New S&W M69 2.75" L Frame .44 Mag

[paul105]

Picked up subject revolver yesterday. Here's my initial post from another website.

My 2.75” M69 came in today.

Fit and function looked fine.

Cylinder throats approx .4295. Measured with pin/plug gauges (minus verity) -- .429 go, .430 no go in all five throats. Couldn’t find my feeler gages, so didn’t’ measure bbl/cyl gap.

Took it to the range for limited workout (time constrained).

Ended up putting the X Frame 500 Hogues on the gun. After that all was good. Holsters for my 396 fit the M69 2.75" perfectly.

All groups shot at 25 yds rested. The lead loads were just some ammo I had around for testing other guns -- I'm sure that a load could be (will be) developed for this particular gun.

The .44 special equivalent loads were easy shooting. The .44 mag equivalent (H110) loads were not at all unpleasant with the Hogue 500s.

I didn't chrono anything today, but for reference the following velocities from one of my 4 1/4" M69s at 5 long paces and 50 deg _+ were

260 WFNGC w/23.0gr H110 avg 1,224 fps
240 Zero JSP with 23.5gr H110 avg 1,230 fps
240gr Fed Factory avg 1,220 fps
250gr Keith (Lyman 429421) with 21.1gr A2400 avg 1,250 fps
265gr CSWCGC (Lyman Thompson) with 17.5gr A2400 (Deep Seat) 1,140 fps avg
240gr Zero JSP with 8.5gr Univ avg 910 fps


I'm very happy with the two groups with H110 considering old eyes, iron sights and short sight radius.

This gun was very comfortable to shoot with the Hogue 500 X Frame grips -- not so much (for me) with factory grips.



Used up some ammo assembled for load development in other guns. M69 didn't much care for it.



Was pretty happy with these two groups rested at 25 yds considering old eyes, iron sights and short sight radius. I'm pretty sure I pulled the "wide left" shot in the top group.





Fired another 65 rounds today. More surplus ammo assembled in load development for other revolvers. Also shot one round of 325gr WLNGC over 22.0gr H110 (right out of Hornady manual) -- chonos 1,180 fps from my 4 1/4" M69.

Can't believe how well this short barreled .44 Mag handles recoil -- even the 325gr wasn't punishing. What a neat little revolver.

More to come.

Paul

[entropy]

Bada BOOM!!

Very nice. Thanks for the review.

[paul105]

Chronoed these from the 2.75” M69 today. Three rounds at 5 Long paces from muzzle and 68 deg F.

260 WFNGC w/23.0gr H110 avg 1,125 fps
240 Zero JSP with 23.5gr H110 avg 1,126 fps
240gr Fed Factory avg 1,125 fps
265gr CSWCGC (Lyman Thompson) with 17.5gr A2400 (Deep Seat) 1,119 fps avg
325gr WLNGC (BTB) with 22.0gr H110 avg 1,104 fps

Because some of the numbers were so close, I checked and rechecked -- it is what it is. Increased round count would probably change the results a bit.

Still amazed at how well this little gun handles recoil with the Hogue 500 X Frame grips.

Paul

[entropy]

325gr @ 1104fps?? That most likely will NOT buff out!

Im just beginning to mess with the lowly .44spl...and having a hoot. If this keeps up, I will be on the prowl for a 4" 29 or a Mountain Gun. Whats your intended purpose with it?

[Drang]

When did they start running this in 2.75", and why didn't anyone tell me?!?!?!?!?

Or, my wallet's version: Why did you tell me this?!?!?!?!

[paul105]

325gr @ 1104fps?? That most likely will NOT buff out!

Im just beginning to mess with the lowly .44spl...and having a hoot. If this keeps up, I will be on the prowl for a 4" 29 or a Mountain Gun. Whats your intended purpose with it?

“Intended purpose”?

I asked myself that same question while typing my original post. Figured someone would ask.

I’ve been a big fan of the 4 ¼” M69 since I got my first one in January of 2014. Shot a couple of them quite a bit. The L Frame just works for me, much more so than either the Smith N Frame or the Ruger Blackhawk/Redhawk/SRH platforms. So, when the 2.75” was announced, I just had to have one.

To put it in perspective, starting in the early 70s, I’ve had numerous .44 mags. S&Ws to include 4” Mountain Guns, 4” 329s, 5” Custom M29, 6” 629, 6.5” Classic DX, and a 7 ½” Stealth Hunter. Rugers include several 7 ½” Super Blackhawks (both old & new models), 6 ½” 50th Anniv Flattop, 7 ½” Redhawk and Super Redhawk. The Mountain Guns, 5” Custom, Stealth Hunter, Super Blackhawks, and Redhawk have gone down the road, but the 4 ¼” M69 will be the last to go.

