Quality of 686 Pro model?

[WP]

When I first saw one of the new 686 pro models my first thought was "Ugh" but somehow over the months I've "developed" an appreciation for the shape of the revolver especially the 4" model. Does anyone have experience shooting one of the 4" pros? How does it compare to the "old" style 686? I'm looking for comments on trigger pull, balance, general accuracy etc. I'd appreciate any comments positive or negative experienced by those of you who have some experience with this model.
Thanks,
WP

 

[wolverine]

When I first saw one of the new 686 pro models my first thought was "Ugh" but somehow over the months I've "developed" an appreciation for the shape of the revolver especially the 4" model. Does anyone have experience shooting one of the 4" pros? How does it compare to the "old" style 686? I'm looking for comments on trigger pull, balance, general accuracy etc. I'd appreciate any comments positive or negative experienced by those of you who have some experience with this model.
Thanks,
WP

Morning WP

I can't comment on the 686 pro but can comment on a similar 986 pro.

Gun came with a so/so trigger pull (had the good ribbed main spring though) & fit/finish not great but well above the last few S&W standard models I have bought.

The good part is-- with some trigger work the trigger cleaned up nicely & as of now has about the best double action trigger pulls on any of my newer S&W revolvers.

Internal parts fit good but took some trigger shimming & hammer shimming to get the parts to fit correctly (for my taste anyhow).

Gun shoots good & is easy to point.

If you get a 5" barrel be aware that (quality) holsters are VERY DIFFICULT to find for the 5" S&W revolvers.

 

[Elliot45]

686+ Pro

I purchased the 686+ (7 shot) Pro with the 5" barrel. I found the gun to be very accurate. I decided to change the front site from the Patridge site to a fiber optic only because it is easier to acquire the target faster, which it does. However, I believe the Patridge site was slightly more accurate. I also decided to change grips to the Rosewood grips you see. The trigger is smoother than what you would find in the standard 686 if that helps. I really don't have anything negative to say about the gun, I still like it a lot and it is one of my most accurate guns. Regards, Elliot45

 

[1sailor]

I will be getting my new 686+ PRO delivered hopefully by this Saturday. I have already loaded up 300 rounds with some different bullets (cast 130's and 158's) and will be heading out to my favorite shooting spot Sunday or Monday. I'll get back to you on my personal preliminary evaluation then. Like you I at first did not like the looks of them but they have some features that I wanted and didn't seem to be able to get from a lot of other choices. For one thing, I cannot focus well on the red ramp front sights that Smith likes to use. There are some models that have pinned sights but after looking actively for replacement sights for months and being unable to find anything other than Fiber Optic sights I had to conclude that changinging sights was not a viable option on other models. I also wanted the 5" barrel specificaly and the only other model that came to my attention was the Talo 5". But it has the pinned red ramp sight so I had to eliminate it from my choices. I also prefer stainless steel. I shoot a lot by many peoples standards and just hate scrubbing a beautifuly blued gun. That's why my Model 27 doesn't get used as often as I'd like. Sorry, this was a long winded version of "I'll get back to you in a few days". Just wanted to add that I prefer a round butt with Uncle Mikes grips and so that also eliminated a lot of other choices such as the earlier model 686's.