Hi all! Proud owner of a new 686 .357 with 4" barrel.

I took it home, cleaned it, then took it to the range to put some rounds thru it. At the range I noticed the grip didn't fit tightly. I took some photos:





As you can see, where the blackstrap meets the frame, there's a sizable gap. I can rock the grip back and forth. It really affects aiming.

I called customer service, the guy on the phone acted like I was bothering him the minute I said hello. I told him my issue, and his reply was "yeah that can happen since they hand polish the frames. We may or may not be able to make a grip fit tightly."

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I'm sorry, but a near $700 gun should not have an issue like this that "may or may not be able to be fixed." thats a defective gun. I'd expect a brand new gun with the S&W name to be perfect.

Any suggestions on what to do? Am I gonna have to ship off my brand new gun and possibly have the issue unresolved? Anyone else had experience with S&W customer service?

The grip looks good to me. You might expect a Holland & Hololand attention to detail but it's not going to happen on an inexpensive $700 gun. If it' a Hogue grip with the screw at the bottom just tighten up the screw. If it's a grip with screws through the sides I have seen worse examples - not an excuse but the company is under a great deal of cost pressure given today's market. I saw one of their PC revolvers with a very inexpensive pair of slab sided stocks in addition it had an absolutely awful trigger puill - I cannot explain how it left the PC with that trigger. I guess they feel that most shooters replace the stock with one of their own chosing so go the least expensive route.

What a disappointment. That gap isn't ok with me....and if the hand polishing is what did it, aftermarket grips may not fit! The screw is on the side....I tightened it a bit, did nothing.

Rubber molded grips never seem to fit tightly.
If you want some tightly fitted grips, Ahrends Grips makes some nice wood ones and of curse there is always the factory route.

That's the thing....I like the molded rubber. And I've fired many Ruger 357s without this problem.

1) You don't have to ship your gun to have a grip issue resolved.
2) I can't tell from the photos if these are 2 pc.. or 1 pc. like the mono-grips, but, with all due respect, have you tried tightening the screw? I don't mean to come off as condescending, but I don't know if you are an experienced gun owner or a brand new gun owner. Either way, your grips should not be moving on the gun, which leads me to believe they are loose. If they are tight and you still have the gap, it is probably just the nature of that model grip. To be clear, I think this is a grip problem, not a gun problem.
3) CS is only as good as the people who do it, and luckily there is more than one person doing it at S&W. If I were in your shoes, I would look and see what other types of grips may be available for your gun, and if you see something you like better, ask them to send that as a replacement.
4) Many of us do/don't like rubber grips because of the movement the soft rubber has. This can be an asset with a hard kicking gun, or a detriment if you need to be able to shift your hand position after a presentation. Many revolver shooters don't like the "give" in a rubber grip. All depends on your technique and application. All grips of every material offer certain advantages and disadvantages, and the beauty of revolvers is that you have an extremely wide range of options available.

Unfortunately, very few mass produced items come perfect. Look at what a Korth or a Mateba costs compared to a S&W, and you'll wonder how S&W can produce a product at the price point they ask. But, that is not an excuse for a gun you're not happy with, so talk to someone else as CS, get their email and send the photos to them. I'll bet they come through for you.

Let us know how it turns out.

ETA I guess I was typing while you were posting, so much for tightening the screw. If the grips move on the gun, ask for replacements. Have you pulled them and made sure there's no mold flash inside?

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

If you like rubber grips, see if they'll send you the old style monogrip.
They're hard to beat for comfort in a rubber grip and they fit good.

Product: Hogue K/L Round (With Logo) Square Conversion

The guy on the phone only offered for me to ship it back. Maybe I'll email and see if they can send me a new grip

There is always the chance that is just a bum rubber grip. You never know.

I'd be like "oh damn, now I gotta get new grips." "Oh well, While I got the grips off I might as well go ahead and do a trigger job." Then of course I'd have to take it to the range and put 4 or 5 hundred rounds through it. Afterwards, I'd have to get night sights and a custom holster for a gun that shoots this nice. How could my wife argue with logic like that?

To clarify, 2 piece grip, I did remove them, and there is too much wiggle room in the grip. I guess I'll try to get them to send me a mono grip

I see they offered to bring it back in to see what they can do about the issue. If I may ask, what do you want them to do? Do you want the gun replaced? It simply looks like this particular grip just doesn't fit well, and that should be a simple fix.

