S&W Model 396 Review: 5-Shot .44 Special Revolver

Images by the author

(Part of me wants to put “… is failure to communicate!”, but this isn’t a movie review).

What we have here is something wearing a S&W logo that’s more rare than hen’s teeth… a five-shot, .44 Special revolver.

Now, please understand that S&W is no stranger to either 5-shot revolvers – the J-frame comes to mind – nor to .44 Specials. They’ve made many of both of those over the years. What IS different, however, is that they combined those design characteristics into one gun. I would say to think of the 396 as a J-frame on steroids, but it’s way more than that.

They took their well-regarded L-frame and installed a 5-shot cylinder. That’s the long and the short of it. Actually, they make two Night Guards… this one in .44, and a 7-shooter in .357 Magnum. Both go for an MSRP of $1269. I’ll let that sink in a bit…

Why A Five-Shot .44?

The 396 fills a niche for a big-bore carry or home-defense-type gun for folks who like revolvers, like me. I’m a wheelgun fan from way back. I own several, and have put venison in the freezer with them. This gun is fairly light, and with its three-inch barrel, it is quick into action. Here in Indiana, if the barrel were one inch longer, it would be deer-legal. As such, it makes a good nightstand or truck gun… but I’m not sure I’d want a $1200-plus jewel bouncing around in a vehicle.

At any rate, this gun would make a perfect walkin’-around gun. You know, something to strap on your belt when you are hiking, roaming the woods, just knocking around. I have plenty of experience with .44s of both the Special and Magnum persuasion, and I really like the lower-powered Special. Most of the deer I’ve killed with my 8 ⅜”-barreled 629 went down to a mid-range cast-bullet handload of around 1070 fps… that’s Special territory. Actually, the longest killing shot I’d ever taken with that open-sighted, stainless .44 Magnum was at a measured 104 yards… And that was with a Georgia Arms 240-grain JHP .44 Special load… wow! The Special is special.

The only other 5-shot .44 Special that I know of at this writing is the Charter Arms. I owned one of those once, the Bulldog .44 that the “Son of Sam” killer in NYC made famous in the 1970s. Mine was used for other purposes, such as concealed carry when riding my Yamaha 500… ah, those were the days…

The Charter Arms is made for a different price point, typically one under $400. They’re not bad guns, but there are differences – we’ll leave it at that.

Specifications

Speaking of barrel length, here are the 396’s stats…

Width 1.56 in
Length 8.1 in
Height 5.6 in
Weight 23.4 oz
Caliber 44 Special
Size Medium, L-frame
Capacity 5
Action Single/Double Action
Barrel Length 3
Grip Synthetic
Sights Night Sight front, adjustable rear
Color/Finish Black
Barrel Material Stainless Steel
Model Model 396
Frame Material Scandium
Warranty Limited Lifetime
MSRP: $1269

Here are a few things that I really like about this revolver…

First, the sights. I am well used to the adjustable rear sight that S&W has used for over half a century. It is adjustable, with fine enough “clicks” that allow it to be sighted in for any practical range. The front sight here is a night sight. That should really help with its visibility in dim light.

The front tritium post really stands out…

Next, I like the grip. Even Special-variety ammo can have recoil. Don’t think that just because it doesn’t say “Magnum” on the barrel that it won’t bite the hand that holds it. The rubber grip (looks like a Hogue) helps tame recoil to a remarkable extent.

The third item that I noticed was that there is no dreaded lock. You can see where the frame was filled where the lock would normally go. Thank goodness that the universally despised “Hillary Hole” is gone. I don’t know why S&W doesn’t do away with this “feature” on all their revolvers… it has outlived its time.

Lastly, I like the size and weight of this revolver. Its three-inch barrel makes it very handy, and its 23-ounce weight allows you to take it along almost anywhere. Of course, there are two sides to the barrel length and gun weight in that recoil might be a bit more pronounced, but in a .44 Special, it’s not going to be too bad.

As I said above, this gun is also available as a 7-shot .357 for the same price… there’s something to think about.

Target Time

I set up some targets at my 15-yard line and grabbed some Black Hills .44 Special loads. The only .44 Special load I had at the time of testing was their HoneyBadger 160-grain. HoneyBadger is good stuff… the bullets look like a Phillips screwdriver, with flutes machined into the nose. The light-for-caliber, copper bullets penetrate like nobody’s business in my Clear Ballistics gel blocks. If you carry a .44 for protection, this is the load that should be in your cylinder. For those who are curious, my Athlon radar chronograph clocked this load at 1187 fps, with 497 ft/lbs. of energy.

The gun handled well, with recoil that let you know you were shooting a big-bore revolver, but that wasn’t enough to put you off it.

My stash of Black Hills .44 ammo. I just shot a review Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 magnum with the 240-grain JHP load. Out of the less-than-five-inch barreled SBH, it still clocked 1310 fps. The HoneyBadger will do better, but that’s a different review! Any of these would take a deer at close-to-mid range, from a handgun. Out of my S&W 1854 .44 Magnum lever rifle, the velocities would be off the chain…

Here is a representative target… the load hit low left. Here’s a tip for handgunners shooting an adjustable-rear-sight gun for the first time… if the sight is sitting all the way down, raise it a mm or two before shooting. At least your shots should be on the paper. This gun shot low, but if I hadn’t moved the sight prior to shooting, the target would’ve been clean.

(The black dot at 8:00 is a paster I placed on the target earlier. This gun is a 5-shooter.)

I would have liked to have more .44 Spl. ammo to put through it, but for its intended purpose (defense), it was more than accurate enough. If I were to keep this gun, I would develop a handload specifically for it.

One final thought about shooting the 396… I didn’t measure the trigger weight because I felt I didn’t have to. Both DA and SA triggers were very crisp and light, with very little creep. The trigger was a help, not a hindrance.

Conclusion

I remember the wheelguns of my youth fondly. I “grew up” on revolvers, because back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the semi-auto craze hadn’t kicked in yet. In my neck of the woods, we had various .22s and 1911s in .45 ACP… that was about it. So, I shot revolvers. I still like them, as you can probably tell. Whether or not you want to invest in a top-quality .44 isn’t the point of this review, but it is something to think about. The point is that there are guns out there made “the old-fashioned way” and that are still popular. (I guess what I’m trying to say is that we pair the older concept of revolvers with modern manufacturing techniques… the best of both worlds.)

If you want to acquire a rare revolver to pass down to your kids, this is one option. The old .44 isn’t dead… It’s back, and better than ever!

Links To Items Used In This Review

Select your plan

Tryout

Advanced

Basic