s&w 329pd anyone have one ?

[superdown]

was looking at one of these at the local gun shop and everyone there was like i am never shooting that again the recoil is to bad because of the light weight it is the 44 mag version i have shot 44mag like most shoot 22lr as in the amount rounds down range but the reaction of the folks at the shop kind of made me think the excuse was that the back of grip strap contacted the hand i am interested in pack pistol with more power than a 357 but nothing thats going to break my wrist and easy to find ammo but reliability is key and i am smith&wesson fan thanx superdown

[Catfish]

I found it to be alot less than expected. All of the guy at the club were telling me how bad it was and I believed them. Don`t get me worng, it puts more shock to the hand than my 500`s and is at least as bad as my .454 Redhawk without the scope on it. It`s alot better with rubber grips, but is still more than most people want. If your a big bore nut that just has to know when the gun goes off, then it`s what your looking for. 

[thales]

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I put the polymer grip from a S&W 500 on my 329 and it is more fun to shoot now.  44 Specials are great for target practice and plinking. 44 Magnums are not as much fun, but I have no particular problems with flinching or soreness. Go for it and enjoy!


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[sunnenman]

thales,
Can you tell me where you purchased your grip?  I just purchased a 329 and had to put it away after 4 rounds.  Time for a new grip.
-sunnenman

[Hook686]

 The grip is available at the S&W store.

Has anyone shot the Speer 200 grain Short Barrel Gold Dot Hollow Points, in their 329PD ?

[sunnenman]

I ordered the new S&W grip last week.  Hope I see it soon.  I just got a box of winchester cowboy action loads in 44 special with the 240 gr flat nose.  Very low recoil out of my 329.  My problem was that several of the rounds missfired and I had to drop the hammer on them again to get them to go off.  Anyone know why this would happen?  I didn't have any problems with the 6 full loads that I shot other than a sore hand.
-sunnenman

[paul105]

Sunnenman,

1.  Check the strain screw.  If you don't know, it's at the bootom of the grip on the front.  It tensions the mainspring, and has a tendancy to backout under recoil.  I've also found that S&W doesn't always get all their screws tight.  Some people loosen the strain screw to reduce trigger pull -- not a good idea for reliable ignition.

2.  I'm on my third 329 PD.  The first one self destructed (not an ammunition problem), and it was replaced by S&W under warranty. 

After 25 magnum rounds or so, the lock malfunctioned on the replacement (329 #2), and tied the gun up.  Worked it loose, and tried again -- totally tied up.  Took it home and removed the lock.

Next, it (#2) started giving me ignition problems after several hundred or so rounds of magnum level loads.  It would work for several rounds, then I would get "pin prick"  like firing pin hits and no ignition (checked strain screw and it was tight).  Some would fire when struck again and some wouldn't (this went on for a couple of days).  The misfires would all fire in a 629.   Rather than send it back to S&W, it took it to my smith.  He cleaned everything up, and added a shim to correct some end shake (headspace).  Took it to the range, and it worked for 46 rounds before first stoppage due to "pin prick" (very weak, almost non existant fireing pin hits).  Took it back to my smith.  Looked it over, did something else to it.  Took it back to the range, and after about 12 rounds, same symptoms/results.  Put it down and shot a differnt gun for a while.  Just before quitting for the day, I tried it again -- it worked for 3 rounds and quit.

My next move was to order a Cylinder & Slide Shop "Long" firing pin and had my Smith install it.  First 4 rounds, great firing pin hits -- on the fifth round, the firing pin jammed forward and locked up the gun.  Managed to work it loose, and "Dumb Me" tried it again -- locked up tighter than a drum.  Took it back to my Smith -- stuck a brass rod down barrel thru empty case and tapped the fireing pin back into the frame (WARNING!!!  MAKE SURE THE ROUND HAS FIRED --  CHECK LENGTH OF ROD ON OUTSIDE OF REVOLVER FROM END OF BARREL TO BACK OF CYLINDER (NEAR HAMMER) AND MAKE SURE ROD GOES IN PAST BBL/CYL INTERFACE AND INTO CYL AN INCH OR MORE).  He took the pin out, and  lightly polished it and the hole in the frame.  Back to the range, this time with brass rod.  Locked up after second round -- tapped pin back, and tried again -- same result.  Back to the Smith/range with same results.  I finally replaced the factory firing pin and sent it back to S&W day before yesterday.

