I have had this 3 inch for 10 years. Purchased it from a retired LEO, who switched to a Semiauto.
I think I paid $250 for it.
Glad I didn't know anything about the CS-1 then because I would have safed it. As it were I have put a few hundred rounds through it.
Unfortunately there was no box. I do have the original grips.

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That's a nice 3 inch cs-1. The pic comes across as a gun for lefties.

Picked this one up yesterday. Came with original box, but no paperwork...Serial# AYD48xx...Prod. Code 104229...Spec ord# 8011. Has been stamped with the "M"

Does anyone know the date of mfg?

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IMG_0655.jpg (100.8 KB, 248 views)

Product code 104229 :4" barrel with round butt,manufactured for US Customs Service ,pinned black front ramp,dull grey bead blast finish,1988

The Special Order # 8011 means it shipped from the factory on the 11th day of 1988

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

StakeOut....thanks for the info! I appreciate it!

I'm in Eastern Canada.
The gun is 100% the way it came from S&W. Mine is one of the over-run guns and I would assume your's is as well. I'm sure I have the sales receipt, but off the top of my head I think the purchase price was around $500.
My SPC.ORD. code is 7054 which indicates that it was completed and boxed in February 1987. I'm pretty sure I bought it later that spring.

Has anyone seen a CS-1 with a satin finish? Not super shiny like high polished, or matte like bead blasted, but in between? I have a chance to buy it, but I haven't seen or heard of one with this finish. The stampings on the barrel and frame still have halos around the letters, so it doesn't appear to have been polished after the stampings. It's a 2M with Pachmeyer grips, no box or docs or tools.

The guy wants a premium for it ($1200), so I'm really on the fence on this one.

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Hoot Gibson

I recently bought a CS-1 that is probably a production overrun and it's in excellent condition. I paid $825 for it w/o a box & the front sight had been replaced with a gold bead. It also had a Hogue Monogrip which is incorrect.

The government spec'd sight should measure 1/10" vs. the OEM 1/8". I found a new 1/8" sight which will be installed after it's narrowed a few thousandths to make the gun period correct.

The grips that were originally spec'd are Pachmayr Compacs with a "window" in the bottom so the s/n can be seen. I just a bought new pair of them on Amazon & they have the window but maybe they didn't originally come that way when the gun was issued in the mid 80's.

The 2M marking shows the gun was issued to the Customs Service & then sent back for a rework. As far as finish mine is brushed stainless & none of the photos I've ever seen show anything more / less.

IMHO the price is at least $300 too high. The gun is used but if it came with the original blue & white box that might add a little. As you may have read in previous posts many Inspectors threw away the OEM box & when the guns were re-worked / reissued they probably came in a plain brown box. I'm going to say this is a huge maybe but your gun might have been bead blasted after repair but I've never seen it mentioned.

There's a photo in this thread of a CS-1 with a box & it's in Canada. His & mine are only 200+ apart & his is in better condition. He said he knew his was an overrun but I'll have mine lettered from S&W.

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	CS-1a.JPG (48.0 KB, 127 views)
	CS-1b.JPG (60.7 KB, 127 views)

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I'm single, so I buy guns.

PDX1953,
I answered your question in my post above. Your CS-1 would have come with round butt walnut magnas just like mine pictured. Mine is pictured the way it came from the factory.

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Thanks for the correction. I still need to get letters sent off to S&W on the CS-1 & my State Dept DSS 19-5 for history confirmation. And you do have a beautiful gun!

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I'm single, so I buy guns.

Thanks PDX 1953! I've read everything I can find on the CS-1, and the finish seemed a bit odd.

I forgot to mention that it's a 3" which might be kinda important, valuation-wise. It looks to be in very nice condition, no scratches and such, and not a lot of wear I can see, but since I don't have it in hand, I can't say how good.

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Hoot Gibson

Ooooh - a 3". That's a whole new ball game. I think I read somewhere that the plain clothes Customs Inspectors carried those. The link is from 2012 but you may have uncovered a unicorn.

