S&W M29-2 Before and After

pageophile

pageophile

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Hello Gents,

Not too sure how this thread is going to go over but wanted to share.

Love S&W M29's and pre -3's in particular (pinned barrel and recessed cylinder). Found a rather abused unit at Epps for a decent price, prayed for the best and ordered it.

Cosmetically it was pretty poor, some rust and pitting pretty much everywhere. God-awful grips too (yes there was rust under them).

The previous owner really needs to give his head a shake IMHO.






The first range trip was a good one though, she shoots like a champ and had a pretty decent trigger. Lock-up was very good too. Thinking it was shot little but carried everywhere, all the time in the bush.

So I put in a call to Mr. Murray Charlton. He is no longer with M.D. Charlton but has his own shop (www dot murraycharltonenterprises dot com)

Asked him to take a look at the abused M29 and let me know what we could do. The list was pretty straight forward, cut the barrel to 4.5", slick-up the action and re-finish the whole unit.

Murray thought we might be able to do a high polish hot blue refinish but after looking it over again thought a matte finish would better hide the damaged finish as it was pretty bad.

He got to work and it arrived back home today. I'm pretty pleased with his work. Previously it was a revolver I'd be embarrassed to take out. Now, she's a beauty in my eyes.

The matte finish is hard to describe, it almost looks like parkerizing at first glance. However, she is a very, very dark blue. The action work Murray completed feels FANTASTIC, the SA and DA is very much improved. Not that it was bad but it's now in a different league. Can hardly wait to hit the range.

As a crowning touch, fitted a set of Mr. Don Collins Ivory Corian finger groove grips (www dot collinscraftgrips dot com). Can't let the old girl out without a new set of shoes, just won't be right.

So without further ado . . . here she is:






I know some of the purists might get upset at this project but each to their own.


Thanks for looking and stay safe,

Page
 
Thanks for the kind words Gents!

Wasn't too sure if I'd get tarred and feathered for ruining a classic if you know what I mean.

Murray really did a great job and in a reasonable amount of time too.
 
Nice way to turn around a gun that someone else should have taken better care of!

It reminds me of a Model 29 I had seen in pictures that belonged to Elmer Keith, must be the ivory like grips.
 
Make sure you let us know how it shoots now. Approx. what did it cost so if one of us would like to get this done we will have an idea of what to expect. How long did it take for Murray to do the job?

Thanks Graydog
 
Is that $699 or $599 on that tag I see? What was the damage for the chop and re-finish?

I have a 29 that came to me in a similar condition. Gunnar did a a great job restoring it back to factory shine. Never occured to me to have it chopped at the same time:( Ohhhh well, I need all the sight radius I can get:rolleyes:

M
 
Very lovely resto-job, but I would have gone with a less "textured" looking finish. One question though...


So cutting down a pistol barrel is legal, but cutting a rifle barrel down (below 16") isn't..?

What if I had an AR pistol lower receiver, could I cut the barrel below 16" then..?

:confused:
 
graydog said:
Make sure you let us know how it shoots now. Approx. what did it cost so if one of us would like to get this done we will have an idea of what to expect. How long did it take for Murray to do the job?

Thanks Graydog
Click to expand...

Hi GD,

The work took about three months. Kinda a record for me dealing with a Gun Smith (Shortest wait by FAR!). My Dan Wesson is still out after 1-1/2 . . . :( (not with Murray)

I hate to give out prices for work as they may change according to the original gun and rate increases.

For the work pictured, the final bill was under 600 (S&H + taxes included). The chop was about half that cost, so if you don't want to change the barrel length it's way less pricey.
 
Boomer74 said:
Very lovely resto-job, but I would have gone with a less "textured" looking finish. One question though...


So cutting down a pistol barrel is legal, but cutting a rifle barrel down (below 16") isn't..?

What if I had an AR pistol lower receiver, could I cut the barrel below 16" then..?

:confused:
Click to expand...

Can't answer to the AR Pistol question and yes our gun laws are mess-up! :HR:

The "texture" isn't as bad as you'd think. The finish is very dark and next to impossible to photograph well.

Media blasting was needed as the damage the previous owner did was too deep for a satisfactory high polish.
 
GunGuy34 said:
I second that, we will need a range report. I love the look of it. Why did you go 4.5 inches instead of 4.2 just our of curiosity?
Click to expand...

Was going to do the 4.2" chop but someone posted a pic of a 4.5" M29 that had been done by S&W Custom Shop.

Fell in love with that look and thought it looked more balanced that the shorter 4 inch or the 4.2.

Will try and find the picture for you folks.

Here she is:

Model294-5.jpg


It's also the reason I wanted the high polish . . . Maybe next time ;)
 
Very nice piece you have there pageophile. The finish product is stunning and it looks pretty well balanced with the 4.5" barrel lenght.

Hope to see how she's doing on the range pretty soon!

Good Shootin'

H.C.
 
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