Thanks for the insight...240gr factory is my plan. Now by lighter...you mean in the gr. weight? Or in the powder load?..as I have no idea how to/if you can check factory powder weights. Should I sell/trade my 180gr .44Mag ammo for some 240grs?
Probably being a little over cautious here but I have never owned an "ammo sensitive" gun so to speak.
if your super worried about dry firing you can take some of your spent brass and polish them up, use ones that will go back into your chambers. then pop the primer out and replace it with hot glue. plenty soft for the hammer.
Shooting the 180s will be okay but my preference,like that of others here is with something along the line of a cast 240gr SW. I think that's where the 29 really comes into its own. Dry firing empty, I don't know if it would really do harm or not but any dry firing I do is with snap caps only. Concerning a holster,
being an Elmer Keith fan, on a visit with him in the early to mid 70's I took note of what he used.
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A while back, I contacted the manufacturer of his and although on todays version or model of that holster has the trigger guard area covered, they kindly agreed to make me a copy of his.
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As to handloads, I own both an early N seraled 29-2 and a five screw prenumbered gun, both 6 and one half inch. Either gun will shoot 8.0 grains of unique behind a bulletbarn 240 grain cast all day with no pain involved. I have clocked this load out of a 5 inch 629, and its going about 900 -950 fps. about 45 Colt territory. Then when you get really brave, you can try out " Elmers load"![]()
I have had to cut the loads back to 20grs. When my last two lbs of Hercules runs out, I'll probably switch over to H110.Ok all this talk about s&w m29 really makes me want to get out and shoot mine!
It's one gun I will never sell.




























