One of the stars of SHOT Show 2025 was Lipsey’s Exclusive Smith & Wesson Model 629 Mountain Gun in .44 Magnum. The big forty-four shared the spotlight with the equally newsworthy S&W 686-Plus Mountain Gun in .357 Magnum.
Additional big news, along with the return of the Mountain Guns, was the removal of the Internal Locking System (ILS) from these and three other S&W revolvers, the Model 10, Model 19, and Model 36, respectively. Many shooters have hated that obnoxious safety since its incorporation in 2001. I recall one old gun store owner who liquidated his entire stock of Smiths after the “side lock” was announced. Kudos to S&W for finally erasing it.
The original Mountain Gun was made popular in the 90s and was chambered in .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, and .45 Colt. Its main draw is the sleek, tapered barrel reminiscent of other N-framed Models like the 24, 27, and 28 Highway Patrolman.
I can’t help but think that this is a gun famed gunwriter Skeeter Skelton would have wholeheartedly endorsed if he were still with us. In fact, it’s impossible to write about this gun and not mention Skeeter Skelton.
Skeeter was largely responsible for S&W bringing back the Model 24 and later the stainless Model 624 back in the day, which is basically the same gun as the Mountain Gun chambered in .44 Special. He would also be a fan of the stocks found on these new revolvers. Tyler Gun Works is making their rendition of Bear Hug Stocks, another Skeeter Skelton favorite. These are some of the nicest stocks one can get on a factory gun these days. They look good, and I think most will find that they feel good to the hand.
Admitting that I might be a little older than some of our readers, let me tell the unfortunate souls who might not know him a little about Skeeter Skelton.
Charles “Skeeter” Skelton was one of the masters of gun writing in the 1950s through the late 80s. He was a lawman, historian, and storyteller par excellence. Shooting Times magazine was his main home, and two books of his selected works were printed after his untimely death, Good Friends, Good Guns, Good Whiskey and Hoglegs, Hipshots & Jalapenos.
Skeeter wrote great stories. His gun reviews spoke from experience, and his fictional pieces took you along on adventures in the brush country of south Texas along our border with Old Mexico. These books are classics, and I’d argue that whatever you have to pay on the used book market to get them will be considered money well spent. His writing is timeless, and believe me, you will thank me for this introduction.
The Model 629 Mountain Gun is based on the N-frame, is brushed stainless steel, and has a four-inch, one-piece, tapered barrel. The rear sight is adjustable, and the front sight features a bold gold bead that shows up really well and is great for fast sight acquisition. The front of the cylinder is beveled for a nice touch and a little added ease of holstering. Some might be interested to know that some black powder revolvers once had their cylinders slightly radiused like this to help keep fouling from binding the cylinder.
Here’s a little history about Bear Hug Grips. Like most savvy shooters, revolver enthusiasts in particular have a knack over time and hard-earned experience for culminating strong opinions towards things like handgun stocks. Skeeter favored the design of the old Roper style and had his friend, Steve Herrett, of Herrett’s Stocks make some modifications to the original design. Later, Deacon Deason, the owner of Bear Hug Grips was given permission to make Skeeter Skelton Style revolver stocks. Ted Adomovich’s BluMagnum Grips later took on making Skeeter’s grips and added a bit of palm swell and a slight flair to the bottom and rounded edges. These men are all gone now, and when Mr. Adomovich passed away, Bobby Tyler’s Tyler Gun Works stepped in and started making these classic stocks.
This gun is an easy packer and can fill a variety of sixgunning needs. I wore it while hog hunting a few weeks ago while spending the day hiking and driving my side-by-side through some of the prettiest, and roughest country far west Texas has to offer. This gun weighs 39 ounces (3.8 oz lighter than a normal Model 629) and carries very well for me, riding in a good holster and attached to a thick, sturdy belt.
