S&W 329PD as trail gun
This thread is rather old so perhaps the issue has been settled. I offer my experience in the event someone might find it useful.
I have backpacked the Colorado Rockies since 1971, and the Idaho backcountry since 1990. In 1996 I hurt myself and was advised to lighten my trail load which, at the time was about 75 lbs. The first thing to go was my Marlin .45-70.
I had long avoided the .44 Magnum because of the blast and recoil. Up to then, the most potent cartridge I carried was a .357 Magnum Ruger GP100.
My first .44 Magnum was a Colt Anaconda, which would still be my first choice if it weren’t for the weight. Keeping in mind that how a gun works in a person’s hands is an individual thing, nothing has ever worked better for me than the Anaconda.
To go even lighter I got a 629 Mountain Gun. It exemplifies the issue when choosing a smaller gun for that powerful cartridge. One must learn how to shoot it, and most of the people who claim they know, are liars. I advise finding a successful .44 Magnum handgun hunter, an older person who has taken deer with one for years.
As former military and law enforcement, I was taught to rigidly control the gun. That works fine for human-intended cartridges from 9mm and .38 Special to .357 Magnum, .45 ACP and .40 S&W. Rapid, precise follow-up shots can be critical to survival, so keeping or getting back on a small part of a target is critical. Even the .357-Sig in the Sig Sauer 239 is accurately controllable that way.
My first range session with the 629 was a disaster and I questioned why I had wasted the money. Luckily for me, an experienced handgun hunter was in the next bay and expressed interest in shooting the 629. First time, he put all 6 rounds into a three-inch circle, off hand at 30 feet in about 20 seconds, double-action. Clearly, I had something to learn.
The single most important thing was not to try holding the gun rigidly. With each shot he allowed his arm to swing up with the recoil, even out of his support hand. This let his larger arm and shoulder muscles act like bungee cords instead of recoil pads. I adopted this immediately and can tell you it has served to allow me to shoot even my Hamilton Bowen-built Ruger Redhawk in .500 Linebaugh. Try to hold THAT gun rigidly and you will wind up in the emergency room. Let it fly, and I can fire up to 12 rounds in a session.
Back to backpacking. As I continued to age I needed to lighten my trail load further. I am now down to about 60 lbs. That required replacing sleeping bag and tent, eliminating fresh food, my flask of booze, and further downsizing my trail gun. BTW, I had a Ruger Redhawk with six-inch barrel. Very nice gun. I highly recommend it, and it can be had for a lot less than the S&W 629, 29 or 329PD. Still, too heavy for me, if there was an alternative. Enter the 329PD.
Take everything I said about handling the 629 and magnify it for the 329. First, do NOT try the wood grips. I think of them as strictly for show. Put on the rubber ones. I felt I needed capability in full darkness and put on Crimson Trace Hog Hunter LaserGrips. In two words of advice to you: Do it! I adjusted point of aim for 30 feet, and the big rubber padding really protects my hand.
Step two was MagnaPort. Again, in two words: Do it! They put four trapezoidal ports in the barrel. The recoil reduction is small, but every bit is worth it.
Ammo: Before I bought my 329PD I called S&W and pointedly asked if it could handle and survive the Garrett 305-grain Hammer Head cartridges. They said the gun would handle and survive those just fine, as well as any other SAMI-spec hunting load. You should fire these first in an iron gun to prepare yourself for what will happen in the baby-weight 329PD. Start your practice wearing gloves designed to pad your hands. There are now shooting gloves made just for this, but I started with bicycle-riding gloves. They work fine, so find which are cheaper. Let the gun rise up, as described above. In short order you should find yourself able to shoot with reasonable rapidity, all six rounds without hurting yourself. Do it wrong, and your hand will bleed and the bones of your hand and wrist will hurt, heralding long-term real problems if you keep it up. Ask John Taffin or Duke Venturino.
The 329PD is not the gun I take to the range for fun. When I run into egomaniac macho shooters I’ll bring it with the Garretts or my own similar handloads (much cheaper to shoot). No such idiot has fired more than three. BTW, if you use anyone’s handloads, be SURE they are heavily crimped because the bullets WILL creep forward, protruding out the front of the cylinder and locking up the gun.
When I do want to shoot it for grins, I bring my down-loaded Magnum rounds, 200-grain lead bullets (Laser Cast) loafing out the barrel at about 900 to 1000 fps, or my black powder substitute Cowboy loads at 750 fps or so. Both require significant resetting of the sights. Which brings up another recommended modification: I put the XS Sight System Big Dot with white outline on the front and Express sight on the rear. Remember, I am not interested in bulls-eye shooting, I want “minute of bear” at up to about 30 feet. In early 2010 I will be adding Cylinder & Slide’s Extreme Duty rear sight with tritium white-outline dots. I put this combo on my S&W 386NG Night Guard and love it. Combined with the LaserGrips, I will have a trail gun accurately shootable in any light condition, whether I can align it with my eyes or not. Remember, bears will probably NOT pause to give you time to set them up if they have you on the menu.
