Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns smith & wesson model 69

I have a smith & wesson model 69 on order. I ordered it at elk country arms in St. mary;s pa. 41/4 inch barrel, I can't wait to get it. They said they have nine coming in. I wonder how long a wait it will be.

Love mine. Been shooting them since they were first avail here (Q1, 2014). My current favorite is the 2 3/4" version which I'll be taking to the range in an hour or so.



Enjoy!

Paul

I'd be tempted by the snubby version. I'd think of it mainly as a five shot .44 Special. Naturally, I'd have the key lock deactivated.

But then I already have a revolver that fills that role, the Charter Arms Bulldog .44, and no key lock to deactivate.

That's the first thing S&W has introduced, in a very long time, that makes me want to run out and buy one.

I recently came by the short barrel model and haven't had a chance to get out and do any shooting with it. I expect it will mostly have 44 Special ammo run through it. It's a tough deal for me, because I've also got a 3" GP100 44 Special. I like 44 special a lot, but I couldn't by pass one that I could also run mags through it. Looking forward to it.

I have the 2.75” version. Bought it this year to be a sidearm in bear country. I carried it today in my shoulder rig. I like it a lot. I don’t find magnum loads to be so terrible with it and usually put 100 rounds through it each time I take it out. Haven’t felt the need to load down to specials. I did upgrade to some Hogue tamer grips like Paul, but I left them alone rather than grinding down some like Paul has. It’s a slick gun and it shoots great. I handload for it. Right now I’m shooting 240 grain SWC on top of 10 grains of W231/HP-38. A little smoky, but shoots good.

I'm curious about something: why would you want to "deactivate" the lock? As long as you do not insert the special key and lock the action, it does nothing to interfere with the operation of the weapon. It cannot accidentally lock itself, so why bother with it? Serious question. I don't understand. I have one and have never activated the lock and have no desire to do so. I don't know how many .44 Mag, .44 Spl, and .44 Russian rounds I have fired through it, but I would say that 3,500 - 4,000 or so would be about right with no issues whatsoever with the lock. I just ignore it. Do you know of any documented cases of them self-locking?

I agree Henryseale

Back when this was a common topic for discussion at gun forums, there were many documented cases going around about heavy kicking, lighter than average, guns with this feature locking up under recoil. Since most have seemed to agree, since that time, that the thing to do is deactivate the lock upon purchase, discussion of the topic has died down a great deal, and I'm not sure any longer where to find such documentation (its not having been a hot topic in quite a few years). But this was once considered, within the gun community, a resolved matter in favor of deactivation, particularly with lighter than standard guns firing heavy kicking rounds. I'm unaware of any fixes made by S&W to this issue, in-house.

I'd never own one with the lock that wasn't deactivated. One of the main reasons I carry a gun is that someday, I might really need that gun to go off. I saw it happen to a friend's 640. With the possibility of it happening combined with the ease of getting rid of the damned thing, it's a no-brainer.

Agreed. I had the lock on my 329 PD deactivated as soon as I bought it (shortly after its introduction). It's now being carried off duty by my cop nephew, as he bought it from me last year. He has no plans to reactivate the lock.

My nephew was shooting a model 22(?) one afternoon. The hammer went about halfway down and stopped.
My model 69 developed a rattle from the stupid “safety”
As did my 500 4”.
Unsafe dangerous crap added to a fine revolver by idiots that golf not shoot.
My model 69 4” is a wonderful companion

A more valid question might be, "does anyone actually use the lock"? Seems like that would be a "no". Which leads to the question - why wouldn't you deactivate it?

I agree with SargMO. The 69 is the only revolver S&W has that interests me now.

Some have been known to lock up when accidentally dropped as well.

My 4.2" 69 has less felt recoil than a Mt. Gun yet the 69 is 2ounces lighter. Win win.

A wonderful design & proof that S&W still has a pretty damn good engineering dept.

The lock may have saved the company by fending off politicians & lawsuits during a time when a lot of companies were on very thin ice in these respects. But, why S&W kept the thing after the smoke cleared is beyond me. OTOH, I've yet to have a lock give me a problem, even with my 329.

Isn't the 69 the same as the Taurus Tracker? 5 shot, 34oz DA revolver that has been around longer than the SW M69?

ahhem, no....

I won't buy a Smith with the lock. I have a M57 and a M29 both with 4 inch barrels. The M29 is especially fun to shoot with 44 Russians and I load a light 44 special for it as I do with the 41. Neither gun is horrible with full magnum loads but I don't spend a day at the range shooting 100 of them either.

Do you know the difference?

I put a Dawson Precision fiber optic front on mine and added X frame grips with the finger grooves sanded down to my 4.25” S&W 69.


