Lipsey S@W .357 Mag.Mountian Gun

[remshooter]

went to the real Buds Gun store in Lexington KY ,, went looking for a (flame suite on LOL) Colt Python .They had one but for $2,000 dollors ,to high for me ,plus it was just as heavy as my regular S&W 686 .Then i saw this S@W .357 Mag. Mountian Gun,been looking for one since 1998 when came out . only seen about 2 in 20 years and they was beat up.Except for 3 factory test rounds thru cylinder ,it appears to be unshot,they wanted $1100 for it ,half the cost of the Colt .May be or not be a good deal .But i love Mountian Guns ,so I bought it and have not shot it yet.What was throwing me was the Clinton lock on the side ,as i looked at it before buying ,i could not remember my other Mountian Guns of differant cal.all made before 2001 having this. So when got home.I googled found out besides the original run in about 1998 ,Lipseys had S@W make a run in about 2010 , these are 6-shot instead of the orignal 7-shot.I did not know they did this.Love the feel compared to my heavy underlug barrel 686 ,the MG feels more like my old M-65 K-frame, light and fast,(sorry pics are on side ,they was flat on phone and computer ,.I can not turn

 

[biku324]

Nice! I never even heard of one!

 

[hkcavalier]

Rare MG collecting is an interesting subset. Some of these runs were very small. There are very few collectible IL guns, but it seems like most of them are odd caliber or small run MGs.

 

[joebuck]

That's nice. I didn't know they made a 686 MG in 7 shot. I had a MG in .44 mag that only 210 were made. Unfluted cylinder with factory Magnaport. Fun gun to shoot.

 

[Cal44]

Very nice.

 

[remshooter]

thank you Cal44

 

[Marshal Tom]

I have a very interesting MTN. Gun story. When they came out, I never saw one here in CO. and thought that they dried up very quickly. I was standing at the counter in one of my LGS's talking to a guy who was a frequent buyer of almost everything. He told me that he thought that he had a .357 Mtn Gun in his safe. He called me after finding it and offered it to me for a very reasonable price.
I purchased it and stuck it is the safe for a long time. When I went to the range with it, I had an immediate issue. Primers would back out of the shell and into the firing pin bushing whole and hanging up the cylinder.
I sent it off to S&W and they informed me that it was not repairable. I told them that I had purchased the MTN Gun as a collectible and that this was not acceptable. They found a frame with the logo on the opposite side and did the repair. It was then sent back to me. I ended up trading it to a friend who owns a pawn shop for a 696 no dash. I wish I Still had it. I have never seen another in my area.

 

[joebuck]

There's one on Gunpoker right now..

RARE S&W Model 686-5 Mountain Gun .357 Magnum 7 Shot BOXED - Revolvers at GunBroker.com : 872749282

 

[LittleCooner]

I am beginning to be hooked on the mountain guns. I HATE the look and feel of the full underlug S&W 686. That is another story, but I was checking the for sale part here on the forum a few years ago and picked up one of the 1998 7 shot MG in 357 from a member. I love the round butt and it shoots fantastic. It has become my favorite 38/357 gun. Then two months ago, I stopped to buy powder at a LGS. No, I should have not looked at all those LNIB old S&Ws he had. There was a 629-4 MG, looked unshot, in box with paper work. Dang you guys here, research says it is the pick of the 44 mountain guns when I did a search. Well, I shot it last week, 5 shots at 10 yards, single action- I have 4 shots in a ragged one hole and the other is 1/2 inch high. I am hooked. Now I am thinking of looking for a 617 MG to go with these other two. I do not understand why the bean counters at S&W are not producing more MG for sale, am I one of a few that prefer these nice looking guns that look like the guns of the 50s, 60s and 70s that are super accurate?

 

[remshooter]

Rare MG collecting is an interesting subset. Some of these runs were very small. There are very few collectible IL guns, but it seems like most of them are odd caliber or small run MGs.

