I turned 44 today. I've always lusted over a 629 6.5". I'm gonna get one. Are current production 629's as good as old ones? Should I buy used?

I know zip about S&W revolvers. It will be my hunting or hiking sidearm.

Next year I'm getting an Ed Brown 45.

Tony.

I am a fan of old school. In fact I personally detest stainless steel. Never had a rust issue with plain blu d steel no matter how much snow or rain soaked the pistol became. Have even slipped in creeks and swamps totally submerging blued guns with no ill effects.
If it were me I would get an older one pre lock but I also understand in the lock era smith added an endurance package to the 629 to allow it to hold up longer with heavy loads.
My brother carried a blued 29 as a duty police gun for decades and beat on it pretty hard and shot it tons with no issues.
Most people ( there are exceptions) are never going to put enough full House magnums through the gun to wear it out. Go to the Smith and Wesson forum and review how to inspect for timing and endshake and push off and you can then confidently look at used guns.
They key to buying used is patience- waIt for the right gun at the right price. From r some of the old school guns I prefer I have waited years to get the one

If you are going to shoot a ton of full house magnums through an N frame, the sweet spot is to get one from the era before MIM internals and the lock but after the introduction of the Endurance package, which beefed up some of the internal parts (longer bolt, deeper cylinder notches, radiussed pins, etc.). There were different engineering revisions for these changes on the blued and stainless versions of 29/629 but if you search you can find the specific models. If you are going to shoot a moderate amount of magnums, I'd prefer a pinned & recessed N frame.

Well if you’re going to shoot a ton of magnum loads, you might out to consider the Ruger Redhawk. They’re built like a steel outhouse.

Like others, I prefer the pre-lock Smiths. I have a 629-3 that’s my grandson’s favorite. Giggles every time I take him and it to the range.

So what are you going to do 2 years from now?

I prefer the older (pre-lock) models.

I believe they will hold their value better than newer models.

I believe the newer ones tend to be very accurate, however, I find them less attractive. The lock, at least on the heavy calibers, is also a drawback. If I ever thought I needed something as big as a .44 magnum for self defense, I'd sure as hell want it to fire when I wanted it to.

Old is gold. Get one from pre 2001.

These days the current company calling itself s&w can't even manage to put the barrels on straight. Good luck! Regards 18DAI

Another vote for the old. The 629-3 was the first to have the Endurance Package. They widened the cylinder stop notches and changed the extractor. The 629-3 is my favorite revolver to shoot. It's a 2.75" Backpacker and has the best trigger of all my Smith revolvers.

My 629 no dash has a 6" barrel, not a 6.5" .

Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for a -3.

Tony.

You want a pre-lock version. 629-3 or 629-4.

Grab a copy of the Kuhnhausen manual , The 5th edition outlines some of the differences between the old and new. I agree with the folks recommending the endurance upgrades.

My 629 is old school. I will not buy a S&W with a lock. Love the older guns.

Then again I am an old f@rt myself.

Fotothomas makes me chuckle no smith with a 6 in the front of the model number can you consider old school

95% of the ammo I put through my 29-2's or even my newer Smith forty fours...are mid range, lead bullet loads at 900 fps or so.

They work for everything I do with a .44 Special or .44 magnum, short of hunting for deer/elk or when I'm in big bear Country.

I have a 29-3 that was a basket case when I got it, shot loose from lots of full power mag loads. Had it gone through and it's endured 2K of my 7.5 of Unique/245 gr Keith slug loads without any ill effects.

What You buy, depends on WHAT You want to put through it...IMHO.

FN in MT

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
I turned 44 today. I've always lusted over a 629 6.5". I'm gonna get one. Are current production 629's as good as old ones? Should I buy used?

I know zip about S&W revolvers. It will be my hunting or hiking sidearm.

Next year I'm getting an Ed Brown 45.

Tony.

Happy Birthday! I'm 44 next year. What a super #!

I own both. I have 5" blued 29-5, full lug no lock. Oh how I adore it.

I also have a more recently produced 629-6 Competitor w/ the weighted barrel. Has the lock. It goes bang every single time and I love shooting it.

I am more into the old school S&W, but I shoot my Competitor lights out. Both are great.

I have 4 of the pre lock models in both blue and stainless.

Wouldn't own a MIM/lock model.

Matters not which dash number you get, keep the loads within SAAMI and you can feed 'em all day, every day for a lifetime for you and your descendants.

Best to ask yourself which model trips your trigger. There's barrel length, cylinder configuration, ejector rod housing length.

Happy shopping.

quote:

Originally posted by P-220:
I prefer the older (pre-lock) models.

I believe they will hold their value better than newer models.

I too prefer the older stainless models without a lock. If you are hiking, you may want to consider the "Mountain gun" model that has the lightweight barrel. I have a 625 Mountain gun (4" .45 ACP) and love it!

I've got three of the 629s (629-1M 6", 629-4 5", and 629-6 4"). Except for the lock on the 629-6, I do not see any difference in the fit, finish, functionality, or trigger feel from the pre-locks. My favorite to shoot is the 629-4 5"; 6" feels bulky and 4" has noticeably more recoil, the 5" is just right.

Looks like my friend has a 629 no-dash, S/N N778XXX. He has to research the price but he's conflicted about selling it. Barrel is pinned and recessed.

After some research, I'm wondering if I should go with a Dan Wesson or a Ruger. After reading some articles on the 629, it seems that they can sometimes have a hard time handling a steady diet of magnum loads while keeping the cylinder in place.

Tony.