Get it!
I have both ND and -1 696 and they are my current favorite wheel guns.
Especially the -1 because of the way it shoots.
The grips that work for my fairly large hands with these L frames are the Altamont round-square conversion "Altai" grips.
They are available now with a variety of different laser engraved textures.
Stick to "regulation" 44 special loads and don't worry about the forcing cone (unless it's already damaged).
Mr Pearce says they were tested in development to almost magnum levels and has published some 20-25 kpsi loads for them.
I try to stick to the 15-17 kpsi stuff.
6.5 grains Universal/Unique and any bullet 240 grains or less works fine.
I have used 7 grains with 200 grain bullets like the Gold Dot.
I ended up with 2 of these because my first one (the -1) needed to be repaired at the factory and I was nervous it might not come back.
So I got a back-up.
Turned out to be a slightly bubb'd cosmetically ND but nothing that prevented perfect function.
The -1 came back with a new ejector star and a retiming job.
It had been having trouble ejecting empties and scratching some of them.
It is now quite perfect in all regards.
S&W service got me the right gunsmith this time.
Me very happy.
The 3" L frame holsters have worked for me so far and in fact 3" N frame holsters work too if a slight bit loose.
The 396 because of it's very high front sight does not fit in all of those holsters (some it does..especially the N frame ones).
Here in Wisconsin our DNR took the unusually smart and simple route when defining the length of a handgun for hunting.
ANY handgun length is the distance from the breech to the end of the barrel.
This means revolvers include the cylinder length in the measurement.
Since we can use any handgun 4" or longer, this lets the 696 in for hunting where handguns are allowed.
We have several areas that are shotgun and handgun only deer hunting, mostly near the bigger cities.
I have read more than one account of taking deer with a 696.
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NEMO
"Everything 44"
Last edited by Nemo288; 05-19-2017 at 04:41 PM.
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