Smith & Wesson Model 57 Smith & Wesson Model 57 The Smith & Wesson Model 57 is a large frame, double-action revolver with a six round cylinder, chambered for the .41 Magnum cartridge, and designed and manufactured by the Smith & Wesson firearms company. The gun was designed as a weapon for law enforcement agencies. However, due to size and recoil it found more favor with civilian target shooters and hunters. In the early 1960s, Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, and Skeeter Skelton, all noted firearms authorities and authors, lobbied Remington Arms and Smith & Wesson to introduce a new .41 caliber police cartridge with the
Smith & Wesson Model 469 finish, the Model 6906, which was the same pistol in a stainless steel finish, both operating in double-action/single-action mode. The Model 6946 was similar to the 6906 but operated in double-action-only mode. Although the 69-series of pistol is no longer produced, the polymer-framed Smith & Wesson M&P compact possesses similar dimensions, and the same barrel length and magazine capacity (in 9mm). Smith & Wesson Model 469 The Smith & Wesson Model 469 is a semi-automatic pistol, chambered for the 9mm cartridge. The Model 469 is an early model in Smith & Wesson's 59-series, envisioned as pistols that could be easily