Well one, I want the customer service guy to act like he cares about his job.

I emailed them and asked them to send me a new grip. I don't feel I should have to mail off my brand new gun if it's just the grip.

But the customer service guy said the frames are hand polished which implied the frame could have been finished improperly and misshaped. If that's the case, then I think a new gun would be in order. Hopefully their email customer service will simply mail me a new grip and that will fix it.

Smith customer service is abysmal. I have a 3" 686 and no way I'd accept that answer.

THANK YOU! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that was unacceptable.

When I saw your pic I jumped up and went and inspected my 686+ as i have the same grip.

It fits very snug and there is no movement at all.

If I was you, this is what I would do...

Take your gun to the local gun shop that has some new 686s on hand with the new style grip.

Tell them your plight and kindly ask if you could swap the grips out with a new one just to check if it's a grip or frame issue.

If the new gun has no grip issues and you put that grip on yours and it's loose, then you will know if you have a frame issue or not.

If you find that it's actually your grip which is bad, call Smith and ask to do a swap.

I have a feeling that you simply have a bad grip here. They are not expensive as I bought one for my Talo and it cost me 30 odd bucks from S&W.

That's a good idea about swapping the grips. The only other 686 they have is a 6" I wonder I'd they have the same grips.

If it IS a frame issue (god I hope it's not), would it be unreasonable to request a new gun?

This may be a novel idea but why not call S&W again and see if you can talk to somebody else other than this dirt clod? I would give it a try. Even if you get the dirt clod he should have a supervisor or manager.

I'm sure your frame is fine. Polishing a gun means just that, polishing. Not grinding.
Maybe an N frame grip (629) got mixed in with the K/L frame grips and that's whats on your gun. They're just a little bit bigger, butt wise.
The chance your frame is out of spec is slim to none. I'm sure it's probably a grip issue and rubber grips are cheap. The place you bought the gun should resolve a loose grip issue for you if they're worth a darn in my opinion.
Yes the 686 with the the 6" barrel would have the same grips. The only difference in the two guns would be an extra 2 inches of barrel.

I'm sure I've dealt with the S&W employee you spoke with on more than one occasion. I went over his head on one of those occasions to get an issue corrected. I believe he thinks that replacement parts costs are coming straight out of his pocket.
Other employees over the years have been stellar.

"Abysmal"? I have been buying S&W for years and years and have always found the CS to be excellent...used it a few times with no complaints.

Now that guy you talked to might be abysmal and that's a shame! but he is not S&W...just someone in the wrong job.

Poor fit is just a part of the game. INSPECT your purchase before you drop the coin!! The grip should not move at all. You would be amazed at what I've found with new guns for sale of all makes. Sights gone or severely crooked, sights falling off, weak-side safeties barely moving or falling off-(not moving at all on a $1300.00 gun!), triggers "catching" half way through the pull, etc. You try on shoes and test-drive a car. You can't shoot the gun (in most cases), but you can darn sure give it some scrutinization at the store. Best to you.............(My customer service has been excellent the few times I've called on them)

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Go big or stay home

I did email them asking to send me new grips. I might call again. Thanks everyone.

MHUX,
6 months or so ago I purchased a new Mod 67. The grip actually rocked back and forth while holding the gun. The screw was tight. This was totally unacceptable as shooting was next to impossible with the gun rocking. Believe me I know what you are experiencing. Bubba took it into his own hands. I cut small thin strips of electrical tape and applied them to the inside of the upper curved section of the grip, where it mates to frame. I forget how many layers I applied. Put two or three layers on and test fit. I know this is not what we expect out of a new gun but the home repair worked. The grip is rock solid tight. Maybe less aggrivation than dealing with S&W.
Mike

yeah after dealing with S&W, if they don't fix it, I'll go back to the shop & see if they can get it fixed...if not...electrical tape it is.

Sorry to hear of your plight. I too have had occasional dealings with factory CS but have always been happy with their work, so my guess is you caught someone on a bad day (theirs).

