Smith And Wesson Model 29 Serial Numbers
S W Model 39 Serial Numbers Chart

THE STAINLESS STEEL 44 MAGNUM THEMODEL 629

This change occurred at serial number S167500. In 1957, the.44 Magnum became the Model 29 as Smith & Wesson switched from such names as the Outdoorsman, the Combat Magnum, the Highway Patrolman, and the Heavy Duty to a system of model numbers. We lost something here as Model 15 just doesn't evoke the same emotion as Combat Masterpiece.

BY JOHN TAFFIN

Look up the pistol's full serial number - including all letters and numbers - in the back section of the 'Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson' book. These listings inform you of the pistol's date of manufacture, based on the serial number. SMITH & WESSON 29-2 S SERIAL NUMBER Description: SMITH & WESSON. 29-2 S SERIAL No. NIB with 6 1/2 Barrel. This gun is about as nice as they come I would rate 98% to 99% with all paper work and presentation case. The diamond grips are in great shape as well. The gun has no blue loss anywhere other than a faint drag line on cylinder.

Thenumber one variation on the Model 29 theme is the Model 629, a stainless steel.44 Magnum introduced in 1978 with serial numbers N629062 to N629200 for aspecial run of 'pre-production' guns followed by the first productiongun, serial number N748564 all with 6” barrels. In 1980 both 4” and 8 3/8”barrels were added to the catalog. A very few 5” barrels have been offered.

In 1982, the 629-1 joined the 29-3in dropping the pinned barrel and counter bored cylinder features. The 629-1lasted until 1988 with 8,000 also offered with three-inch barrels and roundbutts.In 1988, the Model 629-2 arrivedwith the same internal changes as the Model 29-4. Transitional changes weremade in 1989 along with the cylinder crane being hardened and these 629s werestamped 629-2E.

In 1990, the 629-3 ushered in thesame changes as found on the blued 29-5. Four years later, the addition ofHogue Monogrips, frame drilled and tapped for scope mounting, and a change inthe extractor brought forth the Model 629-4. This model wasproduced with barrel lengths of 4”, 6”, and 83/8” Hogue grips, target hammer and trigger, and red ramp front and whiteoutline rear sight.

As with the blued 29, the stainless629 received the Classic treatment with full underlug barrels first beingoffered in 1990. These were produced as 629-4s with 5”, 6”, and 8 3/8”barrellengths. One year later, the Classic DX 629 arrived in the latter two barrellengths with interchangeable front sights. By 1998, the 629-5 had an MIM hammerand trigger and frame mounted firing pin.

As with the Model 29, severalspecial variations of the Model 629 have been offered over the years since itsintroduction. One most notable ones is the 629-3 Magna-Classic. These werehighly polished, heavy-underlugged, 7 1/2” barreled .44 Magnums withinterchangeable front sights and marked on the barrel '1 of 3000'.All Magna Classics I know of have been superbly accurate sixguns. Mine issighted in for 100 yards using the gold bead front sight insert and 300 graincast bullets over 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110; more on this sixgun shortly.

As with the blued Model 29-3, thestainless 629-1 was offered by Lew Horton in a 3” Combat Magnum version with5,000 of these manufactured in 1985. The 629 also received the Classic Huntertreatment with 5,000 6” guns brought forth in 1988, 2,500 being offered with 83/8” barrels in 1989, 3,200 3” barreled models in 1989, and 2,000 8 3/8”barreled 629-3s in 1991.

The most famous, and probably themost sought after, Model 629 is the Mountain Gun. There were three runs ofMountain Guns in .44 Magnum all with round butts and 4” .44 Special type slimtapered barrels. The first run consisted of special group of blued Model 29sfor the Smith & Wesson Collector's Association's 25th Anniversary. Theregular factory production of the Mountain Gun consisted of 629-2MountainRevolvers in 1989 followed by a second run in 1993.

The 629 has also been offered innumerous 3” barrel lengths such as the 629-3 Carry Comp and Carry Comp IIStainless sixguns from the PerformanceCenter through LewHorton, a run of 5,000 standard 629s with 3” barrels, semi-target hammer,smooth trigger, standard 29/629 sights, and wooden stocks. In 1994, the samebasic sixgun as the latter was offered as the BackPacker. All productionfigures and model variation information comes from the excellent book thatevery Smith & Wesson devotee must have, The Standard Catalog of Smith &Wesson by Richard Nahas and Jim Supica, (Krause, 2001).

In 1989 S&W began to add theEndurance Package to both the 29 and 629. Using high-speed photos, Smith &Wesson engineers studied the .44 Magnum under recoil and concluded thatproblems arose as various parts moved under recoil. The frame recoiledbackwards and the cylinder pin did not. The result was the cylinder was free torotate. Heavy recoil was causing the trigger to kick back and the hammer wasbouncing and hitting the primer a second time resulting in two indents on theprimer. The engineers went to work. Longer notches were machined in thecylinder so the cylinder stop could not bounce out under heavy recoil. A boltblock was added that keeps the bolt from transmitting movement to thetrigger.All mounting studs for reboundslide, trigger, hammer, etc., were radiused where they attach to the frame asround corners are less likely to 'tear' then sharp corners; allreceiving holes were also radiused for the same reason. To help increasestrength, the bearing surface on the cylinder yoke was increased and the yokealso received a new heat treatment. All of these improvements were phased intothe S&W .44 Magnums in the late 1980s and those with the complete packagehave a noticeable longer bolt slot cut into the cylinder.

The first .44 Magnum to have all ofthese improvements was the semi-custom sixgun, the MagnaClassic. Three thousandof these were made and mine has '008' hand inscribed inside thecrane. Smith & Wesson described this gun as 'the most beautiful gun you'llprobably never shoot' referring to the fact that many would purchase thegun and put it away for a future investment. The best investment is in shootingpleasure and I have shot it and shot it hard.

At first glance the MagnaClassicappears to be a nickel-plated Model 29 but is instead a highly polishedstainless Model 629 and is one of the most beautiful sixguns to ever come outof the Smith & Wesson factory. The lettering on the side of the barrel, isquite attractive and has a classic look with the right side of the heavy 7 1/2”barrelmarked in two lines with'629 MagnaClassic' over '1 of3000', and on the left side of the barrel we find 'Smith &Wesson' above '44 Magnum'. This is probably the nicest letteringI have ever seen on a factory revolver.

The .44 MagnaClassic was probablyone of the first S&Ws with the rear sight leaf not squared off at the frontof the leaf but rounded and dovetailed into the top of the frame. The frontsight was a radical departure for Smith & Wesson being of theinterchangeable style, easily removed and replaced by pushing rearward on thefront sight and lifting out. A sight package was offered consisting of eightfront sights in a special box, four black patridge styles in heights of.187', .208', .227', and .250' marked on the bottom side asto height; two more .250' patridge style sights were included, one with awhite dot and the other with a gold bead; and rounding out the package were tworamp front sights, both of .250' height, one with a red insert and theother plain black.

Interchangeable front sight bladesare one of the best features of the .44 Mag

Sw Model 29 Serial Numbers