S&W 629 Questions

[vanbuzen9]

Hi all,

I just got my membership to this site today, great stuff.  Anyway, I am thinking about getting a S&W 629 for deer hunting.  This will be my first revolver, although I do have a 92FS in 9mm, so I'm not totally in the dark with handguns. I was wondering what the slightly used prices are on these, (6.5 inch) , and how well they actually perform on game. You can give me all the numbers and ballistics, but if a 44 won't kill a deer quickly and humanely, I won't give it a second chance. One more thing, I was wondering about the learning curve on getting used to the recoil, how long did it take all you experienced guys to learn how to shoot the heavier recoil of a 44 mag accuratelly?

thanks for the help,
Preston

[catblaster.375]

Welcome to the forum!
I have a 629 Classic 8 3/8". Best handgun ever made PERIOD. To get used to the gun and not starting to flich you can shoot the mild .44 Special. Also another trick I learned to cure yourself from flinching is to put a round in the cylinder and spin it and commence firing at your target. You never know when it is gonna go off. This helps realy well when learning to control flinch. If you are as paroniod as I am about dry firing you can always load the other chambers with snap caps to protect the firing pin. As far as the cartriage itsself, with a adaquete bullet and load and of course a well placed shot it will take any game on the planet- its been done! It is definently the most populer big game handgun cartriage around especially with deer hunters. The 629 is an EXTREMLY accurate revolver. It can also be easily equipped with a scope if you so desire. If you have not hunted big game with a rifle before I suggest you do so before attempting it with the more chalenging pistol. Also once you get your .44 Magnum you will also need to pick up a copy of Dirty Harry I know I did! Hope this helps

[oso45-70]

Welcome Preston--Vanbuzen9,

One thing i might suggest is to start with 44SPL. loads to get used to the 629 and then throw in a few 44 Mags untill you get used ti your S&W.
Some are going to tell you not to because of a cleaning problem in the cylinder sinse the 44SPL is shorter but its easy enough to clean out. The next thing is to dry fire untill you can drop the hammer without moving off your target. Just practice, practice, practice. Again welcome and good luck ..............Joe...........

[Lloyd Smale]

ive use a 4 in. 629 to take deer bear and hogs. Its more then up to the task. You dont even have to push it. The last hog i shot was with a load of 10 grains of power pistol and a 240swcgc bullet. dropped him on the spot and shot right through him. This load clocks under 1000 fps recoil is mild and is very accurate in my gun. I dont run my smiths hot anymore ive had a few rebuilt and to me there to nice of a gun to beat up. I leave the heavy loads to the rugers.

[vanbuzen9]

Thanks for the replies, I here alot about this "S&W can't take the heavy loads".  I will probably only shoot stuff like hornady XTP/Win partition a few times a year, to practice hunting and to go hunting. Is it really true that these guns can't take the abuse of the full power loads? I'm only a college student, but shooting deer with shotguns in MI is getting to "easy".
How much have you guys seen a used 629 go for around your neck of the woods?

thanks,
Preston

[Mikey]

vanbuzen - Welcome to the site.  The S&W 629 can take anything you want to shoot.  S&W reworked their 29/629s a few years ago specifically to handle the hotter loads, and they do it well.  If you have any questions about the capability of your 629, call S&W and ask them.  They won't BS you about that revolver.  

And btw, I have never met the whitetail that a 44 magnum didn't flatten.  You should not have any concerns about the capability of that caliber, only about your ability to use it effectively and that is where practice comes in.  

catblaster and oso45-70 gave you good advice to learn the recoil of the 44 magnum - start with some milder 44 Spl loads and go up from there.  HTH.  Mikey.