HELP I do not want to ruin my new 44 Mag with improper loadings..need expert advice!!

[saturno_v]

As many of you already know last week I bought a used Mod 29-2 revolver with 8 3/8 barrel nickel finish in basically brand new conditions.
I need some advice about the proper loadings. I do not plan to reload myself so only commercial loadings or, potentially, special orders.
I did not buy the gun only for showcasing, I want to get good use out of it but definitely I do not want to damage it. I will soon buy rubber grips for range and "wildlife" use leaving the beautiful original wood ones well protected at home
I heard 2 opposite opinions about S&W model 29. Some guys told me that the older ones like mine (the pinned and recessed) are actually stronger than the new ones and can take heavier loads...they said that there were hotter commercial rounds many years ago from the major ammo manufacturers and now discontinued.

Other folks told me that the newer 29s and 629s are actually stronger than the older ones and they can take more "punishment".

Everyone somewhat agree that the Rugers and Taurus can take hotter loads than the S&W 29 regardless of the Smiths age.

So where is the truth?? I surfed the web for several ammo manufacturers data including the "niche" producers (Corbon, Double Tap, etc..) and so far I found only one brand, Double Tap, that labels specifically one of their 44 Mag 300 gr loading as +P (operating at 40.000 psi) and it warns users to use it only on T/C, Ruger and Taurus guns.

Other Double Tap loadings, even 320 gr hard cast, are labelled as safe use with any 44 Mag revolver in good conditions.

I plan to take a hiking trip in Alaska and bring my Maggie with me as potential grizzly medicine (I know the best defense is avoiding them and you can be assured that I will try my best )
What are the best commerical loadings for such purpose for my Mod 29-2???

I apologize for the long post but I do not want screw things up ruining my gun or worse so I need the expert wisdom on this from the HighRoad bible ....

Thank you!!!!

 

[dogrunner]

I have owned a couple of M/29 variations over the years and currently have one of the very early pinned/recessed 629's. Nice guns and certainly very useful for the practices you intend. I've also played with the .44 mag since the late fifty's and its my impression that those early 240 grain swcs were HOT, certainly the report those early rounds generated was really painful and the recoil seemed a lot sharper. My first use of the ctg was in an original 7.5 Ruger flattop...(wish I still had that one!!) and I carried that gun for three years in Alaska with about the same considerations you've voiced. Thankfully I never had to put that gun to such use. Fell in love with the .44 special tho for potting small game with minimal damage and extreme accuracy. Haven't seen the full bore stuff I loved so much back then on the market in years, doubt if it's still imported, but that was Norma's 240 mag. load pushing a very wide nosed nickle jacketed bullet wherein the jacket covered all but that wide nose......I guess that load was easily as hot as those early Remington swcs, and was probably near 1500 fps.

Anyway, enough of memory lane, I would suggest that you ease into reloading and stick with a good hard cast Keith or Thompson style bullet. RCBS markets a mould that precisely duplicates Keith's original design.......I have one and it drops a bullet that shoots as well as anything I have ever seen. I have little doubt that fully stoked with Keith's old load of 22 grains of 2400 that it'd probably completely penetrate a Grizzly from side to side.....

Still, that super hot stuff is hard on guns and for general use you'd do well to stick to a lighter (hulluva lot more fun to shoot) load.........and don't overlook a box of those old lead .44 specials either. For serious carry, choose a premium bullet and test it for expansion and penetration.....expansion is a great thing but if that bullet doesn't get inside that target then that target is gonna be awfully pissed off!.....Those hard cast lead bullets will penetrate but tend to make rather clean in and outs in my experience.

Far as strength...yes I've also read the commentary on the newer guns being generally stronger.....likely thats so, but truly that 29 of yours will digest any REASONABLE load designed for the cartridge!....Actually what'l likely happen is that after many, many rounds of that super hot stuff it'l start to loosen up. Even then, it'l still work and shoot well. As an example I've an original M/19 that has had way, way over fifty thou thru it. Carried it as a LEO duty gun for nearly thirty years till we transistioned to autoloaders, and while its got some slop front to rear and doesn't lock as tightly as it once did it's STILL more than usable, accurate, and I to this day would stake my life on it. Point is, that Smith was made to be used, do so and enjoy it!.............Nice gun you have there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bendutro]

+1
You've got a nice early P&R 29, why beat the snot out of it? Load reasonably and if you get bored with a 44 magnum, go get a 500 and load it to 60,000 psi. It was built to do that.

 

[saturno_v]

I forgot to mention two things...

1) I do not intend to fire hot stuff all the time!!! Heck I do not intend to use that .44 much at all given the cost of ammo!!!....occasional range use mostly with "run of the mill" regular commercial loads.
What I would like to know is what kind of hot loads for occasional wildlife defense can I safely use without the risk of blowing my revolver off or my hand!!

2) My 29-2 was used VERY little...the mechanics are sooooo tight and nice....I would not be surprised if it went through only a couple of hundred rounds in all its life...

I want to use my wheelgun BUT I want to take VERY good care of it.....

Thank you again folks!!! Keep the good advice coming please!!!!

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Any Factory loaded .44 Magnum ammo will be safe in your M29. Even the "hot" stuff put out by DoubleTap, Buffalo Bore, Grizzly and a few others will be safe. (but possibly hard on your hand)

Like I said, any Factory .44 Magnum ammo will be safe to fire in your M29.

 

[Powderman]

Listen to the advice given. Your M29 is an excellent gun--I have one myself. I load the Keith 250 grain LSWC over 8.5 of Unique for an excellent target/plinking load.

Do NOT hotrod this gun. I would stay away from anything heavier than 240 grains, and use those sparingly. The big .44 is much more pleasant with midrange loads.

