Part of the appeal of a 44 spl is the ability to significantly improve on factory ballistics with handloads. A 44 special with factory loads is horribly anemic in my opinion. With that in mind, I do not understand the infatuation with the 696 as you are restricted to factory level loads. Earlier this year I passed on one for 700 or 800 hundred.A model 69 is the ultimate in versatility . Load heavy, light, whatever you want. My 3 inch 624 ain’t bad either.