will 696's ever be produced again?

[semperfi71]

I too was a bit shocked at the thiness of the M696 forcing cone. Of course I had no plans to hot-rod .44 Specials in such a small handgun but the forcing cone, to me, definitely precludes that.

However, a .44 caliber 240 lead bullet at 800 fps is plenty potent. I plan to load mine to that specification.

 

[parsonbw]

Sir.
The reason they quit making them is because they were a marketing failure. They could not be sold as a shooting gun. Mismatched frame and barrel components, bad ergonomics, reduced round capacity, and the wrong size. Too big for pocket and to small for a real man sized belt gun.
Frankengun. So they quit making them with a fairly short production run.
Now there are few of them and they are collectible. Only as a rare oddity.
Supply and demand. No one wants them, they quit making them.
In my humble opinion.
Bill@Yuma[/QUOT

RdRBill, I hope you're right! That will make my 696 no dash that I paid too much for, maybe be worth what I paid for it.

 

[Stainz]

The 696 has the dubious distinction of preceding the Governor as an example of S&W following another gunmaker's lead in the marketplace. The Governor has taken it's share of abuse here as an example of S&W making their version of a Taurus Judge, while the 696 was their earlier follow-up to the Charter Arms .44 Special! Heck, the x96 family even uses the same HKS Speedloader - the #CA44. So, for all of the grief it has suffered, the 696 is just a nicer CA .44 Special Bulldog!

Stainz

 

[TAROMAN]

Actually, the 696 is a closer copy of the Taurus 441. Not a bad revolver in its own right:

 

[KLYDE]

What benefits does the 696 have over a 629?

The coolness factor.

 

[leviathon]

One thing the 696 has that the 629 doesnt is the K frame Grip.

The bottom line is that its a big bore handgun on an L frame. One of a kind in the S&W lineup.
Even so, when my FFL received mine he said it was "huge".

Its not a CA Bulldog, its not an N frame mastiff, its more like an L frame Pitbull.

 

[williamlayton]

Someone said that it had the recoil of a .38----I, fer sure, don't want to meet this feller when his mood is not right.
I gave shot .44mags---and the .38 is a baby, in comparison.
Blessings