Well....this thread pretty much is a......reprint of 686 CS-1 information. I don't know very much about the CS-3. It was similar to the CS-1 in appearance. I do know that the majority of CS-3s were made and shipped to Wischo, a European distributor.

I'm told they did not sell well and a number of them were re-imported to S&W who sold them to US distributors, complete with the import marks below the barrel. Some had "Security Special" laser etched on the sideplate.

The CS-3 does not seem to command the same interest or price point as the CS-1.

There was a lot of 3 inch 686-4's that APPEAR to be CS-1's but are not. They are grey bead blasted with 3 inch barrels, a thin black blade front sight with no insert, new style angled thumb latch, hammer mounted firing pin and traditional cylinder stop.

I'm told these were made up in a batch of between 500 and 1500 and may have utilized left over CS-1 barrels. Product code is 104237 special order 0300. Serial prefix on the one I observed was CBB. One collector says they were done for Lew Horton. If anyone has more info on these I am interested. Regards 18DAI

One other note: In several of the old CS-1 threads a member here named kuglespritz, a former customs service officer, posted very interesting information concerning how these revolvers were utilized. He also posted a few times looking for his old service revolver - a 4 inch 686 CS-1 serial number BAC 0456. If anyone knows where this revolver is please contact kuglespritz. He was a SWCA member. I'm sure they must have some way to get a message to him. Thanks!