I used to shoot handgun silhouette (IHMSA) back in the 80's. Eighty very stout .44 mag loads every match. And another 80-100 similarly stout loads every weekend doing load development or practice on weekends there wasn't a match.
The general sentiment at the time - one voiced by my gunsmith (who was also the armorer of the Fairfax County Virginia Police Dept., back when S&W revolvers were standard issue) - was that S&W N-frames, though excellent revolvers, would not stand up to such punishment.
I ended up using a Ruger Redhawk for competition in order to save my beloved Model 29.
S&W faced a similar quandary with heavy .357 mag loads in their K-frame. That's why they developed the L-frame.
Current Model 29's will no doubt digest more heavy .44 mag loads than my now-ancient Model 29 (still one of my favorite revolvers). But an N-frame is still an N-frame.
@JSH has pointed you in the right direction. A Ruger or Freedom Arms will give you more durability. But then you lose that panache that a Model 29 brings.
This mirrors my experience as well. TLDR: Don't push pressure with a S&W 29.
I too shot 44 Mag revolvers in silhouette in the 80's running very stout 240 grain loads, and used similar ammo for hunting mule deer and elk. It was a very popular game in SoCal back then with matches held at several venues that were all well attended.
In order for a plate score to count, you must knock it down. Just hitting or turning it didn't count. As such, you saw many instances where 357 Mag lost points at the 200 yard line when they failed to drop the plate and as a result some folks went to 357 Maximum to be competitive, or like many of us they just ran 44 Mag since it was more commonly available in terms of brass and guns.
Compared to other games, handgun Silhouette was affordable. A match is 10 plates at 4 distances, so 40 record shots plus your practice and sighters. I'm being long winded to give a general description of how large the user group and experience base was for the OP's question.
In that era, silhouette using a revolver was very popular because the ammo volume was way lower than SASS or the action pistol games. The ammo pressure used in silhouette was generally very high, whereas the ammo pressure run in other pistol sports was not. If you wanted to learn what pistols/revolvers took pressure, silhouette revolver is where you found out.
At the time period, it was general knowledge that you didn't play these games with a S&W 29 because they would stretch and fail to maintain accuracy. These full power load games were where the Rugers and Dan Wessons ruled the revolver territory, by a wide margin. Several close friends didn't follow the advice and tried to run their 29s in this game, and every one of them stretched. So the advice wasn't hearsay or rumor, but was well established.
The stress levels on these frames due to the pressure/energy is worth a pause for comparison.
A typical 240 grain JHP at 1500 fps is roughly 1200 ft*lbs at the muzzle, and runs over 36000 PSI.
A regular 240 grain LSWC doing 800 fps is roughly 341 ft*lbs and runs about 12000 PSI.
If you keep the S&W closer to the latter, you will be fine. If you push it, it will stretch and fail to maintain performance.
My own choice was typically a Dan Wesson with a Vent Heavy 8" bbl. Don't get me wrong, I really like the 29 and think it is a great pistol, but consider it one you shoot at low pressure for all but the most dire circumstances. The Dan Wesson became the property of the CZ corporation, and to be honest I don't know if they ever produced the 44 Mag version again. The Ruger is the easy way to get a 44 Mag revolver that can take the pressure.
Life can be short. If you want to get a 29, then get one and don't abuse it. If you need to hit something with a full house load using 44 Mag, then the Ruger is a much better choice. YMMV
