I was told by my FFL to look for cheaper 44spcl because my new 629 will eat it like a 357 can eat 38's.  

Is this true?

yes, it is true.

although i'm not sure .44 special is any cheeper than .44 mag.  it just recoils less.

Yes, and I have a hard time finding .44 sp for cheaper than some 44 mag loadings.  You can try to blazer aluminum 44 mag for around$ 15 for 50 rounds.  It is a pretty mild round.

Agreed true......

+1 about the ammo though, if anything I'd think it would be more expensive.

I have a 629 also.

If you want night and day, shoot 180 gr. Remington UMC  .44 magnum and then shoot .44 specials.

BOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOOM BOOOOOOM

vs.

pop pop pop pop pop pop

You should be able to put all 6 .44 specials in the same hole at 10 paces.

The 44 mag is cool for just that reason.  You can hunt deer with the mags and then defend yourself with the specials.  

This is a great round if you ever wanted to get into reloading.  Just save the brass and buy a lee handy press and a set of lee dies.  Then buy a pound of powder, bullets and primers and have fun!  

Covet the special brass and don’t let anyone throw your brass on the ground to be lost!  Folks will pay for once fired special brass.  

one problem with shooting .44 special in .44 magnum chambers, or .38 in .357 is that if you do not consistently clean the chambers after firing, eventually (many hundred rounds) there will be a carbon buildup in the front of the chamber that will impede chambering of the full length rounds. Also, once those rounds are fired, they'll stick in the chamber worse because the chamber tolerances have been tightened due to the buildup of carbon, so there'd be an extraction problem.

basically, as long as you maintain and clean your chambers everytime you shoot, there should be no problem, and it should be relatively easy to just run a chamber brush through each hole a couple times after you shoot.

Quoted: one problem with shooting .44 special in .44 magnum chambers, or .38 in .357 is that if you do not consistently clean the chambers after firing, eventually (many hundred rounds) there will be a carbon buildup in the front of the chamber that will impede chambering of the full length rounds. Also, once those rounds are fired, they'll stick in the chamber worse because the chamber tolerances have been tightened due to the buildup of carbon, so there'd be an extraction problem. basically, as long as you maintain and clean your chambers everytime you shoot, there should be no problem, and it should be relatively easy to just run a chamber brush through each hole a couple times after you shoot.

I already deal with that in my 357 revolver!  I don't think I've shot more than 50 rounds of 357 mag through it since I've purchased it.

As for the 44 mag v 44 spl, I just wanted some loads that allow me to shoot it LONGER rather than build up the callus on the webbing of my hand any more!  I never realized a 44mag in a 4" barrel would punish so much!  Here's a pic of her (without the comp on it):

went out to the range today with 5" and a 6.5" S&W classics.
shooting was like night and day...
the 5 has a tone more recoil than the 6.5".