S&W model 69

Yes, the person that I have been e mailing in customer support sent the gun smith the info and the photos. Why he didn’t already have all of that I don’t know.
I was told to send the write up but not the photos since they would be on record under the report number. They have been nice about all of it with answers within hours of my sending it.
Now to just wait and see what S&W does about it.
From another source here at TFL and several other owners of M69’s none of them have the issues mine has other than the very heavy trigger.
As far as the flat spots and the scratches on the barrel crown those are absent on any of them.
 
I bought mine in July. I did a trigger job and it has a much lighter trigger than it came with but is still in the 8-9 lb range. I have about 750 rounds through mine.

I have very large meaty hands with average length fingers, so unfortunately N Frames just do not work for me. The K/L frames with open backstrap grips are perfect for my hands.

I shot it in an IDPA match and qualified with it. I like it so much I have just sent the cylinder in to be cut for moon clips. With the 44 I do not see a real negative to only 5 shots, the way I shoot K/L frame revolvers. The lower bore axis really helps with recoil mitigation, and I put on a set of Pachmayer professional grips.

I am still thinking about a preferred carry load, as a full power magnum with a heavy bullet penetrates more than what I want. The 44 mag silvertips and the PMC Starfires shoot nice and are 3/4 loads. I am pondering either rolling my own or trying some Underwood 190 grain LSWCHP's @1140 fps advertised. Underwood ammo is consistently shooting at or above advertised velocities.

When the cylinder comes home it will be my EDC.
 
Nanuk said:
I am still thinking about a preferred carry load, as a full power magnum with a heavy bullet penetrates more than what I want.
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I just ordered and received some Underwood 180gr JHP's (rated at 1700 ft/sec (!) out of a 7-1/2" barrel.). After the bears around here have gone to sleep for the winter, I may switch to those for EDC ... not enough penetration for the bears, but probably about right for 2-legged predators, and for mountain lions and coyotes.
 
I just ordered and received some Underwood 180gr JHP's (rated at 1700 ft/sec (!) out of a 7-1/2" barrel.). After the bears around here have gone to sleep for the winter, I may switch to those for EDC ... not enough penetration for the bears, but probably about right for 2-legged predators, and for mountain lions and coyotes.
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I looked at those Mike, I think it looks promising.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU6ZKQrfr9M
 
I received an E mail with a shipping number that the gun is on its way back. No other information.
I returned the message asking what they did to the gun.
The following is the answer.

We replaced your, grips, hand, and main spring. And we repaired your barrel.
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Hope you like yours now. I'm REALLY happy with mine ... so much so that I may well decide to exclusively carry it, even after the bears go to sleep for the winter, especially if my 10mm 1911 doesn't prove to have gotten over its reliability problems. I've been carrying the M69 full time (pajamas-off to pajamas-on) for the last several months.
 
Brian Pearce M69 Article.

For anyone interested Brian Pearce has an article on the M69 in the recent issue of Handloader Mag (Dec 2014, No. 293). In the same issue, Brian also covers the 396/696 (L-Frame .44 Specials) and John Haviland the 329PD.

FWIW,

Paul
 
Mike, Here You Go

Here’s a brief recap.

Article addressed strength & durability w/long term use of .44 Mag level ammo – shot over 2,700 round while testing and discussed engineering features.

S&W Reengineered yoke to place enough supporting steel surrounding bbl threads to handle Magnum pressures and allow increased barrel shank diameter.

Due to location of bolt notches (chamber wall thickness at weakest point is .040” in 629 vs. .052 in M69) cylinder strength is more than adequate to handle .44 Mag pressures. Ball detent lockup is a plus and “aids chamber alignment and durability”.

All endurance package features previously/currently incorporated in 29/629s have been included in M69.

Brian quotes S&W “the L=frame has a strong durable frame and barrel built for continuous Magnum useage”. Further, S&W engineers subjected the M69 to endurance testing with full power .44 Mag ammo and passed with ease.

Per Brian “IT SHOULD BE EMPHASIZED, HOWEVER, THAT THESE GUNS ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR LOADS THAT EXCEED MAXIMUM SAAMI PRESSURE GUIDELINES FOR THE .44 MAGNUM, OR 36,000 PSI”.

Regarding recoil he said the smaller L-frame’s lower bore axis “translates into decreased muzzle lift, less felt recoil and quicker follow up shots”.

Balance of article is basically discussion of load data specific to the M69 with some other observations.

Showed a table comparing velocities M69 vs M629 with various factory loads (210gr thru 300gr). Also included a couple of load data tables covering bullets from 180 – 300gr.

The ref issue of Handloader mag is probably worth buying as the above only briefly recaps some of the info covered and I probably missed something that would be of interest to others.

