S&W 627 or 629 2.625in Barrel?

I'm thinking about purchasing one of these and putting some Ahrends grips on it for a woods carry gun while I'm hiking. My main concern, though, is barrel length and ballistics. Is a 2.625in barrel enough barrel to take advantage of .357 or .44 magnum ballistics? Does one perform better than the other out of shorter barrels? The also make this gun in .41 magnum, would this be a good performing cartridge? I'm getting into hand loading so ammunition wouldn't be a problem.

My primary concern is Black Bear, wild pigs and two legged critters.

Here is picture:
http://i56.tinypic.com/wumjc1.jpg

I wouldn't. Barrel is very short with a short sight radius. I would get a 629 mountain gun. Much easier to shoot and its not that heavy. The 329 Scandium revolver recoils to the point of pure hell with real loads. Also where do you live. If bears are a concern don't bother with anything less than a .44 mag.
Pat

Yup. Two and a half inch .44 mags have a big following, but a 4" or longer barrel makes more sense. If you want a .44 mag get a Mountain Gun like Alaskapopo suggested. And he's right, the 329 kicks like a mule with something like Randy Garrett's ammo, but with 300 grain Federal Cast Core's, mine isn't too bad.

Unless you're in big bear country, even a stoutly loaded .44 special will really do the job though.

You live on the Gulf Coast... .357 magnum is plenty. I will echo the other posters' sentiments about getting a heavier frame rather than a lighter one.

I dunno. If there's big pigs around in the grass, I think I'd still want a .44. They're tough little sumbitches.....

I think what I'm going to do is just a plain old stainless Model 629 with a 4in barrel. I like the non fluted cylinders and blasted stainless so I'll probably just pick up a lightly used one and send it off to get a trigger job, cylinder and bead blast.

I thought about one of the eight shot .357's because the black bear down here are really mellow, more like large racoons. I want the .44 for versatility, it may be over kill for FL but it wont be for CO or AK.

One thing I've noticed with bead blasted stainless is that it tends to rust more easily than standard polished stainless, as you're opening up the pores of the steel....and when you knock the rust spots off with some 0000 steel wool and solvent/oil, it'll get shiny again.

Something to think about if you're down in the Gulf with high humidity.

I echo going 4".

Good point on the rusting. I've noticed that too. The rough surfaces will also allow moisture to stay on the gun. Even my factory finish SS guns will develop rust along checkered or grooved areas if I'm not diligent with wiping them off.

Good choice going with .44, (though I'd still recommend the Mountain Gun version). You can always load specials when you don't need full power. You can't load a .357 up enough for really big stuff. Honestly, a 240 grain HC bullet at 900 fps will knock down anything you're likely to come across in the lower 48. In Alaskapopo's backyard, even the hottest .44's are pretty puny if it's a big bear.

I just got some of these from Buffalo Bore. They call them their "anti personnel" loads for .44 special. It's a 200 grain, super hard cast, full wadcutter, at around 1000 fps. Given what .38 full wadcutters do in gelatin, they should be a great, really easy to shoot load, that would work on anything shy of a big bear. After I shoot a few boxes, I might make them my all around load in my everyday woods/winter carry gun, a customized S&W 396 .44 special.

http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/...d/IMG_0715.jpg

If you end up carrying the 629 a lot, the Cylinder & Slide fixed sight replacement rear is great in my opinion. The S&W rear adjustable's are kinda fragile, and for some of us, they seem to snag on everything. If you don't want to spend the money for an action job, the trigger spring kit that Wolf makes for Brownells is a super cheap, easy to install upgrade.

Jake's Dad, whats the difference between the standard 629 and the Mountain gun? From what I've read it's just two ounces in weight?

Also, I think the Wolff spring pack sounds like a winner, along with a case of .44 special and a weekend at the range :)

EDIT: I am on the gulf coast but not right on the coast, I'm about 30 miles inland so salt isn't an issue. I take good care of my guns and have never had an issue with rust, I just wipe everything down frequently.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Goodtimes

Jake's Dad, whats the difference between the standard 629 and the Mountain gun? From what I've read it's just two ounces in weight?

Also, I think the Wolff spring pack sounds like a winner, along with a case of .44 special and a weekend at the range :)

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Don't know the weight difference off hand, it's not much, but it's a case of it feeling like much more. I tend to carry my guns, a lot, so even a couple ounces is noticeable to me.

Since I got the 396, and the 329, frankly, I don't even carry my steel Mountain Guns anymore. The full steel gun is definitely more fun to shoot a lot at the range though, and I'd carry it in AK for controlability with heavy loads, (as a backup to my 45-70, .375, or .458. Big Bears scare the crap out of me).

If you reload, (or want to start), the .44's are very easy to load, with their big cases, and since there's no dirt cheap factory ammo, it will save you a bunch.

When you need a holster, look at Simply Rugged. Rob makes great, old craftsman type holsters, that are priced very reasonably, and he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.