Seller claims it was a truck gun and shot very little. Says $550 is his lowest price. Found a couple in like new condition on GB for over a grand.

This would need a lot more than mothers to clean it up, no telling what it looks like under the grips. Looks like he cleaned the end of the cylinder with sand paper.

Whats everyone's thought...pass or check it out? It's a little over an hours drive from me.

Buy it. That is an excellent price in my opinion. BTW that is my carry on the farm--truck/ATV gun. Indestructible. I wipe down with a grease rag and carb cleaner when it gets covered in mud. Then blow it off/out with an air compressor. Never failed to shoot, never presented a problem of any kind, and it is abused but well loved. Amazigly accurate too.

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Possum—The other white meat!

An hours drive (and fuel) two ways, before I could handle it and he says $550 is his lowest?

I'd pass.

I'd take it in a heartbeat for $550, and then on the way home stop by Tussey's Customs to have it bead blasted!

I WOULD BUY IT. THEN, I WOULD SPEND SOME TIME, AT A LEISURELY PACE, CLEANING THE GUN UP, AND WORKING IT OVER WITH A METAL POLISH OF YOUR CHOICE, AND AN OLD T SHIRT.......

I LIKE TO DO MY POLISHING WHILE I AM WATCHING TV, USING MOTHER'S MAG WHEEL POLISH. IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, YOUR REVOLVER WILL BE TURNED INTO A JEWEL THAT YOU WILL BE PROUD TO OWN, AND SHOW.....

BELOW IS MY NO DASH, ALSO RESCUED, AND TREATED TO A SIMILAR PROCESS.......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Asking a few extra questions of the seller ("how long since the rubber grip has been off the gun, how many rounds through it?", etc.) might be a good idea, but the asking price is great. $15 in gas and 3 hours of your time for the round trip to get it pales in comparison .

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

That's a great little gun, I have one just like it.

As you've discovered, pre-lock 2-1/2 686s are selling for a lot these. It's hard to judge from the quality of the photos just how rough the gun is but for $550 that one probably qualifies as a fixer upper.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

It is a rough and tumble gun, it does the job. It is not an art object to be admired and kept safe.

It is a tool, buy it and use it. I know... I have one.

Clean it up the best you can, you'll not find many at that price.

If it checks out mechanically, Id jump on it for the price. Pre-lock 686's are pretty scarce around me, especially the shorter barrel versions. Other than looking like it was gone over with a Brillo pad, I don't see any real deep dings or scratches. I bet it would polish up real nice.

Just got off the phone with the owner of the 686, he said it is pretty rough, but locks up tight. Still won't budge on $550, but said he would meet me to cut about 40 min off my trip.

He's going to text me some more detailed pics of it in a couple hours.

The main concern is what looks like file marks on the barrel shroud under the ejector rod. That's gonna take some sanding instead of polishing. He's not the original owner, but did say he took the grips off, and it wasn't too bad.

Who knows later tonight I may be the owner of a pre lock 686.

It's a 686-1 holds 6 rounds.

Check for an "M" stamp in the yoke cut, if not stamped it can go back to S&W for the free hammer nose bushing mod and they will tune it to spec at the same time.

$550 would be a very good price for a clean 686 snub especially if it had its original wood finger groove combat stocks,
On the other hand $550 is not so great a price with rubber if it is a roach,
On the other hand a SS revolver can often be refinished by hand at very little expense (unlike blue or nickel guns),
On the other hand its collectability is seriously diminished when not original...
On the other hand....aw shucks... just wave 5 crisp $100 bills and leave it fate.

Um....686 snub....$550.....not drivin yet?
And yes SS cleans up good with some tv.

Hello, that's the going price around here, if you can find them, snubbys are great! Here's a 686-4 I got a few months ago, and yes the stags came with it for 550.
Good luck polishing
SEMPER PARATUS

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CPO

Sorry, here's the pic!

