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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 01-11-2017, 08:14 AM
balin balin is offline
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686 3" vs 5"  
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Default 686 3" vs 5"

I have a 3 inch 686 that I like and am thinking of getting one in 5 inch. Mostly just for shooting maybe some home defense. There is never a good reason to not get a new gun. But I was wondering what people have thought that have shot these 2 before.
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Old 01-11-2017, 09:44 AM
diyj98 diyj98 is offline
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For my own uses, I'm not a big fan of large framed guns with short barrels. They're bigger than I want to try to conceal and you get a shorter sight radius and less velocity. I have a 686+ with a full underlug 5" barrel that's great for hunting or shooting off the bags. The extra sight radius and weight make it a great target gun and help keep recoil to a minimum.

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Old 01-11-2017, 02:06 PM
wadcutter1 wadcutter1 is offline
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686 3" vs 5" 686 3" vs 5" 686 3" vs 5" 686 3" vs 5" 686 3" vs 5"  
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I have a 3" 686 and used to have a 6". For me the difference in accuracy is substantial. The 6" was a tack driver and and the 3" is so-so. I keep the 3" has my home defense gun, but I miss the 6" at the range.
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Old 01-11-2017, 02:12 PM
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I handled the 3" and 5" Talo 3-5-7 versions at a gun show. Loved the look of the 5" but it felt slightly muzzle-heavy, not too bad but might get tiring after a while. I felt the 3" was too short. A 4" might have been the best fit for me personally.
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Old 01-11-2017, 02:12 PM
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I don't think you can obtain a 5" barreled M686 these days unless it is a Performance Center model. ICBW of course....

I have a 2.5", 3", and 4" M686+. I like them all. If I really want to play tack driver I use my 586 with its 6" barrel.
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Old 01-11-2017, 03:07 PM
robvious robvious is offline
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I have 3", 5" & 6"...
3 inch for carry... CS-1 2M... very nice
5 inch half lug is my favorite by just a bit over the 3 inch... perfectly balanced
6 inch was a deal and shoots great too but in last place of the 3...
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Old 01-11-2017, 04:05 PM
balin balin is offline
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I like the looks of the Talo 5 incher. I thought that a 6 inch model might be a little barrel heavy for offhand shooting.
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Old 01-11-2017, 05:32 PM
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Not the 686, but I have the similarly sized GP100 in both 3 in and 5 in bbl length. I like the 3 inch model because it just plain looks cool and is a really handy revolver for general use open carried. The 5 inch model is just perfectly balanced and easier to shoot because of the longer sight radius and would be my pick of the two.
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Old 01-11-2017, 05:58 PM
Blade37db Blade37db is offline
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I had a 5" 7 shot 686. It was a nice range gun, but to me, wasn't good for much else (except for maybe hunting which I don't do). A little front heavy for my likes. A 4 inch (L frame) feels much more balanced.
For 3" barrels, I much prefer K frames.
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Old 01-12-2017, 01:58 AM
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Happy happy happy....

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Old 01-12-2017, 08:36 AM
rich5674 rich5674 is offline
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My 2c. I love my 3" 66 but cant hit too much with it. My 5" 686 and M 27 I'm satisfied I can shoot and hit as good as I possibly can.
For me and 686s, for target, hunting and field it would be a 5". For home and car defense there would be no better revolver than a 3" barreled 7 shooter 686.
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Old 01-12-2017, 08:51 AM
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I got eyes out for the 5" barrel as it a good compromise between the 4" and 6" plus It legal for Ohio deer hunting if want to.
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Old 01-12-2017, 09:39 AM
ultratec00 ultratec00 is offline
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I picked up a 5" talo 686+ last year and every so often think about a shorter version. The 5" is a good compromise, longer than the 4" but shorter than the 6". Good all around home defense/woods firearm. Mine turned out very well. Obviously if your primary purpose is concealed carry, the shorter barrel is the choice. Home defense, the 5" would work just fine, provide better ballistics, have less muzzle flash, and longer sight radius would help shootability.

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Old 01-12-2017, 10:52 AM
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For an HD gun, I'd stay with the 3". Much less barrel for someone to wrestle out of your hand.

A 5" would make a good all around "field gun."
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Old 01-12-2017, 10:58 AM
DD357 DD357 is offline
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I've owned 2.5,3,4 & 6" 686's over the years. Don't have any now as I prefer a K for SD and a N for a field gun. However for a home defense gun I'd choose a 4" out of the bunch.
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Old 01-12-2017, 12:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by balin View Post
I have a 3 inch 686 that I like and am thinking of getting one in 5 inch. Mostly just for shooting maybe some home defense. There is never a good reason to not get a new gun. But I was wondering what people have thought that have shot these 2 before.
Having a three inch, but no five inch is reason enough to get one.

