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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 04-15-2022, 03:16 PM
xfarfuldog xfarfuldog is offline
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Default 696 or Other 44?

Several years ago I was introduced to the 696 by a friend. I found one for sale at a gun show. Both his and mine were the no dash models. Both of us foolishly sold them. I'm considering buying another and realize how costly they are.

It would be a HD or range toy. The 696 is just too heavy to carry. But I am wondering if I should consider a 624, 69 or another capable of firing a 44. I would not plan on shooting any magnum rounds. Will the 696 hold up to normal 44 special usage? I have even considered getting a 45 acp revolver but do not want to use moon clips. ???
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Old 04-15-2022, 03:44 PM
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I assume it would hold up, but a 3" five shooter has no attraction for me.
I'd look for a 624.

What I HAVE is a M25 .45 because I shoot IDPA and need the clips. If I didn't, I could always load Auto Rims.
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Old 04-15-2022, 03:44 PM
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Model 69 all day.
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Old 04-15-2022, 04:07 PM
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696 barrels are unobtanium for the most part. If the thin forcing cone is damaged you have a paperweight.
I have both a 696 and a 624 4”. For shooting the 624, for future resale value the 696.
The 69 has a strong following.
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Old 04-15-2022, 04:11 PM
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If you just want a .44 carry gun (and one you don't shoot much) then the Model 296 might fit the bill. That said, it may be more scarce than the 696.

The 296 is a great carry gun, but brutal to shoot more than a few rounds at a time.

Here's mine with Ahrends Retro Banana grips.



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Old 04-15-2022, 04:35 PM
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The 696 L frame has turned out to be like a diamond to find and buy! Very cool gun and as you found out, very sought after. Especially the no dash that still has color case hardened hammer and trigger.

Yes, they're very durable, don't worry about that.

To answer your question, my preference is to use a gun sized for the caliber, which was S&W's original concept.

The 44 Spl is my favorite cartridge. It was hard to find 44 Spl specific guns back in the day. Neither S&W or Ruger made them because they felt it was niche market in their opinions, which was true. That's why the 696 wasn't made for long, nor the 296. And only in the last 16 or so years has Ruger offered 44S and not on a regular basis. We often hear: buy a 44 Mag and you can shoot both. But way too heavy for a 44 Spl., especially to carry.

And now we see S&W offering the 44 Mag in the L frame, the Model 69 which does make a good 44 Spl/44 Mag size gun.

So I recommend you not go to a 44 Mag N frame to shoot 44 Spl unless you're recoil sensitive. A 44 Spl on the Smith L frame is not uncomfortable to shoot with standard loads. And if you want hot loads, sure use the N frame or a 44 Mag.

Hope that helps,
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Old 04-15-2022, 06:36 PM
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Mod 69 or maybe a Rossi M720
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Old 04-15-2022, 07:50 PM
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The .44 Special is one of my favorite cartridges.
Love my 696 No-dash. One of my favorite woods walking guns. With a proper holster and belt, its easy to carry.
Honestly, I've never worried about durability. But I don't hot rod my .44 Special loads either.



But then, for range shooting I have plenty of N-frame options.

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Old 04-15-2022, 08:40 PM
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I have to agree with Greyfox, get a good belt and holster and you shouldn’t have a carry issue. Been doing it for 40 years now.
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Old 04-15-2022, 08:46 PM
Mike, SC Hunter Mike, SC Hunter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rammer Jammer View Post
Mod 69 or maybe a Rossi M720
Yep. The Rossi is a sleeper. A bit smaller than the 696 but still a 5 shot 44 spl. . I kept a round count on mine when I bought to see when it would fail. At 800 rds I quit counting. Still tight and shoots good.
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Old 04-16-2022, 02:41 PM
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Since the OP has not posted since the original, I don't know if Jim Watson's reply slid right by him.....45 Auto Rim. In the alternative you could use .45 ACP with the RIMZ poly clips - no special tools needed.

Or, in addition to the 696 under consideration, or the suggested 296, there are two other 5-shot, .44 Spl alternatives: The 396 Mountain Lite and the 396 Night Guard.



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Old 04-18-2022, 02:32 PM
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I recently acquired a 696 and I like it alot. Shoots great with mild .44 specials and packs enough punch with Hornady critical defense loads to handle most anything while still being very manageable in the amount of recoil. And big bore snubbies are just cool.
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Old 04-18-2022, 06:04 PM
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Often you can get a good price on the 24-3 performance center heritage model. 6.5" barrel round butt, gold dot patridge sight very good shooter with no lock.

I've got one and love it but like many commemoratives they didn't sell well. Also have a 696 and a 296. Had the featherweight 396 but it got wings $$$ and flew away.
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Old 04-19-2022, 06:00 AM
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Default 44 snubbies

I think the M69 snubbie is hard to bet for all around versatility but if you're not going to be shooting ammo stronger than 44 Special then the L-frame 44s will be fine if you don't hotrod it too much.

The 396NG is another good L-frame alternative at 24oz.

If you go with a 45ACP it'll be in the larger N-frame, of course.

