• Smith & Wesson Model 29-3 Serial Numbers
• Jaden Smith

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THE STAINLESS STEEL 44 MAGNUM THEMODEL 629

Smith & Wesson Model 29-3 Serial Numbers

BY JOHN TAFFIN

Thenumber one variation on the Model 29 theme is the Model 629, a stainless steel.44 Magnum introduced in 1978 with serial numbers N629062 to N629200 for aspecial run of 'pre-production' guns followed by the first productiongun, serial number N748564 all with 6” barrels. In 1980 both 4” and 8 3/8”barrels were added to the catalog. A very few 5” barrels have been offered.

In 1982, the 629-1 joined the 29-3in dropping the pinned barrel and counter bored cylinder features. The 629-1lasted until 1988 with 8,000 also offered with three-inch barrels and roundbutts.In 1988, the Model 629-2 arrivedwith the same internal changes as the Model 29-4. Transitional changes weremade in 1989 along with the cylinder crane being hardened and these 629s werestamped 629-2E.

In 1990, the 629-3 ushered in thesame changes as found on the blued 29-5. Four years later, the addition ofHogue Monogrips, frame drilled and tapped for scope mounting, and a change inthe extractor brought forth the Model 629-4. This model wasproduced with barrel lengths of 4”, 6”, and 83/8” Hogue grips, target hammer and trigger, and red ramp front and whiteoutline rear sight.

As with the blued 29, the stainless629 received the Classic treatment with full underlug barrels first beingoffered in 1990. These were produced as 629-4s with 5”, 6”, and 8 3/8”barrellengths. One year later, the Classic DX 629 arrived in the latter two barrellengths with interchangeable front sights. By 1998, the 629-5 had an MIM hammerand trigger and frame mounted firing pin.

As with the Model 29, severalspecial variations of the Model 629 have been offered over the years since itsintroduction. One most notable ones is the 629-3 Magna-Classic. These werehighly polished, heavy-underlugged, 7 1/2” barreled .44 Magnums withinterchangeable front sights and marked on the barrel '1 of 3000'.All Magna Classics I know of have been superbly accurate sixguns. Mine issighted in for 100 yards using the gold bead front sight insert and 300 graincast bullets over 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110; more on this sixgun shortly.

As with the blued Model 29-3, thestainless 629-1 was offered by Lew Horton in a 3” Combat Magnum version with5,000 of these manufactured in 1985. The 629 also received the Classic Huntertreatment with 5,000 6” guns brought forth in 1988, 2,500 being offered with 83/8” barrels in 1989, 3,200 3” barreled models in 1989, and 2,000 8 3/8”barreled 629-3s in 1991.

The most famous, and probably themost sought after, Model 629 is the Mountain Gun. There were three runs ofMountain Guns in .44 Magnum all with round butts and 4” .44 Special type slimtapered barrels. The first run consisted of special group of blued Model 29sfor the Smith & Wesson Collector's Association's 25th Anniversary. Theregular factory production of the Mountain Gun consisted of 629-2MountainRevolvers in 1989 followed by a second run in 1993.

The 629 has also been offered innumerous 3” barrel lengths such as the 629-3 Carry Comp and Carry Comp IIStainless sixguns from the PerformanceCenter through LewHorton, a run of 5,000 standard 629s with 3” barrels, semi-target hammer,smooth trigger, standard 29/629 sights, and wooden stocks. In 1994, the samebasic sixgun as the latter was offered as the BackPacker. All productionfigures and model variation information comes from the excellent book thatevery Smith & Wesson devotee must have, The Standard Catalog of Smith &Wesson by Richard Nahas and Jim Supica, (Krause, 2001).

