GRAND RAPIDS, MI USA -(Ammoland.com)- I have often found myself in conversation, be it at the range or gun store, debating why more people don’t carry the .44 Magnum on a regular basis. It is a great cartridge and is legendary for its performance in the field and on the silver screen. Today we are taking a look at what very well may be the most practical .44 you can own: the Smith & Wesson Model 69 Combat Magnum.
The Model 69 Combat Magnum is a rare thing in today’s world in that it is the answer to a number of frequently asked questions. Seldom do we get a gun delivered to us that displays useful features and matching function in a chambering that is extremely practical. While it is not a Performance Center gun, it measures up very closely.
In the course of my time -and many hundreds of rounds- with the Model 69, I experienced no failures to fire. With some of the heavy .44 Magnum loads, there was occasionally some sticky extraction. This is not the fault of the gun, but it is something to be aware of. I had no sticky extraction with anything in .44 Special.
While this review will focus on the gun for the most part, we must also look at the ideas and realities of the .44 Magnum chambering and what it means for a person looking to carry this fine gun.
What needs be known is that this is not a very comfortable gun to fire with most full-house .44 Magnum loads. The relatively light 34.4oz weight is not enough to absorb the recoil energy in the same way a larger gun can. I have a great deal of experience with the .44 Magnum cartridge and feel that it is not wasted in this gun, but the gun is wasted on the cartridge. Allow me to explain this thought.
The size and weight of the Model 69 does not make it impossible to fire 240-300gr bullets, but it does make it difficult to point-shoot or to make anything resembling a follow-up shot. These loads are not ludicrous in principle, but they are in practice when looking at this gun. I do no think that five rounds of 300gr JHP is a great idea for carry in the Model 69 as the excessive recoil and blast takes away any real advantage of this fine gun, and in turn it also squanders the power of the .44 Mag.
The idea that the gun is wasted on .44 Magnum is not to say that it is useless. There are a vast number of specialized rounds that make this revolver into a totally different animal than its appearance gives away. The first among these is a true .44 Magnum load from Black Hills: the 160gr HoneyBadger.
This load is a powerful, fast, and modern with its 160gr non-expanding, solid-copper bullet. The projectile has flanges on the tip that create violent tissue displacement without any mechanical action. This means that the bullet is able to penetrate multiple layers of fabric or other barriers without clogging or failing to deliver results. The damage it deals is a result of the actual spin of the bullet rather than a physical expansion of the projectile.
While I tested many different loads in the Model 69, the Black Hills 160gr load was by far the most comfortable and easy to fire while still being a full-house .44 Magnum. The recoil was stiff, but not unmanageable. This was the only .44 Magnum load I could shoot all day and not have a sore palm.
Where this gun is best, at least to me, is with .44 Special loads. It may seem odd that I would recommend something so obsolete as the .44 Special, but it is experiencing a rebirth of sorts these days as new technology is applied to it. The first of the new breed of .44 Special, and arguably the best for this gun, are from SIG SAUER and Black Hills. The .44 Special HoneyBadger is similar to its larger .44 Magnum brother, but boasts a light 125gr, non-expanding bullet.
The second is the new SIG SAUER 200gr V-Crown. This load is very interesting in that SIG took special time and effort to design a .44 Special load that can feed and fire in any gun, including lever and bolt actions. This load is long for caliber and features a semi-conical JHP bullet with a deep cavity. The longer loaded length as compared to other .44 Special loads means that it can hit rifling sooner and thus be somewhat more accurate, which proved true in my testing.
These innovations in .44 Special make it a serious choice for daily carry. When I found the time to stick the Model 69 in my belt, I had it loaded with either SIG 200gr .44 Specials or Black Hills 160gr HoneyBadgers. I felt that these two rounds offered the most for both in terms of JHP and solid bullets.
For accuracy and velocity testing, I fired the Model 69 over my Oehler 35P chronograph at a distance five feet from the muzzle. Velocity and accuracy are the result of three, five-shot groups at a range of 25 yards from the bench.
- SIG SAUER 240gr .44 Magnum V-Crown——————1094fps, 3.0”
- SIG SAUER 200gr .44 Special V-Crown——————–798fps, 2.0”
- Black Hills 160gr HoneyBadger .44 Magnum———–1355fps, 1.75”
- Black Hills 210gr .44 Special Cowboy———————700fps, 3.3”
- Black Hills 125gr HoneyBadger .44 Special————-1120fps, 2.5”
- Hornady 180gr XTP .44 Special—————————790fps, 3.5”
- Hornady 165gr Critical Defense .44 Special———–820fps, 3.5”
While I did fire some heavy .44 Magnum in the 300gr range, it was not a fun experience and one that I am not likely to repeat. There is just no advantage to firing something so powerful in a 34 ounce gun with a 2.75” barrel. Since you only have five shots to begin with, you need to make sure they count and putting such powerful ammo into it will not help your ability to defend yourself and in fact may hinder it.
Smith & Wesson did a great job in executing this revolver. Bringing the .44 Magnum into the same size and weight range as a standard 1911 is no easy feat, and to do it in an all-steel gun is nothing short of extraordinary. I think that this revolver is a modern classic in that it has all the necessary carry features you’d expect, including dehorned edges and a crisp double-action pull, and is chambered in a quintessential American cartridge.