Before I go on the trail, I take the PD to the range and shoot up to 6 rounds of the heavy hunting loads just to adjust the sights, if necessary. The Extreme Duty sights are not adjustable, but I learned to shoot in the military in Vietnam and am adept at applying “Kentucky Windage” on the fly, which I will do when shooting my lighter loads at home. If I really need to adjust something, I use the LaserGrip.
The S&W internal lock is a non-issue. I don’t like them, but there are NO, repeat NO verified problems with them. S&W had a standing reward offered to anyone who could bring them a lock that spontaneously set or even came apart. No one took them up, and no gun has yet been returned to them because of the lock. There was a report in the popular firearms press of one coming apart, but even that has proven to have no merit. I carry two of the keys with me when I’m in the field or at the range, but have never used them. My guns are NEVER locked. I’m told a competent gunsmith can remove the lockwork. It isn’t illegal, except, probably, in the Peoples Reichstadt of California, maybe NY and Maryland. However, if you ever need the services of a high-profile gunsmith, or S&W, they will refuse to work on it until you let them replace the lock.
A note on blue, carbon steel guns. If you buy and keep guns with a major care about future resale value, don’t pass “Go,” head straight to Jail, and do not collect $100. I have a Colt Python with RUSTED backstrap, considerable finish wear on barrel and cylinder, scratches, and extraneous wear marks and dings. What a story it tells! And, I have a S&W 586 that looks as though it was dragged behind its owner rather than carried in a holster. Like the Python, it shoots just fine, and I have spent many a time wondering at its past. If you buy a gun, shoot it like you stole it. A bad finish also means a lower purchase price for you. I paid $325 for the Python, $360 for the 586, and bought an early S&W .357 Magnum (successor to the Registered Magnum) for $300, just because of finish wear. They all shoot fine.
I first learned backpacking and hunting from a group of retired military men in Colorado Springs, who lived there to be near the USAF Academy and the military personnel facilities. One of them, nicknamed “Turkey” for the dreadful booze he liked to drink, had a pre-27 S&W with a long barrel. He made his own ammo and we all said he wasn’t happy with it unless it could drill holes through the mountains! That gun went on the trail with him all year round, and looked like it. He is still alive and I have lobbied him heavily to sell that beast to me. But, he has promised it to one of his daughters, who is a horse trainer. She otherwise carries a Ruger Blackhawk three-screw .357 Magnum. She can blow the head off a rattler at 30 feet from the back of a rearing horse with it. (*I* don’t shoot snakes. They are too valuable creatures.)
Today there are many good ways to protect a blue gun in the field. You can wax them. A friend uses Turtle Wax on his GP100. There is also Boe-Shield. I may not have spelled that correctly, but it comes from Boeing Aircraft Company and is used in internal parts of aircraft fuselages with great success. Regardless of gun, I carry a cloth impregnated with RemOil, or Rustproofe, or other such product, and wipe the gun each evening and after any rain.
Thanks to the governor of Colorado, who would rather see honest people dead, non-residents cannot get a Colorado CCW permit, and cannot carry concealed with another state’s permit, so my gun has to be exposed to the rain and snow while on the trail. Interestingly, to me, nearly all of the people I’ve met openly carrying on the trails are Colorado residents, who COULD carry concealed. Remember, bears will not strike a pose and say “Draw!”
One more note on carrying. You spoke with concern about the weight of the Ruger, but stated you “hike.” I take that as different from “backpack,” where ounces matter. In either case I use a fitted holster. R.M. Bachman of Montana custom made one to my specs for my 329PD. I have off-the-shelf Hunter holsters for my Anaconda and 629. For a belt, I went to Home Depot and got a carpenter’s utility belt. It’s wide, very tough, stands up to weather, and is cheap. It makes carrying the gun and 18 rounds of extra ammo very easy, and I usually have bear repellent and six rocket flares on it, too. I also fitted an Uncle Mike’s nylon holster to my backpack waist strap. The gun is not even noticeable. I use strictly belt holsters for rapid access.
In conclusion, all your choices would be fine. You must learn how to protectively handle the lighter guns with heavy .44 loads, but it isn’t as hard as you might think. Heavier guns are easier to shoot, and all, even the 329PD, will stand up to heavy loads so long as they are still within SAMI spec.
Now, get out there and HIKE!
-Backpacker 33
