50 years of the Smith & Wesson .44 Mag.: it's hard to believe, but the gun that started it all is no more

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2005 by John Taffin

By 1982 the pinned barrel and recessed cylinders were gone. Until the arrival of 29-3, a small pin could be seen forward of the cylinder at the top of the frame, which served to hold the barrel solidly locked into place, and the backs of the cylinders were recessed to accept the cartridge case heads.

Fixin' What's Broke

During the 1980s, Smith & Wesson revolver manufacturing changed radically. For years shooters had been complaining about the failure of the .44 Magnum Model 29 to stand up to heavy use, a problem which became more widespread as more shooters used them for silhouetting and hunting. When Elmer Keith first reported on the .44 Magnum he said he had fired 600 rounds the first year. That is only 12 per week. As hunting and long range silhouetting became more popular, sixgunners started shooting hundreds of practice rounds per day and the problems accelerated. Smith & Wesson had a choice, either to pretend problems did not exist as seemingly the official policy had been for years, or fix it. Fortunately the new management decided to fix it. Once this decision was made, they faced two more choices. Do they beef up the traditional design or scrap it and come up with a new design? They chose to fix the interior of the Model 29, strengthening parts and paying special attention to the problem of the cylinder unlocking when fired.

From 1987 to 1990 and through models 29-3, 29-3E, 29-4, and 29-5, the Endurance Package was phased in. Interior parts were fitted tightly to prevent them banging against each other under recoil, studs were radiused, a new yoke retention system was engineered, a bolt block was installed, and the cylinder locking bolts were cut longer. Problems, especially that of the cylinder unlocking and rotating backwards when the gun was fired, were solved but shooters must realize that the Model 29 remains basically a 1907 design and should be treated as a thoroughbred

New .44 Magnums Appear

In 1983 a special Silhouette Model was introduced with a 10 3/8" barrel and a front sight that could be set for four different shooting distances. This was the only Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum I ever had that allowed the cylinder to unlock and rotate backwards. I traded it off for a 4" gun and I wish I had it back. In the late 1980s, the Classic Models began to appear with the addition of heavy underlug barrels to help reduce felt recoil.

In 1994 the 29-6 was fitted with Hogue rubber grips and the top strap under the rear sight assembly was drilled and tapped for scope mounts. Round butts arrived in 1995, MIM triggers came in 1996, and, with the 29-7 in 1998, the firing pin was moved from the hammer to the frame. The old original, truly classic Model 29 was gone and in January of 1999 the Model 29 was officially dropped from production.

The stainless steel Model 629 arrived in 1979 and basically went through the same changes at the same times as the Model 29. In 1990. Smith & Wesson produced a special run of 7 1/2" Model 629 Magna Classics in a highly polished stainless steel with interchangeable front sights and the barrels marked "1 of 3000". These sixguns do not have the classic look of the original Model 29 and Model 629 but they certainly are excellent shooters. I keep mine set up with the gold-bead-post front sight and sighted in for 100 yards. It is almost exclusively used with BRP 295-grain SWCGC cast bullets at 1,350 fps using 21.5 grains of HI10 or WW296.