Tanaka S&W M629 Review

Background

The ‘N’ Frame Smith and Wesson revolver in .44 Magnum was first made in the 1950′s and for a few decades it was one of the most powerful handguns available. The model 29 was replaced by the model 629 in the 1980′s and has remained a very popular ‘old-school’ handgun for personal protection. The .44 Mag round was introduced in 1957 and designed for Law Enforcement use. Models such as “The Highway Patrolman”, “The Combat Magnum” and “The Heavy Duty” were specifically built with Police Agencies in mind. Some in Law Enforcement see the .44 as a bit too much for today’s environment however and have tried to standardize to the 9mm round offered in such guns as Glock, Beretta, and Heckler & Koch. Through it all these weapons have still managed to retain a mystique and a loyal following of fans.

The Replica

As you can see by the photos, this thing is beautiful. Its big, weighs a ton in your hands, as a .44 Magnum “hand-cannon” should…….

Overall, the replica is very very realistic, as you would expect from Tanaka. The finish is a beautiful satin steel effect that really looks great. The only thing that could have made this better for me would have been a chrome stainless version, but hopefully that will be next time….and oh a nice Lew Horton 3″ would really be fantastic!….oh sorry, back to the amazing 4″ :D

I own the model 19 .357 Magnum in a 2.5 inch ‘combat’ version in black and always thought that was a big impressive gun, then I saw that Tanaka was releasing the model 629 Silver and I knew I would have to own one of these beauties.

Western Arms may well be the ‘Reference Standard’ for GBB slide equipped handguns, but Tanaka Works is certainly their equal when it comes to revolvers.

This Replica Smith & Wesson M629 weighs 840 grams or roughly 1.8 lbs and the cylinder holds 14 bb’s. Tanaka uses its trademark ‘Pegasus” gas system.

Some of my favorite movies are classics such as “The Professional” (Leon) and “48 hours” and who could forget the Dirty Harry series. Why you may ask? Because of the stellar acting performances of Gary Oldman, Clint Eastwood and Nick Nolte? nah…it was because of the guns! All of these movies feature .44 Magnum S&W’s prominently. Nothing says ‘Bad A$$’ like a huge honkin’ wheel gun.

The grips feel reasonably good, basically they are the standard wood set painted with a matte-black to simulate a rubber grip set. No worries, I will be replacing with a set of Houges anyway.

The rear sight is adjustable, however I would have preferred the front sight to be a more accurate black inset ramp rather than the silver one piece ramp that is represented on the Tanaka. That is a minor complaint of course, this gun is very impressive.

The trigger is wide and grooved exactly like the real-steel, although Tanaka chose to go with a plastic rather than metal trigger.

The packaging was a bit of a puzzler though, it was sent in the long-barreled 6″ box.

Shooting Impressions

The weight of this gun is an reasonably well balanced and provides a steady platform for acquiring targets quickly and accurately. I will however be adding some weight in the grip to tweak it a bit more.

At 20′ ft. this handgun produced an average 3.5 in grouping using .25′s on Green Gas. I do not own a chronograph, but I will update upon receiving results at our next game.

Conclusions

If you are a fan of large frame revolvers like I am, then this is a must have. I am quite impressed and happy with Tanaka’s latest Smith & Wesson And would recommend this gun to all collectors and Airsoft Skirmishers alike. Accurate and beautiful, rare and under-appreciated- The .44 Magnum, Smith & Wesson M629.