I'm surprised that I did that good. I really like S&W revolvers. Most of the few I have are pre 1975..heck most are pre 1960. Most of my guns are pre 1960. Some I no longer shoot. Just worth to much. I just have a liking for the 44 Spec so I bought the darn thing. As far as the ammo. I bought a Coleman cooler full of factory ammo for 200 bucks. I ended up with 54 boxes of various calibers. Had 5 boxes of 45 Colt. I kept a box and sold the rest of it as I very seldom shoot the 45 Colt and I have lots of ammo for it loaded up and on the shelf. Was the 696 built on the L frame??