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CPO

For the $550, I wouldn't hesitate.Clean it up and enjoy. You are not going to find one any cheaper.

Give me the contact info. I'll go check it out for you.

If it is scratched not gouged it is a good price. As said before, a few different grits of sand paper, and a little polish, and it will be almost as good as new.

I just walked in the door...1:40 AM and the proud owner of a 686-1.

It looked way worst in the pics than it does in person. I'm getting the Mothers out now, but have some 2000, 1500, and 1000 grit paper in the garage if needed.

It's definitely not gonna be wearing rubber grips. Might get a small pair like my 66-1 2.5" has, but would really love a set like the ones that came on the 686 Talo I had a while back.

I'll post up some pic's when I get her cleaned up.

Thanks for making me $540 poorer, but no regrets at all.

Congratulations. I've driven a lot further for a nice gun.
Look forward to pictures.
Don't stay up to late polishing!

I'll probably be watching the sun rise.

Cool that K frame grips will fit it too.

It doesn't have a M stamped on it. It does have M686-1 on it. The M was stamped on the same as the 686-1, so I'm guessing it stands for model?

Here's my understanding: the 2 1/2 inch were a regular catalogue item starting with the dash 3s. There were a run of Lew Horten special order guns starting in 1984, I think. I've seen 2,500 and 6,000 as the estimated number and I don't have the third edition in front of me, but they were no-dash and dash 1s. I collect L frame no-dash guns and it took a long time to find your gun in a no-dash version that wasn't well over a grand, and that was years ago. I think you did very well for the money and drive time you invested. I also think its a great gun generally and a lot of fun to shoot. Congratulations. The originals came with wood combat grips.

Hey One Eye Joe, you did a little more than polish it. At least someone did. A 7 shot no dash? I like it.

This -4+ is my favorite EDC revolver. As long as the internals are all good, it's probably worth the time and money.

It cleaned up really well. Far from LNIB, but I'm most happy.









I'm trying to decide what grips I want. I really like the first one's, but it looks like they have a thumb rest? on them. Like the boot grips too.

Here's mine showing a couple other grip options for you to ponder....


Btw...the 'M' stamp that was mentioned earlier would mean it went back to the factory to fix a binding issue these sometimes have. Yours hasn't been back to the factory for this.

I was wondering if I should send it in for the re-call. It's lasted this long, may leave it be.

Killer gun you have there.

Beautiful. May not be NIB but look at the screws: I'd guess the side plate has never been removed (at least not by an amateur) and that's a good thing. Your AWP serial number says mid 1987. Dash 1s started in 1986 and ran into 1987, but the Lew Horten's (I looked it up) were 2,500 guns in 1984. The 2 1/2 inch barrels as a catalogued item were introduced in 1990 as part of the -3 run that started in 1988. So too late for the former, too early for the latter, so I don't know what you have but it's still worth your money and effort and I think, a lot more. Yes, cleaned up very nicely. Grips? It's still a hefty gun, despite the short barrel, so unless you're gonna stick it in a boot I think it looks better with something a little bigger then a boot grip. Expect more of that happiness when you shoot it.

Congratulations, that cleaned up real good. The flash chromed trigger and hammer are a real bonus in the looks department. I have nothing against MIM parts, but they'll never look as classy as those.
I'm sure you'll enjoy owning and shooting it. I shoot the snot out of my 686-4, it's my favorite gun.



Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

If you have any issues it it binding while shooting I would send it in....but if not, like you said, it's made it this long....

Congratulations. The 686 cleaned up really well. I'm not seeing any significant scratches but do see a couple minor scratches.

If you're going to use it for self defense it would be a good idea to contact S&W and arrange to send it back for a new firing pin/hammer nose bushing to reduce the likelihood of a soft primer expanding towards and binding upon the firing pin bushing. I bet they'd get it done for no cost to you. If you're just going to plink then whatever you desire. Between myself, my dad, and another relative we've had a few Model 586's (also recalled for same reason) and never had a problem but we shoot mostly .38 special.

