Maybe Harry Was Right
Embarrassing Photo: In the late ’70s, Roy’s brother needed a photo of “some guy holding a big gun”
for a high school photo project. He knew Roy had a big gun, so the pose happened. Roy’s not proud of
this sort of pose, but the gun in his hand is the very same Model 29 which found its way home 35 years later.
Were we really that young?
I’ve had a longtime affection for S&W Model 29’s of all kinds, and specifically the blued 6.5″ versions. And like many of you, it was fostered by Clint Eastwood and his Dirty Harry movies. Not long ago I had something suddenly renew my affection for these guns, so a pause for a short story is in order.
In the middle ’70s I walked into Krasne’s Gun shop on upper Broadway in San Diego just as the clerk was putting a brand new 6.5″ blued Model 29 into the display case. At the time they were essentially unavailable, most stores had long waiting lists and some were asking $700 to $1,000 for handguns listing for $235 at the time. The price was $235 on the tag — I said “Sold.” It was just dumb luck I stumbled onto it.
Over the next several years I learned to work on S&W revolvers using that gun and a Model 19 duty gun I had. I competed in the very early days of what we called “Wildcat Combat” pistol matches in Southern California using the Model 29 — and full-power loads — hunted running jack rabbits with it, carried it off-duty at times, and shot thousands of mid-range rounds through it at targets. All loaded painfully slowly on a Lee hand loader. I also mostly carried it in one of those iconic Bianchi X15 shoulder holsters.
One day in late 1979 I decided I needed an AR-15 more and traded it off to another cop. I regretted it instantly. I had had a few good adventures with that gun — including pointing it at a Hell’s Angel biker one time while off-duty. A series of newer 29’s came and went, and a few stuck. But none were the same as that first-best gun.
Fate being what it is, about two years ago I found out the guy I had traded it to still had it. Gads! I found him, discovered he needed something worse than my old 29, and the trade was done. Suddenly, the old girl was back home. That’s it in the picture in its original wooden case with flocked plastic cut-out pad. Even still had the original screwdriver and cleaning tools.
The original grips were gone (I had filed and sanded on them and they were ugly) so I put those nice grips from Eagle on it. More amazingly, it came home with the original X15 shoulder holster I had carried it in for countless matches, hunting trips, riding with me off-duty, traveling and hanging on the coat hook by the front door. And it all got me to thinking.
The set-up is surprisingly comfortable under a jacket and conceals the big sixgun handily.
Big Guns And Big Bullets
The original holster is pretty worn, the elastic is stretched out and the leather dry. I reached out to Hope Bianchi-Sjursen, John Bianchi’s daughter, who, remarkably, still works with Bianchi and Safariland, their parent company. She sent out a new version of the classic X15 and laughed when I told her the story. I found the new rig beautifully made, with some sound improvements in a few areas. I slipped it on, adjusted the straps and slid the Model 29 home. Instantly, 35-odd years slid away and a video loop of past adventures began to play in my mind.
I wondered if my memories of actually carrying that gun for hours, days, weeks at a time and thinking it was perfectly comfortable were just figments of my imagination — or was it truly so? I subjected my old gun to a couple hundred rounds of modest .44 loads (around 900 fps using Unique with a cast 240 SWC — my old favorite load) to make sure it still ran and to make sure my eyes and hands still remembered things. I had forgotten how smooth the action was and I found myself running steel plates on my rack time and time again. It was just plain fun, the holster worked great and that thump in my hand felt grand again!
For about three weeks then (being winter here in scenic Missouri as I write this) I toted that Model 29 in the new Bianchi X15 holster under a longish vest I have, a chore coat I wear a lot, or a nicer “town” coat. What’d I learn?
I’m not a big guy, 5’9″ on my toes, but this new rendition of the X15 is perfectly comfortable, even with all that gun in it. I tend to let it ride on the low side, and the rear snap secures it to your belt. The off-side elastic band keeps things tidy against your side. Even that big Model 29 is an amazingly slim package once things are settled in. I could sit in the car, do chores around here, enjoy a dinner out (with a coat on, one of the pitfalls of a shoulder rig), go grocery shopping or anything else I’d normally be doing.
There were no sore shoulders, no constant adjusting of things, or prods or pokes in tender places. It was exactly as I remembered — except maybe even better. The new holster made a difference. I have great confidence in that gun and holster combo, and I’ll confess I shoot it well, having spent tens of thousands of rounds with it learning to run it in about every position and situation I could think up. And that confidence is important.
Roy’s early Bianchi X15 holster (right) holding his original 29, and the new version with a
modern S&W Classic Model 29. The new X15 had some solid design improvements.
Reunited … Roy’s old Model 29 in the original box, with a 4″ Bowen 29 below, added to the flock some years ago.
A Silly Idea?
“But it only has six shots!” You’re right. I carry two HKS speedloaders when I carry it, just like the old days. But those can be six extremely accurate pie-plate-at-100-yards shots, and a factory 240 SWC or Barnes HP at about 1,000 fps or so will have the final word just about anywhere.
So — is it archaic? Maybe. An antique asked to do a modern job? I think not. Am I silly to say a good man behind the trigger of a big-bore revolver isn’t under-gunned? Is a seasoned shooter with plenty of practice and street sense actually well-prepared with this set-up?
I think the answer is yes — if you abide by the rules. Get to know the gun, train to use it, understand the limits and be realistic on ammo selection — then it can be a solid option for defense. As Clint Smith is fond of saying, “It’s a big gun going into the holster, and a big gun coming back out.” It gets attention.
Is it the best or even a good set-up for most people? I don’t think so. Is it big, heavy and can it be awkward? Absolutely. Do you need to practice with it a lot, and is it expensive to do that? Yup.
And I doubt I’d carry it in the hot summer months. But still …
As a “winter” gun, or if your spidey-sense is tingling for some reason — I think you’d have “enough gun” at-hand.
Maybe Harry had the right idea after all. Let the letter writing begin.
