Just bought a new 4" SS 686 plus from Cabela's. Have been having problems with lockup on one chamber. I also noticed that on occassion the trigger will fail to return to fire position and cylinder needs to be manually locked by turning it to the right to the previous chamber fired. Smith already told me to send it in. They are sending a prepaid Fed-Ex box. I was just curious to see if anyone has had this problem with their 686 or similar wheel guns. A good friend of mine has over two dozen SW revolvers and has never had his do what mine is doing. The repair tech did not argue with me at all and almost sounded like he was familiar with the problem. He wasted no time in telling me to return it. I have not seen a safelty recall on their Website.

Unless it's recognized problem over many guns you're not likely to see a 'recall'!
It sounds like an assembly possibly combined with a mismachined part as your issue. Since the factory does not test each cylinder, that's probably why it wasn't caught at final check up.
I'd expect you'll get it back within 10 days. Keep the forum posted as to the results.

I've sent two revolvers back to S&W... a 625 and a 460 for a different problem on each gun. Each time the guy on the phone responded with out hesitaion, and like he knew of each of the problems.

I think they guy was just so freaking busy that he didn't have time for any idle chat.

When I bought this Model 686-6 Plus, it had numerous failure to fire issues. I called Frank Smith at LSG Manufacturing (a Smith & Wesson Warranty Repair facility in Comanche, TX), and then took the pistol to him. He worked the action a couple of times, knew what the problem was, and fixed it while I waited. For the record, the firing pin was not functioning correctly, and Frank also filed the ratchet on the extractor. The pistol has performed 100% since then, and I highly recommend sending your revolver to Frank for warranty repairs.

LSG Manufacturing is listed on the back page of your owner's manual.

Smith & Wesson might be closer to you, but I can vouch for the work done by Mr. Frank Smith.

Sorry to get off topic, but what is the difference between a 686-6 and 686-6 plus?

Thanks,
Joe

The 686-6 is a 6 shooter, the 686-6 Plus is a 7 shooter. On the entire 686 lineup, the Plus denotes a 7 shot cylinder.

Hi Joe,

the 'plus' is the 7 shot cylinder; the regular cylinder holds 6 rounds.

Cheers,
Frank

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Sauer

Just received my 686 Plus back from S&W. They only had it a couple of weeks. They paid for shipping there and back Fed-Ex. They replaced two parts. The work order shows a "Hand" and an "Eject" (ejector?) replaced. Not sure what those mean. Anyway, it acts like a new gun. Each chamber locks up tight and well before the hammer is back all the way. The second click is loud and solid feeling. Even doing a normal speed dry fire operation sounds different than before. The two clicks before the hammer falls are louder and in perfect time on each chamber. Can't wait for the range! I was nervous about what kind of condition it would come back in or if they would even find a problem, but I'm very impressed with their service. Much more so than Marlin's. They have had my 336C 30-30 for almost two months now and still waiting. Of course, for what you pay for a SW versus a Ruger or other revolver brand, you should receive better service.

The "plus" holds seven rounds in the cylinder.

Sounds like another happy shooter to me - Go Smith

Man alive, I sure don't recall QC stories like this in the 70’s. Anyway, I’ll be picking up my new 686 2.5” in a week or so. I’ll shake it down with a few hundred rounds and go from there.

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Dan Ortego ~