5
I won't comment on loads. There is no shortage of data out there.
But, definitely sounds like a major score...
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gcf
.30 Stingray
South Texas
Posts: 316
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Post by gcf on May 10, 2023 16:21:24 GMT -5
Been quite a while since I let my 4" M629-4 go, but I seem to remember 250 Keith CB's, over 2400 (19.5) - or IMR4227 (mag primers) worked pretty well.
Today, I'd also want to try HS-6, & Longshot, as well as Bradshaw's recommended DEEP SEATED loads.
Congrats on the acquisition (envious)! Selling the 629 was NOT one of my "most well thought out / best ever" moves...
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Post by x101airborne on May 11, 2023 8:23:38 GMT -5
I won't comment on loads. There is no shortage of data out there. But, definitely sounds like a major score... 840.00 out the door. No box or papers. Very light wear in the bluing. Not the original grips. |
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Post by pacecars on May 11, 2023 9:29:03 GMT -5
Good price. My 6” 29-3 was just a little more out the door. We always want pics so here it is in a Simply Rugged 120  |
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gcf
.30 Stingray
South Texas
Posts: 316
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Post by gcf on May 11, 2023 10:18:23 GMT -5
Yeah, I went and done it. Smith 29-3, 4 inch has been sitting at my LGS for a month and a half now. PICS!!! |
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Post by ezekiel38 on May 11, 2023 11:10:21 GMT -5
Trey: My goto load for 44 Mag is 10.0 grains of Unique and a 240-250grain Keith style bullet. Shoots well in all my 44 Mags. A touch over 1100fps out of a 4" 29 or 69.
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Post by x101airborne on May 11, 2023 17:05:58 GMT -5
Yeah, I went and done it. Smith 29-3, 4 inch has been sitting at my LGS for a month and a half now. PICS!!! If you can post them, I can send you pics. PM me your cell number and I will send them. |
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weiler
.30 Stingray
Posts: 454
Member is Online
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Post by weiler on May 11, 2023 17:52:56 GMT -5
I won't comment on loads. There is no shortage of data out there. But, definitely sounds like a major score... 840.00 out the door. No box or papers. Very light wear in the bluing. Not the original grips. That seems like a great price, I paid a good bit more for my 4” 629-3, but I really wanted a 4” Smith and I dont miss the money |
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Post by Burnston on May 12, 2023 12:38:01 GMT -5
I am no authority on the gun itself, but I’ve carried more than most for ranch/non-military/Leo purposes. That said, be careful with heavy bullets. That may seem obvious to most, but it wasn’t to me. I loaded up a moderate load with a 300gr LSWC Hammer for my 4in 29-3 and ended up splitting both the forcing cone and the frame at the threads. An ignorant, avoidable mistake. I was later harshly educated by a few S&W mentors who put it something like this; “Save your #**@$& heavy load for your Rugers. 300 grainers have no place in a @**&&#**@*!! N frame.”
While I do not express this opinion as an absolute in all cases, I developed it through personal, ignorant experience.
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