Posted: 9/27/2005 4:55:16 AM EDT
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I'm in the market for one and have settled on two possible choices....subtle, but significant enough to warrant some deliberation. I don't see how you can beat a Smith & Wesson. I own a Dan Wesson and absolutely swear by it. However, in a 44, I like the thumb access to the wheel release and thus, the S&W. I like the Hi-Viz sights, although I think for durability's sake, a straight blaze orange ramp would be preferable. I think the stainless is the only way to go on a 44 Mag revolver. I think that a Stainless revolver needs a custom wood Hogue grip. My only hang up is whether to go with a 4" or a 6" barrel. It's gonna kick no matter what, after all it IS a 44 Mag.....but the 6" just seems to balance out nicely. The 8" barrel is too top heavy to enjoy shooting. However the 4" is a great size for keeping the gun in the cab of the truck, which during my northern excursions....is mostly where it'll be residing. So if I had to sum up my ramblings here..... I think the ultimate 44 Mag revolver is the almighty 6" Smith & Wesson 629 Classic with a custom Hogue Wood Grip. And that said, this gun will be the final addition to Hokie's arsenal. After this purchase every red cent will go towards ammo and survival supplies for my house. The great Arfcom arms race is soon to be over for me. Thankfully! That is all. That's my Tuesday morning shpeel..... Now back to your regular scheduled programming. I love coffee. 
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I'm also a 44 Mag fan. I would prefer the Dan Wesson. The forward cylindar latch doesn't bother me, and it is stronger. You can adjust the cylinder/forcing cone gap, which I like. You can change barrels, so that the barrel length is not really an issue, because you can put in what you want. They are very accurate, and strong enough for hot loads with heavy bullets, which I like to shoot. I even like the 445 SuperMag better, because you can go even hotter with heavy bullets. I used to load 300gr Hornady bullets to almost 1600fps in my 445 SM DW. Then, next I like the Ruger Redhawk. This is because it has a longer cylinder length than the S&W, so you can load the 300gr Hornady bullets to the rear cannelure, and still fit into the cylinder. This gives room for about 5gr more powder capacity. I was getting nearly 1400fps with 300gr bullets from my 7.5" Redhawk. Not quite as accurate as the DW, but still good enough. Then, I like the S&W, because it works well with factory loads, and looks really good, and shoots accurately. IMO, you need at least a 6" barrel to get what you paid for in a 44 magnum. When you use less barrel than that, you lose alot of what the cartridge can do. It needs at least 6" to make it worth having the magnum. Of course, that's just my opinion, but the velocity numbers do bear that out. I think the 44 magnum revolver is about the best thing in the revolver category, and it is so versatile. From 44 Spl defense loads all the way up to bear killers, it is one hell of a gun. |
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I realy enjoyed my Horton modded S&W 3" round butt model 29 (real blued 29). It was small enough to carry concealed, had a round butt with walnut grips, orange ramp front sight and it had the best double action trigger pull of anything I've ever shot, auto's included. Sold it to a friend of mine and I hope to get it back sometime. I miss it. I carried it as a primary CCW for a while. |
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I have a scoped DW .44 for whitetail, a couple of SA .44s, and I've had a Colt Anaconda and a couple of Rugers... ... but my very favorite .44 - and my choice, could I keep but one - is my bone-stock 6.5" S&W 629 Classic.  Once again, you have shown your excellent taste (and once again, I see that we think alike on many such things  ).I predict you will enjoy it greatly! I don't have a picture of mine by itself, but here it is with its (non-.44) S&W brethren (bottom-right):  I find the OEM Hogue rubber grips very comfortable, but the wood Hogues are very nice too. (BTW, it is 6.5", not 6" - unless they have changed.) |
I would go with a 6" bbl. It's not THAT long and accuracy will not suffer at all. That's why I also like the DW's, they're so versatile. Hence my screen name 
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Hmm, well I DO own one Dan Wesson already...and I love it.
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Sounds like somebody just saved some money for more ammo...... 
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DAMN....that's nice. Give it to me. |
whatcha got 
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My wheels are turning....hmm..... |
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I love a good 6" 29, but if stainless is the desired material, then a 629 is the way to go. I have had 8", 6", and 4", and my opinion is the 6" is the best compromise of handling and shooting comfort. The 8" was a dream to shoot, but kind of unwieldy. The 4" was brutal, in my opinion. |
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I have had Dan Wessons since the early 1980's and love them, only bad thing they keep going out of businesss. I have a 629 6.5"classic powerport like HardShell & twonami it is the cats meow it points well and I shoot it well. I actually like it better than the 5" 629, but not better than the 29 mountain gun! Also I had a hard time finding a holster for a 6.5" gun. I chucked the Houge rubber grip and installed a rounded butt wood factory grip like on the hunter model you should consider it also. I will post pic's later. |
Warhawk, I agree. That Mountain Gun is one nice firearm, very nice. Blake |
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I like the Mountain Guns except for the trashy laser engraving and the gold enlaid crap. I have a 29-3 sitting here at home and if I ever come across a new condition 24-3 barrel I'm gonna grab it and have it installed on my 29-3. Will be essentially the same thing as a Mountain Gun but it will be a traditional styled gun with none of the recent S&W "Type R" nonsense. |
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I have a S&W 629 mountain gun (4", no full underlug), and it's great. Small and light enough to conceal easily, but not so light that you can't get 6 hot magnums out in a jiffy (60 is another matter...). If I had to pick 1 handgun for SHTF, that would be it. I shot a 329PD (Scandium/Titanium) last weekend, and it is damned peppy! It's the same size as my mountain gun but only about 2/3 of the weight. With moderate magnums, it fell like hot magnums in the mountain gun. It would be a freaking dream to carry, but it would be a challenge not to flinch with hot mag loads. |
That is a nice gun, is it a later model or an earlier model of the "Mountain Gun"? Reason I ask, is that near every single Mountain Gun I have ever seen, regardless of if it was one of the M25 or M29 versions, had some kind of nasty laser engraving on the side of the barrel. If I came across a blued M29 "Mountain Gun" that didn't have the stupid laser engraving, I would buy it. But I have yet to come across one like that. |
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That ones mine, it's a first edition Mountain Gun. I've seen several others, but all have been later versions with the laser markings. A few posts up are pics of all three of my S&W .44s. The two 4 inchers have rollmarks, the 6.5 inch Classic is laser engraved. There is good and bad in that, the laser engraving started about the same time as the beefed up lockwork, which is easy to spot by the longer bolt cuts on the cylinder. |
Kinda partial to the Colt Anaconda myself. Although I own many S&W wheelguns, the Anaconda holds a special place in my heart as I've killed countless bowling pins and a few whitetail with it. The Aimpoint has been replaced with a Loopie variable 2x7. Nowhere near as fast as the aimpoint, but that dot sight sucked in low light, it had to go.
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