In 1989 S&W began to add theEndurance Package to both the 29 and 629. Using high-speed photos, Smith &Wesson engineers studied the .44 Magnum under recoil and concluded thatproblems arose as various parts moved under recoil. The frame recoiledbackwards and the cylinder pin did not. The result was the cylinder was free torotate. Heavy recoil was causing the trigger to kick back and the hammer wasbouncing and hitting the primer a second time resulting in two indents on theprimer. The engineers went to work. Longer notches were machined in thecylinder so the cylinder stop could not bounce out under heavy recoil. A boltblock was added that keeps the bolt from transmitting movement to thetrigger.All mounting studs for reboundslide, trigger, hammer, etc., were radiused where they attach to the frame asround corners are less likely to 'tear' then sharp corners; allreceiving holes were also radiused for the same reason. To help increasestrength, the bearing surface on the cylinder yoke was increased and the yokealso received a new heat treatment. All of these improvements were phased intothe S&W .44 Magnums in the late 1980s and those with the complete packagehave a noticeable longer bolt slot cut into the cylinder.

The first .44 Magnum to have all ofthese improvements was the semi-custom sixgun, the MagnaClassic. Three thousandof these were made and mine has '008' hand inscribed inside thecrane. Smith & Wesson described this gun as 'the most beautiful gun you'llprobably never shoot' referring to the fact that many would purchase thegun and put it away for a future investment. The best investment is in shootingpleasure and I have shot it and shot it hard.

At first glance the MagnaClassicappears to be a nickel-plated Model 29 but is instead a highly polishedstainless Model 629 and is one of the most beautiful sixguns to ever come outof the Smith & Wesson factory. The lettering on the side of the barrel, isquite attractive and has a classic look with the right side of the heavy 7 1/2”barrelmarked in two lines with'629 MagnaClassic' over '1 of3000', and on the left side of the barrel we find 'Smith &Wesson' above '44 Magnum'. This is probably the nicest letteringI have ever seen on a factory revolver.

Jaden Smith

The .44 MagnaClassic was probablyone of the first S&Ws with the rear sight leaf not squared off at the frontof the leaf but rounded and dovetailed into the top of the frame. The frontsight was a radical departure for Smith & Wesson being of theinterchangeable style, easily removed and replaced by pushing rearward on thefront sight and lifting out. A sight package was offered consisting of eightfront sights in a special box, four black patridge styles in heights of.187', .208', .227', and .250' marked on the bottom side asto height; two more .250' patridge style sights were included, one with awhite dot and the other with a gold bead; and rounding out the package were tworamp front sights, both of .250' height, one with a red insert and theother plain black.

Interchangeable front sight bladesare one of the best features of the .44 MagnaClassic and should be offered onall adjustable sighted sixguns. Smith and Wesson provided a detailed chartshowing the trajectory data for different sights heights. This is fine onpaper. The problem is that each of us holds guns differently and sees sightsdifferently and none of this enters into the mathematical equations. It is amatter of finding what works best for each individual. For example, I normallyshoot lower than most other shooters do with the same gun, load and sightsetting. The MagnaClassic sight system allowed each shooter to choose the bestpossible front sight combination of height and configuration. My shootingchores with the MagnaClassic are being well-handled by the gold bead frontsight.

Hammer and trigger on theMagnaClassic are the standard checkered and serrated target style, which isloved by many and also destined to be reshaped and made smaller by many others.The grip frame is the by then standard round-butt style and fitted with fingergroove grips. This is the one feature I do not particularly care for on theMagnaClassic. The grip is certainly much more comfortable to use with heavyloads than the former standard target grips, however the improved recoilhandling qualities of the round butt notwithstanding, I do not have a realfeeling of security, as the long heavy barrel of the MagnaClassic seems to meto be incompatible with the stubby round-butt design which would be betterappreciated by this sixgunner on a short barreled revolver. If, however, I wasforced to choose between using the blocky 'target' grips longprovided on the .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson, and these smaller round-buttgrips, I would opt for the improvement.

A better solution is the use ofcustom grips. The MagnaClassic now wears Herrett’s Jordan Stocks as does thecompanion Model 629-3 with the standard finish, heavy underlugged 8 3/8”barrel, and this also one wears a special set of long range sights consistingof an undercut front post and a Bo-Mar rear sight. TheMagna Classic performsexceptionally well with some of my favorite hunting loads. Garrett Cartridges’load of 320 grain cast bullet at 1315 fps puts six shots into one-inch at 25yards while my handloads consisting of BRP's NEI 295 grain Keith bullet over21.5 grains of WW296 for 1,290 fps, andNEI's #260.429 Keith bullet over 25.0 grains of WW296 for 1,473 fpsboth go into 1 1/4”

The real test of a sixgun, as theold-time sixgunners would say, is what she'll do at long range. Using mylong-time favorite silhouette load consisting of Hornady's 240 grain full metaljacket bullet over 23.0 grains of WW296 for right at 1300 fps, and guessing atthe sight setting I set up a 200 meter ram bolted down, and put five shots onthe ram’s body the first time I shot this excellent sixgun at long range. I nowhave it sighted in for 100 yards putting me about three inches high at 50yards.

