Leading the crusade for a “.44 Special Magnum,” as he called it, Keith proceeded to blow up numerous revolvers until at last he had the cartridge he wanted. He convinced Remington to manufacture it, but not before lengthening the .44 Spl. case one-tenth of an inch, to keep others from duplicating Keith’s cylinder-exploding exploits. The result was the .44 Rem. Mag. cartridge, which fired a 240-grain Keith-designed bullet at 1,400 fps. At 50 yards, it hit with more than 750 ft.-lbs. of energy, almost double that of the .357 Mag. cartridge.

All that was needed was a handgun capable of handling the cartridge. For that, S&W turned to its S-frame Triple Lock, which by then had evolved into the Hand Ejector Fourth Model, better known as the 1950 Target Model in .44 Spl. (later to become the Model 24) and the 1955 Target Model (basically the same gun but in .45 caliber and with a heavier barrel; later it became the Model 25). But first some tweaking had to be done, which included lengthening the cylinder to close up the barrel-cylinder gap and incorporating recessed chambers. When completed, the gun weighed 48 ounces, which helped tame the recoil. As that was before S&W started incorporating model numbers for its handguns, the behemoth six-shot revolver was simply called the “.44 Magnum,” which was rollmarked along the right side of the barrel.

“The first .44 Magnum built was in December 1955,” notes Jinks. “The serial numbers started at S131700 and were mixed up in the early production with some of the early production guns having serial numbers as high as S167124. The reason for this was that the factory was using frames that had already been built, but were for the .45 Target Model of 1955. That frame was already set up for the heavy barrel that was going on the .44 Magnums.”

On Dec. 29, .44 Magnum number S130806, the second gun to be produced, was presented to R.H. Coleman of Remington Arms Co. On Jan. 19, 1956, the revolver was officially announced to the public. The initial price was $135, but was almost immediately raised to $140. The gun was housed in a satin-lined black wooden case embossed with “.44 Magnum” and the S&W logo on the lid. Inside were a screwdriver, cleaning rod, and wire brush and cotton swab attachments. The .44 Magnum was available in either a 4-inch or 6½-inch barrel, fitted with Goncala Alves target stocks, and came in blue or nickel finish, with case hardened hammer and trigger and Micro Adjustable sights.

Of the guns produced in January 1956, serial number S147220, went to Keith and number S130942 was shipped to Maj. Gen. Julian S. Hatcher, Technical Editor of The American Rifleman. Other notable gunwriters also received 6½-inch-barreled versions. Hatcher’s review of the .44 Magnum appeared in this magazine’s March 1956 issue. Needless to say, the gun was an instant success, with about 3,100 made that year. The .44 Magnum appealed to hunters impressed with Keith’s tales of long-range kills made with it. The law enforcement community was equally enamored with the .44 Magnum’s potential for stopping cars at substantially closer distances. It soon became apparent, however, that shooting such a heavy-recoiling handgun wasn’t something to do for any length of time. Stoking it with milder .44 Spl. Loads—which also chambered in the .44 Magnum—soon became de rigueur.

I succumbed to Model 29 fever in 1979. Until then, as a gunwriter just starting out penning articles for this magazine and others, I couldn’t afford the inflated Model 29 prices. But that year, Abercrombie & Fitch, then a true outdoor outfitter, was opening a store in Beverly Hills and had an allocation of three Model 29s—one in each barrel length. And they were going to be sold at retail price, which at that time had climbed to $354.50, with the 83⁄8-inch barrel (which always brought a premium) at $366. When A&F’s doors opened that first day I sprinted up the steps two at a time to the mezzanine where the gun department was located and slapped my money down for the 83⁄8-inch model.

I still have it, along with a few others, including a 6½-inch version shipped as a test gun in 1957 to an unidentified gunwriter in New York who marked the frame with his distinctive six-dot punch pattern. He had fired so many full-house loads through it that I had to have the barrel turned back to 6¼ inches to reduce the cylinder gap.

Interestingly, the earliest guns had right-hand threads on the ejector rod screw, which caused it to back out and jam due to recoil. From Model variation 29-1 on, that was changed to left-hand threads, solving the problem. Reflecting a change in designation throughout the Smith & Wesson line, in late 1957, starting with serial number S179000, the .44 Magnum became the Model 29. As Jinks notes, however, the changeover was sporadic, and between 1957 and 1958 guns marked both .44 Magnum and Model 29 were shipped concurrently.

The 83⁄8-inch barrel was added in November 1958 and the black wooden case was changed to mahogany in 1960. The Gun Control Act of 1968 resulted in the S-frame designation being changed to an N-frame prefix, and in 1979 the 6½-inch barrel was shortened to 6 inches in order to standardize production, according to Jinks, who actually suggested the change. In 1981, the counterbored cylinder chambers and pinned barrel were eliminated as both were unnecessary. Later, the pivoting, hammer-mounted firing pin was changed to a frame-mounted version. Other internal modifications continued through the 1990s, including improved yoke retention and longer cylinder locking bolts.

Externally the Model 29 received many makeovers, including Model 629 stainless steel versions and Performance Center specials, plus barrel lengths ranging from an exclusive three-incher for distributor Lew Horton to a 105⁄8-inch factory Silhouette model. In addition, in chronological order, there were five-, four-, and three-screw models. In 1999 the Model 29 was discontinued, but, in 2006 it was brought back as a 50th Anniversary Commemorative (technically missing it by a year) with a 6½-inch barrel and engraved gold medallion on the frame. Today the Model 29 is still available as a limited-production Classic Model in nickel or blued finish (albeit with a key lock on the left side plate) with a 4- or 6½-inch barrel. Plus, handsome laser-etched versions of the gun were introduced in 2009 and 2010. Unfortunately, according to Paul Pluff, S&W’s director of marketing/customer service, “We do not have any new Model 29s that have been recently or [are] going to be released.”

Whether or not that situation continues remains to be seen. After all, in a 2008 survey, 20th Century Fox asked moviegoers to name their favorite on-screen arms. The Model 29 came in second only to Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber. Frankly, I’d take the Model 29 over the lightsaber any day. It has far greater range and doesn’t need special effects to make it work. I kind of think Dirty Harry would agree.