S&W Model 686 3 inch CS1

They're also phenomenal shooting guns. They were apparently built to closer tolerances than production guns. I've bought my CS-1 three weeks ago & took it out a few days later. I didn't feel like paying $30 for a box of .357 (I live in a small beach town) so I fired some .38 reloads that were originally loaded for a 2" Chief Special as well as factory new .38s & it was a real pleasure.

Now I'm just jealous!!

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I'm single, so I buy guns.

Some threads are never going to go away. I think this one may be one of them, for good reason.
I received my new, to me, 686 CS-1 today. The yoke has both the CS-1 stamp as well as the M stamp. It came equipped with Pachmayr wraparound grips, without medallions or the bottom serial number cut out. It does show the “M” stamp, indicating the hammer nose busing had been inspected and found to be Ok, or repaired.
I’ve not had the chance to shoot it yet, but have dry fired it a bunch. As much as I hate to admit this, it has one of the smoothest trigger pulls, both S/A & D/A of any of my beloved K frames.
Several posters who were issued/ required to carry their revolvers mentioned that they were overly large and heavy to carry in street clothing. All I can say you are/were correct. My CS-1 will be a seldom carry but shoot a lot revolver and will do double duty as one of my home ready revolvers, loaded with midrange .357 Magnum ammo.
Thanks all, old bear

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Always Stay Strong!

About 20 yrs ago, I was at my LGS at lunch time and a gent was torn between a Colt 357 either chrome, stainless or nickle, ( hey it was a long time ago!), and a S&W 357 stainless, both 3-4 inch. I waited as long as I could, pulled the boss aside and told him that whatever the guy did not choose to put the other one aside for me. Stopped by the next day at lunch time and the boys said I now own a model 686, says cs1 in the frame. Musta been through S&W's custom shop because the trigger is real smooth. Has a 4" barrel and pach grips with a slot in the bottom. I liked it so much that a little while later he had a smaller S&W 357 with a 2 1/2 barrel that was stamped 66-3 that I told him to set aside for me. Probably paid around 8 bills for the pair. Maybe sometime we'll discuss the T series Hi Power

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Retired trap shooter

Old Bear, did you get a 3" or a 4" CS-1? I know what you mean about being smooth! Mine is just about the the smoothest S&W that I own.

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Life NRA, Life TSRA, C&R FFL

Just thought I'd offer a clarification here. I worked for U.S. Customs (and the DHS) for 31 years and was lucky enough to have been a firearms instructor when we had the CS-1. There is no such thing as "plain clothes Customs Inspectors." The 3" CS-1 was carried by U.S. Customs Special Agents (who as investigators would be considered "plain clothes") and the 4" guns were issued to U.S. Customs Inspectors (the uniformed individuals who worked at the ports of entry, airports, seaports, etc.)

Thanks for the correction / clarification. The gentleman I bought my 4" from had a Partridge style gold bead sight installed. I bought a couple of OEM .125" sights & will have a local gunsmith narrow each side so the blade will be period-correct .100".

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I'm single, so I buy guns.

3" version.

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Always Stay Strong!

I really enjoy reading this thread. I was fortunate enough to acquire a CS-1 2M 4" awhile back. I am curious about how many of these fine revolvers survived destruction from one of our previous administrations?

I think a good estimate is posted earlier in the thread. Just didn't go back far enough.

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"Happiness is a warm gun"

I got this one 5-10 years ago at a gun show:

It was in with a bunch of 4" 686 police trade-ins. The dealer said is was a "CS" gun, which meant "Custom Shop". I didn't argue with him.

Used and carried with honest wear, but tight and a great shooter. No box etc. The grips have the serial number window. I think I paid about $400 for it.

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

Gee, if I had known at the time how popular the CS-1 would become, I would never had tossed my empty S&W box with papers in the FLETC dumpster behind our dorm rooms. Circa 1989, I was issued the three inch version.

"The dealer said it was a "CS" gun, which meant "Custom Shop". I didn't argue with him"

I believe that's how mine was described, Custom Shop. I didn't argue with her either.

