My father died when i was 8 and was a collector of smith and wesson firearms. My older brother got my dad's collection. I turned 21 about 8 months ago and have since bought 3 smith and wesson semi autos which I love. today my mom called me and gave me this model 686 no dash. The serial is aak525x I was blown away because I didn't even know she had it. this is my first revolver and would like to know about when it was shipped, what size frame it has, where I can find some good looking wood grips and any other info you guys can share. Thanks in advance Tony.

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The year of introduction of the 686 is 1980 I have no listing as far as year for aak?

It's an L frame.

The grips look like Pachmayr aftermarket grips. The work just fine, but aren't the best looking in the world.

Ahrends makes good grips -- but there are lots of others.

Ebay is a good place to look -- or right here on the forum people are offering grips for L frames all the time.

BTW, L frames and K frames take the same sized grips.

Most likely your gun needs square frame grips.

Dave

The Catalog says it was made in 1982.
It is an L Frame. That was a slightly larger model than the K Frame, which was the basis for the Military and Police Model, later, in 1957, named the M10. It was developed because the Magnum K Frames, like the M19 and M66, were having trouble handling the hot .357 Magnum loads. Especially the 125 Grain ones. The L Frame is a bit beefier, and handles those loads easily. The grip size is the same as the K Frame. There are several companies that make grips for S&W revolvers. I know Eagle makes good ones, but a Google search should find quite a few more.
Looks like a nice one.
Jim

Nice 686! Great heirloom.