I live in Montana, and have been retired since 2000. I’m outdoors hunting, fishing, walking the dogs, or woods bumming at least 350 days a year and always carry a handgun. That started with the 4” 629 Mountain Gun and transitioned to the M329 (which I also shot a lot) for the better part of a decade.

More recently, my primary woods bumming gun is the 4 ¼” and will continue to be, but I will carry the 2 ¾” from time to time. In between, I’ll develop some moderate .44 special level loads for range use. The gun is just too much fun to leave in the safe.

Paul

[OlongJohnson]

Pretty sweet deal on these here. $625.48, site shows one unit in stock. I've ordered from this place a few times, and always had a good result. They're local in Houston, but won't allow in-person pickup. Shipping only.

https://lanbosarmory.com/index.php?m...ducts_id=36998

[paul105]

Was out shooting the 2 ¾” M69 today and thought it might be a good time to update my impression – I love this little gun – like it so much, I have two of the 2 ¾” guns. I have shot a little over 3,000 rnds thru the 2 guns combined. All but a handful have been low end to full on .44 Mags. Today it was 240gr JSPs over 24.0gr of H110. Here’s a summer picture of our range (covered with snow now). The far berm with the two poppers (one large, one small) is 75 yds out. The plate rack in 27 yds.


Accuracy of these guns never ceases to amaze me – here’s a group I shot at 50 yds rested on my range bag (veriefied on another day to make sure it wasn’t a fluke). 260gr WFNGC over 23.0gr H110:



Bought some 300gr Missouri Bullet Hammers and loaded 25ea deep seated over 20.0gr H110 – 25 yd group was in the 4” range, so I shot the remaining 20 rnds double action at 7 and 12 yds. This was with the original factory grips.


.




I modified a set of Hogue X Frame 500 grips (removed finger groves and rounded butt). The Houges are much more comfortable under heavy recoil vs the factory’s.



Vs. Factory grips:



Was curious, so I bought some 305gr Buffalo Bore and Underwood ammo – here are chrono results in the 2 ¾”.

Buffalo Bore, 305 LBT LFN HC rated 1,325 fps
Underwood, 305 LFNGC Plated (HiTech?) rated 1,325 fps
LabRadar muzzle velocity at 33 deg F

S&W M69 2.75" ===> BB 1,195 fps ===> Under 1,147fps
S&W M69 4.25" ===> BB 1,276 fps ===> Under 1,248 fps
Ruger SRH 7.5" ===> BB 1,395 fps ===> Under 1,315 fps

Those 305s are a bit frisky!

The recoil handling qualities of the 2 ¾” M69 never ceases to impress favorably.

FWIW,

Paul

[Sherman A. House DDS]

Was out shooting the 2 ¾” M69 today and thought it might be a good time to update my impression – I love this little gun – like it so much, I have two of the 2 ¾” guns. I have shot a little over 3,000 rnds thru the 2 guns combined. All but a handful have been low end to full on .44 Mags. Today it was 240gr JSPs over 24.0gr of H110. Here’s a summer picture of our range (covered with snow now). The far berm with the two poppers (one large, one small) is 75 yds out. The plate rack in 27 yds.


Accuracy of these guns never ceases to amaze me – here’s a group I shot at 50 yds rested on my range bag (veriefied on another day to make sure it wasn’t a fluke). 260gr WFNGC over 23.0gr H110:



Bought some 300gr Missouri Bullet Hammers and loaded 25ea deep seated over 20.0gr H110 – 25 yd group was in the 4” range, so I shot the remaining 20 rnds double action at 7 and 12 yds. This was with the original factory grips.


.




I modified a set of Hogue X Frame 500 grips (removed finger groves and rounded butt). The Houges are much more comfortable under heavy recoil vs the factory’s.



Vs. Factory grips:



Was curious, so I bought some 305gr Buffalo Bore and Underwood ammo – here are chrono results in the 2 ¾”.

Buffalo Bore, 305 LBT LFN HC rated 1,325 fps
Underwood, 305 LFNGC Plated (HiTech?) rated 1,325 fps
LabRadar muzzle velocity at 33 deg F

S&W M69 2.75" ===> BB 1,195 fps ===> Under 1,147fps
S&W M69 4.25" ===> BB 1,276 fps ===> Under 1,248 fps
Ruger SRH 7.5" ===> BB 1,395 fps ===> Under 1,315 fps

Those 305s are a bit frisky!

The recoil handling qualities of the 2 ¾” M69 never ceases to impress favorably.

FWIW,

Paul

Well done. I had an early Model 69 with a barrel that unclocked. I got rid of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Speederlander]

Hogue X Frame 500 grips (removed finger groves and rounded butt)

Paul

Did you just sand off the grooves and the butt or how did you get that looking so nice on the hogue grips?