Hi everyone, hope this post finds you healthy, happy and with little or no lower back pain. I apologize in advance for what is sure to be a long and rambling post. In the end, I hope it is helpful and enlightening to my fellow 696 owner/shooters.
So I talked to S&W customer service today and confirmed what I knew to be true; You should not be able to put .44 magnum ammo in a 696 and close the cylinder..... However, I CAN put .44 magnum ammo in my 696, close the cylinder and I'm sure if I pulled the trigger, she would go off.
Now, the rest of the story... I recently stumbled upon a 624 in great shape at a more than reasonable price and so I snatched it up at a speed that would make even some of you hardened S&W accumulators proud!!!! A 624
As is my habit, I immediately read everything SCSW had to say about it and then trolled the internet for more info.
Of course, it didn't take long to turn up the info on 624 cylinder problems and the safety recall over them. Seems as though there are two schools of thought here;
1. They got some stock for cylinders that were improperly heat-treated
2. They got some cylinders bored incorrectly and would allow .44 mag to fit
Of course, my new 624 is within the serial number range of the potential problem guns. I grabbed up some factory .44 mag rounds and tried them in the 624. No joy, they stuck out just like you would expect and no way are you closing the cylinder with those magnum rounds in it.
While trying that experiment, my feeble memory began to stir. Now mind you, my memory is the second shortest thing about me...and for you sickos, my patience is the actual shortest thing about me... but I digress.
What I recalled was the end of a range session from several years ago, right after I acquired the 696. I was shooting my 696 and a 4" 29 I have. I got down to the last 5 range rounds and I loaded them up in the 696. I felt the first two as being significantly stouter than normal and the last 3 pretty normal.
Imagine my surprise when I saw I had fired two .44 mag rounds in that last session. These were all my reloads and the mags were very mildly loaded for magnums. They might not have even exceeded a really hot .44 Spl.
I was suitably embarrassed for having done something stupid and thankful that there were no bad outcomes.
I suppose in the back of my mind there was the question of putting a .44mag in a .44 Spl but for the most part, it has been forgotten about until this 624 stirred things up.
So last night I tried several factory magnum loads and any or all of them will go in my 696.
When I talked to S&W customer service, they had no knowledge of any problems with the 696 model or the 696 cylinders specifically. Nor has there been any safety recall on the 696. They did hint that a new model 69 could be a replacement for me. NO THANKS.
So if it wouldn't be too much trouble, and for curiosity's sake. How about some of you guys with 696's check them out. Will your 696 accept .44 Magnum Ammo?? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks in advance and I appreciate all who were able to power through all that.
Oh yeah, in no way am I advocating for shooting .44 magnums in a 696. I did it once as a mistake that I won't let happen again. Be safe!
So I talked to S&W customer service today and confirmed what I knew to be true; You should not be able to put .44 magnum ammo in a 696 and close the cylinder..... However, I CAN put .44 magnum ammo in my 696, close the cylinder and I'm sure if I pulled the trigger, she would go off.
Now, the rest of the story... I recently stumbled upon a 624 in great shape at a more than reasonable price and so I snatched it up at a speed that would make even some of you hardened S&W accumulators proud!!!! A 624
As is my habit, I immediately read everything SCSW had to say about it and then trolled the internet for more info.
Of course, it didn't take long to turn up the info on 624 cylinder problems and the safety recall over them. Seems as though there are two schools of thought here;
1. They got some stock for cylinders that were improperly heat-treated
2. They got some cylinders bored incorrectly and would allow .44 mag to fit
Of course, my new 624 is within the serial number range of the potential problem guns. I grabbed up some factory .44 mag rounds and tried them in the 624. No joy, they stuck out just like you would expect and no way are you closing the cylinder with those magnum rounds in it.
While trying that experiment, my feeble memory began to stir. Now mind you, my memory is the second shortest thing about me...and for you sickos, my patience is the actual shortest thing about me... but I digress.
What I recalled was the end of a range session from several years ago, right after I acquired the 696. I was shooting my 696 and a 4" 29 I have. I got down to the last 5 range rounds and I loaded them up in the 696. I felt the first two as being significantly stouter than normal and the last 3 pretty normal.
Imagine my surprise when I saw I had fired two .44 mag rounds in that last session. These were all my reloads and the mags were very mildly loaded for magnums. They might not have even exceeded a really hot .44 Spl.
I was suitably embarrassed for having done something stupid and thankful that there were no bad outcomes.
I suppose in the back of my mind there was the question of putting a .44mag in a .44 Spl but for the most part, it has been forgotten about until this 624 stirred things up.
So last night I tried several factory magnum loads and any or all of them will go in my 696.
When I talked to S&W customer service, they had no knowledge of any problems with the 696 model or the 696 cylinders specifically. Nor has there been any safety recall on the 696. They did hint that a new model 69 could be a replacement for me. NO THANKS.
So if it wouldn't be too much trouble, and for curiosity's sake. How about some of you guys with 696's check them out. Will your 696 accept .44 Magnum Ammo?? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks in advance and I appreciate all who were able to power through all that.
Oh yeah, in no way am I advocating for shooting .44 magnums in a 696. I did it once as a mistake that I won't let happen again. Be safe!
