First time Smith owner, 686 Plus, Maybe a little problem?

[bikertrash2001]

Hey guys,

I finally bit the bullet so to speak and got my first DA revolver. It's a 686 Plus in .357, 6" with wood grips. Of course it's gorgeous and that's what drew me to it. I've been shooting SAO Rugers for about 25 years and have 2 Vaqueros in 45 and 44 Mag.
The 686 feels great in my hand and I like the heft of the longer barrel. I took it out and put 100 rounds through it after a light wipe down and inspection. I wonder though if I'm crazy or if I'm having a little problem. When I pull the hammer back, it stops about 75% of the way and seems to hit a wall before it pops back into the locked position. Also in DA mode, the trigger behaves the same way. It gets about 75% of the way there, and I have to give a good oomph to get it over the top. Almost like a two-stage trigger on a rifle. I double checked the lock and made sure it was fully open. When there's no cartridges in it, it's not as bad but will still do it occasionally.
Other than that, it's an incredible tack driver!

I hate to dump on my first post. Thanks.

 

[Old cop]

Hard to say but it sounds suspicious. Try having an experienced Smith revolver shooter try it at the range and see what they say,

 

[Protocall_Design]

One thing that comes to mind is to check and see if the strain screw is tight. If not, the hammer can be hitting the top of the mainspring and have to compress it to go all the way back. There should not be a stopping point anywhere in the movement of the hammer until it's as far back as it goes.

 

[Dennismn]

Hey guys,

I finally bit the bullet so to speak and got my first DA revolver. It's a 686 Plus in .357, 6" with wood grips. Of course it's gorgeous and that's what drew me to it. I've been shooting SAO Rugers for about 25 years and have 2 Vaqueros in 45 and 44 Mag.
The 686 feels great in my hand and I like the heft of the longer barrel. I took it out and put 100 rounds through it after a light wipe down and inspection. I wonder though if I'm crazy or if I'm having a little problem. When I pull the hammer back, it stops about 75% of the way and seems to hit a wall before it pops back into the locked position. Also in DA mode, the trigger behaves the same way. It gets about 75% of the way there, and I have to give a good oomph to get it over the top. Almost like a two-stage trigger on a rifle. I double checked the lock and made sure it was fully open. When there's no cartridges in it, it's not as bad but will still do it occasionally.
Other than that, it's an incredible tack driver!

I hate to dump on my first post. Thanks.

It's unfortunate that you are having this problem with your first revolver, especially an S&W. Yes it happens as with any mass produced machine but in 30 years I've had something go wrong on a new gun exactly once - and it was as someone else mentioned, the strain screw on the main pin causing the hammer to hit too light.

The 686, once it's broken in, is a better service gun imho than a Colt Python will ever be. Ok, the Colt is prettier, but the 686 feels better in my hand, is as accurate and with a little work has just as good a trigger at 1/5th the price.

Since your gun is new, hop on the phone and give the factory a call - they will make it right.

I don't recommend this, but If you are mechanically inclined, you could pop off the side plate and take a peek - it could be as simple as a bit of metal flash having been left inside and rolling around from the assembly stage.

 

[ScottN]

If it were a Ruger I'd say you should check the transfer bar to see if it is snagging. Is it possible that the hammer block on your Smith is dragging on something?

 

[bikertrash2001]

I am mechanically inclined to check some things. Of course no major work that would void my warranty. I'll check the strain screw. I'll have to look that up. Not sure my SA Rugers have those.

 

[Sunkist]

Same problem

I have one of the Talo Wood grip 686+ purchased late last year. Mine's a 3". And I ran into the same problem. I put a Wolff hammer spring in and the FTF were over the top so I went to Wilson Combat's spring. Same problem and about once per cylinder I had the same thing, hitting a wall SA or DA just past the halfway point.

I then went back to the stock spring. That reduced the number of light strikes but not completely. The problem is worse when I try SA. Sometimes the hammer fails to drop/the trigger fails to move at all. I have to pull the hammer back fully to free the trigger and ease it down. The next round usually fires. I hate to do it but it's going back to the factory. I will look closely to see if I spot anything. I've tuned many L-frames but I'm just an amateur. I never ran into this before.

