The Jerry Miculek Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 929

It’s no secret, I like revolvers. I also like competitive shooting. So when I got a chance to get my hands on a 929, I didn’t hesitate. After all, it made sense. An eight-shot 9mm revolver, touched up by the Smith & Wesson Performance Center and carrying Jerry Miculek’s signature, couldn’t be wrong. Or could it? Let’s find out together in this review of the Smith & Wesson 929.

There is a lot going on here. The 929 is absolutely built for competition. However, I think it missed the mark in several ways. There is a good chance my opinion rests on the activities I commonly participate in. I expected the 929 to be ready for them. Don’t get me wrong, the 929 is an excellent 9mm wheel gun. It’s also a fantastic foundation for what I would like to do with a competition revolver, but that’s where it stops. It just doesn’t seem ready to take first place on the podium. It needs a little extra tender loving care and a few adjustments. Nevertheless, it’s a fast, fun and friendly wheel gun that is sure to bring joy to the shooter.

What Comes With the Smith & Wesson 929

The Smith & Wesson 929 has been around for a good while now. As of early 2024, it carries an MSRP of $1,469, and the street price sits just below that at around $1,360. That said, dealers generally don’t advertise it below MSRP, which is common for Smith & Wesson revolvers. I wouldn’t call this an inexpensive handgun. Even so, it’s not an outrageously expensive revolver. It’s pretty much in line with the low end of what one pays for a competition pistol, like a CZ Shadow 2.

So what does one get for roughly $1,400?

• A gray Performance Center S&W hard-sided, foam-padded case,
• the manual,
• a cable lock,
• two S&W internal revolver lock keys,
• a non-ported muzzle cap with an appropriately sized Allen key,
• three moon clips,
• and the wheelgun itself.

The 44 oz N-frame revolver has an overall length of 12.3 in and an overall height of 6.1 in. In addition, it measures 1.7 in at its widest point, which is, of course, the titanium cylinder. It’s a big revolver with a fair bit of heft to it. That heft soaks up a ton of the 9mm recoil, which isn’t much to begin with. This makes the revolver relatively easy to shoot, and the return to target is exceptionally quick. That’s pretty much what one is looking for in a competition firearm. It is a pretty impressive revolver out of the box. Still, there are a couple of features I would have liked to see executed differently. I’ll get to those as we walk the revolver from muzzle to stock.

Muzzle Cap and Barrel

On the business end of the Smith & Wesson 929, we start with the ported muzzle cap. To be honest, I haven’t shot the revolver with the ported muzzle cap yet. In fact, the very first thing I did when I got it was replace the ported cap with the included non-ported one. Why did I do this? Well, ports and compensators aren’t allowed in the USPSA Revolver (REV) division or the Steel Challenge Iron Sight Revolver (ISR) division. Those are the two divisions I intended to shoot this revolver in, after all. As a matter of fact, I’m not aware of any competition that allows ports or compensators in iron-sighted revolver divisions. That doesn’t mean a sport and division that allows them doesn’t exist. I’m just not aware of one.

As a result, the installed and advertised ported muzzle device seems more of a marketing gimmick than anything else to me. Perhaps my opinion on this will change once I do shoot the revolver with the ported muzzle cap. I expect it to function as a compensator. I also hope the “compensator” is effective at mitigating muzzle rise and flip, but unfortunately I can’t speak to that right now.

Under the cap we find the muzzle of the 6.5 in stainless steel barrel, which a full-length barrel shroud encloses. The long barrel does a couple of things for us. First, it gives virtually all of the 9mm cartridge’s powder time to burn, which gets the most velocity out of it. This matters to competitors who hand load their very own low-recoil bunny fart loads to make power factor requirements at competitions. It also allows for a generously long sight radius, which aids in shooting the revolver precisely.

Sights

The front of the barrel shroud carries the all-black serrated Patridge front sight. I’m not a fan of it at all. I think a high-visibility fiber optic front sight would have been a much better option for a competition revolver like the Smith & Wesson 929. This is something I will very likely change in the near future, should I decide to campaign in iron-sighted revolver competitions.

The top of the barrel shroud is serrated to reduce glare. I’m not certain it’s needed given the matte finish, but it’s a nice touch nevertheless.

The top of the frame carries a fully adjustable all-black serrated rear sight. Unlike the front sight, I’m quite happy with the rear sight. It works well and would pair beautifully with a high-visibility fiber optic front sight.

The 929’s N-Frame and Hammer

Next up we have the N-frame that the Smith & Wesson 929 is built on. This frame size is large. Smith & Wesson most commonly uses it for revolvers chambered in big magnum cartridges such as the .44 Magnum. Smith & Wesson does have one larger frame size, the X-frame, reserved for the largest and most powerful magnums. Using this frame on a 9mm might seem kind of silly. The 9mm is nowhere near the same neighborhood as those big magnums in power and recoil. However, it works very well for competition. The frame provides plenty of real estate to grip the revolver, while the additional weight minimizes recoil-induced movement.

