Big Bore carry/general purpose outdoorsmen revolver pic and discussion thread

[BehindBlueI's]

Attachment 40080

629-4

I posted that from my phone and meant to come and add some text, but I got sidetracked and now can't edit.

This is my (somewhat early) birthday present to myself. 629-4, combat hammer and combat trigger. I'm not sure if it was originally ordered that way or if they are later additions. It's been used as a bowling pin gun and the trigger has been lightened, particularly the single action. The downside is the hammer will push off at an estimated 12-15 lbs of pressure. I bought it today so haven't had a chance to fire it yet. I'm already in touch with my gun smith of choice to take a look at the guts and get the push off addressed.

On a side note, the fellow I bought it from works for a local federal prison and seems the squared away sort. I invited him to PF, so hopefully we'll have a new member shortly.

[BehindBlueI's]

Attachment 40080

629-4

I took my .45 Colt/.45 Auto Redhawk and my new-to-me 629-4 to the range today to see which I sucked less with and do a comparison. For an apples-to-apples I had loaded both with 9.0 gr of unique with a bullet weight of 240 gr for the .44 and 250 gr for the 55.

I noted:

1) I'm trash with a DA revolver now. I could keep everything on a B-7 repair target at 10y but I've definitely slid back.

2) Recoil was remarkably samey-samey, with a slight edge to the Redhawk. With the Redhawk being heavier and with the meaty rubber presentation grip I thought it would have less felt recoil. It didn't. What it did do was recoil more straight back with less muzzle rise. Both were quite comfortable with the lighter load of Unique.

3) The S&W was more accurate, both in DA and in SA. I know my .451 bullets are slightly undersized for the .45/.45 Colt, which isn't helping. The margin wasn't huge, but was noticeable.

4) I don't have a strong preference in DA. The Redhawk definitely stacks more, but since I've had it deburred and smoothed up a bit it isn't as trash as it was from the factory. Apparently a large burr scraping the side of the hammer is bad for trigger pull. Who knew?

5) The S&W is *way* lighter in SA. Too light, which I knew when I bought it an am going to get addressed. It was last used as a bowling pin match gun and it's deep into what I would consider "competition only" weights.

I ran some 240gr Hornady FTX factory ammo through the S&W and was pleased with both the accuracy and the felt recoil. I'm not going to be rapid firing it by any stretch, but it wasn't like high-fiving a sledge hammer. I ended up the day with some 23.5gr of H110 loads I'd loaded up back in '16 for my 6" Model 29. Muzzle flash was pretty dramatic and after 4 shots in the black I pushed two low/right as I started to flinch. I scraped my finger against the trigger guard pulling back a bit of skin, which didn't help. Probably not a load I'm going to want to shoot much of in the 4".

I'm thinking I'd like to put some bigger grips on the N-frame. Something that would cover the backstrap and increase the reach to the trigger. With a natural index I feel like I have way too much finger in the trigger guard. Any grip recommendations?

[revchuck38]

I'm thinking I'd like to put some bigger grips on the N-frame. Something that would cover the backstrap and increase the reach to the trigger. With a natural index I feel like I have way too much finger in the trigger guard. Any grip recommendations?

I'd try the small Pachmayr Presentation grip. I'm not sure that they're available new anymore, but the last time I checked Numrich had a bunch of them (used) for pretty cheap. I'm 6'1" with average hands for my height and the large ones are too big for me to shoot DA with an N frame. For context, I shoot my M&P40 and PX4s with the large backstrap.

[Malamute]

Stoning off any sharpness on the front edge of the trigger may help some.

I may have a set of Pachmayrs, either finger groove or not, maybe one of each that you can try. If they work you can have them.

[Adam]

Did you even go west on vacation if you didn't take a big bore wheel gun, in this case my 629 stoked with some 240 gr SWC? Up in the fog on the west side of the Tetons.

[mtnbkr]

Grabbed this pic while doing some early season black bear scouting in preparation for the fall hunting season. Gun is a 4" 629-4 stoked with my handloads (265gr SWC over 19gr 2400). Holster, not shown, is a Lobo Tom Threepersons:


Chris

[BehindBlueI's]

I posted that from my phone and meant to come and add some text, but I got sidetracked and now can't edit.

This is my (somewhat early) birthday present to myself. 629-4, combat hammer and combat trigger. I'm not sure if it was originally ordered that way or if they are later additions. It's been used as a bowling pin gun and the trigger has been lightened, particularly the single action. The downside is the hammer will push off at an estimated 12-15 lbs of pressure. I bought it today so haven't had a chance to fire it yet. I'm already in touch with my gun smith of choice to take a look at the guts and get the push off addressed.

On a side note, the fellow I bought it from works for a local federal prison and seems the squared away sort. I invited him to PF, so hopefully we'll have a new member shortly.

Turns out it the hammer and trigger weren't messed with at all. I had my buddy gunsmith take a look at it and he peered at everything with a jeweler's loupe and said nothing had been ground on. The main spring is bent a bit and that's the only issue. If you push the trigger forward just a bit it no longer pushes off, so a replacement main spring of proper spec should put it back to factory. He said the hammer favors the right said a touch, not enough to bother with, and everything else checks out fine.

[Adam]

Ordered a set of Ahrends Retros from Brownell's and as others have mentioned, I wasn't wowed by the finish (rough sprayed on poly). I stripped them, hit them with a few coats of stain and rubbed in several coats of tung oil. Time to dirty them up.

Also picked up this beautiful holster from HC Leather on ebay. What a craftsman (and don't tell him he doesn't charge enough).

[andre3k]

Picked this one up today at my gun clubs annual swap meet. It was better than the few gun shows I've attended recently. I had just sold off some reloading gear I brought with me and had extra funds in the pocket and came across a widow selling her deceased husband's gun collection. Its a 657-4 and I just happen to be a fan of 41 magnums and red dots. It came with the factory rear sight and a set of RCBS dies. The downside is the poor porting job. I'll get some ammo loaded up soon and see how it shoots. This one will be for hog hunting and the occasional bowling pin shoot. I'm thinking this mold should pair nicely with it. http://www.arsenalmolds.com/bullet-molds?product_id=156

[mtnbkr]

Picked this one up today at my gun clubs annual swap meet. It was better than the few gun shows I've attended recently. I had just sold off some reloading gear I brought with me and had extra funds in the pocket and came across a widow selling her deceased husband's gun collection. Its a 657-4 and I just happen to be a fan of 41 magnums and red dots. It came with the factory rear sight and a set of RCBS dies. The downside is the poor porting job. I'll get some ammo loaded up soon and see how it shoots. This one will be for hog hunting and the occasional bowling pin shoot. I'm thinking this mold should pair nicely with it. http://www.arsenalmolds.com/bullet-molds?product_id=156

Nice looking rig. Those Ultradots are tough. I had one on my Redhawk for awhile back when I fancied myself a handgun hunter. I ultimately removed it because it made the gun feel too tall and top-heavy. Now that we have tiny red dots like RMRs, Leupolds, Holosuns, etc, I would go that route instead.

The mould looks good thought I'm not as familiar with the 41mag and appropriate bullet weights. Check out NOE too. They make a nice mould. I'd be looking for a WFN-style with as much meplate as I can get myself.

As for the porting, maybe see if Magna-Port can do something with it if it doesn't work well as is.

Chris