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Old 04-19-2022, 10:05 AM
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I love .44sp. I had and sold a 3" 24-3 as well as a 4" and wish that I had kept both of them. I also had a 696-0 with box, papers and all that I traded a .357 Mtn gun for. I had it for many years and just this year, a friend traded me a NIB 5" 27-2 for it. I really liked it but I would rather have a 3" 24-3.
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Old 04-19-2022, 01:45 PM
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Old 04-19-2022, 03:20 PM
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I know it's not pre-lock and has a two piece barrel, but I have to say that I really like my 2.75" model 69. I was a cop long before Tupperware made guns, so I don't find it to be heavy at all.
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Old 04-19-2022, 05:14 PM
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Model 69.
I have a 2.75" 69 and I like it as a .44 spl handgun.
I've described it as a ".44 sp, handgun capable of shooting magnum".
A few rounds of .44 magnum gets your attention real quick.
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Old 04-19-2022, 11:26 PM
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I carry and shoot my 624-3 LH on occasion. A good quality holster and belt makes all the difference.

20220419_160017.jpg

20220419_160457.jpg

both holsters are Desantis and I use Comtac and Tucker and Bird belts

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Old 10-09-2024, 09:57 AM
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This S&W 696 is a capable shooter:

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Old 10-09-2024, 10:21 AM
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Can’t speak to the 696 specifically but I imagine durability shouldn’t be an issue for it’s intended cartridge. In fact after playing with both special and magnum loads in my 69 I don’t find the 69 practical to shoot with magnums unless you’re using rubber grips like the x frame hogues.

I do find the Underwood 44 special “Keith” load to be a perfect balance in power and comfort. Bonus is they match the black accents of the 2.75” perfectly
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Old 10-09-2024, 10:28 AM
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A target without a distance is about as meaningless as a hand load without chrono data.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned the GP100. I would have rather had a 696, but now, I think they’re overpriced .

I’ll confess to springs and a Bowen rear sight. On a good day from braced/sitting, I can put 5, 200G XTPs @ 950 fps under 3 inches at 25 yards.
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Old 10-09-2024, 10:34 AM
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As an update to my previous posting, My friend kept bugging me about getting his Mod. 27-2 unfired back. I traded him and got my 696ND back. I never fired it in all the time that I owned it before but plan on changing that this time.
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Old 10-09-2024, 11:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marshal tom View Post
As an update to my previous posting, My friend kept bugging me about getting his Mod. 27-2 unfired back. I traded him and got my 696ND back. I never fired it in all the time that I owned it before but plan on changing that this time.
Am fond of 200 gn bullets in the 696's owned. A 200 lrnfp at 800 fps and a 200 gn gdhp at 900 fps. Occasionally shoot 180 jhp's at 1000 fps. Also have a M69, but am just using the same bullet weights slightly warmer.

For my purposes the 696 delivers 45 acp level power in a smaller frame.

The reports of forcing cone splitting i remember involved the heavy lead "Keith" style loads.
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Old 10-09-2024, 10:52 PM
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The 69 is a cool gun and I want one myself but it seems to me that people hear a few stories about the tragedies of thin forcing cones and assume it WILL crack. From experience, not necessarily true. My 696 no- is a great little gun and alot of fun to shoot with a 250grswc over over 7.7gr of power pistol or HERCO, its no slouch. Hundreds of those and no issues. I dont collect guns I shoot them and it has survived probably several thousand various rounds since owning it. Still nice and tight. Im not sure who owned S&W at the time these were made but its probably the cleanest machined s&w I have. Im not against the 69, like I said, I want one myself but I wouldnt be scared to buy a 696, if you can find one, unless you are wanting to shoot magnums.
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Old 10-10-2024, 12:01 AM
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Quote:
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...it seems to me that people hear a few stories about the tragedies of thin forcing cones and assume it WILL crack. From experience, not necessarily true.
With standard power/factory loads the Mx96 forcing cones are fine but if pushed too hard, for too long, they can have problems & split, similar to the problem the older K-frame M19/66s had (but have now been redesigned too).

The lightweight bullets at high speed, with spherical powders, are the bigger problem makers than slower heavyweight bullets with the thin forcing cones.

The M69s do not have that problem as they were redesigned.

Handloader magazine, Brian Pearce, used to say the Mx96s were okay to load to 25K psi but he later lowered it to 18K psi loads. SAAMI max for the 44 Special is 15.5K psi.

Lastly, my 396NG, & I believe many in the Mx96 family, had tight cylinder throats (.4280-.4285") but with nominal barrel bores.

I opened up my throats with a Manson throater reamer to .430"

.



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M69 barrel breech & forcing cone
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Reaming M396NG throats
.


.
.



.
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Old 10-10-2024, 08:46 AM
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I’ve never seen a 696 with a split forcing cone, just on the net. The secret is using standard 44 spl loads.

I’ve become rather fond of the 44 spl since acquiring my first 696. My 44 spl family has multiplied.

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296 - traded to exchipy.
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Old 10-10-2024, 08:59 AM
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I think that .44 Magnum is too much power for an EDC revolver and difficult to control for follow up shots, but .44 Spl. is just fine. I am a big bore guy, but for CCW I chose to go the .357 Magnum route. I recently picked up a 3" 686-6 Plus which I really like, and it's 7-shots...not just 5 or 6. I've got a good quality leather belt holster and it carries just fine. I'm sure that the 696, 69, and 624 would all be good options for you.
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