I cannot help you on the nylon cross draw, my bias is toward leather and for those I go with Simply Rugged and their excellent soudough pancake holster.

The 686-5 4 inch 6 shooter is also in my collection and it is a joy. I dig the no lock and pinned front sight (to be changed out for an XS standard dot tritium soon). The -5 is not very common and I sought one out for a couple of months before finding one at almost a steal of a price. Here is a picture:


The 686-5 is in the middle, wearing fantastic Altamont grips.

Some bemoan the MIM, yet I have had excellent experience with it. The actions are smooth out of the box. Specifically, I have a new 617 I bought about a year ago and the action was as if it were tuned right out of the box. MIM all the way...