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"Happiness is a warm gun"

I don't know if that will ever be know for sure. In March of 2003, the U.S. Customs Service was disbanded the units placed under Department of Homeland Security. The uniformed Inspectors became part of Customs and Border Protection, and the Special Agents were combined with former INS Agents and became Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

That being said the records of these firearms are probably gone forever. I know many were sold in exchange sales prior to 1992 when the Clinton administration came in. After an incident where some former Customs revolvers that had been surplus and sold to a distributor, were stolen. Even though the guns were being shipped from the distributor to a dealer, once it was determined the guns had originated from U.S. Customs, Janet Reno launched an investigation as to why the guns were sold. President Clinton ordered all sales of surplus firearms to cease.

I know after they were replaced, some were kept in field offices and converted over to shoot simunition only for force on force training. Some were rumored to have been sent overseas to friendly governments, and the rest I fear were destroyed.

I was lucky enough to get my 3 inch CS-1 when Lou Horton was selling them. It is a M2 stamped revolver, so I know the extractor star problem has been repaired at the U.S. Firearms and Training Staff facility at Ft. Benning, GA.

As a retired Agent, I will not ever sell my CS-1.

vegasgunhand, In 1996 while stationed at Ft. Benning one of my jobs was to inspect all buildings where ammo was stored, and monitor all movements of weapons onto and off of base. During inspection of the US Customs building I got to see lots of boxes of CS-1's and 6906's slated to be shipped out to Anniston for destruction. This also included all other seized firearms by US Customs an other fed agencies. I knew what they were then as I already had my own CS-1 3". It made me sick to see all those firearms that Cpt. Crunch would be chewing up!!!!

My former U.S. Customs issued 3' CS-1 and 4" Model 66-2

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Hello, everyone!
I'm French, and I recently bought a 686 from my local gunsmith. I was wondering about the stamps inside the crane area : CS-1 2M. There's the PACHMAYR windowed handle. The serial number is AZB7356. What a surprise to find all this information and to know a little bit about the history of this weapon. Apparently my gun is one of those which was used on duty. It is in rather good condition for a weapon of more than 30 years. It works perfectly and is very accurate. I am surprised to find this kind of model marked CS-1 here in France. I don't really know its history and I think the former owner didn't know much about it. But what I've read here has taught me a little bit more and it's very interesting.

I just this morning met with a gentleman and purchased what appears to be a very early three in cs1 serial is ANA 0174 so that places it in the 1986 time frame it was carried by an agent who is now deceased his name was Andy Pardo or Pardell. The man I purchased it from wasn't exactly sure he said he was going to try and find his name he attended his funeral some four years ago in 2016. it is in average condition having been fired quite a bit with boogerd side plate screws and a Hogue grip instead of the Pachmayr grip.
It is Mag na ported and the gentleman I purchase it from seems to recall that the agent that he got it from told him that it came to him that way through his armored.
I will see if this old dinosaur can figure out how to post a photograph on the Forum these days I've been away for a long time and just got a little bit excited about this latest purchase I have a set of 686 Plus has that have been modified to Mountain guns and we'll be happy to post photos of those along the way
regards Allen frame

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

Can’t help you but welcome back.

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RIP Labworm 11/22/2019

Pretty wild that one made a journey all the way to France!

Excellent timing for this old thread to be revived. I picked up this CS-1 2M stamped gun, this week (purchased on GunBroker). I own/have owned many S&W's and can without a doubt say that this one has the best action of any I have had the pleasure to dry fire. I don't know if it left the factory that way, or if someone did work on it at some point, but I like it (a lot).

