S&W Model 669 - The Firearms Forum

todd51 · 08-20-2010, 12:10 PM

Well I just could not resist the temptation. One of the Old Guys said he wanted to sell his 9mm. In all these years I have never owned a 9mm. I have shot some and load for them but never owned. Must of been the Devil speaking because some little voice kept saying "buy it". So I yielded to the voice and purchased this nice little pistol. It is a S&W Model 669 and comes with the box and all the papers and trinkets plus two extra 12rd. mags. and a Safariland holster. Neat!

All I have to do now is load up some ammo and go to the range.

Any of you have any experience with these pistols, comments would be appreciated such as, is there a bullet profile it doesn't like?

Todd

JLA · 08-20-2010, 05:17 PM

Thats a damn nice carry gun todd. Most of the 669s I see are well worn because, well, they are well worn! They are very comfortable to carry and shoot. For a gen purpose plinkin load you'll do well with a 120 grain cast bullet. Personally, I would carry light hollowpoints for defense. Something like a Hydrashok or a goldensaber. Good catch my friend!

K75RT · 08-20-2010, 07:40 PM

I carried one of these when I worked with the Sheriff's Office back in the mid-80s, they are extremely reliable and very accurate. They are a PITA to disassemble until you learn this quick fix. Take a spent 9mm case and stovepipe jam it between the slide and the barrel, this lines you up for removing the slide release, which is no fun if you try and do it the way written in the manual. Yours look in mint condition have fun and enjoy!
Not that it matters but the blued magazines are from a S&W 469 as the 669 came with stainless mags as well. They will work just as well...

todd51 · 08-20-2010, 09:28 PM

Neat tip K75RT, thanks. I was fooling around with the pistol this afternoon trying to find a good way to hold the slide back in order to remove the slide release and didn't find one. You can bet I am going to use your "stove pipe" tip.

There was a little "trinket" in the box of thin metal with some cut outs on one side. Is marked "Devel" one of the cut outs matches case length. What is it for? Paper work doesn't mention it.

Daffyd · 08-20-2010, 10:50 PM

Hey, Todd!

Nice pic! It never looked so good! Two of the mags came with the pistol, and 1 extra was purchased the same day! I bought the grips about a week later! I don't have the exact date but it was the early 80's! Not sure about the stainless magazines, but maybe a later version had them!

grampawmike · 08-22-2010, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by todd51

Neat tip K75RT, thanks. I was fooling around with the pistol this afternoon trying to find a good way to hold the slide back in order to remove the slide release and didn't find one. You can bet I am going to use your "stove pipe" tip.

There was a little "trinket" in the box of thin metal with some cut outs on one side. Is marked "Devel" one of the cut outs matches case length. What is it for? Paper work doesn't mention it.

'DEVEL' was a highly modified version of the early M-39 pistols, done by a private company, Devel Corp., way back in the early '70s. They were a very neat little package. Barrel, frame and slide were 'chopped' and a 'guttersnipe' sight system was attached. The hammer was bobbed and a Teflon coating was applied to the smoothed and rounded frame and slide. The mags were chopped and skeletonized and the grips were transparent so as to allow the shooter to visually observe remaining rounds. After starting out modifying the S&W M-39, the outfit also did the same kind of mods to the 1911 Colt and the Browning Hi Power, IIRC. The things were a bit finicky as to what 9mm ammo they liked, I believe, and what you have is a gauge for case length and possibly OAL cartridge length for hand loaders loading for these pistols. Don't know why it would be with a stock S&W pistol unless the original owner wanted one of his pistols converted as much as I did back then. Mike

todd51 · 08-22-2010, 10:50 AM

Thanks Mike,

I will ask the original owner "Daffyd" just how he came by the gauge. This is obviously an unmodified pistol purchased new by Daffyd. I had found a little history on Devel with a web search but not to the extent that you just explained. Here is a photo of the little gauge along side a recent reloaded cartridge.

grampawmike · 08-22-2010, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by todd51

Thanks Mike,

I will ask the original owner "Daffyd" just how he came by the gauge. This is obviously an unmodified pistol purchased new by Daffyd. I had found a little history on Devel with a web search but not to the extent that you just explained. Here is a photo of the little gauge along side a recent reloaded cartridge.

