John,
As You noted S&W releases some revolvers w/o the lock, but there is no telling if they ever will for the M69. None have been released yet that I am aware of. You might pester Lipseys about this. There are a couple of guys over at the S&W forum who make plugs for the locks.
I had the 4 inch M69 and now have the 2 3/4 inch, as I feel it is the right size to drop in your back pocket for short walks.
The older I get the less I care to be hammered by recoil (used to actually enjoy it), My handloads are a 250 grain SWC at 1,000 fps plus and I do not find it obnoxious, YMMV.
I prefer the factory grips to anything else I've tried for shooting and carrying... but will try altering a set of the X-frame grips as Paul has done.
The front sight on the 2 3/4" is too large for me... I generally replace them with Dawson Precision's fiber optics anyway.
Paul,
Thanks for posting the picture of Your altered X-grips... will give that a try. Also will look up the mono-metal bullets you pictured.
DesertOakie,
I'm with You, prefer the pre-locks and pre-MIM to the newer guns by far.
But I do tire of the posts that be-little guys for prefering a lighter revolver, I am biased as I carried almost daily while working in the mountains/deserts of the western U.S., possibly because it is only a small part of what I was packing and by the end of the day it was all too damn much. The M69 is only slightly thinner but you can really tell when packing it, and the 2 3/4 inch version only weighs approx. 35 ounces. Try one... if You can get over the stupid lock You might actually like it.
Jerry