Agree with first trying a simple swap of the grips at your local shop. These are supposed to be universal fit but are obviously not, for your gun. If you like them, the Hogue Monogrip will absolutely not move due to the way they mount on the grip frame and only run about $20. Please let us know how things get resolved.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I wouldn't send the gun back. I realy don't think it's the gun. It's the grips for sure. FOCUS ON THE GRIPS NOT THE GUN.

Good advice-when you hear hoofbeats look first for horses and only if that fails should you look for Zebras.

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Forum consigliere

I have a SW500 and a 686 (like yours) I prefer the grips on the 500 but they dont seem to fi tright on the 686. Looks like you have the .500 style grips on your gun. Get these and be happy

I love the look of nicely figured wood factory stocks on my revolvers but the two I carry when hunting, a 4" 686-4 and a 5" 629-3 Classic DX, wear their S&W/Hogue Monogrips. Here is my 4" 686-4, which shows how your gun would look with one.



They fit my hand better than any other type of grip, work better than wood when wet, cannot be damaged by being bumped against anything and make less noise when that happens.

Ed

UPDATE

called customer service again...this guy was MUCH more helpful. he looked up the part number for the factory grip, it was backordered, but he put me in the system so that as soon as they become available, the will be shipped to me no charge.

much happier now. hopefully they fit and i'll be all good!

MHUX,
I would have to believe that this is a grip issue being that my gun and yur gun seem to be the only ones affected. Probably a slight void or some malfunction when the grips are made. I put one half of the grip on the gun. You can then rock that half back and forth and pinpoint the area that needs shimming near the frame. Thin strips of elec tape applied to the grip in layers will shim the loose area up. The tape won't come off and is not visible with grips installed. I know this is unacceptable with a NEW gun but will get you at least shooting while you investigate replacement grips. My 67 rocked back and forth a good 1/16 of inch. I noticed this at the LGS before purchase and assumed the grip screw was loose. NOT!! Rock solid after the fix. Mike I have since sold the 67. I just couldn't get past the O.

Your really going to be unhappy with the Goodyears when they rust your revolver from the moisture they trap and hold.

Regards

Bill

Since you purchased this gun locally in a retail store, I wouldn't hesitate to take it back to the store and see what they would do for you. At least checking the fit of another 686's grips on your gun. Then if the dealer contacts S&W it may carry some weight to get your grips replaced. Since rubber grips are molded and manufactured by an outside firm, S&W doesn't have control over them, other than not using a air of grips that don't fit within spec. This one slipped past QC. I always prefer wood grips that fit my hand. These Hogue's do.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I had the same issue but I went a different route. My grips were lose, come to find out the Houge Grips that are on the gun was missing the frame stirrup, it must of gotten missed when the grips were put on. I called Houge and they sent me the stirrup at no cost. The only reason I found out it was missing the stirrup was I had just bought a 686 3" barrel and went I cleaned it there was some thing different about removing the grips. Who knew?

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Carpriver.

That is certainly not my experience. Over the past few years, I have had great experiences with S&W customer service, especially compared to some other manufacturers. I did have one issue over rebate magazines, which turned into a real comedy of errors, but it eventually got resolved and S&W threw in a couple of extra magazines for my trouble.

I would almost be willing to bet those are the wrong grip for that frame and believe it or not it happens all the time. There should be a stamping inside the grip that says what size frame it is for. You need K/L frame.

Hopefully S&W's stainless steel is more weather resistant than that...

I purchased my 686 in 1989 and it has sported rubber grips since new with no ill effects. That includes many days in rainy wet weather and then being put away wet!

I'm "that guy" whom they build stainless guns for.

Edmo

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TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

Looks like a Grip issue to me not a gun issue and I believe I got that same guy when I spoke to Smith and Wesson customer service a week or so ago he is a real ****, I'll leave it at that!!!!!

It is most definately a grip issue, S&W does not now and never has "polished" the grip frame on their revolvers, they are as machined after the forging operation.

What it is is a grip issue. FYI somewhat recently S&W changed the supplier for their rubber grips. After many many years of using Hogue grips they changed to the current vendor, most likely a result of the new vendor offering a lower price than Hogue. What you are seeing is the effect of a "lowest bidder" mentality. If you check at a local gun shop I'm sure that you'll find the cost for rubber grips isn't a lot of money. In your place I'd simply replace the grips with something that will it better.

