Jay, taping them up beforehand has really helped but I keep getting a blister on the same spot on my right hand. Haven't found anything that works for that yet. Although whiskey and beer seem to be failing very effectively.
How long does a S&W 629 last? Let's find out! 13K+ now
- Thread starter dirtybarry
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Jay, taping them up beforehand has really helped but I keep getting a blister on the same spot on my right hand. Haven't found anything that works for that yet. Although whiskey and beer seem to be failing very effectively.Still alive
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I keep checking in on this thread once a week and glad to see the OP is still alive!
You should have had the Guiness Book of World Records chronicle this from the beginning.
You should have had the Guiness Book of World Records chronicle this from the beginning.
Have you tried a shooting glove Barry? I use one for shooting .44 mag and it takes a lot of the sting out of shooting these loads. Bear in mind that I don't sit down to a 300 round .44 Rem Mag meal, that's a bit hard core imho.
I bought a pair of cheap thin semi-rubber work/mechanic's gloves from Princess Auto that work for me. The web of my shooting hand wore out quickly, but otherwise they really tame the sharp edges. I only do about 100 rounds a session though.
I tried gloves and they actually made things worse plus the extra thickness really changed my grip to the point where I couldn't hit squat. As long as I keep it under 250 rounds with no more than 100 hot ones blisters aren't an issue. But where's the fun in that?
And as an update to the gun, after cleaning it last night, aside from some discolouration of the cylinder and forcing cone area, it looks fine. No erosion of the forcing cone, no signs of cracking, nothing coming loose. There is some end play in the cylinder but honestly I don't know if it was there before or if it even matters. Or if it does what to do about it. And G-96 is the shizzle for cleaning, the stuff works awesome but holy cow does it sting on broken blisters.
And as an update to the gun, after cleaning it last night, aside from some discolouration of the cylinder and forcing cone area, it looks fine. No erosion of the forcing cone, no signs of cracking, nothing coming loose. There is some end play in the cylinder but honestly I don't know if it was there before or if it even matters. Or if it does what to do about it. And G-96 is the shizzle for cleaning, the stuff works awesome but holy cow does it sting on broken blisters.
4844 rounds to date and the madness continues. The new jug of IMR4227 is slightly denser so the charge weights are up a couple of tenths for the same volume (1.77cc) but no real difference in performance.
The breakdown is 100 of 11 times fired Federal brass, S&B primer, 21,5gr IMR4227, 74 of 13 times fired Federal brass, WLP 21.7gr of IMR4227 and 50 rds with 2 fired Straline, S&B primer and 23.5gr of W-296 all wth Campro 240gr TMJ's. Then 50 of 2 fired Starline, WLP 28.0gr of H-110 and 200gr Nosler JHC's and finally 50 rds of 2 fired Starline, WLP, 30.7gr of H-110 with those &%$#$@# Hornady 180gr XTP's that are such an amazing PITA to work with. There's more brass cracking but some of it is on it's 13th trip so it had a good life.
A couple of strange things today though, somebody ripped off 6 of my new unused targets that were sitting with my gear on the bench. I'm like WTF? Hopefully it wasn't deliberate although the guy that was setting up in the lane beside me did leave in a bit of a huff when the noisy stuff came out.
But who knows, it happened behind my back so it could have been somebody else. Still a pretty skate move. The second weird thing is a piece of Starline brass cracked for almost an inch down from the case mouth. No harm done, just unusual. And the stupid gun looks fine.
The breakdown is 100 of 11 times fired Federal brass, S&B primer, 21,5gr IMR4227, 74 of 13 times fired Federal brass, WLP 21.7gr of IMR4227 and 50 rds with 2 fired Straline, S&B primer and 23.5gr of W-296 all wth Campro 240gr TMJ's. Then 50 of 2 fired Starline, WLP 28.0gr of H-110 and 200gr Nosler JHC's and finally 50 rds of 2 fired Starline, WLP, 30.7gr of H-110 with those &%$#$@# Hornady 180gr XTP's that are such an amazing PITA to work with. There's more brass cracking but some of it is on it's 13th trip so it had a good life.
A couple of strange things today though, somebody ripped off 6 of my new unused targets that were sitting with my gear on the bench. I'm like WTF? Hopefully it wasn't deliberate although the guy that was setting up in the lane beside me did leave in a bit of a huff when the noisy stuff came out.
But who knows, it happened behind my back so it could have been somebody else. Still a pretty skate move. The second weird thing is a piece of Starline brass cracked for almost an inch down from the case mouth. No harm done, just unusual. And the stupid gun looks fine.
Calgary Shooting Centre
Amazing thread. Thanks for the science experiment. However, is shooting brass to the point of failure in line with your original goal? If the brass is cracking, I think the cylinder might take a greater beeting than good brass.
Just a thought...
No, it's merely a by product. To this point, I've been culling the cracked brass during the reloading process and it's been pretty minor. Usually about an 1/8" long crack from the case mouth. Not unexpected or unusual.
