S&W 629 Questions . . .

[BionicMan]

I'm looking at buying a used S&W 629 and I'm hoping to gather a little info on it . . .

I'm told it's ~20 years old, but in LNIB condition without a mark on it (original box and paperwork included), what would be a fair price?

Do I need to be concerned about regularly running magnum rounds in this pistol? (I've only ever owned Ruger wheel guns, which had no problem with a steady diet of magnum.)

Where would be a good place to source factory .44spl target ammo? I only found a little bit on Sportsman's Guide and Midway.

Any other helpful tidbits about the 629 would be appreciated!

[smoke-wagon]

An exact model number will help when discussing magnum loads. The 29-3 added an endurance package which added the letter E (29-3 E) to better withstand magnum loads. All models after the 29-3 have the endurance package so find out which dash the 629 was during the 29-4 and you'll know if it has the endurance package.

For price we'd have to know if it's pre-lock and original grips etc but they are on the rise. I'd like one myself again but the prices seem to be in the $750+ area.

Hope this helped you.

[Pizza Bob]

Do you have access to the firearm? Because the little bit of info imparted in your post really isn't much to go on.

Actually, if it is the original box, much needed info can be pulled right from the label - post a picture of the label if you can.

If your info is correct and it is truly 20 years old, that should make it a Model 629-4. This would be a pre-lock and pre-MIM gun (if that makes a difference to you) and would have the Endurance package improvements (introduced on the 629-2E) which will enhance its life with heavy use of magnum ammunition.

It would also have the new style rear sight and would be drilled and tapped at the factory (under the rear sight tang) which makes optics or alternate rear sight mounting easy.

Original box/docs & tools enhances its value to a collector, but may not mean much to a shooter - although nice to have a complete package. Value - dependent on condition: $650 to $850.

As for .44 Special ammo - Atlanta Arms & Ammo used to have a reasonably priced offering - hotter than CAS (Cowboy Action Shooting) ammo and with jacketed bullets. But, I was just on their website and while they still have .44 Spl listed, they show no offerings - it would certainly be worth a phone call to them to see if they plan to continue offering .44 Spl ammo - I sure hope so. As an alternative, you can get CAS .44 Spl from numerous suppliers.

Good luck.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

[BionicMan]

Thanks for the info, guys!