For me, S&W’s double-action revolvers best suit me when running moderate “special” loads in the guns. For this 44 Mountain Gun it’s a good .44 Special load or my .44 Magnum handloads around 1000 fps. Good .38 Specials would be my main fodder in the .357 Magnum. Why? The simple answer is recoil. To be more specific, unnecessary recoil.
Quality ammunition most often negates the need for hand-pounding loads to get optimum bullet performance. We rarely need the unnecessary recoil of heavy magnum loads to get the job done. I am speaking generally here, so to cover my bases, I will say there are times when one needs full-power loads. Hunting big game and especially dangerous game with a handgun would be one of those times. However, I find that a good bullet around 900 to 1000 fps will accomplish a lot of what I want to do with a sixgun.
Fortunately, there are additions like grips and muzzle breaks that make the double-action revolver more tolerable if magnum-powered loads need to be run through it. Personally, I’ll take a single-action revolver with a Bisley-style grip frame for the really hot stuff. Having said that, I’ll treat this Mountain Gun like a .44 Special most of the time and keep the magnum loads reserved strictly for business and occasional practice.
Good shooting is best done with a good trigger, and this gun has it. The single action pull is very crisp at about 3.5 pounds. The double action pull is smooth, but I don’t have a trigger scale to measure it. The smooth faced trigger feels good and is much preferred for double action shooting. I really like the size of trigger on this gun. It appears to be about .30-inch wide.
High Desert Cartridge Company provided some of their good ammo for review. Their .44 Special FP loads are very pleasant to shoot in this gun. They are running about 835 fps with a 200-grain bullet. The 200-grain JHP XTP loads are listed at 860 fps and are reported to reliably expand at that velocity. I’ll be doing more with their ammo in the future. Their 240-grain FP .44 Magnum loads are pushing a listed 1150 fps out of a four-inch barrel and are manageable as well. The 240-grain XTP .44 Magnum load is reported to be zipping along at 1200 fps.
I also had a little of Buffalo Bore Ammunition’s Heavy .44 Special Outdoorsman loads on hand that are made up of a 255-grain lead SWC at 1000 fps. Buffalo Bore offers some good .44 Special options and Low Recoil .44 Mag ammo as well.
For readers who have told me that they really enjoy reading detailed information on velocities with loads in particular guns and barrel lengths, stand by. I appreciate your input, and I have a chronograph on the way!
I was able to consistently shoot two-inch groups from a rest and off-hand with this gun at 30 feet. Each group had bullets touching, and shooter error usually messed up a pretty cluster by throwing a shot or two out of the group. Groups at 25 yards averaged 3.8 inches. Most could be covered by my fist, but a couple flyers made the average a bit larger.
The accuracy displayed by the gun and ammunition is quite acceptable. Any time I can keep my shots inside an area the size of my clenched hand at a respectable distance, I am happy.
Some of you might be asking yourself, in the year 2025, what is an N-framed 44 Mountain Gun good for? That answer is easy. Everything. Personal defense, wilderness defense, hunting, plinking, it can do it all. Today we have good .44 Special loads that can handle any situation. If you really want more power, then load it with .44 Magnums.
The one complaint I have with this gun is the slanted cylinder release latch, and that is a personal preference. As a lefty, I use my trigger finger to release the latch, and the slanted release is hard to push. This is not a huge problem; it can be swapped out with a traditional-style release latch.
One additional comment is that the front sight does not need to be as tall as it is. I had to bring the rear sight up around .08-inch to get on target with these loads. I would prefer a shorter front sight and to keep the rear sight screwed down. The front sight is pinned, so it can be swapped out, and I’m sure Fermin Garza can make the appropriate height with a brass bead as soon as he finishes setting up shop in his new location.
This is a fine sixgun and there are a lot of us who are extremely happy to see S&W returning to their roots and producing solid, classic double-action revolvers. These Lipsey’s Exclusives are really nice guns, and they are going to sell. You’re going to regret not buying one if you wait too long. I tip my hat to the folks at Lipsey’s and Smith & Wesson for bringing these classics back and cannot wait to see what’s next!
