696-1 first time out

[Walkalong]

I shot my new to me 696-1 today. I really liked the way it felt and I was very pleased with the way it shot. A fellow THR member, Treebeard, sold it to me to help finance another want of his (we all know how that one goes) He knew I liked the .44 Spl. and gave me first dibs. Many thanks. It was a pleasure to do buisness and he made it go very smoothly.

I had some Magnus 215 Gr. SWC's loaded up in Midway .44 Spl. brass (remember that stuff old timers) with 4.3 Grs. of the last bit of Solo 1000 I was using up. (700X shoots better for me here). I also had some Remington 180 & 210 Gr. JHP's loaded in Starline .44 Russian brass with 3.9 Grs. 700X for each.

I shot the 1st target with the 215 SWC's.

I shot the 2nd target with the 180 Gr. JHP's.

I shot the 3rd target with the 210 Gr. JHP's.

Hi- 670 / Lo - 652 / Avg - 659 / ES - 18 / SD - 7....215 SWC

Hi- 660 / Lo - 633 / Avg - 644 / ES - 27 / SD - 11...180 JHP

Hi- 661 / Lo - 636 / Avg - 651 / ES - 25 / SD - 9...210 JHP

I am a happy camper. I am going to work up a load with .44 Spl brass and the Remington 180 JHP's for range shooting.

 

[Gator]

696s are great, aren't they? I finally got one recently and love it. I also got some 180 gr bullets, I'm glad to see your 180s did so well.

 

[glockman19]

Nice grips please share your experience in the 686 thread.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=257401&highlight=686

 

[Gator]

Maybe we'll start our own club

 

[steelhead]

I guess they are ok

Not as clumsy or as random as an auto, but an elegant weapon for a more civilized age*.

*with respect to Obi Wan.

 

[joneb]

Congrats Walkalong,

My 696 is my favorite revolver, best jj

 

[JNewell]

I've found the 696 extremely accurate also, as the attached scan shows. I avoided buying one for years on the theory that it wasn't that different from a 629 Mountain Gun. I was surprised by how much more compact, in real life rather than on paper, the combination of the L frame and the five-shot cylinder makes the 696 - although at the price of the ammo flexibility that you get from the N frame.

 

[Walkalong]

I love the way it feels in my hand and I love the .44 Spl. I would just love one in .44 Russian, but like thats going to happen.

I traded away my Mod 33 in 38 S&W years ago and that was a mistake.

 

[Stainz]

There is nothing at all wrong with .44 Russians in your 696. Mine, also a -1, loves them. Especially nice is the combo of a 240gr LSWC (Magnus, Meister, etc) over 3.5gr of my do-everything powder - Titegroup - with Federal LP primers (I have reduced power Wolff springs in my 696 - and all of my other 'fun' S&W's.). In Starline .44 Russian cases, I get 692 fps SD +/- 7 fps. That 'poof' load makes 'major' power factor (166) - and can be shot all day. I upped the load to 4.0gr of Titegroup with a 240gr LRNFP, to get 743 fps SD +/- 6 fps. I could hit a 16" steel plate at 100yd hand held several (3-4) times per cylinder, after determining the 'drop'. Suddenly, a batch made a five foot circle around the target - it was traced to improperly sized bullets - .427" - .44-40 fare. I reloaded with some good GA Arms lead, and all was fine.

The Blazer 200gr GDHP's are nice defensive loads for the 696 - they made 805 fps from my 2.5" 296 - and a whopping 836 fps SD +/- 7 fps from the 3" 696 - 800 fps is sufficient for proper opening of that Speer #4427 bullet. The best source now for that SD ammo is Georgia Arms - at $43.50/100 in new Starline .44 Special brass - cheaper than Blazers now - and you get good brass. BTW, a homebrew with that Speer #4427 over 5.7gr Titegroup dupes their mv.

I stay away from Keith loads - the small forcing cone dictates prudence there. I had a 629MG for hotter .44 Specials - now a regular 4" 629 at 6 oz more than the 696 - and cheaper new than the last two gunshow 696's I saw. Given a choice of one only, I'd take the 4" 629 over a 696. They are fun, just not ideal for ccw, hunting, HD, etc... but fun! I paid $439 new for mine 4.5yr ago - the same day I bought my new 296 ($349 - a closeout special!). I had a 629MG, bought new, and a LNIB 6.5" 24-3 QC nightmare at the time - the 696 made every trip to the range for quite a while... stole the show. Lately, a 4" .32M SP101 has taken those honors... guess I'm fickle.

Mine sports Ahrends square conversion cocobolo stocks - great look and feel - with any load I've tried. BTW, those Russians are neat rounds...

Stainz

PS Whatever you do - clean your chambers carefully before shooting longer cased rounds, particularly when shooting .44M's after Russians and Specials in a 629MG. Don't ask me how I know this, but it has something to do with why I have a new 4" 629 instead of my beloved 629MG...

 

[joneb]

I tried some 240gr Lasercast in my 696 and did not enjoy getting the lead out
These bullets measure .430", my 696 cylinder mouths measure .429", and the barrel five riflings make it hard to measure.

 

[Stainz]

I have a Lewis Lead Remover (Brownell's &Hoppes) that makes short work of lead in the grooves and fc. Lead produces far less frictional heat in a barrel than copper clad/plated bullets - it's worth the trouble. I just used a box of the Oregon Trail lead to reload a few of all three; Russians, Specials, and Magnums - guess I'd better keep that LLR handy! At least they'll stabilize a lot better than those .44-40 sized bullets...

Stainz

 

[Bear41mag]

Great Guns I love em...here my pair of no dashes.

 

[Walkalong]

There is nothing at all wrong with .44 Russians in your 696.

Yep. My first post showed two loads shot in .44 Russian brass, but I don't like to shoot a lot of them in the .44 Special for the same reason I don't like to shoot much .38 Spl. in the .357 Mag.

 

[Majic]

Nice grips please share your experience in the 686 thread.

Why talk about M696s in M686's thread?

 

[Walkalong]

Quote:
Nice grips please share your experience in the 686 thread.

Why talk about M696s in M686's thread?

I was curious about that myself. Must have been in a hurry and misread.

 

[Gewehr98]

Gator, I'm intrigued, too.

Which grips are those on your 696? They look kind of "fat", but still compact, and they have the S&W medallion...

 

[Gator]

Those are factory S&W Combat Grips (80s vintage?), but they have been refinished. Walkalong has them on his 696 too, but his are slightly different. The shape changed a bit over the years. The smooth, round butt, finger groove, combat grips are great grips, but they are getting hard to find and rather expensive; and no other grip manufacturer has ever made a good copy!