S&W Model 29 ????

[1911crazy]

For the guys who shoot there's  how many rounds do you have thru it with no repairs??
By what number of rounds did it need to be reworked?  What repair did it need?
I know it depends on what we shoot in it too.  Wether its standard magnum loads or stout magnum loads.  Or 44 special loads.  So what loads do you shoot if it needed repairs?
Some guys say by 100,000rds the m29 will need reworking and some say no work is needed.  I know its the number of rounds that are fired and the load too that will determine if it needs work or not.   I'm new to S&W revolvers and i'm looking to what to expect from them.

[Ladobe]

Can only offer that the several I owned in the 60's to 80's were used "alot" for competition and for hunting, I put a lot of rounds through them and never had to repair them.   No idea how many rounds, but I shot more weekends than not and during the week one or two times often.   And I shot stout loads in them more often than not.   Nor did any 29's come into the gun shop for repairs when I was a smith, just some to be re blued or have embellishments added.   Same with all the other S&W revolvers I've owned.    Except for a favored Model 19 6" I shot the daylights out of and the Kit Guns, none saw as many rounds fired as the 29's did though.   The 19 was considered a weak link by some folks as a 357MAG, but I never wore mine out and never had any issues with it despite shooting truck loads of bullets not recommended in it.
 
That was then, now is now though, so I can't speak for the newer S&W's.  With some makers new and improved is not.
 
 

[m-g Willy]

29-2 OVER 1000 LOADS OF 22 gr. of 2400 with a 240gr jhp.
And over 5000 rounds of  8.5 gr.unique with 240 swc.
No problems yet!
 

[.22-5-40]

Hello, 1911crazy.  Not a Mod. 29, but a Mod. 57, .41 mag..but still a N frame.  I used to use this in IHMSA silhouette in the early 1980's..won a few state championships with it.   Now for the chickens  & pigs , I used the Lyman 220gr. 410429.  For the turkeys & rams, I had to go to a 210gr. jacketed for better accuracy.  I figured with practice & match loads..cast bullets only..I had put over 2 1/2 TONS of lead thru that revolver!  This isn't counting the jacketed bullet loads.  My lead load was 18.5gr. H110, the jacket load was 20gr. H110.  All the loads I ever fired in this bought new revolver were handloads..until a friend let me shoot 5 commercial Win. jacketed loads thru it...they had alot more recoil & muzzle blast than my own handloads. 
   After putting all these loads thru it, I began to notice a slight movement in cyl. after firing the jacketed loads..the cyl. was jumping the locking bolt.  We tried stiffer bolt springs..but the cyl. would still ocasionally "float"..but only with jac. loads..never with lead. 
I haven't shot IHMSA in nearly 30 years..still have revolver though..In future, if I do use it again, I will stick with the lead loads..plenty powerful enough for whatever I need.

[mcwoodduck]

I bought a used Model 29 in 1992.
It is a 6" model and have fed it a steady diet of
Factory 240 grain Soft points,
Factory 180 grain soft and hollow points
factory 200 grain Specials (till Rem Stopped making them)
And a good amount of 180 grain light mags.
I really like mine.  My guess is somewhere north of 12,000 rounds since I bought it.  Who knows what was put through it from 1980 to 1992.
A few months ago we were out shooting and I let someone at the range shoot it after I had.  He commeneted that the trigger was gritty.  I snapped off a couple rounds and agreed  I took it home and cleaned the gun.  Took the side plate off and the trigger post was detached from the frame.
I just moved so it is now headed back to Smith to be fixed.
The lesson I learned was don't let any one at the range shoot your 29.  Get one shoot it and keep shooting it.

[Drilling Man]

  I bought both of my 29's in the 70's, one i practiced and hunted with, the other i practiced and shot competition with.
 
  I have no idea how many thousands of rounds i put through them, but my load then and now is 23.0 H110, CCI350 primer with my hard cast RCBS 250KT bullet than i cast.
 
  No repairs to date....
 
  DM

[P.A. Myers]

I've had several 29s and 629s shot them a lot, thousands and thousands. One 629 did
develop some cylinder end-play. Not too bad, easily fixed. I had a 27 break that trigger
post. N-frame smiths are generally the best production guns ever.

BTW, 22 grains of 2400 is a very stout load. Fabulous at night.

                  P.A.