Let's see some pre-lock 6" 686's

[M3Stuart]

My 686-1 6" now has the Pachmayr Decelerator grips. Yippee!

And I polished it with some Fitz polish.

 

[WE0H]

Suppose my 586-2 is not good enough?

Wish I'd have seen the 686 back then rather than the 586 I bought. I was a total newbie to handguns back then.

Mike

 

[AveragEd]

Here are some basic photos of mine - two no-dash, one -3 unfluted and two -5 PowerPorts. The unfluted -3 and the first PowerPort are unfired.

Ed

 

[jmark1651]

Nice 686's. I must say the 586 is wonderful,also. I love a blued revolver!

 

[Saddleup]

Here is first post and my 686 no dash, great shooting gun.
Matt

 

[WE0H]

Here is first post and my 686 no dash, great shooting gun.
Matt

Very pretty 686 Welcome to the forum. These people are awesome around here

Mike

 

[M3Stuart]

Hi Saddleup; welcome. That's what mine looked like before I went to the Pachmayr grips. I wanted some rubber between the metal backstrap and my hand.

Weoh - your 586-2 looks fine to me! Great choice actually - as many on this board will confirm!

Nice 686's!

 

[WE0H]

Hi Saddleup; welcome. That's what mine looked like before I went to the Pachmayr grips. I wanted some rubber between the metal backstrap and my hand.

Weoh - your 586-2 looks fine to me! Great choice actually - as many on this board will confirm!

Nice 686's!

I bought that in the mid '80's I believe. I am the original owner. I put those Hogue grips on it as the factory grips would tear my hand's skin. It has not even 500 rounds thru it.

Mike

 

[sw44spl]

that 586 looks real nice.

 

[586L-Frame]

My S&W 686-4 6 inch L-Frame that I will be picking-up in a few more days.
586L-Frame

DLC's S&W 686-4 6 inch L-Frame.

x

 

[586L-Frame]

Here's my two 586 no-dash L-Frame's that I originally bought new in 1981 & 1982 and my 6 inch Ruger GP100.
586L-Frame

DLC's .357 Magnums-Ruger GP100 6', S&W 586L-Frame 6" & 4" Distinguished Combat Magnums.

x

 

[TDC]

A very early 686 no-dash...

 

[410bore]

A very early 686 no-dash...

very neat with the patridge sight i would like to stumble into one like that

 

[snubbiefan]

Crappy picture.....good gun.

 

[markeb]

Not the greatest picture. My first gun purchase. It's a 686-4 bought new in 94. One of the best shooters I own.

 

[TDC]

very neat with the patridge sight i would like to stumble into one like that

This was a special PD order that I made immediately after the L frames were introduced. Quite a few Patridge front sights appeared later on 686's instead of the more common Red Ramp so you've got a good shot at finding another. I also ordered its "brother," a 4 inch, with the more common Red Ramp at the same time..

Very nice guns!!

 

[tbury]

1985 vintage 686 6" with "hunter" front sight.

 

[wheelgun28]

Heres a 686-3, classic hunter

Supposed to be 5000 or so of them around but they dont come up for sale all to often it seems

I wish I had the box...

Dont pick on me for the Houge grip, it was factory on this

 

[AveragEd]

I have one of your gun's twins but mine came unfired in its original box with checkered Goncalo Alves target stocks (and the box is marked "TS").

I learned from Smith & Wesson that they don't know how many of them were made because a huge computer failure wiped out their records. All they can tell you is that since that crash, they have shipped three of them and there are no more in inventory. When I told her that the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson states that 5,000 were made, she deferred to that figure as being correct.

Here's a photo of my gun's box label.

Ed

 

[AveragEd]

There is kind of an oddball 6" 686-4 for sale on GunBroker right now (item #235598186). It is supposed to be a -4 gun but it has MIM parts - hammer, trigger and cylinder release. I at first thought it was a -5 gun but it doesn't have the extended cylinder stop on the frame that the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson says a -5 should have. I can't believe a former owner would have changed all three parts over from forged to MIM.

Anyone else ever seen this?

Ed

 

[Mulefoot]

Some of you have these posted as "never fired",is it because there collectibles at this point in time?

I really like them all,the blued 586 is great!

 

[Dennis The B]

Here's my Model 686, unfluted cylinder.

 

[snubbiefan]

Mule...I have others that I shoot often, but not this particular 686. I think I can say that ANYTHING without the internal lock is going to be a collectors item in due time. To many folks....it already is. I would simply never sell any of my no locks in any caliber I have under any condition at all....period.

 

[Mulefoot]

Mule...I have others that I shoot often, but not this particular 686. I think I can say that ANYTHING without the internal lock is going to be a collectors item in due time. To many folks....it already is. I would simply never sell any of my no locks in any caliber I have under any condition at all....period.

Gotcha..
I am fairly new to all this,i ve got a 686-6 as my first revolver & love it.I am also trying to learn about what is collectible..i am looking to start my own collection,there are just so may great ones out there! Not sure where to start.

 

[snubbiefan]

Just buy anything with a pinned barrel or a no-lock....or both.....at's a good place to start.

 

[2hawk]

686+-4 from the Performance Center:

 

[Andy the Aussie]

Oh...OK...you twisted my arm and made me post the pics...

My latest acquisition ... a 6 inch dash 3 ...

And the 6 inch along with the 4 inch dash 3 I bought new in the later 80s...

 

[AveragEd]

Mule, like beauty, value is in the eye of the beholder. Anyone who collects anything with a goal of seeing it appreciate in value is hoping that happens but there's no guarantee. Think about this - if S&W decides to revert back to making no-lock guns, mighten the ones with locks be fewer in number and higher in value?

Other manufacturers have done just that. Remington, for one, used to fit all its bolt-action rifles with a "J-lock" on the bolt's firing pin shroud. It was a protruding "button" with a j-shaped opening into which a like-shaped key fit to lock the firing pin. Public outcry about those locks and the "read the owner's manual" warnings roll-marked into the barrels convinced Remington to drop both just a few years ago!

But the way I look at it is that since I prefer my revolvers to be six-shooters instead of seven-shooters and not have locks or non-forged parts, I'm happier with the older guns. And in the end, that's all that matters.

Now as far as "unfired" goes, any gun will be worth something extra if it has not been fired and some will see a greater premium added to their value. One that I'm not going to shoot is a 686-4 PowerPort. The PowerPort feature has been discontinued on the 686, it's the last generation 686 with forged parts and it doesn't have a lock. It's also a model that is difficult to make clean enough to pass as unfired (I have a Model 66 that I know was fired six times but even an S&W gunsmith was fooled) as the surfaces inside the PowerPort are not smooth and have nooks and crannies that would make returning that whole area into like-new, bright silver condition very difficult. Will being unfired make it worth a lot more down the road? No one knows but I guessing it might. And that's all it is - a guess.

Good luck with your future purchases!

Ed

 

[wproct]

Heres a 686-3, classic hunter

Supposed to be 5000 or so of them around but they dont come up for sale all to often it seems

I wish I had the box...

Dont pick on me for the Houge grip, it was factory on this

You won't get any flack from me about those Hogue grips, that is one fine revolver!

 

[M3Stuart]

Andy, are those Pachmayr grips I see on those two 686's?

Man, was that ever smart to get both the 6" AND the 4"!

I've thought of having S&W rebarrel my 6" into a 4". But I'm guessing that, in the long run, I might be nuts to do that...