First gun purchase and will be used primarily for home defense. But, will be moving to CO fairly soon and want something I can put in a fanny pack for mountain and woods hiking. Originally I was going to get the 60 in 3", but really like the 7 shot capacity you can get with a 686. So, which one?

686P 3" or 686P 4" are my final two.

Thanks. Bud

I vote for the 686p in 3"

There is just something about the 3" barrel that makes the balance work just right.

The 60 would be better for CCW work, but you probably would want a 442/642/342/340 or something like that to make it easy to conceal.

Good luck with your new Smith.

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On the Oak Savannah

Can't go wrong with either but...I would give the nod to the 4". That barrel length, for me, is THE do it all length. Enough sight radius to reach out there if needed, better velocities than the snubs, and I personally like the slight additional "heft" at the end of the barrel, particularly for single action shooting.

On the other foot, depending on what type of hiking you're going to be doing (say casual woods loafing vs mount up the pack and head out for a week) then weight may be a BIG factor. Ounces become pounds as they say and in that case, 3" might be favorable.

I too am a fan of the "hi cap" revolvers and that 7th round is a mighty comforting thing. One that you get used to in a hurry or could get you're bacon out of the fire in a hurry as well.

Whatever you choose, I think you'll be delighted.

I would probably go with the 4 inch unless stated above unless you are humping a heavy pack for days. If capacity was really an issue I would hump a Sig P229 in 40 S&W with 13 rounds instead of 7 for the same weight. But that's just me as a combat soldier in Vietnam you can never have to much ammo or magazine capacity. HaHa

If you'll be carrying for long periods of time, you may want to consider a belt or shoulder holster for an L frame revolver. It is quite a bit of weight up front in a belt pack. You could also get a lighter weight L or K frame .357 (Mountain Gun, newer 520, 66). Hope you find one that fits your needs.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

If it is going to be carry a lot, shoot a little, especially hiking, the weight will be noticeable.

For concealment, 3" is much easier than 4". Modern ammo, especially designed for short barrels (such as Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel Gold Dot Hollow Point) will serve you well and help compensate for the missing 1".

For wild critters and such, the .357 Magnum option is nice to have.

All in all, I would go with the 7-shot 686P. BTW, you can load a one or two rounds of shot for snakes if they are present where you will be hiking, and have enough cylinder space left for stopper rounds.

Good luck!

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NRA Life Member

Unless you're on fire or swimming!

From a combat Soldier in Iraq, welcome home and thanks for your service!

Thanks. As a newbie, didn't know they made short barrel ammo. Bud

My pleasure. Click on the "Product Listing" and "View Specifics" links: Speer Ammo - Short Barrel

According to the reloading pages, Speer Bullets - Gold Dot Personal Protection Short Barrel :
"SPECIAL BULLETS FOR YOUR COMPACT FIREARMS. We offer you the same bullets used in Gold Dot® Short Barrel® ammunition as a component for your reloading needs. These bullets are engineered for excellent expansion at velocities common to short—barreled handguns. Gold Dot Short Barrel bullets in .38, .40, and .45 caliber are profiled the same as their regular Gold Dot counterparts for reliable feeding in semi-autos, plus we added more volume to the hollow point cavity to aid in low-velocity expansion."

* I have no financial or other interest in Speer or its parent/subsidiary companies.

IIRC, the SB ammo also uses powders with burn rates optimized for under 4" barrels for maximum velocity from a short barrel, with less muzzle flash. Non-SB ammo has powders that continue to burn up to or past 4" of barrel. Without those extra barrel inches, that burning powder adds to the muzzle flash but not to velocity of the projectile.

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NRA Life Member

I suspect that I, personally, would opt for the 3". Then, I would follow the recommendations of others and go to the Speer GoldDots specifically for the short-barrel. I use them in my EDC and will not complain about them.

Good luck in which ever you decide on. Either one will do the trick.

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GA Carry member
Vietnam Vet

depends on what kind of hiking,

having backpacked quite a few miles there is no way i would carry a hunk of steel revolver, maybe a ruger LCP

dayhiking is different

I just compared the 3" 686P, SKU #164300 & MSRP $849, with what I chose - the 8-shot 2 5/8" PC627 UDR, SKU #170133 & MSRP $1,049. Sure, the out of pocket expense is ~$150 street price more. You do get an N-frame Performance Center product, with several refinements; enhanced trigger, moonclip ready, eased charge holes for faster reloads, ball-detent lockup, etc - and only .8 oz heavier than the L-frame 3" 686P.