My poor Redhawk doesn’t get shot much at all now.

Paul you have a PM

[quote=Bearcat74]
I put a Dawson Precision fiber optic front on mine and added X frame grips with the finger grooves sanded down to my 4.25” S&W 69.

I changed the grips on mine to the Hogue X Grips also, changed my front sight to a Hi Viz fiber optic, and had my gunsmith smooth out the trigger and replaced the firing pin with one a tad longer. I kept the finger grooves on the X Grips, though. I REALLY like it.

I have the 2 3-4” 69......becoming a 45 colt.
And if the recoil bothers you....L,N&X frame all take the same grips I believe......the X frame grip has more padding

Paul105's info about the 69 on another forum convinced me to buy one. Been very pleased with mine.

Paul105 has had vast experience with certain Smith revolvers. When he reviews or speaks of one, listen. He's not just another internet expert. I value his info.

Yep. When he speaks, I listen too! Much, much more knowledgeable and helpful than most.

I have two of the 4” models. Both have been back to Smith for repair. One needs to go back again.

I'm curious, what wears out on the M69? I have a M329pd that I've sent in for repairs multiple times over the years, but I expect that if I shoot it a lot. I just assumed the all steel M69 would wear better.

Both shot Way high with bullets over 200 grains. Rear sight blades had to be replaced with the correct height. Actions got tight and started to bind up on certain cylinders. Barrel on one started rotating in the frame. That’s all from new condition, not worn out.

If you want to wear one out, just get a no-dash 629. It will be shot out in short order, with severe cylinder back up issues.

I have around 1k rounds down a 2-3/4" m69. I love the gun. More accurate than it should be, and feels pretty soft in the hand. My 4 5/8" bisley does not get shot much anymore. only issue I have had so far. Is every screw on the gun, with the exception of the side plate has rattled loose. ended up just putting blue locktite on everything that has a thread.

I couldn’t resist the temptation either and just bought one. I chose the 69 and my buddy bought the Bulldog. I wanted a magnum without stepping up to the N frame size.

Which barrel length did you go with? Mine’s a 4.whatever. Great gun. Be sure to disable the lock. The simply rugged holster is my favorite so far.

I went with the 4” barrel. While I don’t plan on doing much hunting down here in the years to come because hopefully we’ll have moved up north in the not too distant future the 4.25” barrel is legal for big game hunting here. Mostly I bought it for my wife to carry when she’s hiking, fishing or accompanying me on hunts. I’ve got a couple thousand once fired cases for the magnum and about 750 for the special. She’ll practice with the special and carry the magnums just like she did with her model 36. I was pleased to finally find a magnum revolver that didn’t carry like a magnum. I’m glad to see that the reviews are almost all quite favorable but being that it’s a S&W that’s not too surprising. 👍

I’ll have my gunsmith buddy do an action job and trigger job as well as disable the J lock. When I looked at the revolver the first time I was put off because of the lock but I decided I’m not letting a stupid and insignificant thing like the lock keep me from buying the revolver I’ve been wanting. I’ve never had an issue with the lock but I also always disable them immediately. 😁

Mine is the 4.25 inch. Has been carried all over the Beartooths and the big horns. Round count is over five thousand by now. Replaced the front sight with a Dawson green fiber optic. Not the greatest for long range shooting but it does work ok for that. The first time in the mountain with that sight was certainly interesting. It was spring bear season, stopped on the way down to take a leak. Had to check the front sight out!!!! Green glowing dot despite it was dang near dark. Six inches of snow helped the ambient light but my partners sixgun sights were invisible.
The model 69 with x frame modified grips kicks less than an N frame and carries easily in a chest holster. Conceals fairly well under a vest, I carry two or three speed strips for spare ammo. My load is a 250 Keith (#503) at almost 1200. The same bullet cast hollow point runs about 1260. Makes a mess of picket pins and rockchucks.

The skinny Dawson front with a fiber optic is a must have. I’ve been meaning to try a set of the x frame grips

Here's a Dawson 1/10" FO front on a M69 2.75"


.

Here's a good article by Brian Pearce on "pet" loads for the 44 spcl. for options between anemic factory loads and full 44 mag. Maybe give you and your wife some more options for load development.
https://www.handloadermagazine.com/44-s-w-special-p

Thank you Sir. I’ll dig into that when I get done with the tractor work today.

I like the looks of that Dawson front site. I have a set of XS day/night sites on my Glock 20 that I love. The damn things glow so bright that in the pitch black of our bedroom in the middle of the night I can clearly see where my pistol lays on the night stand thanks to those sites. 😁

Dawson makes a tritium front as well, but it's wider than the fiber optic shown earlier in the thread. The one pictured by Paul 105 is a great option.