M-29 3"

[salvadore]

Has anyone had any experience with a S&W model 29 3"? Noisy? Probably. Controlability, etc?

[nickv]

I recently aquired a 3" 29. It's a handful to be sure and disconcerting to the people shooting on either side of you at the range, but I was amazed at how managable it was with Speer's new 200 grain GDHP .44 mag for short barrels. I could shoot that stuff all day long if it wasn't so expensive.

[salvadore]

Thanks for the reply. Have you shot any 250 gr full house thru it, or even medium loads, say 1100 fps?

[The Tourist]

I owned one of the SW factory models. It was not a Lew Horton. In fact, I believe it was listed as a 2 1/2 inch barrel. Mine had the round, wooden grips.

It was manufactured to clearly better standards than the previous "Bangor Punta" models, but not as nicely polished as the subsequent batch of 624's.

As you can imagine, it was a handful with factory loads. But I'm a reloader, and I loaded it down--way down.

Frankly, I didn't like the way handled or it hit. It was very frustrating.

Now this might sound odd, but I finally considered it a colossal mistake. The guy who became my best man always admired the little gun. One day in desperation I handed him the revolver and said, "Here, pal, it's your problem now."

He was gleeful.

However, about one month later he comes to see me and hands me 500 dollars in cash. I was pleased, but obviously confused.

He stated, "When you owned that little 629 I really wanted it--I mean I really wanted it. Then I had to shoot it and live with it."

He laughed, "Then I was shooting it at my local range and a guy came up to me, gushing about how this little gun was 'the one that got away.' I told him that if he could get 500 bucks together, it was his. He flew to an ATM. I mean he was back before I got my stuff packed..."

[Unbreakable]

I wonder about the ported trail boss. Looks like a sleek weapon but I've never been a fan of ports. I want a 629 3" real bad as well. I know recoil will be huge but I don't care... it's a 44.

[salvadore]

Thanks for that insight TT, I own and shoot a model 396 in .44 spec. shooting 180 cast at about 1000fps, and it is a handful. If I could get the M-29 to shoot 250gr. @1000fps or a little more without anymore tissue/ bone damage I would feel safer in the bear roaming areas I fish in.

[RevolverRO]

For two years I owned a 3" M29-3. I handloded for it and shot either a 'classic Skelton' load in .44 Special--7.5 gr of Unique (or Universal Clays) behind a 250 Keith cast bullet, or the full-power load, 23.5 gr of H110 behind a Hornady 240 XTP. The XTP load clocked over 1300 fps and is the same load I shoot in my Ruger 44 carbine.

While it is certainly a handful, it was by no means punishing or uncontrollable. I wouldn't ever advise shooting it from a benchrest or a sandbag, but offhand, weaver-stance it shot excellently. Two-inch groups at 25 yards, with four shots in one ragged quarter-sized hole.

I have used this load in revolver and rifle for hunting wild boar in N. Florida and it performed admirably., a through-and through shot through the heart in one piggy, and a head shot on another.

The same load in the Ruger carbine has taken a ten-point buck; unfortunately, the bullet was not recovered. It destroyed the spinal vertabrae just above the shoulder and exited for parts unknown.

[funon1]

Noisy, with full tilt loads, yes, but all hot .44s are. The 3" Is well balanced and just as easy to shoot as the 4", I think. Nice gun. Hard to go wrong.

Funon1

[salvadore]

Just out of curiosity, what would be a fair price on a new lew horton 3" m-29?

[nickv]

I am not sure there is a "fair" price for one of the new Lew Horton 29s. The cheapest I have seen a blued one is $1,160.00.

A real bargain is the Model 29 Bounty Hunters. They are a 3" and they have an awesome beadblasted finish and come with Pachs. They are available NIB on GunBroker for $581.00 (+ shipping, transfer fees etc..). The only drawback (and it's a considerable one) is that they have Bounty Hunter laser engraved on the right side of the barrel, which is pretty lame.

[Mosin44az]

I have a 629 Trail Boss with the 3-inch ported barrel. Like it. It's more compact than my old Mountain Gun and not much harder to shoot. A bit stiff with Winchester white box 240 JSPs, but I am recoil-sensitive.

