Tightening Up 686 Cylinder

[detox]

The cylinder on my 686 does not lock up as well as i like. With hammer pulled back all the way you can feel some side to side movement in cylinder. Is this covered under S&W lifetime warranty? Will they repair and tighten up excessive play?

[Gus Youmans]

Full lockup on S&W revolvers does not occur until the trigger is pulled. Hold the trigger to the rear and see if you still have excessive movement. If you do have a problem with lockup you can google S&W and get the phone number for their repair shop from the website.

[NSB]

They all have some side-side movement when cocked or with the trigger pulled all the way back. I own/owned a LOT of S&W revolvers and I've owned several custom built revolvers that shoot exceptionally well. They all have some movement. They are designed to have some. However, there is a limit on how much movement they should have. Go to your local gun store and look at a few and check this out. If yours is significantly worse, send it back. I think you'll find that it's probably like most of the ones you'll look at.

[detox]

I will go to gun store and compair.

I have heard of S&W cylinders getting looser after many many firings. One gun writer recently stated he sent his Smith back to factory twice to have it tightened because he shoots it alot. Is this service free?

[Clay M]

I had a 629 when they first came out. I shot a good many heavy loads,and it became loose.I traded it on a Ruger Redhawk and never had any more problems.I have some of the newer 629 classics and they seem to hold up fine.If it is real loose, I am sure Smith will repair it. They do a good job with customer service.

[44man]

Time for me here. You WANT that movement so LEAVE IT ALONE. It is the only way a bullet can align the chambers with the bore when you shoot.
I am not talking about a gun beat to death and worn from fast cocking or fast double action.
Factory new has movement for a reason.

[bosterr]

I have 2 686's and a 629 Classic, all 8 3/8" with scopes. They all have movement, even when the hammer is cocked and the trigger pulled, no difference in amount of movement. They're all tackdrivers after thousands of rounds. The only revolver that I know of that locks up tight when cocked is the Colt Python.

[KCSO]

Smiths are built to have a little play and Colts pull the cylinder tight as the trigger is pulled. You are fine just the way you ae and no Smith doesn't tighten them up for free.

[Clay M]

The only revolver I have that has zero movement is my Freedom Arms.It locks like a bank vault. The Redhawks also have very little.

[9.3X62AL]

Detox, how well does the 686 shoot in its present condition? In my experience, S&W revolvers need far less timing & advancing hand maintenance than do Colt double-action revolvers. This was one very large reason for the capture of much of the law enforcement market after WWII by S&W from Colt--far less need for skilled armorer or gunsmith attention so frequently. If it ain't broke, there's no need to fix it. A lot of us fuss and bother over our toys needlessly.

[MtGun44]

That side to side play is NORMAL and GOOD. The boolit will do the final alignment as it enters
the forcing cone. This is the bid difference between Colts and S&Ws - Colts have a hard lockup,
and when JUST RIGHT, it is fine. Most are off a bit and get the hand and bolt pounded by each
shot as the boolit forces the cyl into alignment. S&W leaves a little slop, and things move a hair
to line up without excess stress. Of course, it is possible for it to get actually worn, but most are
just fine and a small amount is good.

44man is right on.

Bill

[leftiye]

Just to be clear, lockup is with the TRIGGER pulled clear to the rear (and held). Hammer HAS FALLEN already! As 44 man says, a little play is good. When adjusting lockup (which is bolt up and cyl. held against bolt by hand) one grinds carefully some from shelf on side of hand. If not binding, don't touch. As soon as cylinder locks up without binding, stop.

Important part is that this comes about with chamber mouths (in turn) centered on forcing cone at rear of barrel. P.S. If chamber mouth is to center on forcing cone, and is found to be too far to right, some can be removed from left side of bolt where it protrudes above frame. If it is too far left you might can add metal to the left side of bolt or get a new bolt new bolt. Slot in frame can be widened to left, but not to right. Check it out carefully for yourself, this was written from memory, and I might have some wires crossed.

[detox]

Detox, how well does the 686 shoot in its present condition?

I have shot 4" groups at 50 yards using both Lyman and RCBS 158gr Cowboy boolits. I know i can do better with a firmer and more consistant grip on gun. I very recently just started putting more forward downward pressure on the sandbag before pulling trigger...this seems to hold crosshairs more steady on target.

Is there a better cast boolit to try. What shoots best up to 100 yards? Maybe the 150gr Keith boolit?

[williamwaco]

DITTO ALL

Smiths all do that.

[9.3X62AL]

4" at 50 yards isn't The End Of The World. There are a lot of good, accurate boolit designs out there for the 38/357 revolvers, and I would try other designs before having the revolver worked on. What is "best" in one given revolver will vary from example to example. This doesn't mean 'go on a mould-buying spree'--see if others here can send you sample packs of different designs to test-drive.

You could also try weight-sorting your present castings, to exclude boolits with air bubbles or inclusions.

Using brass of the same make or even lot number is another "tweak" to try, and assure that all cases are of the same length to maintain consistent crimp quality.

Yes, you can drive yourself to distraction chasing down all of the "tweaks". A lot of us here enjoy those sorts of chases, though. I don't scale-sort my revolver boolits, but do segregate brass by make and trim length. Straightwall revolver cases usually need just one trim sequence after first firing; after that, they tend to not stretch significantly to and maintain pretty close length standards from case to case.