I have always loved both the 3" & 4" versions of the C.S. Models, although wih a preference towards the 3" barreled versions. They were strong Revolvers, with their nice heavy barrels facilitated your keeping it down if, & when repeat shots are indicated. Years ago, my LGS / L.E. Equipment Dealer received a bunch of both barrel lengths in N.I.B. condition. Ohhhhh how I wish I had grabbed one of each barrel length, but money was very tight at that time in my career, so I had to unfortunately pass on them. One of my close acquaintances at the time was an Immigration Agent, & used to love his issued C.S. Model. IIRC, he had chosen the 4" version, even though he worked P.C. all the time. [ Can't recall his issue Load, but it was either .38 Special 110 JHP+P+, or .357 Magnum 140 STHP. ] As most of us now sadly realize, many shun the larger Revolvers for self defense use. Personally, I feel that's a big mistake. They're just as deadly,& just as useful as they used to be. The only 'true' drawback / liability is the lack of a rapid reload. If that tends to be an issue regarding your intended purpose, well then perhaps the Revolver is not suited to your purposes. But, if your purposes won't require an extremely rapid reload, then just maybe the Revolver's many 'other' attributes will be sufficient for what you have intended. As for me, I frequently rely upon my 'old' S&W M-64 4" H.B. D.A.O. for all around home defense, although I do have, & employ other models at times.

Best, dpast32

My brother ran a Customs go fast boat out of Key West in 1986-87 and always talks about the S&W revolver he was issued. I sent him a link to this thread and here is his response:

"That's the CS-1 and grips I had in 1986. The first time I fired it the grips fell off. I was going to put them back on, but the range officer said that in non-emergencies we could not do anything to our weapons except clean them. It went to the Customs gunsmith. That was true for our personal weapons that we carried as backup. Routine cleaning and nothing else. It was an excellent pistol. 357 Magnum is still my favorite pistol round."

In an earlier conversation, I remember him saying how much he liked the trigger
Paul, Ohio, USA

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Paul
Sandusky Bay, OH

I still have my CS-1 I got maybe 30 years ago at a gunshow. I didn't even know it was a CS-1 till years later I saw a post about the 3 inch "CS-1" and sure enough, mine was one of 'em!

I'll dig of a pic later!

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Deaf

Nice pick up! I have had my 3” CS1 since the mid to late 90’s and it does have one of the best actions of any S&W revolvers that I have owned.

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Life NRA, Life TSRA, C&R FFL

This past Tuesday I walked into an area gun shop to do some window shopping. There in the case, are two pre-lock model 686's. One was a 3" and one was a 4". I asked to see them. First the 3" and then the 4", to my surprise both were marked CS 1. Both guns had the brushed or satin stainless finish. Neither gun had evidence of ever having the bead blast finish. I have a 4" CS 1, 2M stamped with the bead blast finish, so it left me wondering what is up? Both guns were mechanically pretty tight, but both had a number handling marks. 3" priced at $1499.99, 4" priced at $1199.99 This was guns only, no boxes. Thanks for all the information in this thread. I'm going to go back and get a more detailed look at these revolvers.

Great info!

The 3” versions were more for the S/A’s, MEO’s, AIO’s and Pilots. However they did have the option of carrying a 4”. The 4” CS-1’s were more the CPO’s and Inspectors.
The US Border Patrol also extensively carried the 686 but I think they were more like production guns versions a specific order like the CS-1. The Border Patrol did have a special run of 3” GP-100’s instead of 3” 686’s.

Both Customs and Border Patrol have had specific firearms for each agency but none have had a following of the CS-1.

The “new” specific “Customs” Gun is a Glock called the G47. Try finding that one!!!!!

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USMC Retired, Gun aficionado..

Here is a photo of mine. For you gentlemen keeping track of serial numbers. I have AZB6058

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686 CS 1.jpg (33.7 KB, 85 views)

Just a heads up on the CS-1. Gunbroker has one ... bid is up to $1250! Just FYI. 3 inch barrel.

