That -3 in 629-3 is all important to me. Why? It's an early enough gun to get features I want, but it's also a just late enough gun to get some features I want. Let's start with the early enough part.
A 629-3 is early enough ...
A 629-3 is an early enough vintage to still get a hammer mounted firing pin, instead of a frame mounted. Have always preferred the earlier hammer mounted firing pins on Smiths to the frame mounted. Have had a few Smiths with frame mounted firing pins that gave me issues with light strikes.
A 629-3 is early enough vintage to have still had the availability of the factory optional wider target hammer and target trigger. This one has both. (Also early enough to have that legendary superb S&W SA trigger for accuracy work.)
A 629-3 is early enough to have no lock, though the lock never really has been an issue for me. Still, nice to have a vintage without it.
A 629-3 is early enough to have NO MIM parts, though, again, the MIM parts on the current Smiths have not caused any problems for me. Again, just nice to have a gun made the old way.
On the other end of things, a 629-3 is late enough ...
A 629-3 is late enough to have the S&W endurance package for some added construction to handle a steady diet of 44 mag shooting. Back when silhouette was the hot new shooting sport in the 70s and into the 80s, Smith 29s and 629s had trouble keeping up with Ruger and D&W 44 mags as far as handling the extreme round counts of 44 mag being shot. Keep in mind that silhouette shooters could easily shoot more rounds of 44 mag in one season than most 44 mag shooter shoot in a lifetime. Finally, in the late 80s, with the 629-2E (E for endurance package) and the 629-3, Smith beefed up the 629 construction for more durability. This endurance package on all guns later than the 629-2E doesn't turn the 629 into a Ruger that can handle Ruger only loads, but it does give me some peace of mind, all the same.
A 629-3 is also late enough to have the top strap drilled and tapped for a scope mount. Very good chance that this gun will have a red dot, now that I've had a chance to check for accuracy.
So, how does it shoot? Here's my sight in target, shot offhand, as usual. You can see that the gun responded perfectly to each change I made in windage and elevation. That consistency says a lot about accuracy. The gun should do very well when I get a chance to shoot it at longer distances.
Bill wanted to shoot the 629-3, too, but not with 44 mags. Shooting 44 mags is just not his thing. That's where 44 Specials can save the day. Here's his target at 16 yards with 44 Specials, with him gradually adjusting his sight picture to get on target. One thing for sure, he does like large frame revolvers.
Really is nice to be back shooting a 44 mag revolver, again, especially with this perfect vintage 629-3. Feels like old times.
