I have wanted a compact .44 Mag for a while that carries easy and shoots accurately. I almost held out for the new Ruger GP100 in .44 Spl as a compromise, but living in California it will be some time until it gets approved for sale. I then started looking at the Smith 69. My only other Smith is a beautiful 27-2 5" that is one of my all time favorite revolvers.
So I read up on the Smith and decided to give the new design a go. I was able to shoot about 200 rounds of .44 Spl and .44 Mag this past weekend while shooting with my son and I have to say that I am really impressed. The gun was very accurate during informal shooting and I got several 3" offhand groups at 25 yards. I was able to easily hit an old propane bottle out to 75 yards. So the Hillary Hole, two piece barrel, and MIM parts so far have impressed me. While it is definately different than my 27-2, it is still a great gun thus far. I look forward to putting a couple more hundred rounds through it this upcoming weekend between the rains. The only thing I will change are the grips. I think I will order a set of X Frame grips. My hands are kind of large and I lose contact with the backstrap as I grasp the grips firmly.
To prevent this thread from being worthless, here are some pictures:
So I read up on the Smith and decided to give the new design a go. I was able to shoot about 200 rounds of .44 Spl and .44 Mag this past weekend while shooting with my son and I have to say that I am really impressed. The gun was very accurate during informal shooting and I got several 3" offhand groups at 25 yards. I was able to easily hit an old propane bottle out to 75 yards. So the Hillary Hole, two piece barrel, and MIM parts so far have impressed me. While it is definately different than my 27-2, it is still a great gun thus far. I look forward to putting a couple more hundred rounds through it this upcoming weekend between the rains. The only thing I will change are the grips. I think I will order a set of X Frame grips. My hands are kind of large and I lose contact with the backstrap as I grasp the grips firmly.
To prevent this thread from being worthless, here are some pictures:
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