Lipsey’s Reintroduces the Smith & Wesson Model 629
In 1908 Smith & Wesson rolled out the new .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model, which was also called the .44 Military, Model of 1908, the New Century or its most common moniker, the Triple-Lock, due to its 3 cylinder locking points. It was a large frame (N-frame) double-action, six-shot revolver in .44 S&W Special. The cartridge itself was also new, and was a slightly more powerful round than the older .44 Russian. S&W needed a big robust revolver to compete with the Colt New Service DA sixgun which saw production beginning 10 years earlier in 1898. The Triple-Lock morphed into the .44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model that did away with the ejector rod shroud, then the 3rd Model that brought the ejector rod shroud back, but without the third locking point on the crane. Other variations came along in 1926 and 1950 with improvements like the post-war short action and versions with adjustable target sights.
The .44 Special was always somewhat anemic, with its 246 gr. round-nose lead bullet flying along at about 750 FPS. Folks like Elmer Keith believed the cartridge had more potential and created handloads with generous doses of No. 80, Unique and 2400 smokeless powder, propelling a hard-cast lead 250 gr. semi-wadcutter “Keith” bullet. Elmer was a popular gun writer back in the day and prevailed upon Smith & Wesson to make a revolver and Remington to make a new cartridge called the .44 Magnum. This heavy-duty N-frame was prototyped in 1955 and Keith received his sixgun, the 4th made, in January 1956. When S&W began giving number designations to their handguns, it became the Model 29. A stainless-steel version was introduced in 1979 and was designated the Model 629; the 6 was Smith’s code for stainless-steel. Along about 1993, S&W put a lighter-weight, tapered 4” barrel on the Model 629 and called this version the “Mountain Gun.” The last batch of .44 Magnum Mountain Guns, the Model 629-5 was made in 1999.
The .44 Magnum Mountain Gun Returns
I’ll admit I was excited around the first of the year when Lipsey’s (a major firearms distributor) announced an Exclusive, the S&W 629 Mountain Gun. Back in the mid-90’s when S&W was making stainless-steel Mountain Guns in .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt, I was able to test and purchase all the Mountain Guns except for the Model 629. Now, I had a second chance. At the 2025 SHOT Show, I pegged Jason Cloessner, Sr. VP and Product Development Mgr. for Lipsey’s, and told him to send me a Model 629 Mountain Gun as soon as he could. It ended up arriving on my doorstep towards the end of February.
The new Model 629 Mountain Gun is stainless-steel, has a 4” tapered barrel, and as you can see, above the cylinder release latch is no ugly safety lock keyhole.
Mountain Gun is laser-etched on the right side of the barrel, and you will note the front edges of the cylinder, between the flutes are nicely rounded.
Inside the box from Lipsey’s was the blue plastic carrying case that S&W has been using for a number of years now. Besides the Model 629 Mountain Gun, the case held a safety padlock, owner’s manual, registration card, and a card for a discounted membership in the NRA. If you are reading this and you’re not an NRA member you should be. The struggle to maintain our Second Amendment rights is not over by a long short; especially if you live in a “Blue” state. The case is lockable and works well for carrying your revolver back and forth to the range.
This again-new .44 Magnum Mountain Gun is stamped on the inside of the frame, beneath the crane/yoke, 629-8. You can also shoot .44 Special or even .44 Russian cartridges in the big sixgun. Like its forebearers, it has a light-weight tapered barrel, with a serrated rib on the top that becomes a ramp towards the muzzle, and has a gold bead, patridge style front sight. The bottom of the barrel has an integral ejector rod shroud or lug. Mountain Gun is laser etched on the right side of the barrel and .44 Magnum on the other side. On the rear of the frame top-strap is a fully adjustable sight.
Other features include rounded front edges on the cylinder for smoother re-holstering, a smooth-faced trigger that’s 0.30” wide, and the hammer has a large, checkered spur for ease in cocking. The trigger pull weight in single action averaged 4 lbs., 9 oz., with no take-up, and a touch of over-travel. My Lyman digital trigger pull gauge showed the average double action pull weighed 10 lbs.,10oz. The most unusual feature of the Mountain Gun was the stocks. Made of high-grade walnut by Tyler Gun Works, they are modeled after, and took the name Bear Hug Grips that were once made by the late Deacon Deason. They are smooth, with a satin finish, and a palm swell that made them feel just right in my hand. The best feature was lack of that pesky internal safety lock, with its unsightly keyhole just above the cylinder release latch.