I liked my first one so much last April that I sold an old friend to purchase a second one last October. Below is one of my 2 5/8" PC627 UDRs and my 4" 627 Pro, for barrel length comparison. Also shown is an 8-shot moonclip and a 5starfirearms.com speedloader and 2x8 loading baseplate. The ammo shown is the Remington R38S12 variant of the .38 Spcl +P 158gr LHPSWC, my self-defender choice.



I am expecting my Lobo Leather OWB holster any day now for the 2 5/8" PC627 UDR, so it could be a carry gun if needed. My latest choice has been either my 642, a 15.5 oz Airweight 5-shot .38 hammerless J-frame, or it's older/larger sibling, my 296, a 19 oz AirLite-Ti 5-shot .44 Spcl hammerless L-frame. Both are carried in their own Mika pocket holster. I know, especially during day hikes, I am much more apt to be found with one of the liteweights in my pocket than anything on my hip - where legal, of course. I just thought I'd suggest an alternative.

Stainz

PS The UDR's sights are so easily picked up, I actually shoot it more rapidly in Steel Plate Challenge than I do the 627 Pro! Both guns have aftermarket grips.

Congrats on selecting a nice solid gun for your first. Always buy quality and you'll always have quality. Junk is always junk.


I like the 686+ 3" for what you are considering. It's a nice heft but should pack easy enough. Super gun for home defense. .357 is a bit light for bear country hiking, however, with the right loads it should be enough to put one down. Stout solids in 158gr or heavier.....

Smith & Wesson 686P .357 Mag 2", 7 round $696.00 SHIPS FREE

Bud's has been a great place to do business with. I'm glad I found out about them on here.

I was teetering towards this very gun....from this very dealer. I changed my mind, however, after reading up a bit on the gun that Stainz suggested above.

I really, really like these PC offerings and will be going in this direction. I love the grips he's using on his, too.

Very nice looking pair of guns. Bud

One other one you may want to look at is the 686 Mountain Gun. Lipsey's is currently listing it as on sale and it's a tapered semi lugged special version. Lispey's lists it at only 33 ounces, which is either a 5 or 7 ounce weight savings over the standard 4 inch 686. However, it's a 6 shooter this time around while the previous edition of the 686 Mountain Gun was a 7 shooter.

Big plus in my eyes is that it'll have the balance of the 3 inch 686 with a sight radius an inch longer. In addition the tapered barrel just looks "right", however I'm not a fan of fully lugged barrels. Big negative is that they laser engraved the right side of the barrel with a billboard sized Mountain Gun.

BTW, it's a Lipsey's exclusive, so if you want one you'll have to find a local Lipsey's dealer and order it shipped in. If it's in stock at the warehouse you'll have it in less than a week. If it's not in stock, forgetaboutit, when these types of specials are produced that's it for about 10 or 15 years.

I would probably do the 3 inch

I have its L frame cousin, the 581 in 4 inch and for some reason, as others have said, something about the balance. It's probably just years of shooting K frames...

I bought both (Pro 60 3", and Pro 686+ 5"). The 60 hurt my hand after 20-30 shots on the range, so I bought the 686 as a target and competition gun.

My vote is for the 4". The extra inch of barrel makes a lot of difference in firing and not much in carrying. The 357 is a loud round, and to me, anything shorter than 4" is just too obnoxious. I do a lot of day hikes around the Susperstition Mountains and any other hills I can find in Az, Usually covering 6 to 10 miles. I usually carry a 4" N frame, and that extra inch isn't noticed in my usual belt holster. Either 3" or 4" will feel about the same in a fanny pack, if the 4" will fit, that is. JMHO.....

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

I would say the 3 inch one.

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God save the SOUTH

I had to make a choice between 3" 7 shot and 4" 6 shot when the 6 shot was offered to me cheap. I mean new, unfired in the box with the factory warranty card for less than $500. I actually think I like the 4" barrel better and not sure I will ever miss the 7th shot.

4"

I was deciding on my first handgun last year, and narrowed it down to the same two choices as you. I was about to go with the new 3" when I stumbled across a 686-4+, 4" bbl. Blue plastic box, papers, no kit. Owner bought it new, and said had fired it very few times; it looked it. Not a scratch anywhere. A box of .357 Rem came with it, 15 rounds left, so I was convinced it had been fired 35 times in 14 years. From this forum, I had read the -4 is a desirable 686, so I bought it. Paid 6. I've fired it ~250 times. It's my HD.