New S&W Model 69 .44 Mag

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Blacksmoke

Blacksmoke

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Many of you probably read the article in this month's American Rifleman.
S&W is introducing a stainless steel 5 shot .44 mag built on an "L" frame and with a 4.25 inch two piece barrel. They are calling this gun a "Combat Magnum". At 33 ounces or so, it is light enough to carry comfortably, well, more comfortably that the Model 29.

I guess this gun fills a niche and would not mind owning one. Anyone have thoughts?
 
Thanks for the tip. I did not know this gun has been out for some time. There are no gun stores or gun shows for 150 miles from where I live. So, I am the last to know about anything new.
 
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I very much enjoy mine. I expected it to work as a .44 Spcl that could be used with magnum loads when necessary. I was surprised to find recoil easy to control for rapid fire with 240gr magnum factory loads.

My thought is if you think you might want one, you better get it before they stop making them. Their .44 Spcls never made it into long production runs as far as I can remember. I think I better buy another to put back, myself.
 
I really like mine. It fits well with my revolvers. Nice to carry and it fits in the same leather pancake holster my Taurus revolver fits in. Very mild recoil with 44spl loads and full 44mag loads are manageable, Last time I shot it I ran 60 rounds of 44mag thru it with no problem. I carry it with 44spl loads and one speed loader with 44spl and one speed loader with 44mag.

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I wish they'd do it in .41 Mag.

Back in the Dirty Harry days M29 .44 Mags were not available or over over priced.

So I bought a .41 Mag. M57. I thought I'd regret it. Instead I like the caliber very much and over the years have come to own several more, never had any urge to 'upgrade' to .44.

So I hope they'll do this one in .41 too.
 
I am happy with my Model 69. i have had it for a several months now.

I am not into shooting full house 44 Magnum loads (or top 357 Magnum loads either for that matter) any more, so I am also happy shooting slighter hotter than top 44 Special loads.
 
There are several threads speculating on whether or not S&W will offer it in different chamberings. I think it is a good platform. The one I handled was a neat package.
 
I really like the concept. Wish they'd make a 3 inch barrel.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. Big bore 3" revolvers get my heart rate up. And may as well have a 6" too.

A blued version would be my preference, makes the lock less visible, and I just love blued finishes with wood stocks. A even better option would be an ILS free model like is available on some J Frames. The ILS wouldn't stop me, I just prefer it wasn't there in the first place.

Still, it is a very intriguing and attractive concept. I typically don't buy new, but this one has me thinking. Maybe I'll give it a few years and track down a lightly used one, see how everything works. Let all the others here on this thread do the beta testing :evil: :p ;) .
 
The 4 in. barrel was chosen so it could be sold in Canada.:cool: I have been shooting and carrying a S&W 696 in .44 Spl. for many years and I have no desire or need to shoot the same sized frame in .44 mag. Most of S&W's gun have been mostly stainless (or aluminum alloy) for years because it is incredibly expensive to run a hot bluing operation with current EPA regs and people have now gotten used to stainless and lightweight alloy and polymer guns. The reason the old S&W blue jobs looked so incredible was because of how they did it - you could not do that today on a mass scale with current regs. and disposing of all of the chemicals involved. It would drive the price of the blued guns way up. I would much rather have blued carbon steel also. Bluing has pretty much been replaced with anodizing and paint. The whole ILS thing needs to be thrown in the trash. If we let the greedy trial lawyers and judges and whacko environmentalists run the whole country then we are doomed.
 
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Nice gun no doubt. But after researching a bit (started circa 1965) I recently bought one of my few remaining "grail" guns: S&W 629. Actually what I've always wanted was a 29 8 3/8" but this 629 was close enough, the right price and it was within reach. It's essentially my .44 Special gun.

But the 69 does look good; so does the 66. Really good in fact.
 
NRA: American Riflemen.....

I finally got my printed NRA magazine.
The new S&W .44 looks nice but Im not a fan of the "lawyer lock" magnums.
:rolleyes:
Not to drag the point out, but if you plan to shoot a lot of .44magnum or potent loads out of the S&W you may have problems with it later. :rolleyes:

A Ruger .44magnum would meet those needs.
 
I've never been able to stand the look of stainless guns. They look to me like somebody forgot to finish them. If this one were available with a 3 inch barrel and could be darkened I'd be interested. Or even better a blued carbon steel version. A nice set of Kim Ahrends and it would make a dandy 44 special
 
I guess you all are not into nickel plated guns either.

While a nicely blued revolver has a certain sex appeal to it, I am too practical to dismiss the durability of stainless.
 
Drail I was beginning to think I was the only one in the world. I don't exactly hate stainless. I HATE that they can't be blued. Guns "in the white" are just WRONG!
 
I would love to see it in blue alas I don't see it happening but as a gun for the woods it works well I like mine a lot sadly I had to sell it to pay unexpected medical bills :(
 
I owned a Taurus Tracker in .44 magnum. Right about the same frame size as the 69 . I considered it pretty much a .44 Spl that one could shoot .44 Magnum out of for when thought needed.
It was a nicely balanced revolver .

My brother bought a Model 69 a few months back. It had some serious quality issues and was returned to the factory. Since he has gotton it back he likes the gun very much, but hasn't had enough trigger time to say a lot about it yet.

I would personaly prefer the L frame .44 Special 696 as I have no need for the Magnum. They quickly reached a price range that is above my budget . My dealer friend asked me to do a little work on his .44 Special and I became impressed with the Rossi Model 720 . This is about a K frame size gun in .44 Special and I am very pleased with the three of them I have bought. They fill my nitch for a 44 very nicely.

All that said I think the Model 69 S&W should be a very nice revolver for those who want to carry a .44 Magnum gun. I can think of only one issue where I would prefer the magnum, and I am not subjected to that issue.
 
Factory load barely reach 1200 fps if even that. Load up some 240 grain jacketed bullets around 1350+, and tell me how controllable that double action is. :)

I own a M720, and it is being cut down to 2 1/4" for easy carry. That is one nice revolver. Bobbed hammer and all. My Ruger .44 Mag SBH will let me fling lead until it is uncomfortable to shoot.
 
RustyShackelford said:
I finally got my printed NRA magazine.
The new S&W .44 looks nice but Im not a fan of the "lawyer lock" magnums.
:rolleyes:
Not to drag the point out, but if you plan to shoot a lot of .44magnum or potent loads out of the S&W you may have problems with it later. :rolleyes:

A Ruger .44magnum would meet those needs.
Click to expand...
S&W offers a warranty on all new revolvers. I doubt they would offer a new revolver they anticipated having to do repairs on in the future.

I am hoping they produce some variations but for a woods revolver, this may be a winner.
 
I own a M720, and it is being cut down to 2 1/4" for easy carry. That is one nice revolver. Bobbed hammer and all.
Click to expand...

Mine are the adustable sight versions. I have never been fond of the bobbed hammer, although I understand why many are.

Load up some 240 grain jacketed bullets around 1350+,
Click to expand...

Your Ruger is built strong , but I don't think I would try this load out of the Model 69 . Just my personal opinion .
 
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