You do NOT have the M stamp so your revolver was not sent back for the repair. The M stamp is fairly obvious (see below picture).


In case you are interested in touching it up/restoring the finish:

Scotch Brite pads work well to touch up a BRUSHED or SATIN stainless steel finish.

There are 3 basic finishes for a stainless steel S&W revolver.
1. Brushed or Satin. This is this factory original finish for your revolver.
2. Bead blasted or matte, a dull uniform, finish.
3. Polished. Sometimes confused with a nickel finish.

Scotch Brite pads come in different levels of coarseness.
Light Grey, called Ultra Fine Hand Pad - (600-800) 800 grit.
Green, called Light Duty Hand Pad - (600) 600 grit
Maroon pad, called General Purpose Hand Pad - (320-400) - which is very coarse for removing deeper scratches. A dedicated paint store should have a variety of Scotch Brite pads.

Study your revolver finish and follow the direction of the pattern you see from the factory. STROKE IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY.

Work in a small area with tiny (1" square) piece of pad and stroke in one direction only following the linear polishing direction from the factory. Avoid any surfaces but the brushed stainless surfaces. If your going to touch up an extensive area it would be a good idea to remove the grips/stock and the side plate screws. Start in the most unobtrusive area first to make sure you get a feel for it and that you like the result before moving to another area. Go slow, literally pushing the pad fairly slowly, and use a light hand. Start with about a pound of pressure. It doesn't take much. Generally the green pad can be used for all applications varying the pressure dependent upon the degree of the scratch you attempting to fix. I think it looks best to finish off with the light grey pad. You might consider viewing You Tube for examples of how to do it.

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Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

I'd buy it for that price.

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Life is short,live it fully.

The 686 "dash 1" revision indicates a change to the new radius stud package and the not so great "Floating hand" thing .

IIRC the soft primer flowback issue was only caused by certain rounds with soft primers so as long as you test fire any new carry ammo and have no issues you should be GTG.

If your gun could use a tune up you can send it in for the M mod and S&W will tune it to factory spec at that time usually gratis,
might even change out the floating hand (if your lucky).

Ps while any K or L frame rb stocks will fit chances are your gun shipped with finger groove combats like the lower set:

Shark Bait, I HONESTLY DID NOTHING BUT POLISH IT , LEISURELY, BY HAND---WHENEVER I THOUGHT OF IT, WHILE WATCHING TV. IT WAS IN SIMILAR COSMETIC CONDITION AS THE OP'S, WHEN I PURCHASED IT ON GB. I WAS IN NO RUSH, AND IT DIDN'T TURN INTO A HUGE PROJECT.....

BECAUSE IT NEVER WAS SENT IN FOR THE RECALL, IT GOT A FREE 2 WAY TRIP TO S&W. WHILE IT WAS THERE, I HAD THEM FIT THE 7 SHOT CYLINDER TO IT. SHIPPING TO AND FROM S&W IS OUTRAGEOUS, IMHO. IF THE SHIPPING WAS NOT FREE, I WOULD HAVE HAD THE WORK DONE BY A LOCAL 'SMITH, OR AT SAND BURR GUN RANCH, WHEN I SENT IT THERE FOR THEIR "DELUXE TUNE"......

I ENDED UP SELLING THE ORIGINAL CYLINDER, TO A FELLOW FORUM MEMBER, WHO WAS LOOKING FOR AN EARLY 6 SHOT CYLINDER......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Yea...I'd nab that one too if the opportunity presented. Congrats!

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America First

Around here $700 to $800. $600 would be good for a nice pre lock 686.

Great score, I would have snapped that up in a heartbeat, too!

Just boxed it up and taking it to the Fed Ex store now to ship back to Smith for the recall, having the red insert on the front site replaced too.

Ordered a set of Altamont silver black boot grips for it, with the S&W medallion.