Five Inch 686?

[Sunkist]

I saw a picture on this forum some time back of a pretty 5" 686 with a FO front sight, wood grip and polish finish. I'm thinking about having a no dash M rebarreled and dressed up at the factory. The factory parts list shows the 5" bbl. at $139 and has a suffix of CH on the part name. My first question is what does CH mean? Second question is how does the 5" balance in the hand? The 6" I have feels barrel heavy to me these days and a 4" is fine but I'd like to wring a little more out of my gun if the balance is right. I can't afford a stable of 686's like I once had but I can afford to make one gun special. Thoughts?

 

[chief38]

I have the blued version of your gun, the M586 and it has a 6 inch barrel. I know what you mean about seeming barrel heavy. I always wanted to remove the under lug and make it look like a standard Smith barrel (like on a model 19) but I don't blue guns myself, so I never got around to doing it. If you replace the barrel with the same under lugged design in a 1" shorter tube, I don't think it will really change the feel much, other than having a cool looking gun.

The reason I bought the M586 (in 1983) was I originally wanted a Colt Python and just couldn't afford it at the time. Now that I can afford it, I lost the burning desire for the Python, and I have sort of gotten used to the barrel heavy feel of my gun.

Regards,

Chief38

 

[chief38]

I have the blued version of your gun, the M586 and it has a 6 inch barrel. I know what you mean about seeming barrel heavy. I always wanted to remove the under lug and make it look like a standard Smith barrel (like on a model 19) but I don't blue guns myself, so I never got around to doing it. If you replace the barrel with the same under lugged design in a 1" shorter tube, I don't think it will really change the feel much, other than having a cool looking gun.

The reason I bought the M586 (in 1983) was I originally wanted a Colt Python and just couldn't afford it at the time. Now that I can afford it, I lost the burning desire for the Python, and I have sort of gotten used to the barrel heavy feel of my gun.

By the way, I do not know what the CH stands for; sorry.

Regards,

Chief38

 

[mmncw]

Classic Hunter, maybe?

 

[kshock]

CHa-CHing?

 

[mmncw]

To answer your other question, I have a 5" full lugged non-fluted 686, and I do like the balance. That can be a personal preference kind of thing though.

 

[357larry]

Actually S&W had a "Stocking Dealer Special" 686+ at one time. It had the 5 inch half lug barrel, fiber optic front sight, 7 shot cylinder, and that darned internal lock. I passed up a chance to buy one for $500, wishing now that I had grabbed it.