Patridge front sight on a 686

ldryder

ldryder

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Did Model 686's ever come with Patridge front sights?

I just picked up a 686 no-dash, 4" barrel, and it has a Patridge front sight installed.

It got me wondering if the gun might have come that way in 1982 or if a ramp front sight was replaced at some time.
 
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Patridge

Have seen some early M586's with Patridge, have to assume some of the M686's would have them too. Of course the PP as noted above had them.
 
ldryder said:
Now I'm wondering why Partridge sights were installed in lieu of the more-common ramp sights.
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FYI: The sights are named Patridge, not Partridge.

Was under the impression that Patridge was for target shooting and Ramp made for smoother extraction from holsters, for guns that were carried.
 
The spell-checker on the computer changed the spelling and I didn't notice it. LOL

Patridge sights for target seems very logical but I wonder why the revolvers would have been sold that way when they were new.
 
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Back in the early 80s when the L frame was introduced, I used to frequent a dealer (Shuriken Dist.) that primarily served law enforcement, but was open to the public.
They carried S&W as their exclusive firearms line, and were a factory certified service center. They had displays of S&W parts on racks including front and rear sight blades, various grips, single action parts kits for K frames, etc.
They would set up any S&W revolver with whatever sights you wanted.
I'm not suggesting that's the case with the OP, but variations that look "factory" but were, in fact, armorer "one-offs" do turn up.

Jim
 
It might have to do with barrel length, Patridge on the 6 inch and Red Ramp on the shorter ones.
I think early models had internal blades, so they couldn't be changed without machine work, which should be obvious. New ones are pinned.
My 6 inch from the late 90's had a Patridge blade, as I recall. Its long gone.

Best,
Rick
 
ldryder said:
Now I'm wondering why Patridge sights were installed in lieu of the more-common ramp sights.
Click to expand...

Maybe because they are preferable (to some of us anyway :) :) )

standard.jpg

medium800.jpg
 
Tucked away in the corner of my bookshelf was my copy of Jerry Kuhnhausen's The S&W Revolvers 5th Edition. I just pulled it out and looked at the Parts Diagram for the S&W Model 686 Distinguished Combat Magnum. I found that there were two different barrels shown for that gun. The longer-appearing barrel (6"?) has the Patridge sight and the shorter-appearing barrel (4"?) has the ramp sight. Maybe the 6" barrels came with the Patridge but at some time during the past 36 years, some prior owner put one on a 4" barrel?
 
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ldryder said:
Did Model 686's ever come with Patridge front sights?

I just picked up a 686 no-dash, 4" barrel, and it has a Patridge front sight installed.

It got me wondering if the gun might have come that way in 1982 or if a ramp front sight was replaced at some time.
Click to expand...

I know a lot of 6" barrel 686's had Patridge front sights.

Here's my Model 686-2 with 4-Position Patridge front sight.

IMG_0081.jpg

IMG_0082.jpg
 
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Patridge Sight

ldryder said:
Did Model 686's ever come with Patridge front sights?

I just picked up a 686 no-dash, 4" barrel, and it has a Patridge front sight installed.

It got me wondering if the gun might have come that way in 1982 or if a ramp front sight was replaced at some time.
Click to expand...

Sir: Why on earth would you post this thread without photos?

Please do not tease the reader(s).
 
ImDrRichard said:
Sir: Why on earth would you post this thread without photos?

Please do not tease the reader(s).
Click to expand...

I didn't post photos because I'm not finished cleaning my new acquisition and I don't have the correct target stocks on it yet.

It came with Pachmayr Presentation grips that are perfect for shooting at the range but not what I prefer to look at when I'm admiring or photographing a beautiful revolver.
 
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ldryder said:
I didn't post photos because I'm not finished cleaning my new acquisition and I don't have the correct target stocks on it yet.

It came with Pachmayr Presentation grips that are perfect for shooting at the range but not what I prefer to look at when I'm admiring or photographing a beautiful revolver.
Click to expand...

Awww, come on man. We've all seen things all dirty and wearing work clothes before. ;) :D
 
I'm seriously considering replacing my ramped front sight with the orange insert on my 4" 686-6 and replacing it with a got dot Patridge sight for target shooting
 
RGVshooter said:
I'm seriously considering replacing my ramped front sight with the orange insert on my 4" 686-6 and replacing it with a got dot Patridge sight for target shooting
Click to expand...

I have one that came on my model 27-5 and immediately fell in love with it. I've since installed them on my 629-3 Classic and my 627 Pro, which both have the quick change front sight system. But both S&W and SDM make pin on types for you to replace the ramp sight with on your pinned sight guns.
 
ldryder said:
I didn't post photos because I'm not finished cleaning my new acquisition and I don't have the correct target stocks on it yet.

It came with Pachmayr Presentation grips that are perfect for shooting at the range but not what I prefer to look at when I'm admiring or photographing a beautiful revolver.
Click to expand...

Don't be bashful. Some of us like dirty pictures. :cool:



The 629-4 PowerPort with the patridge sight.
 
riverrat38 said:
I think early models had internal blades, so they couldn't be changed without machine work, which should be obvious. New ones are pinned. Rick
Click to expand...

We bought 12 six inch 586s when they first came out. Mine came with a red ramp and the sight was part of the barrel.....no pins.

My buddy's had a patridge sight.
 
Patridges are preferred in non-speed or timed shooting contests, like bullseye and silhouette .

For PPC and 3 gun type shooting, the colored ramp has the advantage, providing quick contrast.

With the Patridge, the image is sharper and more distinct on a black and white target.

It works well when the sight is brought up or down onto the bullseye giving the eye enough time to adjust instead of
being contrasting and quick reacting.

Hope that helps.
 
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Which of the two would be best for low light in the woods?
 
To each his own. I prefer patridge style front sights for everything, and if it came down to everything identical on two guns with the exception of the sight, I'll take the one with the Patridge front sight every time. Carry, competition, hunting, you name it. Having started out on a M17 with a patridge style front sight, I didn't care for red ramps for many years. I've gotten good enough now to block out any distractions and can shoot them all good enough. But if I'm in a tree stand trying to hit a whitetail at 50 yards, I'm still hoping I'm holding a model with the patridge style front sight!!
 
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The best of all (to me) is a patridge with fiber optic. All my iron sight guns have fiber optic front and rear. It makes a huge difference in fast sight acquisition and low light and dark background situations.

The best sights I have found for fast shooting are a .100 wide fiber front with a .125 notch and fiber rear. The extra light gap with the skinnier front helps a lot for speed and I don't find it a hinderance for accuracy out to 50 yards. I use orange front and green rear fibers. I use the fibers to track where the sights are in relation to each other, but still use the black metal part to aim with, just as always.

I found out a long time ago the red ramp is very difficult to judge where the top of it ends. The sides are not clearly defined either, like a black front.

As always, YMMV.
 
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My eyes are very old now but I have always preferred Patridge to red ramp. I suppose the red ramp is useful in close encounters of the deadly kind but, For me they're terrible for aiming.

The blue Model 29 with a red ramp looks really cool on Dirty Harry's gun(s)!
 
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I like my red ramp on my 686 on sunny days at the range. I can't see it in the woods.

I see Midway has a Patridge front sight for the 686 but it requires a hole to be drilled for the pin. I would think it must be the right height to work.

Anyone tried one of those from Midway?
 
A new sight is blank because the hole for the pin is in different places on different guns. To get the sight mounted correctly, you have to drill it for the specific gun it will be on. Most 686 front sights are .250 tall, or something close.
 
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