This past Saturday I used my S&W 629-4 (.44 mag shooting my .44 special reloads) in a 900-point bullseye (NRA outdoor pistol) competition and posted a 784 - significantly higher than my previous high of 757 using a 686-4 .357 mag shooting .38 specials. The .44 is a Classic DX with a 6-1/2" barrel and is heavy, but handles my 225 gr. LRNFPs pushed by 4.25 grains of Titegroup with ease and not much recoil. The trigger is bone stock and heavy, but very smooth. Slow fire was shot SA, all timed and rapid fire shooting was DA. I used iron sights and averaged 79.7 in slow fire and 90.8 in timed/rapid fire. My high round in slow fire was 85, in timed/rapid it was 95 (don't remember which).
Looking back at the match, I actually had a decent shot at an 800 (which would have been my first ever with any caliber) but was late with one round in rapid fire (still posting an 84 in that round) and threw two shots into the five ring on my last round of slow fire. I had no idea going into the match that this gun would be so good for me - I've shot many matches of centerfire with a variety of revolvers ranging from .22LR to .45ACP but had never reached higher than 757 prior to this.
