The Ideal 686

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HOUSTON RICK

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Perhaps the single most frequently discussed revolver on this forum is the Model 686 based on completely unscientific observation, I am interested in pictures and descriptions of what you consider the ideal or optimum Model 686 and why. I would like, a 6" barrel, 7-shot 686 with a non-fluted cylinder just because. Thank you for playing along.
 
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I shoot the 686+ 6" better than my 627. I dont know the reason. I know that Jerry Miculek has won using a 3" 686+. Why doesnt he shoot 8 shooters? Why does he load 6 rounds only in a 7 shot? When you make your own rounds, sometimes depending on the load, they creep out. Its happened to me. I load 6 out of 7 or 8 for that matter. So im sure you'll like the 6". Some would say a 4". Depends how you shoot them.

Home defense; more rounds, the better.uploadfromtaptalk1452477303905.jpg
 
Sorry no pics but I will play anyway. I currently own a 3"-6, 4"-4, and 6"-3. My vote for "ideal" 686 would have to be the 3" or 4". And I would probably lean towards the 4". For two reasons-portability and balance. It is a personal choice for everyone to make on their own. You can not go wrong with any of them. They are great in any barrel length.
 
I own a talo 3" 686+ and have never been completely happy with it so decided to make it my own. I tossed the grips, went with old school magnas and Tyler-T. Replaced sights with a gold bead, and switched out the thumb piece with an old style one. It's almost perfect... Just need to get a plug for the lock and it'll be the perfect 686. For me at least.
 
We have a 4" and a 6" 686. I will take the 4" any day. I just shot it at the range today and I love this gun more each time I shoot it, and I shoot it every week. The balance seems perfect, trigger is great, hits where I aim. This gun does get cycled through as my carry gun about 25% of the time, depending what I am wearing. I am planning on adding a 2.5" 686PC in the near future. Good Luck on your choice....
 
My first revolver was a model 67-1 with a tapered 4 inch barrel. Time spent shooting that revolver taught me that less barrel weight makes for a revolver that is more responsive in the hand. Basically it's sort of like a 1500 lbs Lotus 7 compared to a 3400 lbs. Corvette. While that Corvette may be more powerful the Lotus 7 is responsive in ways that someone only familiar with a Corvette won't ever understand. So my nominee for the ultimate 686 would be the Mountain Gun with a close second being either the 2 1/2 inch or 3 inch versions.
 
I have a 686-6+ Talo, unfluted 5" bbl. I think if you want unfluted, it would have to be the Talo, which is 3, 5, and 7" bbl's.
5" bbl is a good medium between 4 and 6". Very pleasant to shoot.

I spent about 3hrs buffing it with Mothers Mag the other night. I wanted to buff out the mim trigger and hammer.
2wd6kci.jpg


25yds on a rest with the Leup 2x scope. First 7 shots before I sighted it in. It was bulls eye after.
3145xcl.jpg
 
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I have a 4 and 6 inch 686 and if you count it a 4 inch 586. My favorites are the 4 inch. I have never had or shot a 3 inch but sure would like to. I figure before to long the 6 inch may move along. It is real accurate but I rarely shoot it because for me it is to big for easy carrying. I wish S&W would make some with the old style shrouded ejector minus the big lug. The SSR is close but needs to go a little further.
 
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Have the 3" and it is in my hands perfect. As I have mentioned in other post, the 3" fits easier in a drawer, car console and laptop bag much easier than larger barrel guns. To each his own and there is no such thing as a bad 686.
 
This may be blasphemy, but I recently sold my (pre-lock) 586 L-Comp and bought a 4" 686-5 (also pre-lock) to replace it. I found the 3" L-frame too big to comfortably conceal and prefer the balance of the 4" at the range. As an added bonus, I could buy two 4" 686's for what I sold the L-Comp for.
 
girvin02 said:
This may be blasphemy, but I recently sold my (pre-lock) 586 L-Comp and bought a 4" 686-5 (also pre-lock) to replace it. I found the 3" L-frame too big to comfortably conceal and prefer the balance of the 4" at the range. As an added bonus, I could buy two 4" 686's for what I sold the L-Comp for.
Click to expand...

Not blasphemy IMHO... I'm with you a 3" L frame is too big to CC IWB...

I had a 3" 586.... traded it for a PC Shorty-9 IIRC.......(looking back should have kept it as a safe queen LOL).

IWB CC I'll stick with 3" k-frames.................
 
4" 686 Is The Winner!

I bought my 4" 686 No-dash back in mid 1986 and just love it! Had trigger job done at LGS at that time. It is a very sweet handling and shooting revolver.

That said, I picked up a 2.62" 627PC this past year, and after some DIY tweaking it shoots well, but NOT as well as my original 686. BOTH the 627PC and my 686 weigh nearly identical when loaded, just 0.6oz more for the 686. This makes recoil very comparable, but handling the 686 is a dream worth repeating IMO. :D:D:D

I have toyed with the idea of picking up a 6" 686 in order to give me a wider range of barrel lengths, but from what I see in this thread about 6" revolvers, I will probably put that decision off for awhile.

Three%20SW%20Revolvers.jpg
 
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686

I'm a big fan of the 6" 686. This is mine, it's a -2. It had a nice trigger. Now it has a great trigger. Just disassembled and installed a reduced power mainspring and a 14lb trigger spring. Polished the transfer bar and associated parts. SA pull is just a tick under 3lbs and DA is 9lbs. It seems i can't load 38 special fast enough to satisfy my trigger pulling needs.

D11DE5A6-B5E0-42C0-8622-A23EA2F44219_zpsdzyd8hfj.jpg


89F21F80-50E8-4C7D-8D3F-A6C78CBE0C08_zps5mu0mjky.jpg
 
I've owned 686's with 2.5", 4" & 6" barrels.

I've only kept the 4", and I don't see it leaving here any time soon.

If we want to list our "Dream" 686, mine would have a 3.5" barrel, round butt, with a "Black Powder" cylinder like the S&W Mountain Guns came with, and a DX quick change front sight like on my 625 JM. (and NO lock!)

Maybe if I hit the PowerBall lottery, I'll get S&W to run a batch of them for us. ;)

Bob S.
 
I have a 686-1 6" that I bought new in 1988. I'll carry it around our property in full flap holster. In the early 1990s, and after trying several different grips, I found a set of Davis grips that fit me well and that have been on my 686 for about 20 years. Since its been in that configuration for 20 or so years, I'd say it's perfect for me.
 

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Ideal 686

Well they're kinda like Lays potato chips. You can't just own one.

My favorite one is my 5" classic competition gun. It started life as a 5" 686+ but I had a new cylinder installed, along with the full apex treatment to make it a 6 shot for ICORE and other action competition.

IMG_0274-X2.jpg


Of course, there's the 4" version legal for IDPA and as a back up for the 5".

IMG_0278-X2.jpg
 
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