S&W 29/629 vs Ruger equivilant

[Steve F]

Morning all,

The gun show is coming up next weekend and I'm pretty much set on a S&W 29/629 if the "I'll trade my rifle for your revolver God's" are shining on me ,but, is there an Ruger equivilant that I should also consider,same good trigger,sex appeal same dollar value?Thanks for any and all input

 

[Tamara]

While the Ruger will take loads that would ruin the N-frame, on the average Smiths seem to have better DA triggers.

That, and every Ruger double-action wheelie ever made looks like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.

 

[444]

This doesn't in any way answer your question in any way, but.............
I have a Model 29, and I have Model 629, and I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk. If I could only have one, it would be the Super Blackhawk hands down going away. My Smiths are for show, not for go. IMO, there is no comparison. YMMV

 

[Frohickey]

Smith 29 is 44magnum in blue.
Smith 629 is 44magnum in stainless steel.

Ruger Redhawk .44magnum is always in stainless steel. Comes in 5.5inch and 7.5 inch barrel. Scope mount on the 7.5inch barrel version.

Ruger SuperRedhawk .44magnum is always in stainless steel. Comes in 7.5inch and 9.5inch barrel. Always comes with integral scope mounts.

Now, if only Ruger would come out with a SuperRedhawk in 4inch or 5.5inch.

 

[YodaVader]

My current 44 Mag is a Smith 629 Classic and it along with my former 29 Classic were/are easily the most accurate of the 44 revolvers I have owned. The trigger is good in either mode - no creep single action and smooth double action.

Have owned 4 Ruger 44 mags as well. The Super Blackhawks are nice single actions except they all had miles of creep in the trigger. Something that can be taken care - not with Wolfe springs - but an actual trigger job where stoning and polishing take place. Despite the trigger - very nice in all other aspects.

One Super Redhawk I owned was an excellent revolver - shot great - easy to mount optics if needed - a late 80's example. The second bought in 2000 was a pure lemon. The Smith shot much better at 50 yards than this thing did at 25 yds. Cylinder binding and a bore that was not uniform - junk!

I'll stick with the Smith for now. I may get a Ruger 44 again - probably another single action. The pic show 25 yard 6 shot groups with the 629 - the accuracy does it for me.

 

[44Caliber]

44 magnum

Yodovader:
Very nice looking rig. I have recently purchased a S&W Performance Center Comp Hunter 7.5 inch 6 shot 44 mag. I put a Leupold 1.5 stainless satin scope on top. I have sighted in the gun for 25 yds and will need some time to get used to shooting a scoped handgun. So far I cannot duplicate your grouping but I am optimistic for the future.
44 Caliber

 

[DeltaElite]

Dirty Harry carried a Model 29 Smith.
That makes it much cooler than the Ruger.

 

[3 gun]

I held out for a S&W 629 Classic when faced with this choice. Much better action than the Ruger DA and way better looking. The Ruger does have the edge if you plan to handload toward the edge. Great thing is there is really no bad choice, only personal preference.

 

[Sarge111]

Frohickey- Redhawk .44s are available in blue, and always have been.

Tamara- "every Ruger double-action wheelie ever made looks like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down."
Now you've gone and hurt my little feelings. I reckon it's all a matter of taste, and I'll admit that my nickel 4" 29 was prettier- but of you see beauty in utility, a 5.5" Redhawk dressed up a bit
is not what I'd call ugly. Steyr M's, Glocks and Springfield XD's are UGLY.

As far as the accuracy and shootability issues go, the Redhawk will never be as easy to get a good SA trigger on as the Smith- but it can be made quite manageable, and can actually have a better DA pull. Mine will group on the order of 4" @ 100 yards with loads it likes, which are mostly 300 grain stompers that'll beat a S&W into rubble in about 500 rounds.

I like my old Redhawk, and wouldn't trade it for a new 29 by any means- but it gets used a lot more than it gets fawned-over.

 

[G. Glock]

The Model 29 I purchased new in 1974 is approaching 50,000 rounds this year, and it's as tight and accurate as ever. I don't shoot many elephant loads in it, but I don't shoot .44 specials either. I've always loaded and fired a moderate magnum load in it.

Rugers are good guns, of course; I just prefer the lines, feel, look, and history of the Smiths.

 

[stans]

Model 29/629 will hold up fine if you don't load it to infinity and beyond! The Smiths have problems with heavy loads using bullets weighing more than 250 grains. If you restrict yourself to keeping loads equal to or slightly less than factory ammo, the gun will do just fine. If you plan on loading to the max, then get a Redhawk or even better, the Super Redhawk. I bought a model 29 for shooting reasonable loads and a Super Redhawk for the heavy stuff.

 

[Sarge111]

Stans/Glock

I like the 29 too, have had several and I even carried one for duty iron for while. They are indeed good guns so long as the loads are kept within reasonable limits. In my opinion it is just about perfect at power levels consistent with Elmer Keith's experimental .44 Specials (250 SWC @ 1250fps); you can kill an awful lot of game with that load. I also don't see a problem with using them sparingly with original .44 Mag-level loads (240 SWC @ 1550) or the moderate 300 grain loads on the market today.

But I wasn't speculating about beating a 29 into rubble in less than 500 rounds with hot loads- I did it. The load was 22.5 of 296 and a Hunters Supply 300 grain LFN, which clocks 1335 from the 5.5" Redhawk. This is a fine, accurate and powerful load which is just about perfect for medium to heavy-boned game with the .44 Mag. A Blackhawk or Redhawk will handle as many of these as you want to feed them, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone in a Smith, except for maybe something to stuff in the cylinder for bear country- and pray to God you don't need them. If you DO load some of these, please make SURE you roll a heavy crimp into them. They will creep out under recoil (which is noticable) and tie up your cylinder if you don't crimp 'em hard.

I thought about buying .44s for each application, but instead decided to go with one that would handle it all. I sure do understand the M29 'voodoo' though, and break out into a cold sweat whenever I see a 4" nickel one lying on a table at a gun show... If it wasn't for the fact that we're eventually going ".45 everything" (to simplify component purchases) around here I would probably already have bought a .44 Mountian Gun. Now there's a sweetheart! For something tht light and handy I wouldn't mind loading down a bit.

I think I'm gonna quit here before I talk myself into something else with double 4s on the barrel.

 

[Cal4D4]

Got a couple 29-3s bought in late '70s/early '80s. Mostly mid-range 240gr/Unique loads. One with about 5k-10k thru it is off on timing. Both are ultra smooth. Both needed aftermarket grips for my hands. My SRH fits my hand, action is heavy, gun is heavy, loads are heavy. Lockwork seems way stronger. 29s for show, Ruger for go.

 

[Kahr carrier]

I dont think you would go wrong with a 629 or a Redhawk,I prefer the 629 Classic myself.