Forty years after the advent of theoriginal .44 Magnum, the Model 629 Classic Deluxe with PowerPort arrived and itdiffers from the 1956 significantly. The 629 Classic is weather resistantstainless steel rather than the blue carbon steel of the original, the lockworkis the improved style to prevent as much stress wear as possible and still maintainthe original size and feel, the barrel of the 629 Classic is of the heavierfull underlug style, 6” in length rather than the original 6 1/2”, and thesights are greatly improved being black instead of a red ramp insert matched upwith a white outline rear sight. The front sight is also a black post, orPatridge style, which for me at least is much easier to see. The front sightdoes not extend all the way to the end of the barrel, but rather sets backabout one half-inch.

The 629 Classic is also scope ready.That is, removal of the rear sight reveals three holes drilled and tapped toaccept a scope base, the wide trigger is of the much preferred smooth stylerather than the finger annoying serrated trigger of the 1956 .44 Magnum, thegrip frame is the standard round-butted style allowing a greater latitude infitting custom grips, stocks provided are the highly functional Hogue pebblegrained finger groove rubber grips, and to further reduce felt recoil, the 629Classic .44 Magnum carries a slot cut longitudinally through the barrel infront of the front sight. This Smith & Wesson answer to reduce felt recoilis known as PowerPort.

The original .44 Magnum carried full target stocks that on the plus sidefilled in behind the trigger and were shaped so there were no hot spots.Unfortunately they were checkered to eat into the palm under recoil and asmooth grip was soon offered to counteract this problem. Over the years, theSmith & Wesson stocks somehow became blockier and filled in less behind thetrigger guard accentuating recoil even more.

The rubber finger groove grips byHogue are a great improvement over the late issue Smith & Wesson woodstocks. However, I still prefer wood and this Classic 629 now wears a beautifulpair of Hogue's Tulipwood finger groove grips. Hogue's grips are onepiece-style that slide up and over the grip frame and fasten with a stirrup andscrew entering the bottom of the grip. They are easy to install and lock uptight with no wobble. They also look great matched up with the stainless finishof the 629 Classic. Normally I prefer grips without finger grooves for everydayuse and especially for fast work from a holster. However I find them veryuseful, almost mandatory on a heavy, hard kickin' handgun or a sixgun with a scopeand heavy underlugged barrel. Hogue's grips fill the bill nicely for theseapplications. With all these changes it is easy to see this 629 which arrivedin 1996 is far removed from the .44 Magnum of 1956. The latter looks a wholelot better to my biased eyes; but I have to admit, the Classic PowerPort notonly shoots easier, it also shoots better.

With the 629 Classic .44 being scopeready, it only seemed natural to scope it for test-firing. Weigand's CombatHandguns one piece scope mount mates up with the pre-drilled and tapped holesin the 629 Classic under the rear sight and three Weaver rings were used tomount a bright finished Leupold 4X EER pistol scope. I've always found Leupoldscopes to be rugged and also easy to focus. If I recall correctly, my firstLeupold scope was mounted on a hard kickin' Contender in 1981, and I've neverhad a scope problem under normal circumstances. The combination of heavyunderlug barrel, Hogue finger groove grips, Weigand scope base, rings, andLeupold scope, all combined with PowerPort made this the most pleasant Smith& Wesson I have fired in forty years. Four decades have not dulled thememory of my first experience with a 4” Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum withfull-house loads!

