S&W 686... Yay, nay?

[brimic]

I got a flyer in the mail that has 686s for $100 off on Saturday. Upsides? Downsides? A 4" .357 has been on my wish list for awhile now.

[AJ Dual]

I got a flyer in the mail that has 686s for $100 off on Saturday. Upsides? Downsides? A 4" .357 has been on my wish list for awhile now.

I have a pre-lock, pre-HUD agreement one from the 90's. Zero complaints. And a late 60's or early 70's vintage 66 from my grandfather's estate. Zero complaints there either. I do kind of agree with the "best factory trigger ever" lines people throw about, but my experience is limited to a Ruger SP-101, a Chiappa Rhino, and the 30lb DA/15lb single pull of my Nagant. So it's not as if I've got a huge swath of revolver experience to compare it to.

Although I hear complaints about the post-lock ones not being "as good", I don't know how much is purist butthurt and how much is real.

[JN01]

I've been thinking about picking up a 4" magnum myself.  I had an older 686, but foolishly sold it a few years ago.  Yesterday, I went to Cabela's and compared a new 686 to the Ruger GP100. The trigger pull on the Ruger actually felt a bit smoother and lighter than the Smith, though neither was as good as my old 686 which was as smooth as glass.

[RoadKingLarry]

I keep several hundred bucks in reserve (most of the time) in the event I ever come across a pre-lock 686 in one of the gun stores I frequent.

[roo_ster]

A terrific .357mag. SW19/66 is a tad lighter, but not built as tough.  Ruger GP100 is a good revo, but I have yet to handle one with as nice a DA trigger.  I develop my .357mag loads in mine and have a sweet plinker load and a hot load, both with 158gr LSWC.

A 4" SW686 was my first centerfire handgun purchase.  About the best all-purpose handgun you can get.  Can conceal it IWB or shoulder holster or OWB (as easy/difficult as a GM 1911).  Or it makes a great woods gun vs 4-legged critters with 158gr LSWC moving at 1000-1400fps.  Or stoke it with light .38spl and your 12YO son can shoot it all day or until you go broke.  As I write, it sits in a quick-access safe stoked with Hornady 158gr .38spl XTP.  Me, my wife, or my son can all shoot it with those loads.

I had my trigger worked on and it is hands-down, the absolute best DA revolver trigger I have had the pleasure to experience.

[RoadKingLarry]

Y'all probably tired of hearing me repeat it but here goes anyway.

In the waning days of the '80s my boat took on a SEAL team for some super secret SEAL mission in the nether regions of the SE Mediterranean Sea. Their mission got scrubbed so we had the pleasure of toting them around with us for 6-7 weeks. Mostly a decent bunch of fellows but all of 'em were *expletive deleted*ing nuts, in the best possible sense of the term.

One of the things we did to pass the time was the SEALs did a "show and tell" one day with all their nifty "*expletive deleted*ck up the other guy and all his *expletive deleted*it" toys. Funny tube things in heavy plastic wrap with strange instructions on which way to point it, odd smelling "play-doh", looked kind of boring as it was all one color. H&K MP5s with funny protrusions on the muzzle end that were reminiscent of suppressors. Several varieties of the "wundernine de jour" and various and sundry pointy cutty things of all shapes and sizes.
One thing I took away from it was that to a man each of them carried a S&W 686 with Pacmayr grips as a back-up.
The reasoning was that it was virtually indestructible, If it got full of sand and mud just swish it around in the ocean and you were good to go again.

[MillCreek]

Add me to the list of people endorsing a 4" .357 revolver as one of the best all-purpose handguns ever made.  I prefer stainless, which is a function of the dampish environment here in the upper left hand corner of the country.

PS: Although I am still waiting for Ruger to come out with the LCRx in 3 inches and .357, to be my new woods gun.

[Tuco]

Yay.
Hard to do better, easy to do worse than a 686.

Course, my experiences are with a late 1980s model.
Stainless, 4", Pacmayr.
Perfect.

[Fitz]

I'm going to be the voice of reason here.



If you have to ask whether or not you should buy a gun, you already want it. So buy the gun



Damn. I suck at being the voice of reason.

[bedlamite]

You need to own one at some point in your life, sooner is better than later.

Although I hear complaints about the post-lock ones not being "as good", I don't know how much is purist butthurt and how much is real.

More of the butthurt when they started with the locks. There is a difference, but not really as much as you hear on the intertubes. Newer CNC machinery has done wonders to make up for the lack of hand work. If you really want to see a difference, you need to take apart a pinned barrel model from the 60's or 70's and compare it to anything made from the 80's or 90's. Internal fit and finish took a big step down when they pulled the pin. I have a '74 target model 19 in excellent condition that I'm not likely to ever sell.

I'm going to be the voice of reason here.



If you have to ask whether or not you should buy a gun, you already want it. So buy the gun



Damn. I suck at being the voice of reason.

Sounds reasonable to me.

[Andiron]

Go for it!