This S&W revolver was once called a “Hand Ejector” due to its swing-out cylinder; note the round-butt grip frame is given a square-butt profile by the grips.
In this closeup you can see the gold bead front sight and the black, fully-adjustable rear sight; check out the sharp checkering on the hammer spur.
On the bottom is a set of original Deacon Deason Bear Hug Grips on the author’s S&W Model 27; above is the Tyler Gun Works Bear Hugs on the 629.
Lead and Leather for the Mountain Gun
I decided I was going to use three .44 Magnum loads and two .44 Special loads for the Model 629-8 T&E. First up were Handgun Hunter .44 Magnum cartridges from Hornady that has their 200 gr. Monoflex bullet. This is a solid copper alloy “pill” with a skived hollow nose that contains Elastomer material which compresses on impact, causing rapid expansion. From SIG-Sauer I obtained some .44 Magnum Elite Performance loads that feature a 240 gr. V-Crown JHP bullet. The third .44 Magnum was Remington Core-Lokt 275 gr. JHP. These bullets lead core is bound to the copper jacket for better expansion and bullet weight retention. In .44 Special, I had Steinel X-Caliber rounds that are loaded with a 200 gr. Gold Dot HP bullet and factory specs show it should produce 1,020 FPS out of a 4” barrel. Lastly, in honor of gone-but-not forgotten gun writers like Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton, and recently departed John Taffin, I put together a well-known .44 Special load. I began with new Shootist brass, CCI large pistol primers, 7.5 gr. of Unique powder, and a 240 gr. cast lead SWC bullet.
Three .44 Magnum loads, a factory .44 Special load, and the author’s .44 Special “Skeeter” handload was used to T&E the Model 629 Mountain Gun.
For a holster, I went with a well-worn Sour Dough pancake style holster from Simply Rugged Holsters. It’s a high-ride OWB belt model, with three 1.75” belt slots, so it can be worn strong-side hip carry or cross draw. Two oval slabs of premium leather are lock-stitched together; mine is oxblood colored, and plain, no stamping. There are oodles of options and head honcho Rob Leahy even offers exotic coverings like alligator hide, shark or ostrich skin. I also dug up a HKS speedloader I once used when I carried a S&W Model 24 as a reserve deputy with Bernalillo Co., out in New Mexico.
Accuracy potential was tested at 15 yards on bullseye targets, shooting from the bench, using a Ransom Steady Rest; note the barrel rise in recoil.
A flyer opened this one-hole group to 1.56,” it was still the smallest 5-shot group and was made with the hard-kicking Remington .44 Magnum 275 gr. Core-Lokt JHP.
The Acid Test
A regular heavy-barrel Model 629 weighs just shy of 43 oz.; whereas the 629 Mountain Gun with the slender barrel weighs 39 oz. That can make a difference when shooting full-bore .44 Magnum ammunition. This was a T&E I both looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. Looking at the rear sight, I had a feeling it would take some adjustment, so when I arrived at the range, the first thing I did was send a large Shoot-N-C bullseye target down to the 15-yard line. At the same time, I set up my Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph to measure bullet velocity. I did have to tweak the rear sight a bit, but got it zeroed in short order. The velocity data is in the Performance Table.
This still shows the author engaging the charging Grizzly Bear target; the bruin has closed the distance to 7 yards as all six shots are fired to stop him.
For an evaluation of accuracy potential, I sent 5-bullseye target sheets down to 15 yards, and from the bench, using a Ransom Steady Rest, I fired three 5-shot groups with each of the test cartridges. The tightest group measured 1.56” and was made using the hard-kicking Remington .44 Mag. 275 gr. Core-Lokt JHP. It also had the best 3-group average of 1.68.” The rest of the performance info is in the table.
To have some fun, Range USA R.O. Tim Loony sent a Grizzly Bear target down to the 25-yard line and on my signal, he flipped the switch to send the target charging towards me. From an isosceles stance, using a two-handed hold, I emptied the cylinder at the angry bruin. I did this twice; once with a mix of the .44 Magnum loads, and then with 6 rounds of my .44 Special handload. I had six decent head shots, five impacted in the body and one shot was MIA. By now, despite my shooting glove, my hand was sore.
