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Thread: "Hunting" Handguns

  1. #51
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    The "proper" way to measure throats/bore/whathaveyou;
    Get dead soft, "pure" lead- I use fishing weights of close, but oversize diameter- and drive them through with a dowel and hammer.
    You dial calipers, if reasonably accurate, should get you close enough.

    or-

    Pin guages

    or- "Cerrosafe" casting.

    An alternate and effective method is to simply use a jacketed bullet of known diameter; gonna be .429" or .430".
    If they don't pass through throats with moderate hand pressure (most will JUST hang up and then require gentle hand pressure with a ballpoint or something- to drop through)- they are too tight.

    Again- this is probably a non-issue if you shoot jacketed exclusively, and/or are comfortable with 2"/3" groups at 25 yds.
    A lot depends on what game you're after and the associated accuracy requirement, and/or- how anal are you?

    A guy once told me (regarding shooting performance under pressure)- "first, you gotta have confidence in your equipment".
    I find that to be true for me.
    If I KNOW the gun/ammo combination will hit a half dollar, every time, at 25 yds.- I merely have to concentrate on my shooting.

  2. #52
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    "Hunting" Handguns

    Thanks guys.. After not owning a wheel gun in over 20 years, I've just picked up a J frame, now you've made me add a 629 to my "must have" list.

    My dad had a 4 inch model 29 when I was a kid, and it shot like a dream. Hard to believe that the 4 inch with .44 Mag could be so smooth.
    U.S. Army vet. -- Retired 25 year LEO.

  3. #53
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    I might need to borrow that reamer. I have a plated .4295" Xtreme bullet that drops through the throat on a 29-2 as if it's on like an air bearing. On the 629 it doesn't even make it to the cannelure. I ordered some cerrosafe to get an true measurement. Any idea why S&W chose to make the throats so narrow on these?

  4. #54
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    I spoke with someone at S&W, supposedly an "engineer ".
    The only portion of his response that made any sense was " a jacketed bullet will spring back on entering the bore".
    I had found this sorta true through experimentation.
    My guestion of "why did you design this so the bullet was effectively swaged to less than bore diameter " never got a reply.
    He also dodged the "what about pressure spikes, particularly with top end loads?".

    S&W has a history of screwy throat diameters, the .45 Colt being a prime example.
    Historically their throats in this caliber have been progressively "generous" through the years.
    This, in part due to it being originally a BP cartridge.

    Whatever their reasoning; too tight throats will destroy potential accuracy.
    You can't swage a bullet to (substantially) less than bore diameter, in effect not allowing it effectively engrave in the rifiling and expect it to shoot to its potential.
    "Hard" cast bullets are worse than jacketed in this regard.

    In answer to your question, no I have no idea why this was done.
    Perhaps it's overcompensation for their years of oversized throats. (:

  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by gaijin View Post
    I spoke with someone at S&W, supposedly an "engineer ".
    The only portion of his response that made any sense was " a jacketed bullet will spring back on entering the bore".
    I had found this sorta true through experimentation.
    My guestion of "why did you design this so the bullet was effectively swaged to less than bore diameter " never got a reply.
    He also dodged the "what about pressure spikes, particularly with top end loads?".

    S&W has a history of screwy throat diameters, the .45 Colt being a prime example.
    Historically their throats in this caliber have been progressively "generous" through the years.
    This, in part due to it being originally a BP cartridge.

    Whatever their reasoning; too tight throats will destroy potential accuracy.
    You can't swage a bullet to (substantially) less than bore diameter, in effect not allowing it effectively engrave in the rifiling and expect it to shoot to its potential.
    "Hard" cast bullets are worse than jacketed in this regard.

    In answer to your question, no I have no idea why this was done.
    Perhaps it's overcompensation for their years of oversized throats. (:
    I sometimes wonder if S&W and Ruger have any real engineers anymore !! They design everything to be assembled by unskilled workers !!