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Deaf

So, I have read through this thread twice now, and am still perplexed as to what I might have. By features and appearance, it would seem that my 686 is a CS-1, but it isn't marked as such. When I bought it from a forum member, he even said that it has CS-1 features. To be clear, he did not claim it is a CS-1. In the pictures, you can see that it has the bead blasted finish, pinned blade front sight, and plain black rear sight. The owner did say that it came with the same, or similar, pachmayr grips that the CS-1s came with. He however trashed them when he bought it new in 1989, and subsequently replaced them with the wooden Hogue grips that are on there now. It does have the round grip frame, despite the grips making it look like a square grip frame. I have also noticed that my box has the same product code of '104229' as I have seen on all of the boxes that were previously posted in this thread. Based on the serial number of BAN4290 and Spec Ord of '9229', it would seem that this would have been made at the end of the timeline in which the CS-1s were being produced. Regardless of whatever it may be, I love this revolver. I'm simply interested in the discovery of determining more about what it is exactly. Can anyone shed light on what I may have?

Your's is a over-run like mine pictured in Post#109. Mine has the CS-1 stamped, but your's is identical with the exception of the stocks.

Interesting. I thought that may be the case. Though, I do find it odd that mine isn't stamped accordingly. I wonder how many other non-stamped over-runs there are. At any rate, I find that pretty interesting. Thanks @824tsv

Many years ago someone posted a picture of a CS-1 and some Customs memorabilia. One of the items in the photo was a CS-1 owners manual. The photo was small and somewhat blurry but showed some of the parts list. There were numerous parts different than a standard 686.


Does someone have clear pictures of the manual they could share? I would love to have (and others I'm sure) some nice images.


My 4" CS-1 (686 no dash) from December 1986 (per Mr. Jinks) came with a regular 686 manual. I found it at a gunshop about ten years ago for the price of a regular used 686. I had learned about the CS-1 here and immediately noticed the frosted finish and black front sight. It's in excellent condition with the original box, manual, grips, etc. I sent it in for the "M" upgrade after it would bind up with just about any .357 ammo.


Thanks in advance for any help with the manual!

CS-1 Parts List.jpg

Best image I have

Edit: I apologize for the pic size. Can't figure out how to make it bigger. There are about 22 parts that say US Customs after the part name, which makes me thinks those parts are made to a different spec than stock.

Thanks for posting the photo! That's quite a bit better than the image I had previously. I would be grateful if you could e-mail me the original size photo (my e-mail should be shown in my profile.) If not, no problem, I really appreciate your time either way!

Great history lesson. Thanks!

I seem to remember reading that the revolvers were ordered to have a barrel cylinder gap of only .002! S&W protested against this, and it was insisted upon.

With that tiny gap, it was only a matter of several cylinders of firing before the guns would lock up. The heat alone would probably expand everything to seize up.

No problem, PM sent

Replied via your e-mail. Thanks!

My S series model 27 cylinder gap will pass a .002 feeler gauge barely and will not pass .003. I shoot it a fair amount and it never hangs up. My loads are the Thompson hollow point just under 1400 fps from the 8 3/8s.
I’m looking at a 686, seven shot unfluted cylinder, three inch ported barrel, performance center logo on left side of frame. Three letter and three number serial. Front sight is a dovetail, night sight but dead.
Supposed to be from Custom Service.
Anybody ever seen one of these? Anybody have a clue about price?

Some clarifications. Three inch CS1's were issued to Special Agents, air branch,marine branch. There were no plain clothes inspectors. Three inch guns were also issued to dog handlers (k-9 officers). Qualifications at the time were held 4 times a year normally. The guns that were actually issued for duty use will have had several thousand rounds through them normally. That may be with either the 357 mag or the Treasury 38spl. +p+. I am a retired Chief Inspector from Arizona, and was fortunate enough to locate and purchase my originally issued 4 inch CD1, serial ANS4100. I think I still have the issued HKS speed loaders and pouch.

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fun meter pegged

How in Sam Hill were you able to locate your duty gun? That is a story I want to hear.

My issue gun did not go to the chop shop as most did in 1993. It was re-assigned to a Special Agent. It stayed with him for several years until his retirement. By then they were selling the surplus guns to dealers. I was told (not verified)they were sold in lots of 100. It turned up with a collector in Sarasota, Fl. Browsing my normal auction sights several months ago. It turned up as a consignment with an auction in Oregon. Needless to say I bought it. I recognized the grips, with a certain scratch and of course the serial number.

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fun meter pegged