Another reason would be that I think simply due to human error, that you will find you shoot the five inch a little better.

Sorry that I only have a four inch 686, but I have quite a few Smiths of that caliber with barrel lengths ranging from 2-1/2 to 8-3/8". Longer is better for me with the .357.

Good luck.
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Old 01-18-2017, 01:41 PM
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[QUOTE=jtcarm;139412910]For an HD gun, I'd stay with the 3". Much less barrel for someone to wrestle out of your hand.

If you let them get that close to your 3" or 5" it wont matter, you'll be dead soon.

“When You Have to Shoot, Shoot. Don't Talk.” - Tuco in 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly'
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Old 01-18-2017, 02:19 PM
apollo99 apollo99 is offline
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Mehutch, I love that movie, it was just on. No matter where in the movie, i catch it, I always watch it in the end. As far as a 3" vs a 6", I'm not a big fan of 3" guns, I would go with a 2 1/2" and a 4" and a 6".
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Old 01-18-2017, 03:28 PM
Lobster Picnic Lobster Picnic is offline
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One thing going for the 5" would be rarity, though the 3-5-7 series with unfluted cylinder is now a regular catalog item instead of a Talo special order. Not too many 5" L-frames out there.
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Old 01-18-2017, 04:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wproct View Post
Not the 686, but I have the similarly sized GP100 in both 3 in and 5 in bbl length. I like the 3 inch model because it just plain looks cool and is a really handy revolver for general use open carried. The 5 inch model is just perfectly balanced and easier to shoot because of the longer sight radius and would be my pick of the two.
I have a 3" and a 4" GP100 and agree with this. The 4" has Williams fiber optic sights and it's a tack driver, the 3" has fixed "gutter" sights but it's just plain fun to shoot. For range satisfaction, I'd go ahead and get a long-snout version.
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Old 01-19-2017, 01:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by balin View Post
I have a 3 inch 686 that I like and am thinking of getting one in 5 inch. Mostly just for shooting maybe some home defense. There is never a good reason to not get a new gun. But I was wondering what people have thought that have shot these 2 before.
I'd use the 3 inch for home defense and get a 6 inch 686 for fun at the range.
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Old 01-19-2017, 06:00 PM
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Wait wait, are we talking about a standard profile, full underlug 5" 686?? When did they start making those?
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Old 01-26-2017, 11:15 PM
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I've had this 686+ 5" Talo 3-5-7 for about 3 years now, and I don't think it was a normal catalog item back then. Not that it matters if it's the same item. It's a little heavy, but that actually helps with the recoil and slow fire holding stability when slow fire target shooting. It's a real tack driver. I added the Hogue grips in lieu of the silver black laminate ones. The laminate looks nice, but doesn't fit my palm comfortably.







"
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Old 01-27-2017, 12:16 AM
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^^^^^^
Gorgeous
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Old 01-27-2017, 07:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by balin View Post
I have a 3 inch 686 that I like and am thinking of getting one in 5 inch.
My 4" 686+ is a great shooter, but during long range sessions I wouldn't mind if it was a bit less heavy. A 5" standard 686 would be too heavy for me to target shoot for very long.
That's why I'm considering the 5" PC Pro 686+, with the slab barrel (SKU: 178038). It's a bit lighter than the standard 4", and comes with a nice PC target configuration.

Last edited by bigwheelzip; 01-27-2017 at 08:02 AM.
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Old 01-27-2017, 08:13 AM
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I'm certainly no great shot, but the balance of my 2.5" 686-3 makes it incredibly accurate for me. I impress myself. Having said that, I'd love to have a 5" too.
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Old 01-27-2017, 11:54 AM
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I have a 4" 686+ and a 6" 686 (six shooter). I would not want a shorter barrel than 4" for range or HD use because the shorter the sight radius, the less accuracy. Personally I like anything between 4" and 6" fine; I do not find the 6" all that heavy, and the weight helps manage recoil. 38 spls. feel like .22LR rounds with the 6".

Unless you are carrying the weapon concealed, I think that the OP will do well with a 4, 5, or 6 inch 686.
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Old 01-27-2017, 02:20 PM
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I have 2.5", 3", and 4" 686's, and would consider a 5", but the 6" feel to muzzle heavy for me, thus I have not, nor want to get one.

As for HD, I personally would not want to use a revolver longer then 4", and much prefer a 3" or less, as someone else above mentioned it is easier to control if they were to get close enough to grab it.

And if you think that could never happen, you feel free to live in your little fantasy world, as for me, I know that anything is possible, including the possibility of someone grabbing the barrel of my revolver.
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