  6. #56
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    i have taken my Colt Python to deer and bear hunt in the pas and i really enjoyed carry it, but i just but an STI and i very curious to see the result while hunting..its mostly used as a competition gun.

  7. #57
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    OK... That's it. I'm on the hunt for a 629. I'm either going to get the plain 4", or the 5" classic. Leaning to the 4". Wish I could afford both.

    Question: Considering how hard it is to find a decent pre-lock version locally, should I be concerned with buying a BNIB model with the lock for only $150 more than I can one that is 15-30 years old without the lock. Are the older (- 2,-3,-4,-5) ones that much better, or just collectors items???

    Yes, I'll use it for woods walking and hunting just as much I will a range gun. It will get used.
    U.S. Army vet. -- Retired 25 year LEO.

  8. #58
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    TL/DR It seems like a moxed bag. I am absolutely NOT an expert on .44 mag revolvers but as a result of this thread I now have a 29-2 4", 629-4 6.5" with powerport, and a 629-5 MG. The DA trigger is vastly better on the 29-2 than the other two. The 629-4 has a good trigger with just a hint of notchiness and stacking if you pull slowly. The 629-5 is very notchy and what I'd consider a pretty mediocre trigger. On single action they're all very good: crisp and light. The cylinder gap and endshake is the at the high end of in-spec on the 29-2 (which probably has the highest round count FWIW) and is at the low end of in-spec on the two 629s. The only one of the three without undersized cylinder throats is the 29-2. However after a little load testing the 29-2 seems to develop pressure signs before the 629s. I need to dig a little deeper into that as soon as I have time. Both 629s have cheesy rubber grips while the 29-2 has nice walnut.

    After shooting all three I'd keep the 29-2. The 629-4 is great but the 6.5" barrel (closer to 7" with the port) is a little much to actually carry. It practically needs a sling. The 629-5 MG handles the best but then there's that trigger and those undersize throats. If I ream the cylinders, get better grips, and improve the trigger the 629-5 MG would be the keeper. I'd guess all that will cost around $350 which makes the 29-2, which only needs $20 worth of shims, the bargain of the bunch.

    Just my unqualified two cents, YMMV

  9. #59
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    Do you have someone local that works on S&W revolvers (that knows what they're doing) MK?

    I would think your estimate of $350.00 is on the high side for the "trigger work" and opening the throats.
    Bear in mind; if this IS to be a hunting handgun, you will witness a couple Blue Moons before you'll shoot the revolver double action while actually hunting.
    The single time I used double action (in 30+ years of handgun hunting) was in stopping an aggressive and determined Boar. I could not thumb back hammer and fire quick enough in single action, the cover was too thick, the boar too close.

    Your 629-5 MG should "clean up" fairly easily- in regards to the trigger issue.
    Dry firing double action will help, but stoning may be necessary- and knowing what you're doing can save a lot of grief and ruined FC parts.
    Opening the throats is very straightforward if you have the reamer and pilots.

    I'd encourage you to not give up on the MG.

    http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-to...-prod7700.aspx

  10. #60
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    Gaijin I hear you and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge on this matter. I haven't gotten around to measuring the throats precisely. I suppose the throat size doesn't really matter since I figured out they are indeed undersized (<0.429) and I'll just be reaming them anyway. My only hesitation is the Manson reamer cuts the throats to .431" and the XTPs I plan to use are more like .4295. Even the Xtreme plated bullets I use for practice are <.430. I don't want to overdo it with a reamer and end up hurting accuracy with jacketed bullets. I wonder if it would be worth it to see if Manson would do a custom .4295 reamer or if .431" would be good enough. I'd like to do at least the reaming myself but if I'm going to do it I want to do it right the first time. I will probably keep the 29-2 just for any occaision I want to shoot lead.

    I see what you mean about the DA pull not being overly important. I'll dry fire it and see if it cleans up. What do you think about trigger shims for cleaning up a double action pull?

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