[44 Deerslayer]

Nice guns. My 629 Trail Boss is fun to shoot, I've never shot it without earmuffs since the blast from the short barrel is worse than the recoil. I can actually carry this little gun concealed. It's heavy though.

[salvadore]

Nicky, I have a chance for one under $800, I guess if I want it I better get it huh?

[nickv]

$800 for a Lew Horton Lmtd Edition 29 is less then wholesale, can't beat that.

[DMZX]

I have an old Lew Horton 3" M29-3. While, like others have stated, it is a handful to shoot with full power loads, it is one of my favorite revolvers. Very nice trigger, very accurate, well balanced for a large framed gun.

I think if one was to own and enjoy such a gun, one must reload. You can develop loads for it that are pleasant to shoot, but are some where between a .44 Spl and a full house .44 Mag. I roll some great loads using 200 gr XTP's and either Tite Group or Unique.

[MikeS.]

Who is Lew Horton?

I have the M29 6" but I don't that it has any special name.

[salvadore]

DMZK, there are gun people that don't reload?

[TecRsq]

Who is Lew Horton?

I have the M29 6" but I don't that it has any special name.

He owns a distributor company that sells niche firearms and is a cult favorite with the big bore - snub nosed S&W crowd, I know this because I am one of those big bore - snub nosed fanatics.

The S&W big bore's he sold were special run revolvers and they were 1 in 500, 1 in 1000, 1 in 3000 and they were found in the large caliber N Frames.

I only have 2 at the present time but have owned more than a dozen of them over the last 21 years.

I have also regretted selling every one of them and refuse to part with the ones that are left.

They always fetch a fairly high price and are quality revolvers.

One of mine is a stock Lew Horton and the other was sent to Mag-Na-Port for a full on custom makeover.

They balance very nicely and are an absolute joy to shoot.

http://www.lewhorton.com/

[44 AMP]

It might have been a Lew Horton gun, I don't remember anymore. Round butt, fairly mellow with his loads, but vicious with my full house rounds. What amazed me the most was the torque. I expected the recoil, and the heavy blast, but the gun torqued so much in my hands as to lay over sideways. I mean nearly a full 90 degrees! The load was a 240gr JHP and about 22gr of 2400 (which was my regular full hose load in those days). His loads were a 240 SWC over some 4-digit powder I no longer remember (4759? maybe?) They were fairly stout, but nothing more. The hot loads were not fun (ok, the first one was, but after that, no) we shot 12 and quit due to sore wrists and hands. I do not recommend this.

Personally, I can only see a 3" .44 Mag as a pack gun, because shooting full loads is neither fun, nor as effective as a longer barreled gun. If you want something like this to CCW, I think you would be better off with a .44 SPL, or a .45ACP, or .45Colt. You won't get everything out of even these rounds with the short barrel, so that is a wash, and you can avoid the temptation to shoot rounds that can damage your wrist.

[YukonKid]

I shot a 3 inch that was ported and it was a heck of a lot of fun, lots of flash and bang. My 4 inch when stoked with some heavy stuff can be quite the handful, which is half the fun. I would recommend for a packing gun only though. Not terribly accurate and rather large to CC

YK

[Jim Z.]

Here is my Lew Horton. Shoots great. Stout recoil with full power loads. These factoiry stocks beleive it or not mqake the gun very controlable. I carry it concealed as well as a woods gun. Different loads of course.



I like it.

[Stoney]

Jim Z. Put some Combats on her for even better control.

[Stoney]

Besides the 29-10 posted above, I also have a Lew Horton 29-3, great flame throwers both. My advice, wear gloves and they can be controlled.

[BADSBSNF81]

I've had one for over 20 years. It's a twin to the one above. For me, the combat grips and full house loads were a no go. There was the smallest gap between the grip and frame that caused blood blisters. Once I put on Pachmayr Presentation Compaqs it was much better. Favorite factory load was 175g Silvertips. Someone once told me that it "conveyed the illusion of concealability".

[Tamara]

I like my 3" 629.

Originally Posted by MikeS.

Who is Lew Horton?

One of the larger distributors of S&W handguns. Like other larger distributors like Camfour, RSR, Ellet Brothers, and TALO, they will frequently have special runs of revolvers done exclusively for them in a given catalog year, with a distinguishing feature such as a non-standard barrel length or finish. For whatever reason, Lew Horton has become the best known of these among the casual Smith collector population.