686 vs 686+ rear sights

[jackmoineau]

Hello,

I purchased a new 686 4 inch barrel.

I first wasn't sure wether I would opt for the 686 or the 686+ which were both available.

I went with the 686 route, but noticed that the paint of the rear sight was less crisp and a bit faded compared to the one of the 686+ (I agree, this might be a bit OCD but I like "new" things to look like "new", especially considering I'll keep this gun forever).

They agreed to switch the rear sights (they said it would be easier to swap the whole rear sight and not just the "vertical plate" -the blade?- with the white paint).

Coming back home (without the gun, I'm waiting for papers from the administration), I thought about it:

can someone please confirm that the whole rear sights pieces are purely interchangeable between both new 686 4 inch and 686+ 4 inch?

Please forgive my neophyte questions & thx for "reassuring" me

 

[CH4]

Yes, a -4 is interchangeable with a -4 and later. Yes, it’s much easier to change the whole sight assembly rather than the just the blade.

 

[Protocall_Design]

They are using the same rear sight assy. on all the newer guns that have a rounded front end on the sight tang, all calibers. You are good to go.

 

[jackmoineau]

Thank you for your quick replies!

Cheers

 

[jackmoineau]

Yes, an -4 is interchangeable with a -4 and later. Yes, it’s much easier to change the whole sight assembly rather than the just the blade.

Could aiming be "modified" if they only changed the blade?
I mean, factory settings are set in one way (btw is it "aimed point - hit point or like in precision shooting "aim at 6 o'clock to hit center"?), but could that change jeopardize precision? Or it doesn't matter since I'll have to adjust sights according to my preferences anyway?

Thank you

 

[BLUEDOT37]

They are using the same rear sight assy. on all the newer guns that have a rounded front end on the sight tang, all calibers. You are good to go.

You're saying the same "base assembly" but not the same assembly equipped with the same height blades, are you?

Last I knew there was at least (5) different blade heights available that went on the same base assembly.

.

 

[jackmoineau]

You're saying the same "base assembly" but not the same assembly equipped with the same height blades, are you?

Last I knew there was at least (5) different blade heights available that went on the same base assembly.

.

I think they meant that the whole base (including the blades) are the exact same between both new 686 and 686+ in 4 inch.

It wouldn't make sense to use different blades on two nearly identical guns, would it?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Agreed but he said "all calibers."

All calibers don't used the same blade height.

.

 

[Engine49guy]

Yes, an -4 is interchangeable with a -4 and later. Yes, it’s much easier to change the whole sight assembly rather than the just the blade.

The 686-4 has a different rear site unit than any other revision.

The 686 no dash with 4" and longer barrels used the old style rear unit with the straight front leaf until the end of the 686-3 revision (Iirc the 3" versions also used that unit but cant recall),

The 686-686-3 with 2.5" snub barrels use a longer rear site that is longer at the front which appears to be the same one used on the snub Model 19,15 and 66 .

The 686-4 (and other SW's of that era) were introduced with a new rounded rear site.
The 686-5 has the new frame with internal firing pin, mim internals and new cylinder stop, it also introduced a new rear site unit that is slightly shorter at the front than the one used on the 686-4 but its hard to tell unless compared side by side since they are both rounded at the front.

Iirc rear site slide height depends on front site height and barrel length but thats kind of a generality but different slide heights allow you to tailor your rear sight more to the range you are sighting it in / ammo choice etc, this gives you an option besides adjusting you rear site all the way up or down, it also gives you choices of white outline or black etc.

The rear site units should be exactly the same whether it's a 6 or 7 shot as long as its a dash 5 or higher,
Pretty sure the snubs now also have the same rear site unit but blade height likely changes with barrel length.

SW could have just mailed you the replacement slide , they sell it with or without the screw and nut as a kit so you can snap off the original adjusting screw instead of trying to save it, my guess is many shooters might not enjoy swapping the slide as much as swapping out the whole rear unit and mailing you the whole rear unit costs them alot less than having you ship the gun back and them spending the time replacing it,
Bonus is that now you will have a spare.

 

[jackmoineau]

The 686-4 has a different rear site unit than any other revision.

The 686 no dash with 4" and longer barrels used the old style rear unit with the straight front leaf until the end of the 686-3 revision (Iirc the 3" versions also used that unit but cant recall),

The 686-686-3 with 2.5" snub barrels use a longer rear site that is longer at the front which appears to be the same one used on the snub Model 19,15 and 66 .