Iam not worried about collectibility ,.I love how they look and feel ,I shoot the snot out of mine .when i die they will not be unfired collector pieces , for someone else to buy and store as a safe queen

 

[series guy]

I shoot mine also. It's lots of fun with some mild 255gr. Colt loads.

 

[ameridaddy]

Ignoramus here with a question for you mountain gunners:
What makes a gun a "Mountain Gun" besides the roll mark?

 

[joebuck]

Ignoramus here with a question for you mountain gunners:
What makes a gun a "Mountain Gun" besides the roll mark?

Thin tapered barrel. That's it.

 

[jack the toad]

IIRC, radiused cylinder front, round butt, 4" tapered barrel are 3 main differences.
ETA:
My little gathering of prelock SS MGs consists of these 5: .45 Colt/ACP, .44/.41/.357 mag. They're all keepers in that they look, handle, balance and shoot right.

 

[VictorLouis]

I would've bought that L-frame, also. It be like a roided M66 you can shoot the snot out of, LOL. I've always been ambivalent about the 686+. My rhythm with wheelguns has always been 5 or 6.

 

[cmansguns]

Questions for OP & other Lipsey's owners

That is a sweet looking MG. What research told you it was a Lipsey's special order?

What is the exact barrel length? The reason I ask is that I had a heck of a time trying to identify my Ruger Single Six convertible (22/22WMR) back in 2002. The Model was plain enough to see and find (Model AS 0627) but that Model could not be found in any catalog of Ruger at the time. Turns out that Lipsey's had ordered a run of those guns with a 4-5/8" bbl, which was not cataloged for any other Single Six...thus making it an "exclusive".

Are there any differences between S & W standard catalog offering of the same gun as your Lipsey's?

I'm like you..I buy guns to shoot so the Ruger never was anything more than a fun gun for me and the family. I have several Lettered S & W's that some wen to big time distributors of the day, but that doesn't add any value to the guns themselves (well.....maybe if it turns out to be a Lettered Bekhart).

 

[remshooter]

That is a sweet looking MG. What research told you it was a Lipsey's special order?

What is the exact barrel length? The reason I ask is that I had a heck of a time trying to identify my Ruger Single Six convertible (22/22WMR) back in 2002. The Model was plain enough to see and find (Model AS 0627) but that Model could not be found in any catalog of Ruger at the time. Turns out that Lipsey's had ordered a run of those guns with a 4-5/8" bbl, which was not cataloged for any other Single Six...thus making it an "exclusive".

Are there any differences between S & W standard catalog offering of the same gun as your Lipsey's?

I'm like you..I buy guns to shoot so the Ruger never was anything more than a fun gun for me and the family. I have several Lettered S & W's that some wen to big time distributors of the day, but that doesn't add any value to the guns themselves (well.....maybe if it turns out to be a Lettered Bekhart).

I just googled ,when(or what years) was the S@W .357 mod.686 Mountian Gun made and it came up ,and discibed it to a tee ,plus it had the clinton lock where as the 1998 run did not .The differance ,between Lipsey's MG and a regular S@W MG.Basicly it just a 6-shot not 7-shot MG,and .357 magnum is stamped on side of barrel instead of acid etched or whatever they do .Mountian Gun is acid etched ,just like the others .As far as Mountian Guns being differant than a standard 686 , MG has a light tapered barrel like they used in the 50's ,not the full thicker barrel

 

[jcs266]

I would've bought that L-frame, also. It be like a roided M66 you can shoot the snot out of, LOL. I've always been ambivalent about the 686+. My rhythm with wheelguns has always been 5 or 6.

I'm the same about the 7-shot thing. I just bought a new 686-6 and they had both, but I chose the 6-shot. It's just too wierd to have 7 rounds in a six-shooter.

It shoots one ragged hole at 10 yards.

Now as to Mtn Guns, I've had my 629-3 since 1997 and love it. The tapered barrel and camfered cylinder, round butt, etc are all perfection in my book. I've carried it extensively and swear by it.