Ejector shroud length, full vs partial

[Villanueva_Arms]

Hello, I was looking to purchase a S&W 629 with a 6" barrel. When I was looking through the marketplace, the thread titles for a "S&W 629 6 inch," usually had differences among ejector shroud length and grips. Grips are modular, but the shroud length was something I was more curious about and I had some questions regarding it. Noted that the 629 full length shrouds have 6.5" barrels and the partial shrouds have a 6" barrel,

1. What would be the choice criteria between the full length shrouds and partial length shrouds?
   Subjective aesthetics? Weight at the front end helps with handling?
   -
2. Is there more to the model number of a 629 to differentiate between the full length shrouds and partial length shrouds?
   Is there an added smart numbering system for this? Dash numbers?
   -
3. What is the reason why the full length shrouds have a 6.5" barrel and partial length shrouds have a 6" barrel?
   Does the extra 0.5" shroud length affect barrel length?
   -

Here is what I am talking about, also when I was on the S&W website it seemed like the filters for caliber, barrel length, action, etc was not working. So there can be more variations of the 629 6" barrel length that I may have not shown or mentioned.

[DArBad]

Hard to answer questions except the no.1.

I prefer the full length under lug barrels for the extra weight and aesthetics, although the short lug barrels are more dynamic handling.

As to why the factory do things the way they do.......uhmmmmm..... I don't know.

[9mmepiphany]

The full lug will hang a bit better, the half lug will transition between targets faster

[huckberry668]

your questions 2 and 3 are not answerable i'm afraid. consult SW catalog for details. they made so many models and options it's kind of pointless to try to figure out.

I shot 1500 PPC competition for a while using a 3lb 38spl revolver with a 6" heavy barrel & extra heavy 'under lug' or 'ejector shroud' as you call it. The purpose of the under lug is to protect the ejector rod and add weight.

I found the under lug on a barrel longer than 6" adds so much weight it causes the front to 'dip' as the hammer falls. 6" or shorter barrels need a under lug to add weight to tame recoil and help with the balance. Light muzzle end doesn't help with recoil and follow up shot management.

Long barrel revolvers should be balanced and not muzzle heavy. If weight is desired to help tame massive recoil like 44Mag or larger, add a scope on top or port the muzzle.

[Villanueva_Arms]

Underlug/Shroud, I found a nice little write-up of some history behind the feature and a bit regarding semantics

http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2010/12/9/terminology-underlug/

The question has been asked before about its effect on a gun. With a couple more searches I found more threads asking the same question with differing terminology,

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=474976

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-610669.html

The consensus is the same on this thread with how the added weight affects the gun in operation, but I think that function followed the main reason which was to protect the ejector rod.

As for my questions 2 and 3, they were more out of curiosity.

Thanks for the input thus far

[huckberry668]

My custom PPC gun has the under lug as a separate piece. The gun shot the same group size at 50 yards with or without the lug. Difference is felt recoil and recovery time. Apply the same fundamentals and it'll shoot the same precision.

No one mentioned muzzle dip with heavy long barrel but it is real.
over and out.