Any opinions on the 29-4 3"?

Does $700 seem reasonable?

Lew Horton Special.

From the abundant descriptive detail you have provided I am left with no other answer than absolutely.

From what I've read the Lew Horton was the 29-3 and the 29-4 is basically the same package but not officially the Lew Horton.

Only details I can think of:

No fluting on the cylinder.
Seems to be a round grip with pachmyer rubber.
Obviously a blue .44 mag.

I have a 629-1  3" that I bought used.
I also own a 629-4   6 1/2"

I have been told the 3" is a Lew Horton but I don't have any documentation.

My club holds a back up gun plate shoot every now and then and by the rules 3" revolvers are back up guns

It shoots pretty nice, I alternate between the Houges and some smooth wood with finger bumps that actually work better on the 3" than the 6 1/2" gun. With full loads there is plenty of recoil but it is way better than a 357 airweight. The gun is fairly short but still pretty heavy so more of a heavy push than the fastball caught barehanded sting of the light 357s

Most of the loads I shoot in it are 240 cast over a moderate load of unique which runs about 1000-1050fps. Great accuracy , I believe commercial cast bullets are pretty hard and are not getting  a good grip on the rifleing at 800 fps or so of the usual 44 special loadings but when you push them up over 1000fps the groups start to shrink.

Its a real contrast , sort of a small looking snub gun which of course it really isn't because the scale is all wrong.

I also have some lighter loads , I believe they are 200 or 210 gr fairly soft cast that I again push with unique to a mild 750 fps-pretty much a mild 44sp load , it's a real pussycat that I have folks try before letting them shoot the mid range load.
And before anybody asks , I am not the guy who sneaks the full power loads in on the unsuspecting . Hate that stupid crap.

I think 629 no dash is the same as a 29-2, so a 629-1 would be the same as a 29-3 (obviously aside from the stainless thing), so it likely is a Lew Horton.

I was also thinking aboout 240 gr cast (Keith style) moving out around 1,000 fps as a typical load. I'm past the point in life where everything must move out at 1,600 fps or more.

Yes, I am pretty sure the Lew Horton guns were fluted and did not have a full under lug.

Either way $700 is a good price assuming the gun is vg+

If in very good condition, I'd pay it.

Dave N

Pics


So these cane fluted and un fluted ?

i paid around 9 for a 29-2 in excellent cond.

ahhh there she is!  second up from bottom right

Agreed
Compared to a full house 44 mag load it is sort of mild but alongside most anything else 240gr at 1.000 is right snappy

I was looking for a 29-2 as my first choice, but haven't seen any. CA is difficult because we can bring in guns on gunbroker if they are not on the approved list, which rules out guns not in current production if they are from out of state. Consignment sales within the state are the only option.

I have seen two pre-29s, one was going for $900 but had timing issues, and the barrel appeared to be non-standard (about 4.5"). The other was (is?) going for over $2k and has too much collector value for what I want.

Frankly, $700 is a good price for ANY 29 in my area.

I don't have a pic of it yet. Google will show you what it looks like.

Yes, fluted and not. For 3" it is:

29-3, Lew Horton, fluted with partial underlug, round butt and IIRC nice wood grips and ported barrel.
29-4 NOT Lew Horton, full underlug and not fluted, no barrel port and pachmayer grips.