S&W 686 Plus...Experience & Opinions

[bluelund79]

I have a 686-6 plus with the 3” barrel. It gets concealed carried a lot. Shoots very well, especially after I got rid of the Goodyear grips and went with magna grips and Tyler t combo. From full house 357 to 38 wadcutter loads, it digests them all. I did have to fire about 100 rounds of 357mag jacketed rounds before leading was eliminated from commercial cast bullets.

[sw282]

l have a 686 Competitor... Quite a shooter too... 6 shot only tho...

[Dieselhorses]

That is a great choice among a lot of good options. I think you will be pleased with them.
The 5" barrel is often the best of all lengths for general use. Short enough to handle and balance well as well as carry. Long enough for that little bit extra sight radius and power.

Tazman-mine measures 5 1/8" to frame and 5 7/8" to forcing cone, I expect this to be a 5" barrel?

[tazman]

Tazman-mine measures 5 1/8" to frame and 5 7/8" to forcing cone, I expect this to be a 5" barrel?

They measure from the front of the cylinder to the muzzle. Yours is probably a 6".

[dverna]

Stopped at the LGS and ordered the two 686 3-5-7’s with 5” barrels. The were kind enough to order two new guns from the distributor and give me a bit of a discount as well. Again, thanks for the advice you all shared.

It has been over a decade since I shot a DA revolver (K38) so I am looking forward to renewing my relationship with the platform.

I am blessed to have found a woman who would rather have a new revolver than a necklace.

[Petrol & Powder]

I don't have experience with the 686 Plus but I do have experience with the 6 shot L-frames.
One of the most accurate .357 mag revolvers I ever owned was a 681. That thing was a tack driver.

I've always considered the L-frames to essentially be K-frames on steroids. I think the platform is capable of outstanding accuracy and over all, it is a well proven design.

The age old GP-100 vs. L-frame debate has been around since those two models have been around. They are both excellent guns!

Don, I think you're going enjoy that pair of wheel guns.

[bmortell]

I had 2 686's one was used but a fairly new model, had problem with the mainspring being to light and had to put an empty primer cup on the strain screw. then I noticed a machining error in the groves of the barrel that were raised so I returned it. now I have a new 686+ 4in, quality and mechanical feel of it is great, but still had a mainspring issue. this time the problem was the factory grip has a plastic portion that encloses the grip screw, and this piece of plastic pushes on the mainspring when assembled in the direction that makes the trigger pull harder. so when I figured it out I shaved down that piece of plastic so it don't interfere anymore but then I started to get light strikes on cci primers. so again I had to put an empty primer cup on the strain screw to make it run 100%. not sure if its just coincidence that im always having this problem but atleast its something that's fixable but otherwise it seems like a great gun. just carefully inspect it first

[tazman]

I had 2 686's one was used but a fairly new model, had problem with the mainspring being to light and had to put an empty primer cup on the strain screw. then I noticed a machining error in the groves of the barrel that were raised so I returned it. now I have a new 686+ 4in, quality and mechanical feel of it is great, but still had a mainspring issue. this time the problem was the factory grip has a plastic portion that encloses the grip screw, and this piece of plastic pushes on the mainspring when assembled in the direction that makes the trigger pull harder. so when I figured it out I shaved down that piece of plastic so it don't interfere anymore but then I started to get light strikes on cci primers. so again I had to put an empty primer cup on the strain screw to make it run 100%. not sure if its just coincidence that im always having this problem but atleast its something that's fixable but otherwise it seems like a great gun. just carefully inspect it first

I had some light strikes with my new one at first. I changed the grips and the problem went away so I may have had an issue with the grips as well but can't say for sure. I didn't look into it that closely.
I haven't had a light strike now for some time.

deverna--- We need pictures when your new revolvers arrive as well as a range report.

[Tatume]

Ideally, you would get a pair of S&W model 66 revolvers but those are very hard to find these days. I tried for 5 months to find one before I bought the 686. Never have seen one in over 2 years now.

My LGS called to tell me they just took in an "almost like new" 4" Model 66 in trade, and offered it to me for $550. I don't have the cash. If anybody wants his phone number, PM me.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have a 586 with a 4-inch barrel. I put Ahrend’s retro combat grips on it. It has great balance and the most comfortable grips I’ve ever owned.

