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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 11-23-2011, 01:47 PM
03gringo 03gringo is offline
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Default 686 sights

My second gun...and second S&W... was a model 686 with 6 inch barrel. I bought that gun over 25 years ago but I remember it having a Patridge style front sight. I have seen 686's with red ramp sights, adjustable front sights and 2 different heights of the Patridge style sights.

Why were these guns made with a high and a low Patridge sight? I want to buy another 6" barrel gun and am trying to decide on which front sight.

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Old 11-23-2011, 05:14 PM
AveragEd AveragEd is offline
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My buying experience suggests that most early 6" (and other lengths as well) 686s had red ramp front sights but I prefer the pinned Patridge sight for target shooting, which is how I use my handguns 99% of the time. For hunting, I like the red ramp or a white or gold-dot Patridge - I have a 6.5" 629 Classic with the red ramp and a 5" 629 Classic DX with a white dot Patridge installed for when I take a handgun deer hunting.

I think the pinned Patridge gives owners the option of numerous front sights that the integral red ramp does not.

Unfortunately, my preference in adjustable rear sights is the now-discontinued Millett 100. The S&W adjustable is nice but for me, the Millett just affords a little better sight picture.

Ed
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Old 11-23-2011, 05:49 PM
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I find the VERY common combination of the RR, WO sights with the TH, TT to be strange. I would think that the black Patridge front blade and plain black adjustable rear sight would be more appropriately paired with the TH and TT.
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Old 11-23-2011, 07:19 PM
AveragEd AveragEd is offline
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I agree. But I've never seen a 686 that was factory-equipped with a target trigger and hammer. However, I suppose they exist because the forged target triggers and hammers are available. I've installed those parts in two of my 686s.

Ed
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Old 11-23-2011, 07:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AveragEd View Post
I agree. But I've never seen a 686 that was factory-equipped with a target trigger and hammer. However, I suppose they exist because the forged target triggers and hammers are available. I've installed those parts in two of my 686s.

Ed
AverageEd, I recently purchased this 8 3/8" no dash that has RR,WO,TH,TT. I SUSPECT that the 6" version may be similarly equipped--although I have never handled one. My 2 1/2" has a RR with smooth trigger and black rear sight. My 4" Mountain Gun has black sights all around with a smooth trigger.
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Old 11-23-2011, 09:28 PM
AveragEd AveragEd is offline
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From the angle, I can't say for sure about the trigger in your gun but I don't think the hammer is a target item. Your gun's trigger appears to widen at the beginning of its curvature, so it might be a target version. The spur on a target hammer is thinner in cross-section, longer and wider than yours appears in the photos. The photo below is of three Model 66s but you can see the difference in the hammers - the 6" and 4" guns have target hammers and triggers while the 2-1/2" one does not and its hammer matches your gun's.

I've owned about a dozen 6" Model 686s and looked at dozens more on GunBroker and other auction sites - none had target triggers and hammers. That doesn't mean that none were made with them but it does suggest they were a rarity.

Out of curiousity, I checked my copy of the SCoSW. It does not list any 686s that were made with target hammers. Target triggers were installed on 8-3/8" Product Codes 104209, 104210 (your gun, I believe, as it is the only one with RR/WO sights), 104217, 104226 and 104227. All were 8-3/8" guns so there were no 6" 686s with target triggers or hammers.

That's odd - I wonder why. They made lots of Model 66s with them.

Ed
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629, 686, millet, model 686, mountain gun, patridge, rrwo

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