FWIW,

Paul
 
I finally got the M69 back today but it almost returned to S&W. The return address was incorrect. It was shipped back to street address XX19 instead of XX29. The address where FED X tried to deliver it is a house for sale and has been for several months.

They shipped the gun in a fed X box that was too small for the plastic gun case. The box was a medium and the one I shipped out was a large. The blue plastic box was not broken but the rear of the box at the hinge does show stress.
This is the second time in a year that I sent a gun to S&W and it was returned in a less than acceptable condition. In the first case I sent back a 624 that had a recall for a possible hardness issue. When it returned the blue gun box was loose in the FED X box and had broken one of the latches. They sent me another new box and a hat. But the bad thing about this is I no longer have a box with the marking that matches the gun.
Now for the gun. The grips were replaced with the old set returned with the gun. Very good fit and mated well with the gun.
The trigger, I don’t know the weight but the double action has to be half of what it was when purchased. There is absolute no slack, creep and very smooth with a clean break. My guess would be in the 12 pound since it matches another N frame that I own that's 12 pounds but again this is total guessing.
The single action is as good as any factory trigger I have ever felt coming from S&W. They did a very nice job. I’m looking forward to shooting it.
The barrel crown. They seem to have resurfaced it since is seems to have a little more clearance between the top of the barrel and the top of the shroud. The big difference is that the crown seems to have been sand blasted or something of that nature. The finish is glazed more than smooth like before. I’ll try to get photos so you can see the difference. The ends of the riffling are without cutting marks or scratches.
Now for the negative, the flat spots on the barrel shroud if anything are deeper now. This I don’t understand and would like an explanation since other people that own the same gun say that they are absent.
Why would the barrel shroud have flat spots along the lower end, from the front of the shroud to the ejector housing?
Over all I am very happy with the gun as it was returned but the flat spots make it feel like the gun was used when I got it or like a new gun that had been dropped. I own N frames that I bought new that are over 45 years old and they have no marks of any kind and they are shot a great deal. These flat spots are not what I would expect from a company like S&W.
 
OP I think it's a good choice for you but I'd only use .44 specials for a while.

You said you are a .38 special guy and don't have a .357, well a .44 magnum kicks quite a bit worse than .357 magnum so just be careful to not get a flinch from shooting magnums before you are used to them.
 
Model12Win said:
[...] a .44 magnum kicks quite a bit worse than .357 magnum so just be careful to not get a flinch from shooting magnums before you are used to them.
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Depends on the gun. My S&W360sc scandium/titanium ultralight (11oz) snubby is MUCH more painful shooting mid-range .357mag than my S&W69 37oz .44mag L-Frame shooting full-spec .44mag. Of course, if you shoot full-spec .357mag and full-spec .44mag from guns of the same weight and shape, the .44mag WILL kick a LOT harder.
 
Does it go bang when you pull the trigger, fairly accurate, and reliable? If so, then I'm not sure what you're complaining about.

What's important to me is what it's designed to do. Mine will get scratched, get wet, dirty, dusty, dropped, banged around, and get holster wear... A working gun.

If I wanted a looker I'd get some custom gold-engraved work of art by some gunsmith-artist. The model 69 ain't that.
 
So what your saying if I understand it is that if you went out and bought a 900$ gun you would pick it up sight unseen take it to the range and when you opened the box found that the barrel had a major scratch that ran the length of the shroud, the trigger was worse than a hi point, the hammer was bent, the cylinder release you could hear it when it moved, the barrel crown had major scratches to the rifling and the front sight was on backwards but was completely usable as a the tool and you would be happy with it?
Well some of us care about quality in a tool more than others.
I have over 20 N frames S&W's in my collection and not a single one is a hangar queen. I have 2 Lew Horton 24 3 inch and the best of my collection is a 1955 target in 44 special.
I shoot over 5000 rounds of 44 special a year and I know this number because of the number of bullets I buy from Penn bullets each January.
I don't have a single engraved gun unless you count the large number of BP Navy Colt rep's I own but that's just on the cylinder.
I plan on shooting this gun not carrying it, I have a Glock 26 or a Kimber if I need the firepower.
Some of us care more about quality in a product than others, you seem to be happy with yours, I'm happy for you.
If everyone had no desire for quality then we would all buy Hi points, a reliable tool that does what its designed to do. Then it can get scratched, get wet, dirty, dusty, dropped, banged around, and get holster wear... A working gun and its only 200$.
I believe in good old American workmanship and my 69 was built in china, on a Friday.
So call me picky,,, I'm ok with that.
 
No, I was out of town for several weeks and it went back again. I'm not going to shoot it until I am happy with it.
Thanks for asking
 
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