686-4's, when was the change made to MIM parts?

[nipster]

I had heard that some of the late 686-4's had MIM parts. I am going to look at a 686-4 6" 7 shot tomorrow, and would like to know what to look out for, as I have never owned one of the newer guns.

Serial number ranges or spotting features would be great. Obviously the owner isnt going to let me disassemble the gun.

My understanding is they went to MIM parts like cylinder stop, rebound slide and trigger, but kept the forged hammer until they changed to the internal firing pin. That change was I think the 686-5

 

[bamabiker]

The SCSW says MIM came in M686-5s in 1997.

 

[nipster]

The SCSW says MIM came in M686-5s in 1997.

Yes, I read that too and it was my understanding that was the case, but I have seen several references and statements here to the effect of late -4's having MIM, I think maybe even saying it was only the 7 shot -4's.

 

[dma1]

No expert here, but both of these are -4s. The 4" is a 686+, serial prefix CBN (Aug. 1997). The 6" is a 6 shot, serial prefix BPW (Dec. 1993). As mentioned, SCSW calls out MIM with -5 revision in 1997. It also calls out a 686+ coming out in 1996, available in 3 barrel lengths. You can see different finishes on the hammer and trigger on these two as well as a different cylinder release. I've always thought of the elongated cylinder stop as being an indicator of MIM. Perhaps an expert will be along shortly to clarify.

 

[Chrisj357]

New 686 4"

I bought a new 686-6 4" new at a gun show last year. It has the IL (ok, I dont hate it much) and of course the internal firing pin. This gun however, has the older style trigger and hammer which is strange because another new gun I purchased a year before the 686 was the S&W500 it too has the IL and internal firing pin but it has the MIM trigger and hammer. You can see the difference in the picture

 

[ben1]

I just traded for a 686-4 2 1/2 inch and it does not have any MIM parts. I am somewhat old fashioned and don't like the lock and don't have guns with it. The 686-4 is a great balanced firearm and I like it a lot.

 

[r11satl]

I got my first SW two years ago and it was a 2.5" 686-4 +, did a lot of research on this forum, etc prior to buying and decided that the -5 was when the MIM parts began to appear.

I love that gun...first revolver also...