Has anybody shot the S&W model 69 yet?

Mark-II said:
I find 20gr 2400 with a 240 to be punishing in a 6" 629. I do take a high grip, right behind the frame knuckle, but it will beat up the web pretty good in short order.

And once the hand isn't having fun, the rest follows!

17g isn't bad, though.

Anyone bother with 44 special brass for light loads? I'd rather not, personally
Click to expand...

Hi Mark

Yeah the 20 grain load is pleasant in a 6 inch Dan Wesson but not my favourite in a Smith. The extra weight and forward weight of the Dan really are beneficial in the recoil. The grip shape plays a big part too, just suits me better. I took my neighbors out who has never fired a gun of any kind before. Started him on the 9mm then 45 ACP. The gave him the DW and he fired 50 rounds of 20 gr H2400 loads with a big grin on his face.

I love the model 29 but agree with you it just seems to hit the web harder
Brad
 
saskgunowner101 said:
There's nothing at all wrong with locking your elbows, and using a firm grip. The recoil is going to go somewhere, if the elbows are bent, the gun will push up too.
Click to expand...

Hi

Typical of me to post something... read it and realize I did a poor job explaining myself. I was talking about absolute novices who've never fired a handgun before. I used to teach a handgun proficiency course at an un-named range that took walk-in newcomers. They would lock up tight with a death grip, fire a big magnum and hurt from recoil and get gun shy. I found that if I got them to just unlock their elbows a tiny tiny bit and be aware the gun was going to climb on them they would enjoy it a lot more. The recoil of a 44 mag isn't going to bury the rear sight in their forehead like a 460 or 500 magnum. After they got the feel of the recoil then we could go to work on the fundamentals. Remember I was taking about virgins!

Myself I shoot with a modified Weaver Stance (I know I'm old) and locked elbow on my strong side.

Brad
 
I generally do something weaver-ish myself if I'm 2 handing it, but mostly it is more comfortable for me in the bullseye style. I'm stiff as rebar to begin with.

I've shot a few Dan Wesson .357s. I've never had the pleasure of a 44. Nice guns, and I see that CZ is bringing the .357 back.

I put a new wood grip on the 629 tonight, and learned to appreciate the rubber ones in short order...
 
Mark-II said:
I generally do something weaver-ish myself if I'm 2 handing it, but mostly it is more comfortable for me in the bullseye style. I'm stiff as rebar to begin with.

I've shot a few Dan Wesson .357s. I've never had the pleasure of a 44. Nice guns, and I see that CZ is bringing the .357 back.

I put a new wood grip on the 629 tonight, and learned to appreciate the rubber ones in short order...
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong Mark - I'd love to get another 29 someday. The Smith has a better trigger, much better DA and looks far better then an Wesson. But I'm looking for an older blued Smith from back when the bluing gleamed, the actions were incredibly smooth, something like a 29-2 like the one I sold years ago.

The DW has superb intrinsic accuracy due to the mentioned barrel, you can fine tune the b/c gap and the weight, balance and grip handle recoil better but the Smith is still the ultimate 44 in my humble opinion. The 69 would be a fantastic 44 spl gun and for only occl full house use.
 
S&W Model 69

Had occasion to handle one owned by a fellow member today.

I gotta say, I was a little skeptical when I heard this was a 5 shot .44 Magnum on the S&W L frame. After handling it, I also gotta say what a cool S&W revolver!

Personally, I kinda got my heart set on a 6 shot new Model 629 in 4.2" trim for myself but nevertheless, this Model 69 is a very cool piece of kit.

Looking forward to reading a range review when one of the member's having one puts one in.

1CanadaFlag.gif

--------------
NAA.
 
Heddok said:
Hi

Typical of me to post something... read it and realize I did a poor job explaining myself. I was talking about absolute novices who've never fired a handgun before. I used to teach a handgun proficiency course at an un-named range that took walk-in newcomers. They would lock up tight with a death grip, fire a big magnum and hurt from recoil and get gun shy. I found that if I got them to just unlock their elbows a tiny tiny bit and be aware the gun was going to climb on them they would enjoy it a lot more. The recoil of a 44 mag isn't going to bury the rear sight in their forehead like a 460 or 500 magnum. After they got the feel of the recoil then we could go to work on the fundamentals. Remember I was taking about virgins!