I've got 3....  Probably not the best person to ask, unless you really want confirmation bias.

that being said,  owning a 686 will just point out the glaring need you didn't know you had for a 66 

[Nick1911]

I've got a 66 in 4 inch.  It's a really nice, high quality revolver.

I'd vote yes to a 686. 

[brimic]

Stopped at cabelas and checked them out, checked out GP100s... liked them both.
asked about upcoming sale on the 686s  was told I could order one at sale price if not in stock.
heading back there saturday to buy one.

[MechAg94]

A terrific .357mag. SW19/66 is a tad lighter, but not built as tough.  Ruger GP100 is a good revo, but I have yet to handle one with as nice a DA trigger.  I develop my .357mag loads in mine and have a sweet plinker load and a hot load, both with 158gr LSWC.

A 4" SW686 was my first centerfire handgun purchase.  About the best all-purpose handgun you can get.  Can conceal it IWB or shoulder holster or OWB (as easy/difficult as a GM 1911).  Or it makes a great woods gun vs 4-legged critters with 158gr LSWC moving at 1000-1400fps.  Or stoke it with light .38spl and your 12YO son can shoot it all day or until you go broke.  As I write, it sits in a quick-access safe stoked with Hornady 158gr .38spl XTP.  Me, my wife, or my son can all shoot it with those loads.

I had my trigger worked on and it is hands-down, the absolute best DA revolver trigger I have had the pleasure to experience.

Take a look at the GP100 Match Champion.  It has a good DA trigger IMO.  I am no expert though.

I like the S&W 357 mag revolvers I have.  IMO, 6" barrels are more fun at the range just due to less muzzle blast, but 4" revolvers are a lot more handy to use.  Depends on what you like and doubling up on the hearing protection helps. 

[charby]

Yes, great revolver, pre or post lock. I would prefer pre lock, just because I think the locks are ugly an feature.

I really want one in a 6" barrel, someday maybe I'll get one. I do love my m-66 I got for a good price 10 years ago, back when revolvers weren't demanding stupid prices. I think I paid $250 for my used 4" m-66.

[never_retreat]

Had one for years love it. It has the adjustable target sites on it.
Only thing I ever did to it was loosen the screw a bit for the tension on the hammer spring.

[LadySmith]

Yes, great revolver, pre or post lock. I would prefer pre lock, just because I think the locks are ugly an feature.

I really want one in a 6" barrel, someday maybe I'll get one. I do love my m-66 I got for a good price 10 years ago, back when revolvers weren't demanding stupid prices. I think I paid $250 for my used 4" m-66.

I got my pre-lock 6" S&W 686 back in the day for $325. It is a very good gun.

[T.O.M.]

I got my pre-lock 6" S&W 686 back in the day for $325. It is a very good gun.

I got my 6" S&W 586 probably around the same time, as the sticker on the box lists the price as $318.  It's one of the two handguns I've had since I turned 21.

[Viking]

I got my 6" S&W 586 probably around the same time, as the sticker on the box lists the price as $318.  It's one of the two handguns I've had since I turned 21.

The 586 L-Comp is high on my list of dream guns. One day, hopefully.

[brimic]

Did buy it, sale at cabelas started yesterday. 2 of my coworkers are buying them as well (I have quite a few coworkers that buy a lot of guns - just because)one went to the store last night and texted me that they only had the display model left, so he ordered one, I drove over to the store right away and bought the one on display.

[brimic]

Follow up- very nice handgun, I now wish I knew about these years ago..
After my son (13) got done mowing the lawn today, I Taught him how to change oil in a car, then offered to take him on a range trip to shoot hand guns. He had never shot a handgun before so was a bit hesitant, but wanted to go anyway.
I started him off on a Ruger mkIi, but he seemed a bit underwhelmed by it So I told him he could try shooting some .38s. He shot all of those (a few dozen) and I told him he could try a .357 if he felt like it. He ended up shooting up a whole box of them one at a time in his little game of 'can I shoot one more.'
Not only did he have a lot of fun, but he shot it really well up until the end where he started jerking the trigger.

He also shot ip a box of .45s..., kids can be expensive

[roo_ster]

Follow up- very nice handgun, I now wish I knew about these years ago..
After my son (13) got done mowing the lawn today, I Taught him how to change oil in a car, then offered to take him on a range trip to shoot hand guns. He had never shot a handgun before so was a bit hesitant, but wanted to go anyway.
I started him off on a Ruger mkIi, but he seemed a bit underwhelmed by it So I told him he could try shooting some .38s. He shot all of those (a few dozen) and I told him he could try a .357 if he felt like it. He ended up shooting up a whole box of them one at a time in his little game of 'can I shoot one more.'
Not only did he have a lot of fun, but he shot it really well up until the end where he started jerking the trigger.

He also shot ip a box of .45s..., kids can be expensive

Yep, my boy took to my 4" bbl 686 like a duck to water.  Enough so that I am thinking of breaking out my reloading gear and teaching him to use it to feed his habit. 

[Triphammer]

Had a decent condition 686 no dash, 6" walk up my drive asking $300. I own it now.