S&W Model 329PD. Opinions???

[Bullseye_shooter]

Looking at some .44 Magnum revolvers for some recreation and HD just in case

This model just seemed to feel the gap.

Any Opinions on this fine revolver?
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...750051_765591_-1____ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

 

[jamesjames]

I have a 329PD and love it. In Taffin's Book of the .44, he call the 329PD one of the best .44 special revolvers ever made. I agree. It shoots .44 specials great, and magnums are brutal. The 329PD is a trail gun, to be carried a lot and shot a little. It is not a range gun for full house maggies. But I love carrying it in the woods. As long as you use ammo appropriate for the gun, you'd be fine.

 

[LeonCarr]

Easy to carry, a beast to shoot with magnums. I read somewhere that 90% of them are shipped to Alaska.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Prosser]

Looked at them for awhile. First off, I've seen some REALLY bad pictures of
flame cutting if the guns are shot a lot. Might be the magnum loads.

Taffin is on the money, except that it's a huge gun with the stock grip.

The recoil of a 25 oz gun has to be considered.

240 grain bullet at 950 fps, Recoil Energy of 13 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 22 fps.
240 @1100 fps:
Recoil Energy of 18 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 25 fps.
240 @ 1200 fps:
Recoil Energy of 21 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 28 fps.
I stop right about here, not because of the recoil energy, but the velocity of recoil. I've found that with the lighter guns, the SPEED OF THE RECOIL going over 30 fps is what starts to REALLY get to you, and hurt you.

If you are going to use heavier bullets, keep the velocity down even further.

All that said, this gun has a history of 'auto-locking' with heavier loads. I.E.
the internal lock malfunctions, putting the revolver in locked position, stopping the gun from firing. Had this happen with a scandium .357 mag,
and had the lock pulled, asap. There are instructions on the web somewhere for doing it yourself.

Finally, the trigger, DA is very stiff and heavy, and, it feels like they ground sand up and used it for casting in the trigger components...

It's also EXPENSIVE.
NOT a good value, considering it's short comings.

 

[wgp]

jamesjames is right on. I really like my 329PD, but understand what it's for. Shoot a little w/magnums or as much as you want with .44 Specials. If you handload you will find that when shooting magnum rounds you had better have a very good crimp on your bullets as they will back out of the cases otherwise and lock the cylinder. With proper crimp I have had no problems with handloads or factory loads. I have no problem with the trigger on my gun, and I like the big sights. Put the rubber grips on it. The beauty of this gun is that you'll carry it when you might leave the Model 29 at home due to weight.

The question you pose comes up a lot on forums as people discover this gun. The responses on this forum and others seem to be pretty much the same -- love it or hate it.

 

[rcmodel]

If you want to shoot Magnums in it for fun, look for a 4" 629 Mountain Gun.
Still a lot of them out there at way less money then a 329PD.

It is a little heavier, but doesn't feel quite as much like someone smacked you in the palm with a baseball bat every shot.

rc

 

[C-grunt]

I like the look and the idea. But the first time I picked one up at the store, I just laughed and put it back down. That thing has to be brutal with magnums!

The ones I have handled have all had superb fit and finish and a decent trigger pull.

 

[cougar1717]

I held a used 329PD at a local gun shop. Looked like it was carried a lot, but shot little (as noted above). Knowing about what a regular 29 weighs, I laughed as soon I felt how light it was and handed it back after looking at it a while. As others have noted, it cannot be a fun shooter with 44 mag - but it's great when you need to carry a big bore gun a lot and shoot it in an emergency.

 

[Bula]

I'd love one. But that price is high, too high. If you reload, I'd think that the 329 would be a great woods bumming gun. Moderate 250g cast loads in the 850-900 fps range would be great and not too brutal on the shooter.

 

[rcmodel]

I tried to buy one at Cabala's for about two years.
I wanted an even lighter .44 Special then my 4 1/2" 1950 Target.

The problem was, it had been in & out of the display case so many times to show it to people it was completely covered in glass shelf nicks & dings.

And they wouldn't come down a penny on the full MSRP asking price.

rc

 

[Wolfeye]

As an ex-Alaskan, I think it's a fantastic gun to carry. But there are plenty of other guns I'd sooner consider if I wanted to get a .44 for recreation or house defense; at the top of my list would be the Ruger Redhawk or a 6" model 629. Weight is your friend if you want to have fun controlling a .44 magnum. The 329PD is just plain not fun to shoot - in my book, it's an emergency gun that's light enough that you always take it with you. It's very good at that.

Some people make it more shootable by having it mag-na-ported and slipping on an x-frame grip. Do that plus handload your own .44 specials, and it would be a better gun for recreation, and you wouldn't have to worry about overpenetration for home defense.