Just behind the rear sight we have the spurred hammer. The hammer spur is textured for confident and consistent cocking. It’s a nice touch. However, it’s not a feature I will make much use of, given the practical shooting competitions I participate in. I may actually swap the hammer for a spurless competition hammer, but that’s just me. I suspect that folks who regularly manipulate the hammer will be happy with how it was executed.

Cylinder and Moon Clips

Below the rear sight and in the center of the frame we find the eight-chamber titanium cylinder. I would have liked to see the cylinder chamfered, though. I get that it would add manufacturing complexity and drive the cost up. Still, it would have been a nice touch that makes moon clip reloads smoother and faster.

I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that the number of included moon clips disappointed me. Three moon clips isn’t enough to finish a USPSA long course stage. Four would be the minimum for that, but it wouldn’t allow for any make-up shots either. I think five would have been the magic number for a competition revolver. That’s also the minimum needed to shoot Steel Challenge. I highly doubt that two more moon clips would hurt the margin on this revolver. To address this shortcoming, I ended up picking up a 100-pack of moon clips from Speed Beez.

Lock-Up, Cylinder Release and Grip

The cylinder lock-up on the Model 929 is strong and tight. So tight that it takes a little extra elbow grease to open and close the cylinder as the revolver starts getting dirty. Brushing out the chambers and behind the extractor star between stages easily mitigates this. That makes an inexpensive chamber brush a little detail that would have been nice to see in the package.

Just behind the cylinder on the left side of the frame, we find the standard Smith & Wesson push-forward cylinder release. Next to it is the internal lock. No one likes the internal lock. Still, it’s standard on all new Smith & Wesson revolvers now, with only a couple of exceptions. Nothing new or out of the ordinary here.

I like the finger-grooved, textured synthetic grip that surrounds the stock of the Smith & Wesson 929 a lot. It has a sticky rubber feel that I find easy to hang on to. Of course, a lot of folks aren’t fans of finger grooves and prefer different materials and textures. Thankfully, there is strong aftermarket support for Smith & Wesson N-frame revolver grips. It’s an easy and relatively inexpensive customization that anyone can take on.

The Smith & Wesson 929’s Performance Center Trigger

The final thing left in this review of the Smith & Wesson 929 is the Performance Center tuned action and trigger. I’m honestly not that impressed with it. This is the second Performance Center revolver I’ve spent time with, the first being the Performance Center Model 640. I don’t feel a noteworthy difference between the Performance Center tuned actions and the standard actions. That’s not to say there isn’t a difference. I’m just saying that I don’t feel much of one.

The double action on the Model 929 feels about the same as the one on my Smith & Wesson Model 329PD. That’s also an N-frame revolver. The double action trigger pull weight feels the same. I could argue that the 929’s double action is a little smoother. It’s not enough to make a difference when shooting either revolver aggressively or at speed. Likewise, the single action on the 929 feels just a tad lighter and has a little less post-break travel. Overall, the Performance Center action is nice and very usable. I simply don’t think the difference between the tuned action and the standard action is something I would write home about.

Double Action Pull Weight

I do wish the double action trigger pull was lighter. While it’s smooth, it’s heavy. Far heavier than I would like on a competition revolver. It’s so heavy that I can’t get a reading on the Wheeler digital trigger pull gauge, which maxes out at 12 lb. The single action pull averages right around 3.75 lb, which is pretty nice. Ideally, I’d like to see a double action trigger pull weight between 6 lb and 8 lb. I don’t know if that’s possible. The double action on the CZ Shadow 2 after Cajun Gun Works put their voodoo on it heavily influences that wish. However, I don’t think a double action pull under 10 lb is too much to ask.

Closing Thoughts on the Smith & Wesson 929

Overall, the Smith & Wesson 929 is a nice revolver. It’s reliable. It also shoots very well. I’d go so far as to say that it’s a great foundation for a competition revolver. However, it leaves a little to be desired. It’s going to take some tweaking to get it how I want it for the competitions I shoot. I’ve shot a few with it and plan to keep doing so from time to time. Perhaps this was Smith & Wesson’s intention: to offer a revolver that can be customized for different types of competitions. If so, then they hit the nail on the head. Then again, it is entirely possible that I expected too much from it. After all, I do love the CZ Shadow 2 for competition. I’ve come to terms with the fact that customization naturally follows.

The difference is aftermarket support. It exists for the 929, but it doesn’t appear to be nearly as strong as it is for the Shadow 2. Maybe that’s simply the nature of things. After all, there are those who would argue that revolvers are relics of the past. Whatever the case, I’m currently looking into some of the gunsmithing services TK Custom offers for the 929. There is a good chance I will have them work this 929 over someday. Whether or not that happens, one thing is certain. I’ll write about the Smith & Wesson 929 in future reviews or after action reports.