Now, for bear medicine, I would suggest that the .44 is on the edge of being undergunned, unless you have some of the real butt stompers in it, such as the Garrett 300 grain Hammerhead.

You want bear power? I would suggest doing as I did--the 4" M500 Smith and Wesson. I just took it to the range, with a load of 42.0 of H110 and a 350 grain JFP. Accurate, firm but bearable recoil--and there is something to be said about a bullet that wide and heavy moving at about 1650-1700 fps.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I haven't shot any of the Garrett rounds so I can't recommend them even though I've heard all good things about them. I can recommend Grizzly Ammo. It's hard hitting and top shelf all the way. I think This 300gr lead gas checked round would probably be best but they also have a 320gr round and several semi-jacketed rounds too.

 

[Wolfeye]

If what you want is anti-bear ammo that won't be too hard on your gun, you might try Federal's 300 gr. castcore. I have been meaning to try it in my father's old 629; judging from its ballistics and from user anecdotes it seems to be on the tame side of hot. One favorite ammo used by model 329 users is Buffalo Bore's 255 gr. keith-style hardcasts. I think Garrett makes hardcast ammo that's lower recoil than their regular Hammerhead, too, but still effective.

 

[Virginian]

Unless you are quite rich, I can't imagine you shooting enough of anything thru it to hurt it.
I shoot 44 Specials at the range 99.99% or the time. Just more fun. As long as you clean it before going back to magnums you are not going to hurt a thing.
I do not think you will hurt it firing any commercial ammo through it, with the exception of ammo that says "Ruger & TC only" for example. Yes a Smith is not as 'TOUGH' as a Ruger, but it is not tender by any means.
I would avoid light bullet hot loads; they will do the same thing to a 44 that the 125 gr magnums do to a 357, IF you shoot a bunch of them.
If you want a safe queen, buy a velvet lined case, but if you want to shoot it, shoot it.
I had a 629 Classic that was as accurate as any center fire handgun I have ever owned. And, with Hogue wood grips it was a real joy to shoot, too. Shoot yours a few times with the original grips and you will quickly see why there are so many sets of pristine S&W grips around.

 

[Jim March]

First...you've got an abnormally long barrel on that thing. Which is good if you're trying to boost bullet speed without big pressure. As one example: Garrett has heavy 44Mag ammo that your gun could digest at least modest diets of, and 44+P that you must avoid at all cost. BUT you're going to shoot their normal stuff at the same speed a 4" barrel gun would shoot the +P at, or damn near anyhow.

So that's a plus.

One thing I know about the model 27, which is basically your gun in 357, is that what will kill it is shooting *light* loads very quickly. The big heavy cylinder has to start/stop rapidly and the action parts quickly take a dump. PPC and other fast-shooters back when that was popular used to prefer K-frame 357s over the big N-frames because when shooting 38Spl target loads rapid fire the K-frames would last longer. Very counter-intuitive but there ya go, it happens sometimes.

Which means yeah, go ahead and load 44spl or light-loaded 44Mag, but don't then get all convulsive on the trigger and spray them out rapid fire a lot, m'kay?

Finally, you're going to really have to ponder holster options for Alaska. Alaska *rains* a lot! You have to protect the thing, yet be able to get to it quickly. Without a backpack this isn't a major problem, use a side-break shoulder holster. But shoulder holsters aren't compatible with backpacks!!! Oops. *Maybe* something from safepacker or maxpedition will work, possibly customized to that monster of a tube .

I think your gun WILL work for an Alaska woods defense role but you're going to have to really ponder holster options.

 

[shooter429]

I'd stick with standard pressure loads of at least 300 grains

Each gun and shooter are unique, so I would try different brands, weights, and styles and see what works best for you then practice with it.

I use mostly Cor Bon and Hornady when I use factory stuff (which is rare)

CB makes a 305 grain Penetrator and a 320, for example.

Take her out, shoot her and have fun. You need to shoot the gun a lot to get good with it. I never worry about wearing them out, because I never have been able to shoot one enough to do so. Just avoid the +P+ stuff and you should be fine.

Shooter429

 

[Gator]

I own several 29-2s. My practice is to shoot only Rem/Win/Fed factory .44 Mag or the equivalent handloads; also .44 Spls (actually, mostly .44 Spls). Usually all 240 gr, but sometimes 200s for light loads. Remember, you have a collectible there, baby it. It you want to shoot heavier loads with bigger bullets, get a Ruger!

The S&W N frame is not really up to lots of .44 mag, it is just not big enough, the N frame is really maxed out with the .41 mag. Keep that in mind and your 29-2 will last a long time.

 

[Majic]

The silhoulette shooters back in the 1970s and 1980s found the limitations in the N-frame. Constantly using the heavy bullets driven at max speeds cause the revolvers to loosen up in short periods of time. Smith came up with the Endurance package to strengthen the revolver somewhat, but the revolver was designed for the .44 spl cartridge and beefed up for the .44 magnum so it has always been as they say behind the 8 ball. Limited use of these hammer loads will shorten the lifespan of your older N-frame. How long your revolver will last before needing repairs is a crap shoot as some have gone many many rounds and some went out in just a few rounds.

 

[Stainz]

Georgia Arms, and others, load new .44 Magnum cases with 200/240gr LRNFP/LSWC and a small amount of propellant - for 'cowboy' shooting - usually .44 Special-level loads - 750-800 fps. Better than .44 Specials because they fill the chamber, rather than leave area between a shorter case and the rim step filled with powder/lead residue - which can slow or prevent a crimp in a hot .44 Magnum case from opening. The resulting pressure spike can cost you a fine firearm - I experimentally proved this. Clean well after Specials & Russians. Get a proper sized 'chamber' brush (bronze - try Brownell's, etc). Enjoy that 29!

Stainz