WBill: something to consider is what you wish to purchase. I know you have mentioned the 629s, which are stainless steel guns.
A buncha years back when I was thinking about trading my blue steel 29-2 with a 6.5" bbl for a new 4", I found out that the blue steel guns are a lot less expensive than the stainless guns - apparently, everybody wants stainless, thinking they don't rust, and ditching their blue steel guns in trade. I found that I could not get my value on a blue steel tradeoff and decided not to lose any of the value of the piece, so I sent it back to S&W for some custom work.
I guess what I am advocating here is that you possibly consider a used blue steel S&W. You may find that they are carried much but shot little and in excellent condition. A used 4" Model 29 might run you $300. And, for about another $100 you could sent it back to S&W for a custom shop workover, including barrel change it may cost you a bit more but certainly less than a new stainless. If you truely want a stainless gun then you will have to pay the piper his cost. If that is just a leaning, you may wish to consider an alternative and save yourself some good $.
If it is a specific configuaration (bbl, etc) that you want, S&W can do whatever you ask them to do, if it's possible. I wanted a 4" Mountain Gun bbl on my 29-2 to reduce weight (ounces) and to primarily reduce the length of the barrel and prevent wearing holes in my hip after some 20 years of carrying the thing in the field. The Mountain Gun bbl was stainless, my revolver blue, so they mounted the bbl, tuned the action, bead blasted the whole piece and blued it to match. The end result is a 4" 29-2 with the slim Mountain Gun bbl and a matt finish as with the Highway Patrolman. To me it is as functional as a stainless piece and smooth as can be. Just my 2 cents worth but I hope this helps. Mikey.
