Just got a 686-2 6" and am looking to put a scope/sight on it for hunting. Looking @ a weaver mt from Clark and like the holo sights but am not real familiar. Suggestions are sought. Like to keep the price range reasonable yet understand quality and durability are not cheap.Thanks!

You can purchase a base from Clark, Weigand or an inexpensive Weaver mount from Midway - they all work. If you intend to shoot full power 357 MAgnum loads then any red dot will take a beatig from the recoil. Some are more durable than others. I believe the Leupold-Gilmore red dot is about as durable as one can find in a tube style optic. In a reflex red dot the C-More's have an excellent reputation for longevity.

Tasco Pro-Class is the way to go.......they are out of production but they are some of the best handgun scopes ever made.

They are a "black dot", and some of them even light up. They have 30mm tubes. They are all over GunBroker and EBay

I have a 1x version I'm saving for the 686+ 6" I want to get soon

First, if I'm not mistaken the 686-2 predates 1993 and that means your frame isn't tapped for a mounting rail. This can be done rather easily but a gunsmith or machine shop capable of doing this will charge in the range of 35-50 dollars per hole. Since you'll need to have 3 holes added to the top strap you are looking at 105-150 bucks to have the frame tapped. BTW, I'll attach a PDF file of the mounting pattern at the end of this post, thread size is #6-48 which is a semi custom thread.

Second you'll want to purchase a good quality mounting rail, Weigand has an excellent reputation for a quality rail on this forum. IIRC cost for a rail is in the range of 40-50 bucks.

Third, you'll need a sight and this is an area where you get what you pay for. Spend 50 bucks on a cheap reflex sight and you'll find that it's only suitable for use on a 22 caliber pistol. BTW, I am speaking from experience here, cheap will NOT cut it on anything more powerful than a 22. At the lower end of the price range for a quality reflex sight you have the Burris Fastfire in the range of 240 bucks. Further up the scale are the J Point, the Doctor, and the Trijicon RMR, all around 300 dollars. Top end of the range are the various Eotechs, which range between 500 and 800 dollars.

Can't give you any guidance on the tube type red dots, I've found that the reflex sights work best for me.

Below are 3 of my revolvers equipped with J Point reflex sights on a direct to frame mount. Because it's close to the bore axis this setup eliminates the Convergence created by a large offset. As a result all 3 of thse guns shoot within 1 inch of the dot from 20 feet out to at least 35 yards. It's a very nice setup, however it is NOT cheap, with sight, mount, and shipping I have about 380 dollars in each sight.

Attached Files

s&W STANDARD MOUNTING PATTERN.pdf (2.9 KB, 162 views)