Just examined one, along with a new 66 yesterday. Both have the ball detent crane locks. Plus, the threaded portion of the barrel screwed into the frame is thicker, making for stronger, 100% round throatS.
The matte blast finish was not to my liking, as it was neither satin, nor truly matte. It gave me the impression of a fake 'nickle' finish off of a Umarex air pistol, or the like. I also hate to see yet another STAINLESS gun 'set-off' by contrasting blue controls, those things mostly likely to corrode fast with use! I wonder if the color-case is intact under there if you stripped that blueing off?
I whipped out the trusty magnifyer from the Swiss knife to eye the crane lock. It appears to have a nylon, or even perhaps rubber(?) ring around it at the front. Probably a bushing inset. I would want to be extra careful with solvents around that, and in brushing off the chamber faces. On the 69, it aligned near perfectly with the funky-cut notch of the ejector shroud. On the 66, it was clearl biased toward gun's left side of the notch.
What impressed me MOST was the fit of the cylinders and the stop. On most any Smith, some wiggle-waggle is expected in the cylinder as you cycle the gun and lower the hammer. These two were far closer to what you'd feel with a Freedom Arms single-action...NUTTIN'! NO fore-and-aft, and no side to side. Well, barely, on ONE chamber of the 66.
Another thing I spotted was that on the 69, the rifling looks to be either polygonal, or a hybrid wherein the sharp edges of the lands and grooves have been smoothed out. Can anyone confirm this on their gun???
