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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 02-12-2013, 11:12 PM
23 Blast 23 Blast is offline
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Default 686 (no dash) 8 3/8" barrel

Hi all,

Well, I just made my first impulse buy of 2013. I went to the LGS sniffing around for ammo, but instead saw a Smith 686 with an 8 3/8" barrel. It has an adjustable front sight. The previous owner put a Pachymar presentation grip on it, and had a trigger job done on it. Dry firing it in the store, I hadn't seen a trigger action that smooth in a long time.

Store owner said it had just come in that day. It was selling for $500. It seemed reasonable considering that in my area, almost everything is bought up (this, IMO is worse than the buying frenzy of 2008!) and 686's are ever popular.

Can you tell me about approximate year of manufacture? Any particular issues with this gun (besides being muzzle heavy and unwieldy - this is just going to be a range fun gun, I'm not planning any hunting in the near future). I heard that the first run of 586s had some kind of issue - does this apply to 686s as well? Also, anywhere I can find a manual to adjustment of the front sight would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Old 02-12-2013, 11:29 PM
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murphydog murphydog is offline
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686 (no dash) 8 3/8" barrel 686 (no dash) 8 3/8" barrel 686 (no dash) 8 3/8" barrel 686 (no dash) 8 3/8" barrel 686 (no dash) 8 3/8" barrel  
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This is the Silhouette version, first produced in 1986 but not sure how long it was made. A good buy at that price.

If it has an "M" stamped on the frame near the MOD 686 and SN it has the upgraded hammer nose and bushing. If it doesn't have the upgraded parts, it will probably still work fine; try it with full .357s, and if the gun locks up you can send it back to S & W and they will upgrade it for free. You can do this even if it doesn't lock up.

I believe the idea behind the front sight is to set it at position 1 (presumably with a full .357 load, probably 158 gr) at 25 yards, and the other three positions should have you on target at longer distances. Someone here has actually shot a silhouette match with this gun and can let you know how far off I am . Hope this is helpful.
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Old 02-12-2013, 11:58 PM
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rwsmith rwsmith is offline
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Default Probably early 80's

The 686 is already somewhat nose heavy with the full lug under the barrel. I have a 6" and that is exactly where I want to be. Mine has Pachmeyer grips and when I pick it up I say, "Hmm, it's a little nose heavy", but when I shoot it I don't even notice it. I'm having too much fun. My son likes it, too. For me the extra long barrel would be too much.

Other issues. The 686 no dash through about dash 3 or 4 had an engineering recall due to primer flow back into the firing pin hole at max loads that would lock up the pistol. Some people think soft primers were really the blame for this. S&W did the recall work for a number of years and the model number has an 'm' added to it if it did. I think it mostly involved the firing pin and bushing. I'm not going to worry about mine. It seems to work just fine.

Oh, I see Murphydog has said most of this.

Last edited by rwsmith; 02-13-2013 at 12:06 AM. Reason: additions
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Old 02-13-2013, 11:15 AM
cptdco cptdco is offline
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The no-dash guns were introduced in 1980 and the dash-1 in 1986. Give me the three letters that start the serial number and I'll narrow it down. The recall was for all no-dash and dash-1 L frames, 686, 586, 581 and 681 also. But my sense is that few actual guns had a problem. look for a stamped letter M in the crane cutout near the model number. If its not there it hasn't been modified, but its likely you'll never have an issue. You can find instructions for adjusting the front sight. Lets see if this link works. Nice gun...I have one and despite being muzzle heavy in the extreme I enjoy shooting it.

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/7...frontsight.jpg
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Old 02-13-2013, 11:22 AM
23 Blast 23 Blast is offline
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Thank you all for the replies! I can't even DROS the gun until the 3rd of March, and neglected to take a picture of the serial number as I typically do (although it's never happened to me, I've heard horror stories of bait-and-switches by unscrupulous gunstore owners, especially when it comes to used guns). I have the paperwork showing I paid for it, I'll see if the serial number is there.
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Old 03-15-2013, 09:53 AM
23 Blast 23 Blast is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cptdco View Post
The no-dash guns were introduced in 1980 and the dash-1 in 1986. Give me the three letters that start the serial number and I'll narrow it down. The recall was for all no-dash and dash-1 L frames, 686, 586, 581 and 681 also. But my sense is that few actual guns had a problem. look for a stamped letter M in the crane cutout near the model number. If its not there it hasn't been modified, but its likely you'll never have an issue. You can find instructions for adjusting the front sight. Lets see if this link works. Nice gun...I have one and despite being muzzle heavy in the extreme I enjoy shooting it.

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/7...frontsight.jpg
The serial number is : AUA 04xx

As far as I can see there is no "M" stamped inside the crane.

I pick her up today! Can't wait!

EDIT: here a pic of the long-legged beauty -


Last edited by 23 Blast; 03-15-2013 at 09:56 AM.
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Old 03-15-2013, 10:04 AM
AveragEd AveragEd is offline
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Even if you don't experience problems requiring the "M" recall being performed, there is another benefit of having it done. If you ever want to install the wider S&W target hammer and trigger, hammers with the older long hammer nose are almost impossible to find. Target hammers with the newer shorter hammer nose installed during the "M" update and triggers are usually easy to find at Brownells; if they are out of stock, eBay and GunBroker are good sources.

Admittedly, I am a fan of those parts but from the sounds of your first post, this is going to be a target-shooting piece for you (as it would be for most people) and those parts were made with that use in mind.

Ed
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