todd, A lot of that info is from memory. I wanted one of those so badly that I wrote to the Company and got their pamphlet.........and price list. The pamphlet is (was) before they expanded their line to the 1911 and Hi Power. The cost was something that almost made me drop my teeth! As I recall it was over $1000....plus MY gun to modify. In the early '70s! I wish I could find that old pamphlet.....with pictures. As I now recall, that gauge measured max overall case length and max width of the extraction groove. It was shown in the flier. Mike

todd51 · 08-22-2010, 11:25 AM

Ok, at the risk of beating a dead horse, I just measured some on the gauge and Mike you are spot on. One cut out does match extraction groove diameter, another would fall with in case length specs. and the overall width of the device could be cartridge OAL, depending on bullet profile/weight. Thanks again.

Todd

oscarmayer · 08-23-2010, 12:27 PM

the devel conversion of the model 39 was called the ASP

oscarmayer · 08-23-2010, 12:32 PM

THERE SHOULD OF BEEN A QUESTION MARK AFTER THAT. IT WAS A QUESTION NOT A STATEMENT OF FACT.

grampawmike · 08-23-2010, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscarmayer

THERE SHOULD OF BEEN A QUESTION MARK AFTER THAT. IT WAS A QUESTION NOT A STATEMENT OF FACT.

No, The ASP came first and (I was mistaken in my earlier statement) IT used the 'Guttersnipe' sight system. It was designed and produced by a man named Paris Theodore...........The Devel was a modification of this earlier modification of the S&W M-39 and done by Charles Kelsey. I was further mistaken in the price.....for the full Devel conversion, plus the cost of the initial pistol the total was about $1000. Still pretty hefty in the '70s Mike
P.S.
The 'Guttersnipe" was a sight system that I personally thought might have been something to look into......it used the theory (?) of convergence, ie. two parallel lines appearing to join at some distance point.....it was a single unit without a front sight.

johnlives4christ · 08-23-2010, 08:00 PM

nice, i like an exposed hammer instead of bobbed though. but nice none the less

grampawmike · 08-23-2010, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnlives4christ

nice, i like an exposed hammer instead of bobbed though. but nice none the less

John I have to agree, You may have seen my 539 elsewhere on this forum, it was my favorite duty/off-duty carry gun, however, I carried one of the 69 series S&W's at times, and the bobbed hammer worked well in concealed carry. Mike

patrol · 08-23-2010, 09:47 PM

awesome firearm. That was my first duty gun as a Police Officer and it was used and beat up then and always shot hundreds.

grampawmike · 08-24-2010, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrol

awesome firearm. That was my first duty gun as a Police Officer and it was used and beat up then and always shot hundreds.

patrol, which gun are you speaking of? I go back a little further than you do I think, my first duty gun was a Colt Police Positive Special. During my 35 years, I went from that to 2 different S&W wheelguns, a Model-39-2 then the M-539. Here and there I also carried a Smith 469 and a Smith 24-3 .44 Spl. I still have my two favorites, the 539 and the M-24. Mike

Stealthcarry · 09-13-2010, 02:54 PM

Have had four over the yrs. Carried it for yrs, also, until I upgraded, caliber-wise. Very reliable and accurate, for what it is.

I have given one of these to several friends/relatives for carry purposes, and only my daughter gave hers back. Of course, she helped herself to a revolver, in the process.

hogger129 · 09-15-2010, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscarmayer

the devel conversion of the model 39 was called the ASP

08-20-2010, 12:10 PM	#1
todd51 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Central, Ohio Contributor Posts: 2,574	S&W Model 669 Well I just could not resist the temptation. One of the Old Guys said he wanted to sell his 9mm. In all these years I have never owned a 9mm. I have shot some and load for them but never owned. Must of been the Devil speaking because some little voice kept saying "buy it". So I yielded to the voice and purchased this nice little pistol. It is a S&W Model 669 and comes with the box and all the papers and trinkets plus two extra 12rd. mags. and a Safariland holster. Neat! All I have to do now is load up some ammo and go to the range. Any of you have any experience with these pistols, comments would be appreciated such as, is there a bullet profile it doesn't like? Todd __________________ Retired Praefectus Vigilum NRA Endowment Member --> Last edited by todd51; 04-23-2013 at 08:04 PM..