My friend has a old (no lock) minty 586 (4") in polished Nickel with original palm filling Target grips. Every year about this time, he needs to borrow some money for the Holidays, he usually lets me hold that 586 as collateral. Long story short, I brought it out to the range last week, it was a cold day (20ºF and windy), so I didn't shoot the 2 boxes of ammo that I brought along and had hoped to shoot it all up, but I did get a couple cylinders full of boolits sent down range before I lost the feeling in my fingers. I brought the gun home and cleaned it...It's probably the only time it got cleaned this year

[Idaho45guy]

Today we visited the LGS and looked at the 686 in the 3-5-7 series. The 5” barrel seems about perfect. We handled the Ruger GP100 but it looks and feels clunky.

Thanks to all for your advice but special thanks to Tazman. I think we have settled on the 686 3-5-7 with 5” barrel. Will wait a few days to be sure before ordering them.

Sweet! Can't go wrong with a 686!

[dverna]

Got a call late yesterday. The revolvers are in. Asked me if I would be down within 10 days to pick them up....going in today after I get some chores done. 50 mile round trip.

One of the moderators sent me a link to a thread that gives me concern. One of our members had a disaster with a new revolver he got from S&W. Very poorly made and pathetic customer service. He returned it a couple of times, had it replaced twice, and sold the third gun before even shooting it.

This is the most expensive gun purchase I have made in years and being retired does not give me a lot of extra cash. Hoping for a better outcome than the experience of the poor guy above.

[tazman]

I purchased mine just a few months ago and it has been fine. Don't read too much into that report until you actually have the guns in hand.

[Loudenboomer]

I've shot many deer with a 4" 686 at bow hunting ranges. For an all round hand gun a 4"-6" 686 is about as good as it gets.

[2shot]

There was a recent thread about a S&W that said it was junk. If you look at the pictures posted and then read the caption under the picture it states that the gun shot a 2 inch group MAYBE a little bigger. The target was shot at S&W and this target was sent back with the gun. Maybe I'm crazy but according to what I see it's a little over a 1 inch group (probably more like 1.25") IF YOU MEASURE CENTER TO CENTER which is the right way to measure groups, not far edge to far edge. Doesn't say how far the target was shot at but probably 25 yards like most manufacturers use and I would find this acceptable for shooting random ammunition. It's definitely NOT a 2 inch or bigger group.
Every manufacturer has it's critics and also has things slip by, every one, no exceptions. Sometimes we have to take what we read with a grain of salt. I'm sure your S&W's will be fine.

2shot

[Gus Youmans]

Don,

I buy a new Smith & Wesson about every 18 months and have never gotten one that needed to be returned to the factory because it was defective. I have sent several back for optional custom shop work and returned two, early models 586 and 686, to the factory for fair wear and tear issues related to heavy use of magnum ammo and the repair was done correctly and at a fair price. The repair shop is always slow but they give you an estimate of when the work will be complete and, with one exception, completed the work before the promised date.

I would not worry about the accuracy of the new 686s because both of mine will shoot into just over an inch at 25 yards (average of five, five shot groups) from a Ransom Rest with a commercial 125 grain hard cast bullet and 4.3 grains of Red Dot in a .357 case or 4.0 grains in a .38 Special case. The velocity extreme spread of those loads is awful but the accuracy is all that really counts for short range practice ammo. I believe similar results with full power ammo are achievable in the new guns because my old (pre-lawyer lock) 586s and 686s shoot small groups with max loads of 2400 behind the Lyman 358429 and 358156 and the Hornady 158 XTP ahead of a max charge of H110/296.

The new 686s are solid guns that should give you and your wife many years of solid service.

Gus Youmans

[9.3X62AL]

The S&W 586/686 series 357 Magnum revolvers have been winners since Day 1. There has been at least one L-frame 357 at my house since 1981.

[dverna]

I picked up the guns yesterday. One has 4 3/4 lb trigger and the other 5 3/4 lb. A bit more than the K38 I foolishly sold a few years back. But no creep. Very useable out of the box IMHO especially if shooting more than just targets. I prefer my hunting rifles to have 4-5 lb pulls. Will shoot them as they are for now and decide if a bit of tuning is desired down the road.

My fiancé is not willing to wait until Christmas so we hope to get some rounds downrange this weekend at an indoor range. It will be in the 20’s this week so outdoor shooting is not going to happen.

Again, thanks for all the feedback and advice.

[rfd]

congrats on yer brace of S&W revolvers! i love my li'l model 60.

[tazman]

Please give us a range report.