 

[D Brown]

My guess is there's not enough chamfer on the top left side of the hand and it's catching on the cylinder ratchet during carry-up. Ask me how I know. This is purely speculative I know, without examining the firearm in question; the main point being, don't try to fix this yourself if you don't know what you're doing. Let the experts at Smith & Wesson make it right.

Best of luck with your new 686.

 

[Hapworth]

A few possible explanations, but the likeliest is overlong/poorly fit ratchets, not uncommon these days.

Have a qualified revolversmith examine the entire revolver, determine issue and correct.

Of course, this is assuming you've already detail stripped, cleaned and lubed the revolver.

 

[rwsmith]

If it doesn't clear up...

Send it back to S&W. Call them and they'll send you a shipping label.

686 should have a silky smooth hammer and trigger. Any misbehavior like you describe doesn't belong in a 686.

 

[Ashlander]

Give the recoil plate a good brushing with a brass brush. There might be enough dirt and grime on it that the backs of the shell cases are dragging. Get into the circle where the ratchet turns. If that's dirty the star wheel will drag.

 

[S&W Rover]

I just sent my one year-old 686 Plus back to the factory for "failure to carry up" on two cylinders. Two weeks later, I've got it back, with a new hand installed. S&W customer service is excellent. The OP should call the factory and send it back - unless he has access to a good S&W revolver smith nearby. (Caution: repairs reportedly slow down in August of each year as the factory closes for two weeks for vacations).

Revolvers are more reliable than pistols, but you still have to check on things regularly to detect problems and make minor adjustments -- especially if you shoot the particular revolver a lot. More so if you use hotter ammo (e.g., 125 grain .357 Magnum rounds). My extractor rod (they screw in backwards!) gets loose every now and then, and I've had the nut (it looks like it's a screw, but it's a nut!) on thumbpieces loosen up too. All that aside, my 686 has fired every time I've pressed the trigger, and its accurate, too!

 

[bigwheelzip]

Welcome to the forum.

It's too bad that your first S&W has a glitch, but don't despair. The 686 is a stout, well proven design, and once it's fixed will provide a lifetime of enjoyment.

S&W customer service is easy to use for free warranty work. Call them and they will e-mail you a prepaid shipping label. Write a thorough description of the problem, pack it with the gun, then call the shipper and they will send someone to your door to pick it up. Normally, for that type of minor work, you'll have it back in three weeks.

 

[Capttjk1]

I have a model 60 that did just what the OP described in his original post. With my 60, after about 400 - 500 rounds the trigger smoothed out on its own with no work or gunsmithing needed.

 

[S&WsRsweet]

Call S&W and let them fix it so your warranty stays in tact but come back and let us know what happens.Thanks for posting we look forward to hearing back.

 

[sdb321]

I will bet a cookie to a donut it's a ratchet problem. Two out of the three I own have had work done on the ratchet.

 

[bikertrash2001]

Hey Guys, Thanks for all the responses. I did crack it open for a little peek to see if anything was amiss inside. All was well, so I closed it up. One other curious thing that be normal that I am just noticing as first time DA owner. Should the star have any "slop" in the cylinder? I can hold the cylinder and twist the star back a forth a few degrees. It's enough that it will overhang the chambers but with cartridges in, of course it wouldn't. Still brings me back to it will run smooth as silk unloaded but starts to hang when fully loaded. I did give it a good scrubbing all over and around the recoil plate as some mentioned. and maybe I'll give it another go this afternoon.
I'm not opposed to sending it in. I sure would miss it.

 

[S&W Rover]

My experience is that the star moves around a few degrees. I think it is designed that way, presumably to help it return to position each time it extracts shells. A S&W revolver expert might be able to say. But like you noted, it doesn't do that with rounds in the charge holes, and that's what counts.

 

[Kenneth07ex]

The older models that I own, don't have any noticeable play in the extractor assembly. And if you've taken the plate off, with no obvious issues noted, then I'd recommend sending it back to S&W. Yes, it would likely wear in, but maybe not. It's not normal, and why wait for it to fix itself.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

The 686, once it's broken in, is a better service gun imho than a Colt Python will ever be. Ok, the Colt is prettier, but the 686 feels better in my hand, is as accurate and with a little work has just as good a trigger at 1/5th the price.

Excellent remark! And the Colt is only prettier if it's shiny blue!!!