3.  Bought my third 329 the middle of last week.  Have 210 rounds of mag level rounds thru it to date with absolutely no problems.  Now that I have (or will have when I get the one back from S&W -- fixed I hope) two 329s, I will probably have no futher problems, but if I do, I will recycle thru S&W warranty shop.

I'm not bad mouthing the 329 because I really love this gun and carry it's pretty much my every day here in Montana.  Don't know whether I've just been unlucky, or if "Murphy" is stalking me.

As mentioned above the S&W 500 Hoques make the 329 shootable.  I shoot a a dozen or so rounds about 6 days a week -- it's the one gun I shoot every time I go shooting.

One thing to remember is that these light weight guns are hard to shoot -- the lack of weight makes them real hard to keep steady while working the trigger.

Here's a picture of #2 (before it started malfunctioning) with the Hogue grips installed and in a Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake holster:






Paul

[paul105]

Update:

I boxed up the 329 and sent it to S&W on Jan 3, 2007.  S&W returned it to me Friday 1-12-2007.  The repair sheet said:

1.  Replaced firing pin.

2.  Repaired lock.

Here is a picture of the lock parts that I returned to S&W -- notice the light colored, mottled metal, where something broke off the small washer looking part.





Took it out yesterday PM.  Shot about 50 .44 special loads, followed by 4 cylinders of .44 Mag loads.  Would have shot more, but hands were getting cold -- it was about 5 degrees, and the wind was starting to blow.  Ignition problem appears to be cured.  Firing pin hits were very well defined -- much more so than when I sent it back.  Seeing as how I now have another one, I'll shoot it some more before I totally trust it.

Paul

[bustedknee]

I love mine and can report no problems.

Lightweight guns are tough to shoot but can be mastered.

I think some people just can't shoot them for several reasons (Some people can't handle an all-steel 44 either).

Improper technique.
Weak hands/arms.
Ammo too hot.

I have never seen a reason to switch to the 500 grips.  I generally fire 50 rounds at a range session.  I never fire bullets heavier than 240 grains.  Bullets somewhere in the 180-200 grain range are very deadly. 

I had been searching many years for something like the 329 - Carry lots, shoot little.

[Snowman366]

Have had no problems with my 329PD. Use it as a carry gun loaded with Remington 180-grain jhp factory magum loads.

I always keep in mind that the "PD" on the end of the model number stands for "Personal Defense". Those scandium revolvers weren't meant to be used in prolonged shooting sessions. I do most of my .44 magnum practice with my 629 Mountain Gun. Have K&L Pachmayr grips on both revolvers so the grip feel is the same. Been a metro policeman for 35 years and I like how the 180-grain .44 magnums do on whitetail deer and also from what I've observed at autopsies of criminals who have been shot with them. Based on that, the recoil is certainly worth the trouble to me.

[sasu]

With a leather glove I can easily shoot a box of factory ammo with these Hogue grips.

[Hook686]

The S&W 329PD is now my handgun of choice when I go into the outback to fish, hike, photograph nature .... I found CCI Blazer .44 Special 200 grain GDHP, Speer Short Barrel 200 grain GDHP, Buffalo Bore Heavy .44 Special JHC and my reload of 200 grain GDHP bullets using 9.4 grains of Unique to be an easy set of loads to shoot in my 329PD. I like the 200 grain Gold Dot and reload them for when I practice with and carry the 329PD. The Buffalo Bore Heavy .44 Special 185 grain JHC gave me about 1200 fps out of the 329PD. This Buffalo Bore Heavy .44 Special was about the same as the Speer Short Barrel 200 grain GDHP in recoil, though it is also more pricey. I get almost the same with my reload, so am content practicing with them.

[S.B.]

I ordered the new S&W grip last week.  Hope I see it soon.  I just got a box of winchester cowboy action loads in 44 special with the 240 gr flat nose.  Very low recoil out of my 329.  My problem was that several of the rounds missfired and I had to drop the hammer on them again to get them to go off.  Anyone know why this would happen?  I didn't have any problems with the 6 full loads that I shot other than a sore hand.
-sunnenman

Sounds like the mainspring screw(front of the grip) has come loose? If this is tight, do some more shooting and observe what goes on during the misfires? Above all, be careful?
Steve