Revolver SW 686

[Judan_454]

I was thinking on getting a 4 inch SW 686 for shooting IDPA revolver class. I was wondering how the gun does with cast bullets.
Thanks Dan

[Wayne Smith]

Depends on the geometry of that particular revolver. Most are better than average from what I read, but that says nothing about any particular revolver.

[ShooterAZ]

My 686+ shoots cast great, once I figured out the right diameter to size for it. Before that it was 2"+ groups at 15 yds. Now one ragged hole with the same loads and distance. It will take a little measuring and in my case some experimenting and sizer polishing.

Shooter

[dubber123]

Generally excellent guns, cast or jacketed. They all make lemons, so checking one out first is nice. Are fast reloads part of IDPA? If so, I can heartily recommend the S&W 625 with moonclips.

[Bret4207]

I never had a 686, but back in the late 80's/early 90's I had a 681. Wonderful gun! It digested many, many 358156's loaded rather hot as was my habit back then. Killed more coyotes with that gun than I have with anything else, rifles included! I think you'll be very happy once you figure out what it wants.

[sargenv]

The 625 with moons must shoot major.. and is in it's own class in IDPA... Speed loader 38's can shoot minor and are more pleasant to shoot.

[Kraschenbirn]

Like Bret, I've never had a 686 but I've put a lot of rounds through my 586 (same gun in blue rather than stainless) it's one of the most accurate and best-handling revolvers I've every owned. I shot a TK Custom 6", converted to DAO, for PPC competition for several years and my 4" has logged more'n it's share of back-country trail miles tucked away in an old Askins hi-ride rig.

Bill

[bobthenailer]

Ive had 3 different 686's and all shot cast excellent from 800 to 1300 fps . @ around a inch or better @ 25 yards

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i have a 686 6" barrel shoots cast just fine i size .358 and use 2400

[jmsj]

I have a 4" 686 that I bought used as a Police Dept. trade in back in 1986 (I think). I have shot many thousand rounds through this gun with out a hitch. Most of these rounds have been cast bullets. After learning many "tricks" here, I rarely have to clean for leading and the guns shoots better groups overall.
Good luck, jmsj

[MtGun44]

Early 686s had soft cranes and the crane tube that the cyl rotates on would batter somewhat
prematurely with max loads, causing end shake to develop much sooner than in a 586.
Somewhere along the line (maybe 686-4 or so, not sure) they went to a harder alloy and
the problem went away. Not an issue with moderate loads at all. Relatively easily fixed
by a COMPETENT S&W mechanic; stretch the crane in a few minutes.

I have a 586+ that I really like. It is extremely accurate.

Bill

[rintinglen]

I can not say this as gospel, but In my observation, the blue steel 586'ers seem to have been a smidge more accurate than their stainless counterparts. I've seen dozens over the years at Security Qualifications, and while I have no records to prove it one way or the other, still my impression is that the blued guns outshot the stainless ones. However, either are plenty accurate, especially when compared to the average plastic pistol out there.

[MOshooter]

I'm shooting a 681 with a 4 inch barrel which is basically a 686 with fixed sights,the 681 shoots cast boolits very well with very acceptable accuracy.

[imashooter2]

The 625 with moons must shoot major.. and is in it's own class in IDPA... Speed loader 38's can shoot minor and are more pleasant to shoot.

What is an average IDPA match? 90 shots over 2-3 hours? Not exactly a grueling marathon.

To the OP: I used a 4 inch 686 in the only IDPA match I ever shot. Ran the same gun in ICORE for a couple of years. Mine worked just fine for both tasks.

The Lee 358-150-1R makes a great competition boolit. Loads short and has a crimp groove for smooth reloads. Comes in a 6 cavity mold for efficient production.

[uscra112]

Some will some won't, IMHO. I had a heckuva time getting a 681 to stop leading in the throat and up the bore about and inch or so. Finally in desperation I firelapped the heck out of it. Not a thread constriction, the bore was just rough as a cob in there. Once it quit leading itself up in the first dozen shots, it would do minute-of-bad-guy all day, but it never came close to being a competition grade revolver. Maybe I'm spoiled - I still have a near-mint Colt Officers' Model that puts 'em where it looks every time, using target loads.

[69daytona]

I just converted my 6" 686 to a 4" just for concealed carry, I use to use it for IHMSSA with cast boolits and it was good for 100 yards, the 150 and 200 yard targets were about 50%.
Up close within 25 yards it shoots within 2" even with the 4" barrel. I have owned the gun since they first came out in the mid 80s and have about 50,000 rounds through it and still have not had one problem. do need to chamfer the cylinder though for faster speed loads.
Had mine ceracoated black when I had the 4" barrel installed and it looks awsome.

[Judan_454]

I do like the the looks of 686,dont know if want to buy the 7 shot or the 6.

[imashooter2]

For IDPA, the 6 shooter is the only choice since you can only load 6 at a time.

[subsonic]

I don't think the 7 shots fit into a class in IDPA. Check before you spend. They are pretty large and heavy even with the 4" barrel for real-life CCW use. This is due to the full underlug and medium sized frame. But they tend to be more stout than the K-frames.

My 686-4 silhouette with 4 position front sight has been pretty good so far. It leaded near the muzzle until I firelapped it. It groups under 3" at 50yds, but can probably do better once I get some optics on it. Even after firelapping the snot out of it, it still has some thread crush. The muzzle where the 4 position sight is installed is smaller than the thread crush, so it shoots OK anyway.

Once my Ultra-Dot 25 gets here (that I ordered 2 Saturdays ago from Natchez), I'm going to mount it up and test my previous best load at 50yds and see what the UD25 is doing compared to what it did with the irons.