I have been hunting with a 8.5" Smith and Wesson 29 for a couple of years now, but recently picked up a 629 6" gun to pack around. Well, to my surprise the 6" gun consistently outperforms the longer barreled gun by at least 50 fps. Here is an example: 23 grains of Win-296 with a Hornady 240 grain XTP, Federal primer, and Starline brass. The six-incher averages 1,324 fps while the longer barreled gun goes 1,247 fps. Same story with lead bullet loads also. What gives??