Myself I shoot with a modified Weaver Stance (I know I'm old) and locked elbow on my strong side.

Brad
Click to expand...

I see now what you're getting at Hedokk, about it being useful for beginners and not just the bottom line to all shooting. Except for the girl in the famous 50 Desert Eagle video on youtube (if you've seen that one).:cheers:
 
Ouch. Theres only one girl I know who I'd give a desert eagle to, confidently. She's built like a German farm girl and laughs off 44 magnum ;)

Oh, and after her first time out shooting, where 45ACP/Colt was found to be way more fun than .22, she must have googled Big Arse Gun, cuz she sent me a pic of a D'eagle, saying she wanted one. Lol

Thread hijack complete.

I don't care about the reviews any longer. The more I shoot my 586 the more I want that 69. Just wish VZ made round to square conversion grips. I like the high relief for the middle finger in theirs. Hogues G10 series look similar for having more room higher up behind the trigger guard. Those might be an option.

Big hand likes a square butt.
 
D eagle are pussy cats compared to revolvers of the same caliber. how do you find the G10 grips compared to the wood Hogue for grip position? I hate the regular Hogue ones as they force your grip too low.
 
True enough. I found the D'eagle a heavy unwieldy POS in all truth. If I was given one I'd sell it and buy a pistol that isn't a prosthetic tally whacker ;)

I have a VZ on my 586, the tactical diamonds in hyena brown. Looks great, very grippy, and is relieved high enough behind the trigger guard for the middy finger that I can get a nice high grip, right behind the frame knuckle. They are thin enough for comfy one hand shooting, have a nice palm swell.

Honestly I'm probably going to chance one of their round bottoms and see if they work for me on the 629. If that doesn't do it then i'll give the hogue G10 a try. I had a feeling that the wood hogues force a lower grip, by the look of them.

I'm unsure of how many revolver grips out there are designed with the input of revolver shooters..
 
Thanks for all the input guys, I'm still on the fence but I'm leaning towards picking one up and giving it a try. Will report back once I make a decision.
 
Finally got my new S&W 69 to the range last weekend. Love it. Just started out with some light-ish LSWC loads which even my 12 year old son had no problem handling. I will work up the loads a bit eventually. Really happy with it so far.
 
I just paid for my own 69 from the LGS. I will post here pics and report once the transfer goes through and I pick it up! I'm a real revolver newbie I hate to say, although I'm tens of thousands of rounds deep in 9mm autopistol. I have shot my dads 44 629 maybe 100 rounds and I know that kick well. I've shot a 460 with the comp and it was tame in comparison.
I can't wait to try my new 5-shot!
 
Looking forward to your report. I handled one in a gun store in 100 Mile House summer before last, I've seen a couple go pretty cheap here and have been tempted.
 
Just got my 69 Christmas Eve. I was able to run 100 rounds through it, I have to say the recoil did not feel any different from my fathers 629. Although I did not test "back to back", I only had my 69 out. Like I said I am a real revolver newbie. So yeah, I shot 100 rds today and it was definitely more recoil than my 9mm, to me it's the same as a 629. Five rounds is nice because you can just dump out 5 at a time from a box of shells without having to pick one extra round out of that next row ;)
Out of the box I was printing 3-4" to the left @ 20 yards. Once I had it sighted I was able to do about a grapefruit size group @ 20 yards. Very fun to shoot. I was shooting cheap 240gr FMJ ammo (44MAG). I need to get some 44 specials because after 100 rds... I wouldn't say it "hurts" but a few hours after shooting I do still "feel it" (it feels like the grip is still in my right hand sort of).
So far I love it.

One more thing, the grip is slightly thinner/smaller than a 629, and while shooting I had to be more aware of keeping my grip real tight or the gun would have ever so little room to "whack" my thumb web.

Or as Jerry says: "just shoot 1 million rounds and your thumb nerves will be dead"
-maybe one day.
 
Here's mine. I'm off to the range soon. Very soon. I'm taking the rubber grips with me too.





The fit and finish is impeccable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom