Range report and a surprise with a S&W 686

[tazman]

I Have a S&W 686-3 with an 8-3/8 inch barrel that I acquired some time ago, maybe a couple of years. This is the first time I have taken it to the outdoor range where I can set it up with a rest and shoot some distance.
I took several guns with me to experiment with but only have normal to mediocre results with the others.
I should have fired the 686 first.
I tried several different loads in it. I used 4 different boolits, all with the same 14.1 grains of IMR 4227 under them in 357 mag brass.
The boolits were Lyman 358429, Lyman 358156, Lee 358-158-rf, and the Lee 358-125-rf. I didn't have time to do a really exhaustive test. I didn't get to shoot any of the several other boolit styles I have or any brand new ammunition.
Temperature was a sunny 60 degrees with a little wind but not really enough to effect much in my opinion. It didn't bother the 308 when I shot it at 200 yards.
This was the first time I fired this revolver from a rest and at 25 yards, so this was a new experiment for me.
I fired the 358156 load first. 6 rounds went into about 4-5 inch group. Not great, not really bad for me.
Next up was the 358429. This one put 6 rounds in a 2.5 - 3 inch group. Getting better.
Next up was the 358-158-rf This one surprised me. 6 shots went into a 1.5-2 inch group. This is great for me so I did it again. It repeated three times so I guess it must be real.
Last up was the 358-125rf. This one surprised me even more. It put 18 rounds into 1.5 inches(I was too lazy to change the target at this point so I just kept shooting). I was thoroughly impressed with it.
I am going to have to do two things in the near future. The first is see if I can repeat this whole result on another day. The second is to put a scope on this girl and see just what it is capable of since my eyesight isn't all that great.
This is one of those limited run revolvers that has cuts along the barrel rib for scope rings. Unfortunately, I didn't get them with the revolver. Apparently, the rings S&W sent with some of the revolvers were made by Millet. They don't seem to be in production currently. If any of you have a line on where I might be able to get a set, please let me know.
Here is a picture of the girl.
238952
I didn't save the targets. When I repeat the groups I will take some pictures and post them. If it doesn't repeat, oh well.
The only thing I have changed on her is the grips. I put a set of Pachmayr Presentaion grip on that fit me better than the wooden combat grip do.
Besides, I hear those grips are worth some serious money and this set is immaculate. I will keep them that way.

[bmortell]

eyes must not be too bad, that's about on par with what I can do per barrel length with iron sights

[Markopolo]

Wow.. that is very cool.. be sure to repeat the whole deal.. could have been the solar eclipse, but something tells me it will happen again when you shoot that sweetheart... unless you slept at a holiday inn??? Maybe Wheaties?

[tazman]

I hope to do it when I remember to take the other boolits styles I have on hand with me and have time to shoot for a couple of hours or so. I was trying to squeeze too much into the time I had available.
Also a few factory loads to get a baseline. You never know but what the factory loads may not group as well as the reloads.
Indoors and just messing around it did pretty well offhand. It doesn't balance as well as the shorter barreled revolver do.
I need to take my chronograph along also. I was hoping for around 1200fps with this load. According to the books it should be close.

[onelight]

I would be really happy with those groups with iron sights , good shooting !

[FLINTNFIRE]

I have the blued version in 44 mag. I did not get rings when I bought mine used either , and in 44 mag it kicks your middle finger knuckle , 8&3/8th barrel the grips looks good , I believe you can buy rings and fit them if you are so inclined . I actually do not like those grips , look great feel worse , pretty yes and maybe with reduced loads would not bite the knuckles , one of these days some of the smiths have to go . Shoot it some more as that sounds promising and I do love to shoot the N frames

[Thumbcocker]

The Lee 125 RNFP is a dandy versatile little boolite,

[sandog]

686's are sweet guns. I'm buying a no dash with 6 inch barrel, looking forward to trying it out.
I like the combat grips a lot better the the "fat bottom" target grips that came with mine.
I'll put the targets in the box and probably order some Hogue checkered finger groove grips.
https://i.imgur.com/0mGr8VTh.jpg
Here is a thread that talks about the Millet rings. According to poster jaymoore, even the S&W specific rings had to be "modified" to work.
He goes on to say how he got the current Millet angle loc rings to work.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1980-present/439777-help-integral-scope-mount-rings.html

[bobthenailer]

I like the L frame the most for 357 loads, I currently only have one 686 but have owned two others and all were very accurate

[tazman]

I went to the range again today with the 686. I ran the same boolits and a couple more through it. Everything shot the same for me today. All groups were around 3 inches. Nothing spectacular but nothing bad either.

[murf205]

239135I think you have a keeper for sure. The 586/686 Smith and Wessons are my all time favorite 357revolvers. The way you are shooting that gun you might have better eyes than you thought! My 6" 686 has a 2x scope on it and it loves 180 gr Cast Performance GC boolits. Someone gave me 300 of these and they sat around for a couple of yrs before I tried them but man, what a surprise. With 13.5 grs of H110 they clock 1270 and shoot 'em all touching at 40 yds. Those soft grips help even if it is a 357. Your 8 3/8 should be a real pleasure to shoot, congrats.

[Petrol & Powder]

The most accurate .357 Mag revolver I ever owned was a S&W 681 with a 4" barrel.

Even with its fixed sights and 4" barrel that gun was amazing. It was a little hard to shoot in bright sunlight because the sights were difficult to see but there wasn't anything wrong with the gun.
I once shot alongside a guy that had a early 586 and that well used L-frame was equally as impressive.

A lot of folks swear by the S&W N-frame .357 mags (Models 27, 28, 627) but I think the L-frames were their best work when it comes to the .357 mag. Smith & Wesson may even have exercised a bit of atonement for the problems of the mag K-frames when they produced the L-frames.

[DougGuy]

tazman, what are you sizing the boolits to, and will they go in the cylinder throats without extreme force?

[6bg6ga]

I have a 686 also. The wife originally purchased it got tired of it and I bought it off her. I have two different molds one a Magma SWC 158 gr and the other a 160gr RN magma mold. It is absolutely deadly with the 158gr swc and some W231. Blows the heck out of the 10 ring standing without a rest at 25yards. Mine is a 6" barrel with the Packmire grips and I would like to find some S&W target grips. Enjoy her as it is a great gun.

[tazman]

tazman, what are you sizing the boolits to, and will they go in the cylinder throats without extreme force?

I had not checked anything on this revolver before seeing your question. I still have not slugged the barrel. The cylinder throats are a tight sliding fit on a .356 bullet. A .357 bullet will not pass through the cylinder throats. The sizing of the boolits varies. Some are sized .357. Some are .358. Some are as cast which may be as large as .359.
I doesn't matter since the throats will size the boolits down to .356 as they pass through.
The barrel must be appropriately sized in relation to the throats since there is not a trace of leading in the barrel after over 100 rounds through the gun in the last two trips to the range.
I haven't fired any jacketed through this revolver yet so I don't have a baseline for accuracy.
I suspect that yesterday's results may be more caused by the situation. I didn't have a solid rest and the temperature wasn't comfortable for me. The old eyes, I can't do much about.
I hope to get back to the range today and try to get a better rest situation going.

6bg6ga-----That is some outstanding shooting and I am jealous of your ability to hold that well.

[DougGuy]

Likely the clean barrel is from obturation sealing the boolits in the bore. You can find this out by slugging the bore, then see if the slug will go into the throats. If it does, then the throats are larger than groove diameter. If they won't then they are bumping up as they are fired.

Probably got a 5 groove bore, pretty hard to get an accurate reading from these without a 110 degree V block and a comparator, or a special V anvil micrometer.

You may think it's your old eyes, but a trip to the Sunnen hone for the cylinder may show that you shoot better than you thought you did!

[tazman]

When I get a chance, I will slug the barrel and see if that slug will pass through the cylinder.
I did that with another revolver I own(S&W 60) and the slug would pass through the cylinder throats even though the throats were .356. It never leads either and shoots well enough for what the gun is intended for.

[6bg6ga]

I had not checked anything on this revolver before seeing your question. I still have not slugged the barrel. The cylinder throats are a tight sliding fit on a .356 bullet. A .357 bullet will not pass through the cylinder throats. The sizing of the boolits varies. Some are sized .357. Some are .358. Some are as cast which may be as large as .359.
I doesn't matter since the throats will size the boolits down to .356 as they pass through.
The barrel must be appropriately sized in relation to the throats since there is not a trace of leading in the barrel after over 100 rounds through the gun in the last two trips to the range.
I haven't fired any jacketed through this revolver yet so I don't have a baseline for accuracy.
I suspect that yesterday's results may be more caused by the situation. I didn't have a solid rest and the temperature wasn't comfortable for me. The old eyes, I can't do much about.
I hope to get back to the range today and try to get a better rest situation going.

6bg6ga-----That is some outstanding shooting and I am jealous of your ability to hold that well.

Some days are better than others. I may have just gotten lucky but I really think its the gun being so accurate.

[dverna]

Good shooting sir!

Love the 686+ guns we got a few months ago.

[tazman]

I got back to the range today and got a really good rest so that I felt steady. The groups were all the same size within just a smidgen(sorry for the highly technical term).
I got some pictures.
239179239180239181239182

The groups were all around 2 inches.


DougGuy----- I slugged the barrel today. The slug drops through the cylinder without any force applied at all. The groove diameter is apparently 1-2 thousandths smaller than the throats.
Thanks for suggesting that way to compare the sizes. It didn't leave any question about the comparative sizes.
There didn't appear to be any thread choke at the frame either so all is good.

[NSB]

I've been a .357mag fan for around fifty years. I've owned a lot of different guns, including a model 19, model 27, and a model 28. I had Bill Davis build me two different custom guns in this caliber and both were "one holers". I also had/have three different L-frame .357mag revolvers. Two are 686's and I had a 586. All three of these guns shot at least 95% as accurate as both of the Bill Davis guns. The 586..on a good day...would shoot just over an inch for five shots at 50 yards with a select load. I consider these the most accurate revolvers SW ever made. The model 27 was no slouch, but the L-frames just feel better and shoot a bit better.

[murf205]

I've been a .357mag fan for around fifty years. I've owned a lot of different guns, including a model 19, model 27, and a model 28. I had Bill Davis build me two different custom guns in this caliber and both were "one holers". I also had/have three different L-frame .357mag revolvers. Two are 686's and I had a 586. All three of these guns shot at least 95% as accurate as both of the Bill Davis guns. The 586..on a good day...would shoot just over an inch for five shots at 50 yards with a select load. I consider these the most accurate revolvers SW ever made. The model 27 was no slouch, but the L-frames just feel better and shoot a bit better.

Since you said this, it made me think and I don't believe I have ever seen a bad shooting L frame S&W. Maybe I have been fortunate but I have loaded for or/and shot probably a dozen and they have all delivered excellent accuracy. Now, someone will say they have one that wont hit a bull in the butt across a pool table since I said this.LOL

[Winger Ed.]

That's good.

In the 80's I had a 6", blue 586. It shot very well with the 358156.
Shooting off a picnic table at 25 yds, it would keep to one big hole.

[tazman]

That's good.

In the 80's I had a 6", blue 586. It shot very well with the 358156.
Shooting off a picnic table at 25 yds, it would keep to one big hole.

I need to borrow your picnic table.

[Pete44mag]

I have both a 3" and a 6" 686. They are both extremely accurate. I bought the 6" first and was so impressed with the smooth trigger and accuracy that I bought the 3" as a wintertime concealed carry gun. Would not sell or trade either one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine!

[Art in Colorado]

The grips on your 686 go for at least $200!!!!

[tazman]

I had heard mention that they were worth some money but I had no idea it was that much.

[Ia.redneck]

Hey Tazman, if you get an optic on there, you will be amazed at the accuracy.
Mine is the 5" barrel. Its drilled and tapped like all the newer Smiths. Its every bit as accurate as my Model 52, maybe even a little more.

[WheelgunConvert]

You all are a bad influence on me!

I’ve been trying to get a 686 7 7 out of my head for a couple months. You just made the demon voices get too loud to bear and I placed the order this morning. Maybe I can get some sleep tonight.

I still have my original 28-2 Highway Patrol ( Second hand) from the 80s when I first started reloading. I’d guess it’s seen around 25k in my hands. It’s retiring but will never be sold.

[Lance Boyle]

Nice.


I spent some time yesterday shooting my 6” 586. I was trying a new to me powder in .38 special cases. WST, 3.3 grains with 158 LSWC, just the lower grease groove filled. I think my eyes were the limiting factor. My front sight is the red ramp, the tip is worn of its bluing so it shines and would pull a disappearing act.


A three inch group was my average at 15 yards. I had a touch of leading. I followed up with a box of hornady LSWC loaded in starline 357 cases with clays powder. That cleaned the tiny lead amount out of the throat. A lot less smoke with one groove filled but I did have the lead starting.

I also noticed the clays felt softer shooting but the FPS was also supposed to be less.


The L frame is just right I think too. The N frame model 28 is a tank but it is a slosh too large. I keep it until I find a nice clean 4” 586.



B

[sandog]

I got out with the new to me 686, it was made about 1984.
First time was with some factory loads I picked up, HSM 180 rain WFNGC.
I might have pulled one:
https://i.imgur.com/bW1izUYh.jpg
Some Hornady 125's were moving right along:
https://i.imgur.com/3UyFR1Th.jpg
Last weekend I tried out some plated bullets with Universal powder.
From 5.7 up to 6.5 grains all shot just over an inch:
(second target was marked 7.2 grains but was 6.5)
https://i.imgur.com/uazFQm5h.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jOsO0N1h.jpg
Too bad mine isn't tapped for a scope or dot base, I'd like to see what it would really do without my old eyes having a hard time seeing the front sight.

[NSB]

Drilling and tapping your gun really isn't very hard. Believe it or not, it won't even hurt the resale value. Lots of guys don't mind the "extra hole" and are glad to have a gun they can put a dot or scope on. I think you only need to drill one hole to do it, it uses the existing spot where your rear sight is. Just get it drilled and enjoy the fun of shooting your gun with a good red dot on it. I'm sure the gun will do at least two inches off a rest using full power mag loads. Those guns just plain shoot.