As for suggestion for a replacement grip, that depends on your hand size. I have hands slightly larger than average for a male so I like larger grips. For a S&W with a round butt grip frame my goto choice is the 500 Magnum monogrip available on the S&W web store. Fact is I like this grip enough that I have one on every round butt S&W I own and can state specifically they will fit K, L, N, and X frames when new out of the package. However, the monogips cannot be shifted between the N and other frame sizes after being mounted for some period because they will "mold" themselves to the grip frame they were installed on. For square butt grip frames I like the Pachmayr Gripper Pro, a favorite of police officers for many many years. Third choice would be the Hogue monogrip that was standard on the 686 prior to the recent change to the new supplier. It's what my later revolvers were equipped with when new and they fit perfectly while being a bit too small for my hands. BTW, I keep a set of these in my range bag just in case one of my relatives with smaller hands wants to try one of my "ancient" revolvers.

Besides the grip issue, in your opinion, how does the 686 stack-up against the Rugers?

I have both so I'd like to chime in.

The GP100 is an outstanding revolver. Very solid feeling and shoots very well. It feels heavier than a 686 but that might be more due to the chunkiness of it.

The triggers of new GPs are much better to what they used to be but the 686 is still better. One cock of the hammer of a 686 compared to a GP100 tells you the lockwork is superior.

The GP does not have a lock. The overall finish of the gun is very nice but detail fitting is not quite as good as a Smith. That shouldn't be a negative here because the GP is still very good.

Between the two I prefer a 686. It feels and looks more elegant. What irks me about a GP is that the frame is thicker under the forcing cone so the crane spindle will rub on the frame. It's a close fit so if you buy a GP, make sure the cylinder crane is perfectly aligned with the frame.

If I had to choose between the two I would have to go with a 686. I was going to sell my GP but decided to keep it to remind myself that, despite the GP100 being a fine gun, Smith and Wesson is the ne plus ultra of American made revolvers.

As I have gushed in other posts, my new 686+ 3" is the finest revolver I have ever owned or shot in my life. I had the pleasure of shooting an ancient K-38 Masterpiece which was a joy. My 686+ is still the best.

Hux,

Would you please take a picture of your gun so I can see the side of it.

That's with the grips on

Ditch the plastic Junk, and get some good Hogue exotic wood grips.
Problem solved.

i don't want wooden grips. i like the feel of the molded rubber.

for those who didn't notice, s&w said they'd send me new grips free once they became in stock.

this is the 2 piece stock...it has a s&w logo on it

And Invictus has a good comparison...the GP100 and SP101 both are fantastic guns. The SP is a little more comfy in my hands....that's why the 686 first excited me....it's right in the middle. The SP has surprisingly little recoil compared to the GP which is much heftier.

But the 686 has a slightly smoother trigger pull and a nicer fit and finish. But the grips....

I was hoping to see the obvious but alas cannot.

It appears that the grip curve where the frame sits is not quite right but may be a trick of the light/picture limitations.

I would also add that I think the excuse of different frame sizes is utter nonsense.

I hope the new grip fits right. I think the new style grips are really cool looking. It also fits my hand really well.

I cannot see anything that looks like a problem. My advice: ditch the two piece and get Hogue Monogrips.

I had the same (similar) problem on my new 686+ 6" I purchased back in April.

However, after reading these forums I contacted S&W (with an additional issue of a canted barrel) through the website only (not over the phone where you may have to argue your case) and directly stated what my problems were (canted barrel, loose grips) and that I wanted them fixed. My statement was made in a matter that didn't suggest a continuing dialogue, just a "I want it fixed" statement. I got the mailing slip, sent it int, and S&W fixed the canted barrel and loose grips to my full satisfaction and had the gun back to me in 3 weeks.

My grips were loose so that when I solidly gripped the metal and rubber grips in both hands, a rocking back and forth would reveal a clicking noise coming from where the grips connected to the metal of the gun. Also, when holding the pistol in my right hand, using my right hand thumb on the cylinder release button would also cause a slight movement (plus clicking sound) in the grips.

Both issues were fixed complete, and 5 months later I'm still as happy as a clam. I would suggest that you simply request a repair mailing sticker, detail your notes in a letter and send the gun back. Worked for me.