I'm picking up a 4" bbl'd model 686-4 in a cpl of days and would like to know the features listed on the box. Any help would be appreciated. The gun currently has "Hogue" grips on it...original? Best Regards & Thx in advance. Rod

Here are the codes:

Product Code: 104222
Serial number: BSL 77xx
Spec Ord: 5024
Features: CT-RR-WO

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Hi! Great gun.

It shipped on Jan 24th, 1995

It’s equipped with a Combat Trigger, Red Ramp front sight, and White Outline rear blade.

You can search product code 104222 in the search box above for answers to most questions about this gun.

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Many thanks, Patriot...Rod

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When you get it please post some pictures!

I recall reading somewhere that the Dash-4 686's were considered by some to be the best of all the dashes as far as quality was concerned. It was about that time when an English company bought Smith and Wesson and installed new machines. I had a 6" 686-4 Power Port several years back with a Clark Custom Action job. Like many others, I foolishly sold it and the regret is still strong. I bet you got a good one. I saw a 686-4 4" a few days back at a local pawn shop that was in like new condition, priced at $799.95. I currently have a 686-5 Mountain Gun and don't really need another 686.

The -4 series are my favorite 686s. Have a 2.5" + and a 6". That 4" 686-4 would be a nice addition but I do have the 4" in a 586-4.

I don’t know about the Hogues. I thought mine came with wood targets. Maybe I got an early one or something, before they transitioned to rubber? I clearly remember buying a -5 that had Hogues, and being unpleasantly surprised at the differences in the revolver itself. I was disappointed with it and sold it without really giving it a fair chance to prove itself. The -4 that I have is a very nicely made revolver.

Rodfac, congrats on a great 686. The -4 is the best of the 686 line, especially the 7 shot 686-4+, I cherish my 2.5”

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I'll post pics when I get the gun.

I'm a shooter, first and foremost, so have never paid much attention to the codes on the boxes. This is the first revolver in several years that I've picked up that included the box. Not being a collector, what exactly is the 'product code'...this one is 104222.

Too, I hate to admit it, but the Hogues really work well for me...especially in preventing that knuckle rap from the rear of the trigger guard. S&W factory grips of the target variety, even the classic coke bottles, don't do much in that regard.

I did like Ahrends when they were still available; the square butt fingers and rounds did well with my hand size. I have a set of the rounds in birdseye maple, on a M-19 that really feel good in recoil...

Best regards, and thx for the replies...Rod

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686-4. Best of the best. Bought new in 1996.

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No dishonor in that. If they work, they work. I have similar issues with the Model 19, but I can avoid it with the heavier, more weight-forward 586/686 series. Rubber may not be much to look at, but if it’s the difference between shooting and enjoying or not, I’ll use the rubber and keep the wood for display. Congrats on finding the 686. They’re great .357s.

The best all-around handgun ever made. If I could only own 1 gun, it would be a 4” 686-4. Conceal carry with the right holster, deer hunt with a red dot or scope, and go plinking with cheap .38spl ammo.

I am fortunate to have several 686-4 in my stable.

Beautiful pistolas you guys are posting...love those Ahrend's grips...good wood is hard to pass up, hell it's impossible to pass up.

I'll be interested to see the difference in a full lugged bbl. vs my 4" standard bbl'd M19 & 66. The balance on those two is outstanding, so the weight fwd feel of the 686 will differ somewhat. Gun is delivering on Monday, so hopefully I'll get it early enough to shoot a brief try out here on our farm range.

In any event, it's a cop's gun, trade-in I think, but the pics look OK...we'll see...I'm a shooter so barrel throats vs groove dia., end shake, tight sight detents all mean a lot to me...but I do like a lovely set of legs, just like the next guy who's collecting only.

Best Regards, Rod

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The gun came in yesterday, with blue box & end label plus the paper work...Initial inspection shows it to be in really good condition...

No evident scratches on the exterior and with a SA trigger pull that's as good as any of my other Smiths...in a word, outstanding. The DA trigger, while creep and stacking free is a bit heavy for my tastes but breaks nicely and with a long but decent reset.

I shot it today, with a friend from out of town while our wives were downtown shopping. We had an hour or so while they were gone and I managed to get 25 rounds through it: my standard target load of 4.0 gr of Bullseye in magnum brass with Lyman's 358091 BBWC...a combination that's proved universally accurate in the rest of my .357's.

From a 12 yds, Weaver unsupported stance, I got groups that ran close to an inch...good potential...I'll try it from rest at 25 later this coming wkend. No leading with the above either, cylinder throat nor bbl.

Sights were off by an inch at 12 yds...groups centered to the lft as was the rear sight blade. A quick adj. and the blade was pretty much centered and the groups centered up as well.

Recoil with this tgt load was mild in the hand, as I'd expected, and the factory Hogue's are very comfortable indeed. Just wish I could find some good quality wood grips that mimic them. The rubber stocks while ugly, are very comfortable.

Waiting on delivery over the last week, I got busy turning out a holster for it. The one pic'd here is my version of the old El Paso Saddlery "Austin" type, but without the keeper strap and with an open muzzle for drainage. I also added a thin welt that makes the fit just about perfect for my use...and gives the trigger adequate protection while holstered. It's plenty snug enough for safe woods & trail retention, but still allows an unhampered draw presentation. It's not a CC purposed rig by any means.

I'll try to post some add'l pics when time allows and update the loads that are working. For now, it's a keeper & I'm well satisfied.

BTW, the gun weighs in at 43 oz. loaded with 158 gr LSWC's (Lyman 358156 GC), about 4 oz's heavier than my M-66 with similar load out. I'm looking forward to the affect of somewhat reduced recoil with mid-level loads on my arthritic hands.

