My first handgun purchase was a new 686-4, in 1995. So this model holds a special place in my heart. My original 686 had a 6" barrel and square butt. These days, I prefer the 4"ers, which leads me to this post.

Last Saturday, I went shooting with my wife and father, at a local indoor range/gun shop. While there, I noticed a 4" 686-5, sitting in the used gun case. Once I held it in my hand, I knew that it was coming home with me. The balance and feel of a 4" 686 is just about perfect in my opinion. This one is in like-new condition, with original box. I don't mind that is has MIM parts and frame mounted firing pin. In fact, this gun has perfect timing and lockup - something that is rare in my experiences. Once I got the gun home, I found the receipt from the original owner, tucked under the foam inside the box. This gun was purchased new in October, 1998.

Fast-forward exactly one week, to yesterday, where I found another 4" 686 at a different local gun shop. I knew that it was a -3 or older, from it's flash-chromed hammer/trigger. Opening the cylinder and taking a look, I was pleased to find it is actually a -2 gun. This one has obviously spent time in and out of a holster and has plenty of honest wear, but does not look to have been shot much. Someone had also ditched the factory wood grips in favor of a Hogue Monogrip. Timing is spot on and lockup, while not perfect like the previously mentioned -5 , is still quite good. So I figured what the heck, and took it home.

When I got the 686-3 home, I decided to clean up some of the small rubs and scratches, using white Scotch-Brite pads. I've found that these pads work great for matching a factory finish. They aren't aggressive enough to remove large scratches/dings, but will take care of the smaller signs of wear. The gun cleaned up pretty good. I also took the side plate off, completely disassembled the gun and gave it a thorough cleaning. This gun has a floating hand, which is something I had not seen before. Once everything was back together, I dug through my box of factory wood grips and found a nice period-correct pair.

Today, I had both guns out and was doing a side-by-side comparison. Besides the obvious things like the newer gun having MIM parts, pinned front sight, frame mounted firing pin & a round butt, I noticed something that I have never seen mentioned before - the newer gun has a heavier barrel. As in, the outer diameter is noticeably larger than on the older gun. I got out my caliper and found that the 686-3 barrel O.D. measures .712", while the 686-5 barrel O.D. measures .770". The -5 gun does not feel any heavier in the hand and balances equally well for me. I just thought I'd mention this, as I found it interesting.

Here are the obligatory pictures:

I agree on the "perfect" feel of a 4" 686.

I let my 6" no-dash go once I got my hands on a dash-5 four incher.

__________________
WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

Nice find at the LGS. The 4" 686-6 was my first handgun, and is still my favorite range gun. Interesting about the heavier barrel.
In your pics, it looks like the width of the frame between the hammer and recoil shield is greater on the newer gun. Have you weighed them?

Nice pair of 686 revolvers you have there. I particularly noticed the -5 model, as it is similar to a model 60-12 that I own in that it has the frame mounted firing pin, MIM parts, but does not have the dreaded internal lock. Also interesting is your noted difference in the external diameter of the barrel as I was not aware of that change.

Nice pair of 686s.

Good observation. The frame is slightly longer at the top of the newer gun. In the second picture, you can actually see that the sight radius is slightly longer on the -5 gun. Perhaps the frame needs to be larger to accommodate the frame mounted firing pin. Unfortunately, I don't have a suitable scale to compare the weights of the different guns.

Good looking pair there! I sold mine that I had for over 20 years recently for some reason. I was soo unhappy! I found the identical replacement though for what I sold mine 686-3 for and turns out this one is a no dash.

Congratulations on scoring two great guns in one week! Something that caught my eye in your pictures is that all the edges look a bit crisper on the -3 gun and more rounded on the -5 gun. It's subtle and of course wouldn't affect accuracy, but gives the older gun a more refined appearance.