S&W 69 initial review

[mcseal2]

I found a deal on a used S&W 69 5 shot 44 mag revolver recently and got it picked up today. I have been selling a few rifles that don't get used much and replacing them with a few more handguns. I recently got the Glock 20 I've been trying to get to run hardcast well and decided to pick this one up also.

The gun empty weighs 37oz on my postage scale, right about advertised weight. It has an excellent trigger. I don't have a scale, but I can't tell the difference by feel single action between it and my 386XL Hunter that has had the trigger worked over. The previous owner may have had the trigger worked over, I don't know. Double action I think it I feel it stack a shade more than the 386 before it breaks, but it's darn close. Either way it's great as is and won't need any further work.

Shooting it I started with Magtech 240gr JSP loads. They are a pretty mild load for a 44 at 1180fps and 741ft/lbs of energy. They are priced more reasonable than some at $32 from Midway, I will try Ammoseek in the future to see how cheap I can find them. Midway had very good reviews on them including some from people who had used them on hogs and deer.

With this ammo it's pretty comfortable to shoot. Recoil and muzzle rise are substantially more than my 386XL Hunter with HSM 180gr bear loads, but not uncomfortable. It also shot very well. 10 rounds at 20 yards all hit in the roughly 3"x3" chunk of carboard I stapled to my target board. That was shooting offhand and single action.

After that I went to the Buffalo Bore lower recoil 255gr HC ammo. It's still a hot load at 1350fps and 1032 ft/lbs of energy. It had a lot more kick than the lighter loads. I only shot 5 due to the rain coming back in. It brings the muzzle up pretty good and would be slower for follow up shots. I think it hit lower than the other ammo I shot. I had the carboard stapled to the lower RH corner of an old target and missed the paper and cardboard with all 5. I could see where the pallet I stapled it to was torn up right below the paper.

All in all I like the gun so far. It will have substantial recoil with hot loads, but all 44's will and especially this light of a 44. I'll get more shooting done later and check back in.

I also shot my other S&W revolvers. I'll put that on another thread.

 

[rickjames80]

I also recently picked up a S&W 69 with a 2 3/4 in barrel. I have shot both mild and wild 44 mag's through it. With the hot loads, it is definitely not something that I would want to shoot all day. However, it is exactly what I was looking for in a carry revolver.

 

[dla]

After that I went to the Buffalo Bore lower recoil 255gr HC ammo. It's still a hot load at 1350fps and 1032 ft/lbs of energy. It had a lot more kick than the lighter loads. I only shot 5 due to the rain coming back in. It brings the muzzle up pretty good and would be slower for follow up shots. I think it hit lower than the other ammo I shot. I had the carboard stapled to the lower RH corner of an old target and missed the paper and cardboard with all 5. I could see where the pallet I stapled it to was torn up right below the paper.

Were you shooting the BB double-action? I've found that shooting double-action pretty much eliminates the flinch that happens after a few nuclear loads. Avoiding the flinch requires a zen-master ability to ignore the pain that is about to happen to your hand. Double-action follow-through makes it harder to mash the trigger. I know I went through this when learning to shoot my 329pd with full-up loads - at first I thought different loads printed way low until I was "one with the universe" and suddenly all loads had pretty much identical POI.

 

[mcseal2]

I shot them single action. Ill try it double action before adjusting the sights any. I will also put my past glove too.