The piece of Starline that cracked (will post pics tonight) did surprise me but it might have been a piece that came from some re-man ammo that I used in the other gun. Hopefully the other 1400+ pieces of Starline last longer.
I did a quick brush and swab of the cylinder after noticing the cracked case which was pretty obvious as it was sticky to eject and it looked fine. No visible damage and I ran another 100+ rounds through it without issue.
A picture of the worst of the cracked brass, 11 pieces of well used Federal and 1 odd piece of Starline. And I'll confess now that I knew some of that Federal was cracked when I loaded it yesterday morning. Might be time to try annealing.
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As little as necessary which has been about 1/4 to 3/8 of a turn on the Lee crimp die for the lighter IMR4227 loads and a touch more, 1/2 to 5/8 for the heavier stuff.
I try for just enough to prevent any bullet walk.
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Following this thread made me rush out and buy a 629 lol
Drum roll please........another 263 rounds for a new total of 5107.
100 of 13 times loaded Federal brass, 21.7gr of IMR 4227, WLP, 100 of 3 times loaded Starline brass, 23.7gr H-110 WLP Campro 240gr TMJ's for both. 50 of 3 times Starline, 28.3gr H-110 and Nosler 200gr JHC's and 13 of 3 times Starline brass, 26.7gr H-110 and some very dear 210gr Speer GDHP's. The one that was marked in red was also round #5000. And a 100 rds of BDX 9mm and then 50 each of Federal 115, 124 and 147gr 9mm.
So far, so good. The 629 looks fine with no obvious issues after 5000+ rounds of only my reloaded ammo in just less than 4 months. Maybe the 29-10 really was defective?
100 of 13 times loaded Federal brass, 21.7gr of IMR 4227, WLP, 100 of 3 times loaded Starline brass, 23.7gr H-110 WLP Campro 240gr TMJ's for both. 50 of 3 times Starline, 28.3gr H-110 and Nosler 200gr JHC's and 13 of 3 times Starline brass, 26.7gr H-110 and some very dear 210gr Speer GDHP's. The one that was marked in red was also round #5000. And a 100 rds of BDX 9mm and then 50 each of Federal 115, 124 and 147gr 9mm.
So far, so good. The 629 looks fine with no obvious issues after 5000+ rounds of only my reloaded ammo in just less than 4 months. Maybe the 29-10 really was defective?
This is (has been) a good test, though would be interesting to see the internals. I certainly have more confidence now in the 629 for my type of usage. I'll never use nuclear loads and I'll never get anywhere near 5K over its life.
Had to have been, I'm thinking. Maybe if you approach S&W again with your test results they'll reconsider the 29-10 issue and get you to market / provide a testimonial for the 629
Had to have been, I'm thinking. Maybe if you approach S&W again with your test results they'll reconsider the 29-10 issue and get you to market / provide a testimonial for the 629
This is (has been) a good test, though would be interesting to see the internals. I certainly have more confidence now in the 629 for my type of usage. I'll never use nuclear loads and I'll never get anywhere near 5K over its life.
Had to have been, I'm thinking. Maybe if you approach S&W again with your test results they'll reconsider the 29-10 issue and get you to market / provide a testimonial for the 629
That exact thought crossed my mind because the forcing cone on this one shows no signs of flame cutting or erosion at all and even after a lot of rounds it operates smoothly and freely while the other one would get sticky and bind unless drenched in oil. And if nothing else it gives me a reason to whine at them some more. This picture is before cleaning after this morning -
5457 total Finally made it to the range today, life has been interesting these last few weeks. Maybe a bit too interesting. But I managed to crank another 350 rounds through this thing and something fell apart. The ejector rod and the ejector managed to unscrew themselves and it became very difficult to swing the cylinder out. I was about to pack it in when I noticed that the ejector rod would turn without turning the cylinder. Tightened it with my fingers and it worked fine for the last 12 rounds. Today's tally was 200 rds of 13 times fired Federal brass, 21.7gr of IMR4227, WLP and S&B primers (100 ea) topped by the usual Campro 240gr TMJ. then 100 of 3 times fired Starline brass, 23.7gr of H-110, WLP and Campro 240gr TMJs. Finally, 50 of 3 times Starline, 28.3gr H-110. WLP and Nosler 200gr JHC's. And 269rds of 9mm for filler. I think I've spoiled myself by reloading because 50 of the 9mm were some Wasp remans and they seem positively wussy compared to my stuff. But they're probably just playing it safe to avoid annoying lawsuits.
The 629 is now showing a very very slight amount of erosion at the face of the barrel and I can't even get a decent picture of it because it's so slight. Otherwise, apart from the ejector rod unscrewing, it still works fine. Stupid thing.
The 629 is now showing a very very slight amount of erosion at the face of the barrel and I can't even get a decent picture of it because it's so slight. Otherwise, apart from the ejector rod unscrewing, it still works fine. Stupid thing.