Last I checked, S&W had a 6.5" version with a steel cylinder. It sounds to me like it's a much better compromise between light weight and shootability, but I've never seen one in a gun shop.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I've got one that I picked up this summer.

Overall, it's like Taffin said, a superlative .44spl. Mine was used and was sold new originally at the same store I got it from. I aquired it for something like $200 less than the original good asking price of $799. The original grips had been damaged by someone resting it on something hard to shoot it, taking a chip out of the edge of the wood grips. Also, they had used some sort of bore solvent to clean the gun and had caused the reddish finish on the Arhends grips to soften and run.

I refinished the grips with dark walnut Danish Oil, and coated with several light coats of satin polyurethane. They look like some of the nicer finished walnut stocks S&W has used in the recent years. The ding isn't as obvious as before either. However, I prefer the rubber S&W Hogue grips, as I use a ring-eye to replace the retention screw so I can attach a lanyard. (I've had some coworkers before I retired loose S&W revolvers and Glocks after we went to those over the edge of boats...... and I hunt frequently from a boat to access areas few others frequent, so I'm paranoid about loosing a gun). Too, often in the stress of a confrontation at close quarters, a dropped gun can be easily and quickly re-aquired.

As comes to shooting, what others said........
My first loads with this gun was to try some of my ancient Lyman #429421 molds and their 245gr Keith-style bullets and some Unique and #2400.
I couldn't get the bullets with 22.0gr of #2400 to NOT walk out. Even with the heaviest crimp in the heaviest brass (Starline), the 5th and 6th rounds would walk foward enough to tie-up the gun. Needless to say the recoil is thrilling. (and painful after several cylinders full).
10.0gr of Unique (my favorite load back in the '70's) would also, except with the heaviest crimp on strongest brass, walk out of the cases.

My new favorite load with this gun is the Lee .429-200gr RFN. Sized to .430" and lubed with Lee liquid alox, and loaded over 5.0gr of Clays (not Univ. or Int.) it delivers groups under 2" at 25yds. The salesman at the shop that sold it to me was at the public range I was shooting it last tuesday and was embarrased when I shot tighter groups with it than he did with a Freedom Arms .454Casull with a 7.5" bbl and a Leupold scope on it.......... (but he's known me for ~20yrs, and wasn't supprised too badly....).

I traded a Ruger RedHawk stainless in .45Colt for this gun and knew what I was getting. In retrospect however, I still want a S&W Mountain Gun in .45Colt. After owning and reloading for several .45Colts, the .44mag just dosen't do anything for me.... I got similar groups from my Ruger BH in .45Colt w/ 4-5/"bbl, and using 8.6gr of Universal for 1,000fps and no bullet walk.... ever.

My "carry load" for this part of the world is the Hornady 180gr XTP over 11.2gr of Unique for right at 1,200fps from the 4" bbl. About a 3" load at 25yds, It dosen't excessively recoil, but still offers a tad bit more punch than a M1911. I have two speed loaders with this load in it on the nylon web belt and altogether they weigh less than 2lbs.

When I go to Alaska next time, this gun with the Lee 310gr WFN-gc at ~1,000fps will probably go. However, if I'm flying a great deal, the S&W will probably ride in a shoulder rig with the 200gr loads in the chamber with some yet to be determined load of some heavy hard cast slug at a speed that won't leave the case.

My 329PD is a keeper. The Ruger RH it replaced (5.5"bbl) was just too heavy to carry in a belt holster all day. Even worse than my old duty belt with Glock M22 w/46rds of ammo, handcuffs, pepper spray, handheld radio, and pager. The duty belt 'balanced' better....

BTW: after I did a trigger job on it, it is a really nice double action shooter. Not one of my PPC mod10's, but "DECENT" !! Who shoots a dbl action revolver single action ????? I've also rounded out and slightly opened up the V-notch on the rear sight with a 5/32" chainsaw file allowing me to get a full sight picture with the fire-sight front sight which gives a much better accuracy potential.

 

[RidgwayCO]

My friend has a 329PD. Whenever I need a "recoil fix" I ask to shoot his. A cylinder full of .44 Magnum and my "need" is "fixed"...

It's interesting to me that some people call the 329PD "the best .44 Special ever made." For my money, the M396 Mountain Lite is the best .44 Special ever made. At only 18oz empty, it weighs half a pound less than the 329PD, and digests my handloads (240 gr LSWC at 900 fps with a firm crimp) with less commotion than you might expect. And once it's strapped on, you forget it's there. In fact, I like the M396 Mountain Lite so much I recently purchased a backup. That's something I've NEVER done with any revolver before...