S&W Performance Center 629 Hunter - Thoughts and Questions

Rich Miranda · April 11, 2010, 02:44 AM

Most of you know that I am a Ruger guy: I only own Ruger handguns. But I have been toying with the thought of buying a 629 that my friend offered to me. Then, this past week, I made a fateful decision to stop by the gun shop since I got off early one day last week.

I ran into a stainless S&W Performance Center 629-4. It has the slab-side barrel, similar to the one shown below. Needless to say, I fell instantly in love. The action and build quality seemed superb. The fit and finish seemed really, really wonderful. It was pretty darn hefty and it is definitely intimidating.... exactly what I was looking for.

My next "planned" gun purchase was supposed to be a 6-inch GP100, but now my heart is set on the PC .44 Mag. But, since the S&W is $1395, I can get almost THREE GP100s for the price of the S&W!

Some questions:

Do you feel the PC guns are worth the extra money?
Does the heavier barrel help much with recoil?
Is .44 Magnum sufficient for hog hunting?
What does the -4 (in 629-4) signify?
Am I cheating on Ruger if I buy a S&W?

Seriously, please give me your thoughts. I guess I'm trying to work through the thought process on this purchase, as this will be my most expensive gun purchase ever.

Thanks!

Rich

10-96 · April 11, 2010, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Do you feel the PC guns are worth the extra money?
Does the heavier barrel help much with recoil?
Is .44 Magnum sufficient for hog hunting?
What does the -4 (in 629-4) signify?
Am I cheating on Ruger if I buy a S&W?

First question... I can only answer that from my point of veiw. I'm not a rich feller and I've eaten more pots of pintos out of need than want. So, $1350 is a hefty hunk of change for a revolver that wont do anything more than a properly tended to & tuned basic 29 can be made to do. That's up to you.

Well, yeah, in a round about kinda way. The total weight of the bbl ADDED to the rest of the revovler is a good thing- the more the better. Remeber that old crazy law about "for every action there is an equal and oposite reaction"... So the more weight your firearm has- the better it absorbs, hides, negates, (whatever the word is) the effect of the bullet weight leaving the firearm in a big hurry.

Yessir, it'll do fine if you do your part and get close enough for an accurately placed shot.

The -4 is the pistols series. Just about all S&W revolvers have dashes and they signifies changes to the model that were incorporated by S&W. So, your -4 has something about it somewhere that is different in appearance, production, or feature from a -3.

Are you cheating Ruger? It's not like the honorable Bill Ruger will return from the beyond and ask for alimoney or child support. It's OK to broaden your experience with different manufacturers. Once was the time that a very well rounded education and experience base was greatly admired. Life's too short to run through it with blinders on.

Webleymkv · April 11, 2010, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Do you feel the PC guns are worth the extra money?

That's really a matter of individual preference. What you're paying extra for with a PC gun is mainly labor as there is much more hand-fitting involved in a PC model. The only way to answer this question is to examine a non-PC gun and decide for yourself.

Quote:

Does the heavier barrel help much with recoil?

The point of the heavy barrel is to add weight because the heavier the gun is, the less felt recoil it will have. How much it helps depends on what you're comparing it to.

Quote:

Is .44 Magnum sufficient for hog hunting?

As long as you do your part and remember your limitations, yes.

Quote:

What does the -4 (in 629-4) signify?

This means the fourth engineering change to the 629 model. These changes are typically very subtle and most people don't even notice them unless they're specifically looking for them. The current production 629 is the 629-6. As far as I can tell the most important differences between a 629-4 and newer models are that it will have forged rather than MIM internal parts (MIM is a cost cutting measure rather than functional improvement) and will not have the internal lock (also not important unless you plan on leaving your gun around unsecured).

Quote:

Am I cheating on Ruger if I buy a S&W?

There's nothing wrong with trying something different to broaden your horizons. I personally prefer S&W revolvers, but I've come to that conclusion through owning S&W, Ruger, Taurus, Colt, and H&R revolvers too. I promise your Rugers won't divorce you if you buy a S&W.

Cool_Hand · April 11, 2010, 03:57 PM

I always though of the performance center guns as competitive shooters, I agree a 629 or regular model 29 will do you just fine. Heck your into rugers, go with a redhawk (I think super redhawks are ugly as sin).

Sturm&Rugerfan · April 11, 2010, 06:49 PM

http://www.snakeriverarms.com/produc...=10181&catid=2
the s/w 629 performance hunter plus
http://www.snakeriverarms.com/produc...=10136&catid=2
ruger super blackhawk bisley

I had a dan wesson 44 norwich with a 10in barrel very nice.

Stinger78 · April 12, 2010, 09:53 AM

Look on gunbroker.com and gunsamerica.com, as you'll be able to find this gun and ones very similar for cheaper than the price you posted. I have a PC 629-6 very similar to the pic you posted only mine has removeable weights in the barrel. Its awesome I love it. I think there is one just like mine (kinda hard to find) on gunsamerica.com right now for around $1150 NIB. There is another thread a page or so back on here about the PC Stealth Hunter where I posted a pic of mine as did someone else

Rich Miranda · April 12, 2010, 07:09 PM

Thanks all, for the replies. I went ahead and put the PC 629 on my to buy list, but I'm not going to get it now. I just can't justify it, especially since I'll be buying a $1500 safe soon. The safe has to come first, for obvious reasons.