As noted several times, Keith's originalload worked out for the .44 Magnum was 22.0 grains of #2400 under a 250 grainplain based bullet of his design. About the same time, Ray Thompson designed a.44 bullet for Lyman with Keith's basic semi-wadcutter design incorporating agas check. This is Lyman's #431244GC and is a superb performer in most .44Magnum sixguns. The 629 Classic is no exception. Loaded over Keith'srecommended 22.0 grains of #2400 iginited by a CCI #350 Magnum pistol primer,the Thompson .44 clocks out at 1,460 fps and puts five shots in 1 1/8”at 50yards. It can't get much better than this!

For a heavy bullet handload, RCBS's#44-300GC is an excellent performer. Loaded over 21.5 grains of H110, muzzlevelocity is 1,330 fps from the 6” barreled 629 and shoots well within twoinches at fifty yards. This is a heavy load and I only use it sparingly in the629. When factory loads are employedfor deer sized game I reach for Black Hills240 grain XTP loaded .44 Magnum ammunition. This is not a heavy load clockingout at an easy shooting 1,228 fps. However, the combination of the performanceof the Hornady XTP Bullet and the accuracy of Black Hillsammunition does the job as I have used it to take several whitetail deer and acougar cleanly. In the 629 Classic, Black Hills'240 .44 Magnum load groups five shots into a most satisfying 1 1/8”.

The 629 Classic really tames thefelt recoil of the .44 Magnum especially when compared to the first firing ofthe 4” Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum a half-century ago. Could any S&W .44ever be worse than that original short-barreled Magnum? We find out next.

22-1) The Smith & Wesson 629 Classic carrieseasily for hunting in this #44

shoulder holster by Idaho Leather.

22-2) One of the finest shooting sixguns evermanufactured by Smith & Wesson

was the 629 MagnaClassic in high polish stainless andlimited to 3000 pieces.

22-3) Both of these 629 Classic .44 Magnums areexceptionally suited for long-range shooting.

The top Classic has long-range sights while theMagnaClassic has Smith & Wesson's

interchangeable sight system. Both wear stocks byHerrett’s.

22-4) Great shooting .44s by Smith & Wesson: 61/2” Model 29, 6” Model 629,

5” Model 629 all with BearHug Skeeter Skelton Stylestocks;

and a 6” Classic 629 with Herrett’s stocks.

Bluestacks mac security and privacy. 22-5) The special edition 629 MagnaClassic featured aninterchangeable front

sight system with all these options.

22-6) Four examples of629s and custom stocks: 5” with Eagle Grips, 6” with

BearHug grips, and apair of 629 Classics stocked by Herrett’s.

22-7) BearHug Skeeter Skelton stocks grace this pairof 629 Classic .44 Magnums.

22-8) Taffin considers the 629 Classic to be one ofthe finest long-range

shooting .44 Magnums he has ever experienced.

22-9) Five shots on the 200-meter silhouette ram usinga 629 Classic.

22-10) What Smith & Wesson did not do, a customsixgunsmith can; a 5” 629

with ivory micarta stocks by BearHug.

22-11) It came along too late for silhouetting,however this 629 Classic .44

Magnum is an excellent long-range sixgun.

22-13) These 629 .44 Magnum sixguns cover mostsixgunning situations: a

7 1/2” for long-range shooting, a 6” for hunting, anda 5” for every day carry.

22-14 The gold beadfront sight on the 629 MagnaClassic is excellent for

long-range shooting.

22-15) Four ways to shoot Smith & Wesson .44Magnums: an 8 3/8” Model 29,

an 8 3/8” Model 629, a 6” 629 Classic, all stocked byBearHug; and the 7 1/2”

629 MagnaClassic with factory stocks.

22-16) Smith and Wesson has never seen fit to issue a5” 629; Jim Stroh tuned,

tightened, and shortened this 629.

22-17) The 4” 629 and 4” Model 29 both make excellentevery day

Perfect Packin’ Pistols. Photo courtesy of TedMcIntyre.

22-18) This Model 629 with PowerPort and a scope is anexceptionally easy

shooting and accurate .44 Magnum.

22-19) One man’s Perfect Packin’ Pistol, the S&WModel 629 Classic 5”

Photo courtesyof Glen Fryxell.

Chapter 21Chapter 23