686-4 6” can really reach out there

[Grimjaws]

My son and his Marine buddies asked me to join them on a range day since they were back home in town for a wedding.
Mostly rifle work with some .22 and ARs at 100 yards.

I brought out my 6” 686-4 and these kids got a huge kick out of it.

We were at the 25 yard pistol range range with some metallic plates at the edge of the range. We went through several cylinders full mixed .38 and .357 and it was fun showing these twenty something year olds how to operate, load and unload a revolver.

We had one .357 round left and one of my son’s buddies said to him,”Bet you can’t hit that 100 yard steel target with that old six gun!?” and pointed to the man sized steel plate way out there at 100.

We walked up the range and I said you’ll need to hold it at the steel bar above the target and it should drop in.

He took a weaver stance, steadied, aimed and slowly let out a breath
BING he hit it dead center

There was a lot of cheering and high fives and my son had a grin that wouldn’t quit

Some of the guys had some tricked out ARs and one guy had one with a light trigger and some peep sights.
He asked, want to give it a few shots?
Why not

So i aimed at the same steel target and shot 6 rounds
one hit the man sized silhouette, one hit the white circle and if you look real close there is a 6” steel plate hanging between the two.
I hit that on my third shot
Three misses
Three hits

got a lot of praise for my shooting. Later at home I told my son with my eyesight and bifocals I had a fuzzy sight picture and I thought I was aiming at the big target - I got those other two by chance cause I sure wasn’t aiming at them!

So what’s the farthest anyone shot their S&W revolver?

Photo of where my son was standing when he made the shot and the targets

 

[snowman]

I have a 686-3 8-3/8" and tried a roughly 75yd shot at a groundhog one time. Don't know if I hit it or not -probably not.(I'm partly disabled and can't walk that far to check)

Regards,
Andy

 

[The Kid]

I shoot my revolvers regularly out at 75 yards and more. I have a 12” gong at 75 yards and I probably shoot at it more than the rest of my targets combined. With 38 wadcutter loads it requires a little holdover but 1000fps type loads using SWC bullets in 38, 44 special, and 45 Acp require remarkably little holdover at only 75 yards. 22LR from a 6.5” barrel will get hits with a dead on hold as will 32 H&R loads with a 100gr bullet at 1100fps. Mild 44 mag loads pushing 250gr Keith bullets to 1200fps do not require enough holdover to tell with irons out at 100 yards.

Get good out at longer range and the close in shots are easy. Small errors in hold and trigger squeeze are magnified greatly as the range increases. Shooting long distances in a plowed field when it’s dry enough to kick up dust can be both embarrassing and educational.

 

[jcelect]

Long shot!

This best I did on a deer with my 44 was 142yds(by range finder) for a one shot kill. At the range I did kill some clay targets on the 200yd back stop from a bench rest with this gun.

That is a red dot on top for low light woods shots!

This is two guys, two days, and two 44 mod 29 Silhouettes.
jcelect

 

[Bald1]

I gotta move to Ohio. Pretty generous bag limits.

 

[HamHands]

100 yard hits on "Half Man" sized steel silhouettes are pretty regular for us with both 3" models the M24-3 .44Special and an M629-5 .44Mag/Special as well... Ammo 255 grain Keith's from Underwood with the .44Special and 300gr Prvi Partizan to 305gr Underwood Keith's in the 3" .44Mag...

(using my Ruger M44 18.5" Carbine) with the same Aforementioned .44Mag ammo, Nikon scope'd 3x9x45 glass and it's "video game" like-easy hitting out @ 200 Yards as the trajectory becomes much flatter for the big fat pills once you introduce another 15 inches of barrel sans any cylinder gap thus eliminating any gas/pressure loss from chamber to barrel. Although I have higher powered chambered rifles and much higher tech/magnified and illuminated scoped hardware it's the Old-School Ruger M44 from the 80's and an equally dated Nikon Scope that has become the go to winter food provider as 200 yard clear shots are so few and far between on game in the deep south... Brush shots from 75 yards are almost always the norm and that big 305gr flat nosed Keith is just the ticket for that situation.

From a sandbag rest and proper hold-over (I'm an Irons Handgunner-Guy), I'm confident that 150 yard shots are very doable. My next outing I'm going to do just that with video to show it's rather "doable". I bet both Revo's And Aforementioned Loads lay-down the same "Stand-Alone" Steel-Ram Silhouettes almost as hard/fast as they do at 100 yards.

 

[Mehutch]

Love mine, both of them... same results.

 

[lihpster]

Was shooting with some friends and I had my Mod. 15 with me. There was a chunk of wood about the size of a shoebox at about 100 yds. After 2 shots I had the hold over and began to hit it every time. One of my friends adult son saw what I was doing and was amazed. I handed him the gun and told him where to aim and he hit 3 out of 6. Big 'ol grin and he turned to his dad and said, "I want a gun like Uncle Phil's."

 

[DGNY]

Fine shooting mentioned above and several beautiful Smiths. Thanks!

Last summer at 200 yards on a 16 inch gong had some good luck. Trusty
4 inch M 28–2 with 158 gr Independence 357s. Two dings out of five, offhand (both hands); held most of front sight above rear notch. Twin factors: not much coffee and a beautiful pair of Bigmtnman stags.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I really enjoyed my 686, 6' when it was new and I was young !!

After a year of getting to know what it could do with 38 and 357 ammo,
the metal targets at 100 yards at the range was a hoot from the bench
or off hand, with the factory iron sights.
The 38 special 158 grain loads would fall about 20 yards short, into the dirt
but the 357 Magnum loads were dead on with a standard sight picture.

At 200 yards it was around a 12% average on a no wind day, off a sand bag
for soda pop can, size targets, with my best hand loads.

Always nice to see youngsters, learn something new about the "Old revolvers" and what they can do.

 

[robvious]

popping clay birds at 50 yards with my 6 inch 617 is pretty simple actually... can usually get someone new on target with one cylinder of ammo... 16 inch gong at 100 yards is relatively easy too...

 

[oink]

I don't think I ever shot my 6" 686 at 100 yrds. I did used to shoot my 6" 629 at 100 yrds. I could hit a pie plate consistently at 100 yrds with my gas checked cast wheel weight SWC rounds. I don't recall the powder load or velocity. They weren't crazy hot but were true magnums. No holdover other than holding at the top half of the pie plate. I might try doing that with the 686 but it's doubtful I can see good enough for an acceptable sight picture now.

 

[jaymoore]

Our 200m IHMSA Big Bore range. Iron sights, reddot, scope, whatever you care to use. One of my favorite courses of fire is Standing whilst using a 10 5/8" 29-3.

Chickens at 50m, Pigs at 100m, Turkeys at 150m. Why metric distances? It's just how it got built. Our Small Bore and Field Pistol range is in yards.

I've used a 6" four position front sight equipped 29-5 as well. The thing is that you have to be able to deliver enough "thump" to knock over those 55 lb. 200m Rams. "Rang" one just last weekend with a low, front .44 hit. Sadness! You hear the impact a long while after the bang, wait, but nothing happens....

 

[hardluk1]

No s&w revolver here but I've have shot and hunted with a DW 15-2 357mag with an 8" barrel since '76 . I added a Beuhler base and rings along with a 2moa ultra dot in '90 . With the dot optic fired front a rest 6 shots at a 5" black target would give me a 4" group consistently over the years with a home loaded 170gr sp at 1400fps or a 180g swc hc at 1200fps .

I finally stopped hunting with it and swapped to the 4" barrel and put the stock adjustable sights back on it .