I feel like with proper care this 686 will still be going strong in a hundred years. I have seen enough old Smiths to feel fairly confident in this. My question is do you feel that all these new polymer pistols will stand the test of time? I know you can wear out anything but will time degrade the polymer itself. I know I won’t be here a hundred years from now but will the guns.


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It would probably depend on a lot of factors, but I'm not sure why it really matters. I have no interest in shooting or using a gun from 1918 for defensive purposes and 100 years from now, there will be much better options than we have now.

The plastic gun is here to stay. Will pistols built today still be in use in the next century? Probably not. Although there will be examples, in limited numbers, around. The same could probably be said about firearms in general. As those of us born in the last half of the last century age out of the system(die), the generations that follow have not grown up in a hunter/shooter, rural lifestyle. Instead of hunting for bears, future generations will be food for bears. I had better end this or I might venture into unsafe territory.

The best "peek forward" of what weaponry might look like in the early 22nd century is, IMO, the sci-fi book "The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson.

Yes, weapons made of steel that launch unguided hunks of lead and copper are there, but so much more...

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Psalm 27:2

I have an 8x57mm Mauser Kar.98a built in Danzig (Gdansk) in 1911 with which I have hit E-type silhouettes at 600 yards with the issue sights. The revolvers I carry and qualify with are functionally identical to those over one hundred years ago. I’m not sure you can improve on a Smith & Wesson K-frame.


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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

Phasers on Stun!!

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Eccentric old coot

The other day a couple friends were talking about their Taurus 9mm's. They were both estimating that they would last for about 2000 rounds before wear made them unreliable. They were both very happy with their guns, but don't plan to practice much with them.

I'd rather shoot one of my post war revolvers for many thousands of rounds of practice, and still be reliable for self defense.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Insofar as polymer framed guns are concerned, durability is a given. A lot of Glocks from the late 80s are still out there and in use, some of which have round counts well north of 100,000.

My 1914 .38 M&P does just fine. Thank you very much.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

686s are nice and I hope yours serves you and your heirs well. Most of our Smith revolvers will last a long time with care, but in addition to metallurgical issues and neglect, I have seen too many nice Smiths messed up with amateur finishing jobs and peculiar customization. I saw one a few months back that I think was a K frame. But there was so much goop on it that none of the markings were visible and to remove the grips would have ruined the finish - such as it was. It was their gun, but gee! At $250, and it supposedly worked well, I was still tempted to see if it could be brought back to what I thought was a good appearance.