I've been wanting a 686 and found a few at a local gun show. I was trying to get about $650 for a LNIB Sig P245 that has been gathering dust in my safe and a seller offered an even trade for his nearly new condition 4 inch, 686-5 with rubber grips (asking $650). He also through in a set of older, fair condition, diamond target grips. (They don't fit this round butt revolver, but I can use them elsewhere.
The only odd thing to me about this 686-5 (CCK80xx) is that it doesn't have a pinned front sight. Did they all come pinned? Could it be an early -5 and possibly have a -4 barrel or maybe a barrel swap?
This is exactly when the change over of the -4 to the -5 occurred. Your gun is the "missing link".
Prior to this the newest -4 I'd seen shipped in November of 1997. The oldest -5 in February of 1998.
To bad your -5 didn't come with its box, then we could of nail down the date exactly.
No box, but what you're saying makes perfect sense. I've heard it's fairly common for S&W to carry over parts from previous generations. That would've be my first guess, but I wasn't sure where my -5 fell in the production line.
I've been wanting a 686 and found a few at a local gun show. I was trying to get about $650 for a LNIB Sig P245 that has been gathering dust in my safe and a seller offered an even trade for his nearly new condition 4 inch, 686-5 with rubber grips (asking $650). He also through in a set of older, fair condition, diamond target grips. (They don't fit this round butt revolver, but I can use them elsewhere.
The only odd thing to me about this 686-5 (CCK80xx) is that it doesn't have a pinned front sight. Did they all come pinned? Could it be an early -5 and possibly have a -4 barrel or maybe a barrel swap?
Nice gun you have there. At the March gun show, I traded a XDM Competition into a 686-6 Pro-Series 5". Love it when a plan comes together. Bob