Best Regards, Rod

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Great revolver, Rod! A couple items… first, you noted a few posts up that you weren’t sure what a product code was or why it mattered. Nobody answered that, so I’ll take a stab. No expert, just what I’ve noticed…

The 6-digit SKU or Product Code seems to have hit the scene MAYBE about the same time that the first typed/printed end labels began, that is to say, the first box-end labels that were NOT hand written. And as we’ve seen, no change ever seems to have been made overnight, most changes morph over time, perhaps as earlier supplies ran out.

I think the product code began in/around 1980 and on the revolver side, with the introduction of the L-frame guns. The product code was an easy way to identify more specifically what was in the box in a shorter form. So in this case, your product code denotes not just a 686, but the unique product code tells S&W or distributors, or any of us, that it’s a 4-inch 686-4, with the “red ramp” front sight, combat hammer and combat trigger, and assuming that Hogue rubber is original, that it had that grip also.

My passion in S&W are the Performance Center semiautomatic guns, specifically the Limited series of 5 and 6-inch target guns, and each and every one of these has a unique SKU/product code and it helps greatly to classify them.

The product code can also be a very easy 6-digit search term here on the forum. Fast results for -any- discussion where at least one poster has mentioned that code. That’s extremely handy just here on this site!

The other thing I wanted to mention is that you said you have the box and intact end label. Afterall, that’s where you got the product code.

Well that end label has the even better (or perhaps simply more fun) SPEC ORDER code, which often has the “born on” date, or a least a tangible date for when it was boxed and labeled.

The first digit is the year (so you’ll need to know which decade…) and the last four are the Julian date.

What’s the four digit number on yours?

Nice revolver, Rod, and excellent job on that holster. I do some leather work, but nothing close to as nice as that.

Love that 4" 686-4! Wish I had bought one back in the day when they were being made. I do have a bought new 6" and a used 2.5" seven shot in the 686-4. All is well though as I also have 4" 586-4.

Oh , and very impressive holster work!

Shovel & 357, thanks for your kind remarks....The holster was a cpl of days in the making, counting drying time for the stain and cobblers cement for the lining and welt. It's all hand stitched using the two-needle technique common to most leather/saddle makers. We've (my sons and I), have used it for many years making/fixing horse tack here on our KY farm.

Sevens, great explanation, thorough on the contents of the end label. This 686 has the following codes:

Product Code: 104222
Serial number: BSL 77xx
Spec Ord: 5024
Features: CT-RR-WO

By your excellent explanation, that makes it a January 24, 1995 revolver. Thanks for the info...this site is a treasure-house of knowledge.

Best Regards, Rod

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For a perfect 686 I would like the -4 (updated rear sight and extractor) with flash chrome(rust resistance on a SS gun) hammers and triggers and square butt of the -3 and the replaceable black with red insert front sight of the -5.

Closest for me is the -3 overall, but i would take any mint -3 to -5.

Most likely the Hogue Grips are original:

• 686 (no dash), 1981 Introduction model
• 686-1, 1986 radius stud package, floating hand
• 686-2, 1987 changed hammer nose, bushing and associated parts
• 686-3, 1988 new yoke retention system
• 686-4, 1993 change rear sight leaf, drill and tap frame, change extractor, Hogue grips
• 686-5, 1997 change frame design to eliminate cylinder stop stud, eliminate serrated tangs, MIM hammer and trigger, change internal lock.
• 686-6, 2001 internal lock
• 686-7, 2003 Performance Center .38 Super, 6-Shot unfluted cylinder, 4" barrel, Stainless Steel, 250 Made

The 686, in my opinion, is one of the best S&W revolvers that a shooter can own.

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Grip frame: "... the replaceable black with red insert front sight of the -5."

I think you're referring to the screw/spring (?) front sight that allows easy changing. I got to thinking about that, having never owned one of the Smiths that were set up that way...designed for the silhouette shooters IIRC...

I've had several revolvers over the years that I'd have preferred a different front sight...Patridge on one of my target only guns, versus on a field piece...or a regular Baughman ramped front on my M-63 .22 that's cursed with that fiber optic ***. And the beauty of an easily changeable front sight would be that I'd not have to drill the desired replacement prior to installation.

Even a pre-drilled replacement front sight would be an improvement...as I have no trouble tapping out any of the roll pins Smith uses currently. But short of a complicated gunsmith drill press rig, I'm hesitant to attempt the drilling operation due to its complexity and the possibility of damaging the ramp/bbl.

As to the fiber optic...in my use on a .22 lr revolver which has no earthly use as a defensive gun, the fiber type does not offer as precise a sight picture for trail, plinking or informal target use as say, a Baughman ramp.

YMMv but these are my thoughts....Best Regards, Rod

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51ti...thanks for the dash modification/engineering changes list. As one respondent opined, I'd rather have had a square grip frame, but...this one looked good and there are a number of after market round to square grip offerings. With arthritis building in my right thumb joints (my strong hand), the rubber issue stocks do reduce felt recoil for me. Thanks again for the dash list. Rod

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The -5 has a pinned in black ramp with red insert. I like its because its replaceable if it gets damaged.

I picked up a 4" 686-3 a while back as a shooter so I could preserve the condition of my 27-2. I then stumbled onto this 2 1/2" 686-3 with combat grips. Although the combats look great, they beat the knuckle of my middle finger something fierce. I switched to some Hogue grips and they solve the issue. Surprisingly, I can shoot the 2 1/2" better than the 4". It is my new favorite shooter.

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