08-20-2010, 05:17 PM	#2
JLA TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Heart Of Texas Contributor Posts: 17,320	Re: S&W Model 669 Thats a damn nice carry gun todd. Most of the 669s I see are well worn because, well, they are well worn! They are very comfortable to carry and shoot. For a gen purpose plinkin load you'll do well with a 120 grain cast bullet. Personally, I would carry light hollowpoints for defense. Something like a Hydrashok or a goldensaber. Good catch my friend! __________________ It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 3 for proper trigger squeeze. The latest caliber or gear is no substitute for experience and skill. Rifles and cartridges don't make hits -- shooters do. Fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!

08-20-2010, 07:40 PM	#3
K75RT V.I.P. Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Litchfield County, CT Posts: 309	Re: S&W Model 669 I carried one of these when I worked with the Sheriff's Office back in the mid-80s, they are extremely reliable and very accurate. They are a PITA to disassemble until you learn this quick fix. Take a spent 9mm case and stovepipe jam it between the slide and the barrel, this lines you up for removing the slide release, which is no fun if you try and do it the way written in the manual. Yours look in mint condition have fun and enjoy! Not that it matters but the blued magazines are from a S&W 469 as the 669 came with stainless mags as well. They will work just as well... Last edited by K75RT; 08-20-2010 at 07:52 PM.. Reason: ?!

08-20-2010, 09:28 PM	#4
todd51 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Central, Ohio Contributor Posts: 2,574	Re: S&W Model 669 Neat tip K75RT, thanks. I was fooling around with the pistol this afternoon trying to find a good way to hold the slide back in order to remove the slide release and didn't find one. You can bet I am going to use your "stove pipe" tip. There was a little "trinket" in the box of thin metal with some cut outs on one side. Is marked "Devel" one of the cut outs matches case length. What is it for? Paper work doesn't mention it. __________________ Retired Praefectus Vigilum NRA Endowment Member

08-20-2010, 10:50 PM	#5
Daffyd Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 43	Re: S&W Model 669 Hey, Todd! Nice pic! It never looked so good! Two of the mags came with the pistol, and 1 extra was purchased the same day! I bought the grips about a week later! I don't have the exact date but it was the early 80's! Not sure about the stainless magazines, but maybe a later version had them!

08-22-2010, 10:50 AM	#7
todd51 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Central, Ohio Contributor Posts: 2,574	Re: S&W Model 669 Thanks Mike, I will ask the original owner "Daffyd" just how he came by the gauge. This is obviously an unmodified pistol purchased new by Daffyd. I had found a little history on Devel with a web search but not to the extent that you just explained. Here is a photo of the little gauge along side a recent reloaded cartridge. __________________ Retired Praefectus Vigilum NRA Endowment Member Last edited by todd51; 04-23-2013 at 08:04 PM..

08-22-2010, 11:25 AM	#9
todd51 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Central, Ohio Contributor Posts: 2,574	Re: S&W Model 669 Ok, at the risk of beating a dead horse, I just measured some on the gauge and Mike you are spot on. One cut out does match extraction groove diameter, another would fall with in case length specs. and the overall width of the device could be cartridge OAL, depending on bullet profile/weight. Thanks again. Todd __________________ Retired Praefectus Vigilum NRA Endowment Member

08-23-2010, 12:27 PM	#10
oscarmayer Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Contributor Posts: 2,387	Re: S&W Model 669 the devel conversion of the model 39 was called the ASP

08-23-2010, 12:32 PM	#11
oscarmayer Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Contributor Posts: 2,387	Re: S&W Model 669 THERE SHOULD OF BEEN A QUESTION MARK AFTER THAT. IT WAS A QUESTION NOT A STATEMENT OF FACT.

08-23-2010, 08:00 PM	#13
johnlives4christ Former Guest Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,828	Re: S&W Model 669 nice, i like an exposed hammer instead of bobbed though. but nice none the less

08-23-2010, 09:47 PM	#15
patrol V.I.P. Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 325	Re: S&W Model 669 awesome firearm. That was my first duty gun as a Police Officer and it was used and beat up then and always shot hundreds.

09-13-2010, 02:54 PM	#17
Stealthcarry Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 13	Re: S&W Model 669 Have had four over the yrs. Carried it for yrs, also, until I upgraded, caliber-wise. Very reliable and accurate, for what it is. I have given one of these to several friends/relatives for carry purposes, and only my daughter gave hers back. Of course, she helped herself to a revolver, in the process.