New Deer Hunting tool - 629 Classic DX

I have been away from the handgun hunting for over 15 years. I just picked this up and hunted opening day in Michigan. Sure is fun to have this with me. Here it is on my bench in the backyard when I was getting it sighted in. I only saw does and little bucks yesterday, but there is still the late doe season with time to experiment with loads.

I fixed the picture. ...I think.

Beautiful piece!
I love the classic S&Ws & I love the rb N-frames. Nice wood too!
Should do the job if you find something to point it at.

I have a friend in Sparta that's a die hard trad bow guy that bought a 7.5" BH 44mag as a backup gun for a bow hunt up here last year. Hoping he'll get bit by the HH bug!

Welcome back!

I am glad to be back. I would much rather use a handgun, blackpowder, etc., at least for deer. I forgot how much fun these 44 mags were to shoot. I can't wait to start loading for it. I hope to post pics of the "first harvest" befor ethe season ends. BTW, this is a great site and is part of the reason I got back into it. I posted here first asking questions about the 629 and got some good feedback. Happy Trails......

Welcome to the board and back to handgun hunting. That is a awesome looking set-up you have. Hopefully you will bloody it this season.

The 629 & mod 29 are great guns. I have an 8&3/8 mod 29 & love it. If it weren't for the large brown bears in my part of Alaska I never would have picked up the 480 SRH I just did. I'm comfortable with the 44 mag even on moose at reasonable ranges (under 100yds) with the right bullet.

Moose hunting in AK is my dream someday. I had kids and the funding for the hunt went with them.......:)

Very nice - the DX is a great gun. I wonder why they dropped them?

SWEET 629!!

Good luck with the hunt!

nice hardwood grips. whats the brend name? oldracerguy

I love the classic 629s' good luck with it this year!

I love the 29
I am like Gary don't know why they droped the DX my guess is to push the higher$$ PC guns

Beautiful looking Smith. I have a 629 Classic that wears an older Burris 2x. This is my favorite 44 magnum. Good luck this season.

Nice gun, good luck this season! Where do you hunt in Michigan?

Wow that is gorgeous!!

Those are the factory wood grips that came with the gun. The DX model comes with the rubber Hogue mono grips, wood grips, interchangeable front sight blades, and a factory test target. This particular DX came with a test target that was .8" for a 5 shot group at 25 yards. I found it used at the local Gander Mountain store. I am pumped and hope to test it's huntability on a few local Whitetail.

I have a 6 1/2" 629 equipped with an Ultra Dot, and a 5" that wears a Call Gold bead front sight. I've used both quite a bit since 1991, and would never sell them. Try 23 gr. 296, CCI 350's and a 240 Sierra JHC in yours. Congratulations on your find.

The DX models were the pick of the litter for accuracy. They were then smoothed, chambers beveled, and hand tuned. Basically a custom gun. Why were they dropped? The product was labor intensive for the price, and Smith felt they could do better with its Performance Center offerings. Not! If you run across one, you would do well to snap it up. Would not part with mine.

nice gun grips are nice your ready to punch holes in fur. lol

Oldracer...

I'm not a S&W fan these days, but those 629's were the last of the great S&W revolvers. (some here would dispute that point, I'm sure of it!) That's a nice piece o' iron you got there! Cudos to you for getting back to handgun hunting, particularly with the .44 magnum(near and dear to my heart). Welcome home to HHM!
What particular .44 cartridge have you decided to use?

Oh, and lest I forget,

I like your tag-line, a quote from Will Geer that today's younger movie goer's would not likely recognize.

Hey Renster, thanks for the feedback! I have'nt started loading for the .44 yet so I am just going with the Hornady 240gr XTP? Hopefully I will get some field tesing this weekend. I really love the little Burris 2x that is on it. It gives me much more confidence past 50 yards.

Will Geer was outstanding in Jeremiah Johnson. One of my favorites. We actually have a Jeremiah Johnson weekend during the late doe season where we can only use Hawken rifles, no prebuilt stands, must have snow on the ground, no scopes, etc. Afterwards we get the fire going inside and have a few cocktails and put Jeremiah Johnson in. Our wives laugh at us but they join in and cook up some great food.

any suggestion on deer loads for the .44?

Oldracer,

Though I have reloaded for the .44 Magnum in the past, I too utilize factory ammunition. Some of it is just so very good these days (albeit - expensive!).
For about 5 or 6 years I utilized the Federal 300 grain Castcore cartridge with great results. Alawys found them accurate and always drilled a hole completely through big Northeastern whitetail bucks.
When I purchased my Anniversary Blackhawk a couple of years ago I was at that time seeking an alternative to the Castcore as it was just plain getting too expensive to buy Federal premium ammunition. After some study to find an affordable cartridge with similar accuracy and punch, I settled on the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot jacketed softpoint. It is much more affordable, has somewhat higher muzzle velocity and matches the punch of the Castcore, and my Blackhawk seems quite partial to it. I recommend it as an excellent hunting cartridge if your revolver likes it. I am still quite fond of my old favorite - the Federal Castcore as well. It's just that Federal premium hunting ammunition is so outrageously over priced right now, and likely will be for some time. As of now, I have no reason to go back to it even if it does come down. As I said, my Blackhawk shoots the Speer very well and the bullet is a thumper. I believe I'll stick with it for now.
I think that Hornady makes some of the best hunting bullets to be had, and those XTP's are no exception. But when hunting big deer with a .44 revolver, one needs all the edge he can get, and 240 grain weight class bullets just are not quite enough edge for me. I have always hunted with hard and heavy bullets in the .44. Consider switching to a heavier bullet when the time is right, and use the hardest and heaviest that your Smith will shoot accurately.