A 20-round practical shooting course began at the 5-yard line and progressed back to 7, 10, and 15 yards, using four different scenarios.
A final exercise was some practical shooting and this was done later outdoors, as it’s against indoor range regulations to draw from a holster. With my Sour Dough rig on my side and my HKS speedloader filled, using my .44 Special handload, I did a 20-round course. My target was a CCI-PIQ, an ISPC-type silhouette. At five yards, I drew from the holster and from a point-shoulder stance, took 3 shots right-hand only and 3 shots left-hand only. I then loaded with the speedloader and moved back to the 7-yard line. Here, I drew the 629 and from an isosceles stance, and two-handed hold, fired a double tap, re-holstered, and did it twice more. Reloading, I moved back to 10 yards, and using the same stance, emptied the cylinder a fast as I could. After the reload, it was back to 15 yards for some barricade shooting. I shot twice from the left-side barricade standing, twice standing right-side barricade, and twice kneeling, right-side barricade, for a total of 20 shots. Four shots strayed outside the inner oblong square of the target, but all were within the silhouette.
The author poses with the IPSC-type silhouette target; after some 132 rounds of hard-kicking .44 Magnum and .44 Special loads, his right hand was plenty sore.
Findings
As anticipated, the Model 629 Mountain Gun with the TGW Bear Hug Grips were hard on the hand. The palm swell in the wood grips did help, but the exposed grip frame backstrap pounded the web of my hand. In a period of a few hours, I sent 132 .44 Magnum and hot .44 Special rounds down-range. I love my job. I anticipate making up more of the .44 Special handloads for general shooting and saving the .44 Magnum cartridges for when I’m traipsing through bear country.
The big issue was that at about shot #18 with .44 Magnum ammo, the gold bead on the front sight went AWOL. A secondary issue was that once the Mountain Gun heating up, the cylinder was difficult to swing open. I checked the usual suspect, a loose ejector rod, but it was fine. Just about all the cartridge primers, especially the .44 Magnums showed signs of excessive pressure, with flattening and/or cratering. But there was no case sticking. This situation and the lost sight bead, was brought to the attention of Lipsey’s. Other than this, the S&W Model 629 Mountain Gun ran just fine. I had no trouble using the speedloader, as the Bear Hug Grips are relieved below the cylinder release for this purpose. I’m pleased to say that this new Lipsey’s Exclusive is now a part of my Mountain Gun collection.
Lipsey’s S&W Model 629 Mountain Gun Specifications
MECHANISM: Traditional double action revolver
CALIBER: .44 Magnum/.44 Special
CAPACITY: 6 cartridges
BARREL: 4”
OA LENGTH: 9.5”
EMPTY WEIGHT: 39 oz.
SIGHTS: Fully adjustable rear sight, gold bead front sight
FINISH: Stainless-steel
STOCKS: TGW walnut Bear Hug
MSRP: $1,199.00
Lipsey’s S&W Model 629 Mountain Gun .44 Magnum Performance
| Cartridge | Ave. Velocity | Best Grp. | Ave. Grp. | Ft-Pounds Muzzle Energy |
| Hornady .44 Mag. Handgun Hunter 200 gr. Monoflex HP | 1,240 FPS | 1.78” | 1.93” | 683 FPE |
| Remington .44 Mag. Core-Lokt 275 gr. Core-Lokt JHP | 1,101 | 1.56” | 1.68” | 740 FPE |
| SIG Sauer .44 Mag. Elite 240 gr. V-Crown JHP | 1,224 FPS | 1.97” | 2.16” | 798 FPE |
| Steinel .44 Spl. X-Caliber 200 gr. Gold Dot HP (Short Barrel) | 1,007 FPS | 2.17” | 2.35” | 450 FPE |
| Handload .44 Spl. 7.5 gr. Unique 240 gr. Cast Lead SWC | 896 FPS | 1.68“ | 1.91“ | 428 FPE |
NOTE: Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in feet per second 15” from the muzzle by a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph, and accuracy in inches for three 5-shot groups at 15 yards. FPE based on bullet weight and velocity.
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