On numerous occasions I have expressed my love for revolvers, especially Smith & Wesson wheel guns. At the 2014 Shot Show last week, S&W didn’t disappoint us by introducing several new models. Let’s look at some of them.
First, guns chambered in the world’s most popular pistol cartridge, 9MM. Two new revolvers from the Performance center, the Models 929 and 986 are coming soon. The 929 is an 8 shot, N frame revolver, titanium cylinder, 6.5 inch barrel, Patridge front and adjustable rear sight, and weighs 44 ounces. This is a big revolver designed for competition; it is fed with 8 round moon clips and carries World Champion Jerry Miculek’s signature.
The 986 is a seven shot L frame gun. This gun is similar to the 929 with the same sights, titanium cylinder, moon clip loading, and synthetic grips. It has a 5 inch barrel and being built on the smaller frame weighs 35 ounces. Both guns should be quite easy to shoot with the light recoiling 9MM cartridge and I expect they will show up at many competitions very soon. Both guns have a suggested retail of about $ 1150.00.
S&W also introduced the Model 69 Combat Magnum, the first ever L frame .44 Magnum revolver. All previous .44 mag Smiths were very heavy N frame guns. The 25 ounce scandium model was a 6 shot N frame, but a really unpleasant handful to shoot. .44 Magnum guns are very popular in bear country, but toting those heavy N framed guns gets pretty tiring, pretty fast. Enter the new Model 69. The 69 is a 4.25 inch barreled, 5 shot cylinder stainless steel gun. It has the famous S&W “Red Ramp” front and white outline rear sights with synthetic grips. The gun weighs 37 ounces and the early reviews I read indicate the gun is very shootable. Suggested retail is $ 849.00 and I expect this will be a strong seller.
From new to old, S&W has reintroduce the venerable Model 66 Combat Magnum. This .357 Magnum chambered 6 shot K frame gun was produced from 1970 to 2005. The new gun is an all stainless 4.25 inch barreled, 36 ounce revolver with “Red Ramp” front and white outline rear sights. It has the common S&W equipped synthetic grips. It’s great to see the 66 back in the catalog. K frame guns are really fun to shoot; they have enough grip and weight to be extremely controllable, and a lovely balance not found on the bigger L, N, and X frames. Yes, I really love the K frame guns.
Be safe and good shooting.
Colonel Smoothbore
www.guncoach.net