The 686-4 (and other SW's of that era) were introduced with a new rounded rear site.
The 686-5 has the new frame with internal firing pin, mim internals and new cylinder stop, it also introduced a new rear site unit that is slightly shorter at the front than the one used on the 686-4 but its hard to tell unless compared side by side since they are both rounded at the front.

Iirc rear site slide height depends on front site height and barrel length but thats kind of a generality but different slide heights allow you to tailor your rear sight more to the range you are sighting it in / ammo choice etc, this gives you an option besides adjusting you rear site all the way up or down, it also gives you choices of white outline or black etc.

The rear site units should be exactly the same whether it's a 6 or 7 shot as long as its a dash 5 or higher,
Pretty sure the snubs now also have the same rear site unit but blade height likely changes with barrel length.

SW could have just mailed you the replacement slide , they sell it with or without the screw and nut as a kit so you can snap off the original adjusting screw instead of trying to save it, my guess is many shooters might not enjoy swapping the slide as much as swapping out the whole rear unit and mailing you the whole rear unit costs them alot less than having you ship the gun back and them spending the time replacing it,
Bonus is that now you will have a spare.

Thanks a lot for your detailed explanations!

Actually, I asked the shop owner to make the switch between my 686 and the 686+ they had in stock (see the pictures showing the differences between the original one fitted in the gun I bought and the one on the 686+, in my opinion it was way more crisp and neat on the 686+).
Hope they will do a good job, changing stuffs on new items there’s always the risk to put things worse than they were and best is enemy of good…(scratch the frame, twist the screw,…).

 

[Engine49guy]

So you had the rear sight slide swapped?
Looks good to me.
The older my eyes get the more I prefer the white outline rear paired with a front blade with some sorta dot, insert, brass bead or fiber optic insert.

On the subject of 6 vs 7 shot,
While most of mine are 6 shot I like the 7 shot because it is lighter and a stronger design since the cylinder stop notches land on thicker metal between the charge holes.
They spin up a bit faster than a 6 shot but not nearly as fast as a 10 shot K frame 22.

 

[jackmoineau]

So you had the rear sight slide swapped?
Looks good to me.
The older my eyes get the more I prefer the white outline rear paired with a front blade with some sorta dot, insert, brass bead or fiber optic insert.

On the subject of 6 vs 7 shot,
While most of mine are 6 shot I like the 7 shot because it is lighter and a stronger design since the cylinder stop notches land on thicker metal between the charge holes.
They spin up a bit faster than a 6 shot but not nearly as fast as a 10 shot K frame 22.

I don’t know if the just swapped the blade or changed the whole rear sight unit, I won’t be able to get the gun before 2-3 months (waiting for papers from the administration….).
I read lots of stuffs between 6 and 7 shots, in the end I had to make a choice, so voilà! Maybe for the next one

 

[wproct]

I also "really" prefer a white outlined rear sight over just black, and I also have noticed distinct differences in the brightness of the white from one revolver to another. My 617-1 has just a black rear sight blade and would like to have white outlined blade but just haven't wanted to go through the process of changing it.

 

[Engine49guy]

I don’t know if the just swapped the blade or changed the whole rear sight unit, I won’t be able to get the gun before 2-3 months (waiting for papers from the administration….).
I read lots of stuffs between 6 and 7 shots, in the end I had to make a choice, so voilà! Maybe for the next one

They definately swapped the rear unit,
Its way easier.
On the subject of the white outline, it really makes zero sense for SW not to equip all their revolvers with the white outline, if for some weird reason someone wanted it black...well that's why black sharpies exist.

 

[Protocall_Design]

You can also turn the white outline around backwards and have a black one. When I said all calibers, I was talking about the main part, not the sight blades. I could have been more specific, but didn't think about it.

 

[jackmoineau]

They definately swapped the rear unit,
Its way easier.
On the subject of the white outline, it really makes zero sense for SW not to equip all their revolvers with the white outline, if for some weird reason someone wanted it black...well that's why black sharpies exist.

They actually equipped the 686 with a white outline, the thing is that is was not as clear and bright as the one put on the 686+.

English is not my mother tongue so just to make sure, you guys are saying that it's easier to switch the whole unit (circled in yellow) vs the blade (in red)?

 

[Protocall_Design]

Yes, it is a lot easier to trade the whole assembly than the blade. For the assembly, there is just the one screw at the front. For the blade, there are multiple tiny parts and a spring, that are easily lost, and difficult to handle.