The Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum is the all time classic Magnum Revolver.  It was developed from the .44 Special cartridge by Elmer Keith, a famous adventurer, outdoorsman and ammunition handloader in 1955.  The .44 special was selected by Elmer to be the new Magnum cartridge as the revolvers that fired the .44 Special cartridge were already stronger than normal revolvers and so could stand the higher internal pressures that a Magnum round delivers.

Below is the modern 329PD .44 Magnum.

What will surprise a lot of people is that the bullet is squeezed under this high pressure and when it fires out of the muzzle, the diameter of the bullet is actually smaller and measures .42 and not .44, This is one of the best kept secrets of the power of a .44 magnum.

I actually discovered  this a few years ago by inserting a vernia calliper gauge which is like an internal micrometer down the muzzle and taking the exact reading which was .425 ( land to land which means inside the rifling cut, not the pitch to pitch which is the bore surface ) and incidentally, the breech was wider than .440, measuring in at .447.

Anyway, back to some of the .44 Magnums history...

...The .44 Special cartridge was fired in guns that were undersized Colt .45 Revolver cylinders so therefore had more 'meat' around the cylinders and thus were stronger and ideal for Elmer's experimentation.

Elmer fired a 240 grain bullet at over 1500 feet per second in his tests with the new high power loads, delivering twice as much power as a .357 Magnum.  He was happy with the results so he then pushed manufacturers for it to be produced commercially.

Remington were approached by Elmer to produce a commercial version of his experimental Magnum cartridge and Smith & Wesson was encouraged to make the gun to go along with it.  The .44 Remington Magnum cartridge case was made a bit longer than the original .44 Special cartridge case so that it could  not fit into specifically designed and relatively weaker structured .44 Special revolvers.

The .44 Remington Magnum cartridge was produced and the Revolver later designated the Model 29 was created and the legend was born, but not that anyone really knew.  Not until 16 years later...The 1971 Film 'Dirty Harry' with Clint Eastwood made the .44 Magnum famous and brought the gun out of the closet.

Almost everyone associates this gun with Clint Eastwood's  'Dirty Harry'.  It was described as "The most powerful handgun in the World" and it was this statement that caught the imagination of the public.

This statement was 'loosely' true but not completely true, as the record for most powerful handgun in the World was actually held by an Western Style Single Action revolver, the .454 Casull Magnum that was made in 1959 ! as seen pictured below.  So the .44 Smith & Wesson Magnum was the Worlds most powerful handgun for  only 4 years !

Smith & Wesson was inundated with requests for the gun after the film was shown, so seeing a niche in the market, Smith & Wesson put it into production.  The Casull .454 Magnum however, was initially a custom made revolver and this meant that the Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum was the worlds most powerful production  revolver.

The Model 29 is a double action revolver in that the hammer doesn't have to be cocked by the thumb before it can be fired, simply pulling the trigger back cocked and fired the gun, so maybe Clint Eastwood could have said " This is most powerful double action  and production  revolver in the world " but I guess it doesn't have the same 'ring' to it !

The iconic Model 29 .44 Magnum will forever be associated with Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry and with any web page or mention of this gun it is now mandatory to mention 'Dirty Harry' as it is so incredibly synonymous.

Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, John Wayne and Paul Newman all turned down the offer of playing the role of Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood was actually the last person to be asked, very wisely he accepted and in doing so increased his fame to megga status...along with the gun.

The .44 Magnum became ultra popular with shooters across the USA after the release of 'Dirty Harry' and for the first time, big game hunting and shooting at distances normally associated with rifles, could be accomplished with the big .44.

The recoil is quite punishing when firing full factory loads, so the lighter .44 special was re-introduced as a popular round, the .44 special still delivers a powerful shot but with less recoil.  In fact during the film "Magnum Force" which was another 'Dirty Harry' movie, Clint Eastwood's character stated that he used  a .44 light special, with wad cutters (flat nosed bullets) that gave the same power as a .357 but with less recoil.

This may be deemed as a bit of a backwards step as a designated .44 Special revolver could have been used instead of the full power Magnum.  Recoil off big bore handguns is always a problem for Law Enforcement as the gun will elevate high up off target after firing and then it has to be brought back down and re-aligned on the target again.  So the first shot is vital as there may not be enough time to get a second shot off.

Saying that though, any person hit with a single .44 Magnum round anywhere in the main torso would be killed instantly as the trauma and shock the bullet produces on impact is so massive.

Clint Eastwood selected the Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum even though Smith & Wesson did not have the gun in production at the time.  The gun was actually assembled from spare parts by Smith & Wesson at their factory in Boston, Massachusetts.

Clint Eastwood practiced for many weeks on a firing range, firing real .44 Magnum bullets to get used to the recoil and enable him to accurately imitate the movements of it when firing blanks during filming.  The Blank rounds had to be specially made and adapted for the revolver too as it is alleged that the Hollywood film studios didn't have any for the gun.

It is also alleged that Clint didn't actually use the Model 29 .44 Magnum at all during the shooting sequences in the film but rather a S&W Model 57.41 Magnum or S&W .45 Long Colt ctg was used instead, as both guns look almost identical to the Model 29 and blank cartridges for a .45 are common in Hollywood

Below the Smith & Wesson Model 57 .41 Magnum, does bear strong resemblance to the Model 29.

Personally though I don't think the rumours are substantiated. ! in fact I think I read somewhere that one of the guys who was on the production crew of the film has retained the actual gun as used in the Dirty Harry film by Clint Eastwood and he refutes that it is none other than a .44 Magnum.

Below, Dirty Harry and his Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum.  Looking down the barrel of that gun is not a favourable position to be in !

The Model 29 .44 Magnum is one of Smith & Wesson's most austere revolvers, it was beautifully made with a deep blued finish, exceptionally well fitting and well machined parts, a handsome walnut chequered grip,  a smooth streamlined look to it and a wide trigger with a smooth action.  The Model 29 showcased Smith & Wesson's skill as excellent firearms makers.

The Model 29 is also one of the most accurate revolvers made by Smith & Wesson.  The .44 Magnum bullet has a very flat trajectory (flight path) and is accurate over 50 yards, with a longer barrel the gun can be fired accurately at targets 200 yards away or more.

As stated the Model 29 was available with different barrel lengths, as is traditional with almost all revolvers, it was sold with either 3 inch barrel, as shown below...

...or a 4 inch, 6½ inch, 8 3/8 inch and later a 10 5/8 inch barrel.  Customers could also 'special order' custom barrel lengths from Smith & Wesson's Custom Shop.

The Model 29 was available in blued or nickel plate finish and a stainless steel version was introduced in 1978.

A 50th Anniversary Model 29 was announced in 2006, this gun was embellished with venetian swirl engravings and a gold inlaid trademark on the side plate it also incorporated a new internal locking mechanism.

In 2007  a blued and a nickel engraved model was released, a close up of the engraving on the barrel is shown below on a nickel version, and indeed it is nice fine work with a beautiful traditional design.