I got into this thread a little late, but I recently bought a 296 from a local shop. I absolutley love this revolver. Lightweight, controllable (well, pretty much), funky looks, and on top of all that, I got a screaming deal on mine ($299+tax).
It does whack your hand pretty well, but it is not much worse than shooting .38+p thru a 642 to me. As soon as I can purchase a good minmalist belt-slide for mine and can have a holster-maker friend of mine make an ammo carrier of my own design, it will become my main CCW.
Mino
