Who F****d with my Smith?

phatman

phatman

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Years ago I had a fine Smith & Wesson 629-1 - ya know Harry Callahan's gun (only shinier) Well due to circumstances the gun had to go. It was a fine gun with a Big Square Butt. Nice to have when you are launching rock sized hunks of lead.

Yesterday I finally picked up it's replacement and things have changed.

1st - It doesn't seem as shiny - whether that is a factor of quality control or old age is in the interpretation.

2nd - The trigger and hammer don't even pretend to be polished - in fact they don't even seem to belong to this gun.

3rd - and most important - WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HANDGRIP? My first gun had a *nice*square*grip* as befits a gun of this calibre (pun intended) This gun has a 'round butt'! Well who the H*** is going to be able to hold onto a scrawny little handle on the end of a cannon? answer: not even Clint Eastwood.

I want my full sized, built for a man's hand, big square handgrips back! Please don't tell me it is for 'ease of carry' or preventing 'print through' or s*** like that! Who in their right mind would use this a service arm? IT'S A FOOT LONG for Gods sake! It's a testosterone boost! It a phallic symbol! It's ###### that goes bang!

Smith & Wesson - wake up! Arnold Schwarzenegger don't want no 'girly gun' He just wants to know if he has fired 5 shots - or 6
 
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phatman said:
Years ago I had a fine Smith & Wesson 629-6 - ya know Harry Callahan's gun (only shinier) Well due to circumstances the gun had to go. It was a fine gun with a Big Square Butt. Nice to have when you are launching rock sized hunks of lead.

Yesterday I finally picked up it's replacement and things have changed.

1st - It doesn't seem as shiny - whether that is a factor of quality control or old age is in the interpretation.

2nd - The trigger and hammer don't even pretend to be polished - in fact they don't even seem to belong to this gun.

3rd - and most important - WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HANDGRIP? My first gun had a *nice*square*grip* as befits a gun of this calibre (pun intended) This gun has a 'round butt'! Well who the H*** is going to be able to hold onto a scrawny little handle on the end of a cannon? answer: not even Clint Eastwood.

I want my full sized, built for a man's hand, big square handgrips back! Please don't tell me it is for 'ease of carry' or preventing 'print through' or s*** like that! Who in their right mind would use this a service arm? IT'S A FOOT LONG for Gods sake! It's a testosterone boost! It a phallic symbol! It's ###### that goes bang!

Smith & Wesson - wake up! Arnold Schwarzenegger don't want no 'girly gun' He just wants to know if he has fired 5 shots - or 6
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Arnie???
 
You can get grips that provide a square butt shape on a round butt frame.

The hammers and triggers on stainless guns used to be flash chromed to match the rest of the gun, but this isn't done anymore.

New S&Ws seem to be functionally OK for the most part, but they aren't quite as nice cosmetically as the old ones.
 
phatman said:
3rd - and most important - WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HANDGRIP? My first gun had a *nice*square*grip* as befits a gun of this calibre (pun intended) This gun has a 'round butt'! Well who the H*** is going to be able to hold onto a scrawny little handle on the end of a cannon? answer: not even Clint Eastwood.
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All new Smiths are round butt now aren't they? You can get "conversion" grips from Hogue.
 
American firearm company's are takening a play from the american automaker's book. You know the one that they design something to break down or need to be replaced do poor design's. Also having a complete lack of quailty control due to importing from 3rd world countries and still charging top notch prices. But I guess they are counting on a bail out too!
 
They ain't like they used to be.... :(

2007-10-27_091302_1aCoffee.gif

NAA.
 
Satain said:
American firearm company's are takening a play from the american automaker's book. You know the one that they design something to break down or need to be replaced do poor design's. Also having a complete lack of quailty control due to importing from 3rd world countries and still charging top notch prices. But I guess they are counting on a bail out too!
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Well I tell you what - I also have a Ruger (New Model Super Blackhawk) and is twice the gun as the Smith at 3/4s the price. Yes, yes I know that the 29/629 is an iconic gun, but why would S&W produce a product that competes with Ruger that costs more, and is inferior in quality?

A company can only rest on it's laurels for so long - then it has to step up to the plate.
 
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The slickest .44 I ever owned was an early 1970s production 61/2" nickle plated M-29. The stainless guns, new or old don't compare with that one. But to gain some degree of happiness with your new gun, grips can be changed. Other than that, just start searching for an older used one.
 
Had a 29-2 61/2" for many years. The gun was a work of art. When closed you couldn't hardly see the line between crane and frame. Beautifull trigger and blueing. I picked up a 5" Classic 629. Holding guns at the same time, triggers were identicle. Fit and finish is awsome. Just got lucky I guess.
 
MTM said:
Had a 29-2 61/2" for many years. The gun was a work of art. When closed you couldn't hardly see the line between crane and frame. Beautifull trigger and blueing. I picked up a 5" Classic 629. Holding guns at the same time, triggers were identicle. Fit and finish is awsome. Just got lucky I guess.
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OK - I didn't buy the classic - I got the 'regular'. you can see it here:

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...selected=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=

I find it ironic that this gun looks more like my old gun with the half lug, than the 'classic' does with the full lug.

As for the grips I found these:

http://www.eaglegrips.com/guns/SW-Heritage-N-Frame-Round-Butt.html

which will make it look a little more like my 'ol gun - which I never should have sold!!!

What's that old saying 'You can never go back to your hometown?' or something like that...
 
IM_Lugger said:
buy Taurus! :D better value, and just as good ;)
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Buy anything but a Taurus. Only the Desert Eagle ranks lower on the list.

The answer to the question of S&W vs Ruger depends on what you are looking for. S&Ws usually have smoother actions out of the box and better cylinder throat/forcing cone tolerances. Rugers stand up better to heavy loads, especially with bullets heavier than the standard 240-250 grains.

S&W is my choice for a gun for mostly factory-level loads and reduced .44 Special level loads. If I wanted to to shoot heavy bullets or 240-250 grain bullets at higher than factory velocities, I would choose a Ruger.
 
Up until they were acquired by Bangor Punta, S&W would lose money on every Model 29 sold. Bangor Puntl managers started the move to making the 29 more "economical".
 
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My S&W Performance Center 627 came with the "round" Ahrends grip installed. While it looks and feels different, I found it grows on you. It changes the angle of the recoil somewhat and I think I'm going to prefer it with light .38 target loads. My gun also came with Hogue full-size conversion grips. I think I may end up preferring these for the full boot of hot .357's. As for finish, it's hard to beat a PC revolver. The compensator on mine takes a lot of muzzle flip and recoil out of the game. To me, it's nice to have the flexibility of the newer S&W round butt. I don't know the rational behind that design but that outfit knows a lot about making revolvers so it must have been a fact based decision.
 
When the vast majority of S&W N frames were square butt, lots of folks whinged about the butt being too large, and paid good money to have the guns "round butted". As to the quality, in terms of sheer mechanical quality, these are probably the best built Smiths ever, but they aren't nearly as well finished. FWIW - dan
 
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