For many people, this is the ultimate general use revolver. The ability to run the power spectrum from 300gr+ .44 Magnum to sneeze-like and cheap cast .44 Special is all that some people need to hear. The fact that it can do it all and still ride comfortably on the belt is a huge plus for fans of the .44 bore.
I think that this is a revolver that revolver fans have waited a long time for. There have been several attempts over the years to make a gun like this a reality, but it took Smith & Wesson to finally do it in a way that makes the most sense to the most people.
If you find yourself browsing the racks at your local gun store, be sure to check out this and other great revolvers from Smith & Wesson go to www.smith-wesson.com. Ammo used in this article can be seen at www.hornady.com, www.sigsauer.com, and www.black-hills.com.
About Josh Wayner
Josh Wayner has been writing in the gun industry for five years. He is an active competition shooter with 14 medals from Camp Perry. In addition to firearms-related work, Josh enjoys working with animals and researching conservation projects in his home state of Michigan
WHY when doing a gun review do you leave out th PRICE of the Gun
grabagun.com has them for $660.
I have the 69 in the 2.75 and am quite pleased with its performance.purchased a Wright holster which is quite nice any other suggestions from those of you carry this revolver?
Love the guy that bought this 44 on his 44th birthday. I bought the Mod 69 on my 69th birthday! And yes, I shoot 240s at 1500fps in it. Just not a lot of them. Does anybody out there know how the different bullets, from the sizzling 160gr to the 300gr affect the point of impact. My experience is that in pistols, lighter faster bullets shoot lower than heavier slower bullets because of the recoil effect while the bullet is in the barrel. So do the guys that shoot all this different ammo re-sight they pistol every time they dramatically… Read more »
The only thing better would of been if they had made this with fixed sights.
I hear you! I bought a Remington 700 on my 700th Birthday!
Also you don’t know what the dope is high on either, in Nam they would get High and you would almost have to blow them into small pieces to get them to stop at times !!!!!!!!!!
If only Smith+Wesson would LISTEN TO THEIR CUSTOMERS and get rid of the lock.
Then I will buy one.
Until then I buy Rugers.
I own the 2.75 and 4.25 inch model 69 S&W’s. Both are accurate and have very smooth actions. The grips are quite helpful with recoil at least for my hands even with full house 240 grain loads. Folks that like to shoot 44 specials should also look at Ruger’s 5 shot GP-100.
A nice hand load with a 317gr or is hard cast WFN. at 1000 fps is easy to achieve .
Gives fantastic penetration and would work well on larger game.
Is easy to shoot in my light weight Taurus tracker. Such a load would be just as useful in a model 69.
Unlike the full power 1300fps 315gr loads that I shoot in my Ruger red hawks and black hawk revolvers.
G
I got the 4.25″ Model 69 this year for my 44th birthday. The firearm had been a mix of joy and disappointment. I don’t regret buying it, but it’s taking a lot of effort and modification to make it enjoyable. Some of that is shooter related, (I hate the stock sights,) but a lot of it is ammo/accessory related. Ammo is very expensive, and most of the stuff that offers quick follow up shots is less powerful than even 40 S&W, (compare that Hornady Critical Defense to Hornady’s Critical Defense in other calibers.) Additionally, there are no truly good speedloaders… Read more »
They make a speed loader for the Charter Arms Bulldog 5 shot .44 special that works perfectly with my Model 69.
Thanks, I’ll check that out.
Forty years ago a co-worker had a four inch M29 and after six rounds of full house 44 Mags that was all I wanted from that gun. Of course, as we all know, Dirty Harry carried 44 Specials in his M29.
He said “light specials,” but the script read “light magnums.” Clint goofed the line, but they left it in.
I have it in a 4 quarter model it’s great with 44 special or 44 mag. Smith&Wesson did a great job with the 69m.
I bought my 69 as a .44 spl gun. I have no desire to shoot .44 magnums in it. I have a 3” 629 for that.
I’ve always liked the .44 Special, and as I have grown older, I’ve found it more pleasant to shoot in a Ruger Redhawk than full weight .44 Magnum loads. The Honey Badger rounds are a fairly recent design. Other than marketing, I’m not sure I see a reason for this design. Hunting in big bear country, I’d prefer a Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull over the same gun in .44 Magnum. The heft of the Alaskan contains a promise of follow-up shots. And there are already .44 Special revolvers on the market. I’m sure it’s pretty and well designed, but… Read more »
Because most of us don’t need grizzly protection.
If the bullet misses, the fireball, concussion and blow by will still get ’em.
The only thing better would have been if they could have made this with fixed sights.
I’m on your team!! Who needs bulky snagy target sights on a >3” belly gun? My everyday carry is an early Charter Arms 3” solid stainless .44 Bulldog. It weighs several oz’s more than the original blue/ alloy model. It is a joy to carry & shoot!!
No way your Bulldog is solid stainless steel bar ! It is 416 SS Investment Casting of the two part frame that is heat treated to a 35 Rockwell Hardness. I shoot the 45ACP PitBull and love it. It shoots one ragged hole at 5yds in SA and 3” in Double action to POI. But is not a solid SS like a Ruger,Smith or Colt.