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Love the Smith and Wesson 686

16K views 170 replies 74 participants last post by  bac1023 
#1 ·
I always wanted one growing up. I remember the older guy with old school corvette down the street showing his off with the pachmyer grips. I now have one in 4inch and 6 inch, and am working on another 4 inch. I like them, however, they are all not for me. I am sharing among the family. Eventually, I hope to find a fourth and get a complete heirloom set for everyone. So, for those of you that share my love of the wheel gun, I thought I would share a slice of happiness.
 
#101 ·
I carried a couple of them (4") as issued weapons when they were brand new. The first one ended up being turned back in to await its turn for the firing pin/bushing replacement (to reduce possibility of primer flow). I think it only saw a thousand +P's (issued qual/training loads) and several hundred Magnum loads.

The replacement 686 I was given saw what I vaguely remember being approx 3500+ assorted Magnum loads (at my expense), and it was a decent revolver. I toyed with the idea of buying it when we transitioned to aluminum 9's, but was too busy spending money on other things to bother myself with buying it ($235?), which I later regretted, of course.

Maybe if I'd not owned a number of Ruger Security, Service & Speed-Six .357's I'd have picked it up to put away in the safe. I liked Ruger's medium-framed Magnum wheelies back then. The L-frame wheelguns were pretty good working guns, though, especially for folks who enjoyed frequently shooting Magnum loads.
I saw one advertised as M or needing to go back to Smith and Wesson. I thought that was strange. Is that actually a thing.
 
#102 ·
In the early days of the first production 686 it was reported that using Magnum ammunition with very soft primers could possibly result in enough primer flow to enter the firing pin bushing's hole and prevent the revolver from functioning. While it wasn't explicitly stated, listening between the lines, so to speak, some low cost Magnum ammunition that had been produced off-shore seemed to have been involved.

Agencies using those first production guns were offered the option of either returning the guns to the factory (or an authorized factory warranty service center) to have the firing pins and bushings replaced (smaller pins and bushings with smaller holes), or factory trained revolver armorers could receive a special tool kit and parts to modify the guns at their agencies, which included a steel stamp to mark the inside of the frame with a "M" (indicating the modification had been done). My agency's armorer opted to get the kit and parts, and do the work himself.
 
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#103 ·
So, picking up a used M no dash 686 might not be the best option. I am afraid if I did and sent it back to Smith it would come back with a key lock.
 
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#107 ·
I would argue that its the best 357 ever made, S&W or otherwise.
Ask Manurhin MR73 and Korth Combat owners if they think it's the best. ;)

People who make comments of that nature generally have a small sample size to work with.

One could argue it's one of the better S&W 357s due to its balance of size and strength. As long as you don't mind the non pinned barrels and flat cylinder chambers, that is.
 
#110 ·
...
One could argue it's one of the better S&W 357s due to its balance of size and strength. ...
It's arguably one of the better compromises when it comes to a medium-sized revolver chambered in .357 Magnum.

If someone wanted to lean more toward the "strength" end of the balance, then it would more likely be the N-frame iterations. ;)
 
#115 · (Edited)
You probably have more than the rest of us have thought about. The 2 inch I always thought was neat, but you can barely touch a decent one for less than a 1k these days.
I had a 4" 686 that I sold about twenty years ago and still regret selling. It was sweet and I'm looking for another and have found one.

You can get a new one for under $800.00. I just got a Pro Series 686Plus for less than $900.00.

I also have a 627 (8 shot 357) Pro Series. That is also a very nice shooter but as an N frame a little larger.

Both have been lightened so they aren't as heavy as you would expect plus so much is taken out of the cylinder for the extra chamber(s).

 
#118 ·
They are pretty, key locks drive me crazy however. Some people don't mind them. I guess if you red locktite them in the open position. I just imagine with every recoil in my mind the lock slowly turning until you are searching around for the key.
 
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#116 ·
I have a 686-1, which I bought new from my FFL in May 1987, and it has the "M" stamp on it. IIRC, by the time S&W moved to the -2 guns, the fix was incorporated by the factory.
 
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#120 ·
#121 ·
They are pretty, key locks drive me crazy however. Some people don't mind them. I guess if you red locktite them in the open position. I just imagine with every recoil in my mind the lock slowly turning until you are searching around for the key.
Only pre-lock Smith & Wesson revolvers for me. I want nothing to do with the locks. There is always the potential for that mechanism to f#@k you up. You can remove the mechanism, which is what I would do if I HAD to have a S&W with the lock, but I still don't like the hole there and the entire concept that S&W decided was a good move for them.
 
#122 ·
I asked a gun smith to do that with the one key lock 669 .44 magnum I sold. He refused, he said it would void the warranty.
 
#127 ·
They are pretty, key locks drive me crazy however. Some people don't mind them. I guess if you red locktite them in the open position. I just imagine with every recoil in my mind the lock slowly turning until you are searching around for the key.
Never had a problem yet, but that could mean one step closer. I have so much leather and so many speedloaders, I guess I have to get a 686.
 
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#131 ·
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#132 ·
Have 686+ with lock ,get over it. They run great! And are trouble free. Some of the early no lock 686 would lock up fast when dirty. Like the CSI models. The new lock work is trouble free not like the old fixed firing pin in early ones. The new are better!! The new 686 are the best made yet!
 
#137 ·
Have 686+ with lock ,get over it. They run great! And are trouble free. Some of the early no lock 686 would lock up fast when dirty. Like the CSI models. The new lock work is trouble free not like the old fixed firing pin in early ones. The new are better!! The new 686 are the best made yet!
You like New Coke, and that is okay.
 
#139 ·
View attachment 317933 My new 686+ Deluxe with Burris 2x that I got last month. A lot of fun as gonna hunt critters with it and deer this fall.
I did that to my former .454 casul, except it was a Leopuld. I traded it off for a KSG shotgun, when I couldn't handle the .454 recoil anymore. Before I got messed up, I really enjoyed the way it shot and felt. It is pretty, and I don't fault you. However, I like my 686's with open sights.
 
#146 ·
Jerry Meculek has shot 100,000 plus RDS in new SW wheelguns and loves them,saying the best SW wheelguns ever made. Granted the first 686 and a few series after that were trouble some ,but the 686 of late is the cream of the crop and best made. Don't buy into the old is better crap of web armchair commando's and mall gun experts.
 
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