But I am definitely decided to get the gun, and it will likely be my first Smith.

Thanks again.

hardluk1 · April 13, 2010, 10:46 AM

You have made up your mind i see. I would still buy the ruger you want and then find a good used Dan Wesson 44 heavy barrel and have enough money left over to pay for a nice scope and mount too. It will shoot at least as good as the s&w custom will do ,probable better.

biohazurd · April 13, 2010, 03:11 PM

In my opinion 1000+ dollars is just way to much for any handgun. And yeah id rather buy a few gp100s or a redhawk instead of that. That sure is a beastly looking thing though.

awdeity · April 13, 2010, 03:40 PM

I have a GP 100 and I have the gun you want to buy. It is worth every extra penny. The fit and finish are awesome, and the single action trigger pull is amazing. It is pleasant to shoot with full power loads with the magnaporting.

I love my GP100 and I would really only sell it to buy a Colt Trooper, it's a great, stylish gun!

April 11, 2010, 02:44 AM	#1
Rich Miranda Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2008 Location: San Antonio, not San Antone... Posts: 1,203	S&W Performance Center 629 Hunter - Thoughts and Questions Most of you know that I am a Ruger guy: I only own Ruger handguns. But I have been toying with the thought of buying a 629 that my friend offered to me. Then, this past week, I made a fateful decision to stop by the gun shop since I got off early one day last week. I ran into a stainless S&W Performance Center 629-4. It has the slab-side barrel, similar to the one shown below. Needless to say, I fell instantly in love. The action and build quality seemed superb. The fit and finish seemed really, really wonderful. It was pretty darn hefty and it is definitely intimidating.... exactly what I was looking for. My next "planned" gun purchase was supposed to be a 6-inch GP100, but now my heart is set on the PC .44 Mag. But, since the S&W is $1395, I can get almost THREE GP100s for the price of the S&W! Some questions: Do you feel the PC guns are worth the extra money? Does the heavier barrel help much with recoil? Is .44 Magnum sufficient for hog hunting? What does the -4 (in 629-4) signify? Am I cheating on Ruger if I buy a S&W? Seriously, please give me your thoughts. I guess I'm trying to work through the thought process on this purchase, as this will be my most expensive gun purchase ever. Thanks! Rich __________________ Read this!: I collect .38 Special and .357 Mag cartridges and I will PAY CASH for the headstamps I don't already have! Please PM me. Please donate blood, plasma, and platelets - people's lives literally depend on it.

April 11, 2010, 06:49 PM	#5
Sturm&Rugerfan Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2005 Location: Presto PA Posts: 148	44 mag revolver wishlist http://www.snakeriverarms.com/produc...=10181&catid=2 the s/w 629 performance hunter plus http://www.snakeriverarms.com/produc...=10136&catid=2 ruger super blackhawk bisley I had a dan wesson 44 norwich with a 10in barrel very nice.

April 12, 2010, 07:09 PM	#7
Rich Miranda Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2008 Location: San Antonio, not San Antone... Posts: 1,203	Thanks all, for the replies. I went ahead and put the PC 629 on my to buy list, but I'm not going to get it now. I just can't justify it, especially since I'll be buying a $1500 safe soon. The safe has to come first, for obvious reasons. But I am definitely decided to get the gun, and it will likely be my first Smith. Thanks again. __________________ Read this!: I collect .38 Special and .357 Mag cartridges and I will PAY CASH for the headstamps I don't already have! Please PM me. Please donate blood, plasma, and platelets - people's lives literally depend on it.

April 11, 2010, 03:57 PM	#4
Cool_Hand Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2010 Posts: 373	I always though of the performance center guns as competitive shooters, I agree a 629 or regular model 29 will do you just fine. Heck your into rugers, go with a redhawk (I think super redhawks are ugly as sin).

April 12, 2010, 09:53 AM	#6
Stinger78 Member Join Date: March 21, 2009 Posts: 24	Look on gunbroker.com and gunsamerica.com, as you'll be able to find this gun and ones very similar for cheaper than the price you posted. I have a PC 629-6 very similar to the pic you posted only mine has removeable weights in the barrel. Its awesome I love it. I think there is one just like mine (kinda hard to find) on gunsamerica.com right now for around $1150 NIB. There is another thread a page or so back on here about the PC Stealth Hunter where I posted a pic of mine as did someone else

April 13, 2010, 10:46 AM	#8
hardluk1 Junior member Join Date: March 27, 2009 Posts: 600	You have made up your mind i see. I would still buy the ruger you want and then find a good used Dan Wesson 44 heavy barrel and have enough money left over to pay for a nice scope and mount too. It will shoot at least as good as the s&w custom will do ,probable better.

April 13, 2010, 03:11 PM	#9
biohazurd Senior Member Join Date: March 29, 2009 Posts: 340	In my opinion 1000+ dollars is just way to much for any handgun. And yeah id rather buy a few gp100s or a redhawk instead of that. That sure is a beastly looking thing though.

April 13, 2010, 03:40 PM	#10
awdeity Member Join Date: January 26, 2009 Location: North Central IL Posts: 48	I have a GP 100 and I have the gun you want to buy. It is worth every extra penny. The fit and finish are awesome, and the single action trigger pull is amazing. It is pleasant to shoot with full power loads with the magnaporting. I love my GP100 and I would really only sell it to buy a Colt Trooper, it's a great, stylish gun!