The list of enhancements for the Performance Center Pro Series 686 Plus inconsistently includes a tuned action. Two questions: What is a tuned action and does this PC Pro Series 686 Plus carry this enhancement?
Thanks all.
Thanks all.
What’s a “tuned action”?
- Thread starter Handgunner00
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Typically a tuned revolver will have polished internals and lighter springs for a better trigger pull.
Years ago (decades maybe?), a PC certainly would've had the trigger massaged before shipping. Now, I sorta doubt it gets touched at all. My reasoning for that is nothing more than reducing cost.
Protocall_Design
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The only action tuning I've seen for the past few years from the factory is the use of a Wolff Power Rib mainspring, and possibly a lighter rebound spring. That is not a tuned action. That is a cheap spring kit.
A real tuned action has internal parts (lockworks) polished and fitted by a skilled revo smith. The higher end versions of this have all the specs set to be the optimal dimension for each part of the gun, like blueprinting a car engine.
A real tuned action has internal parts (lockworks) polished and fitted by a skilled revo smith. The higher end versions of this have all the specs set to be the optimal dimension for each part of the gun, like blueprinting a car engine.
I have a PC J Frame with a "tuned action". I have no idea what, precisely, was done but the trigger pull is smoother and lighter than "normal" J Frames I have handled. It's pretty magnificent.
Is a modern "tuned action" as good as they used to be? Eh. Nothing ever is.
Is a modern "tuned action" as good as they used to be? Eh. Nothing ever is.
Protocall_design is correct. Here's an excerpt about action tuning:
Transforming a revolver's trigger into a smooth action with a crisp break is a lot more involved than just swapping out springs. There's no huge gain achieved by just doing a couple of modifications. Sure, you can replace a couple of springs – the main/hammer spring and the rebound spring, which resets the trigger – but that will only give you a slight gain, and do nothing to smooth out the action.
A true "trigger job" involves reworking pretty much every internal component, and there are plenty of them. Anywhere you have metal on metal friction gets honed or polished. Some springs are replaced – the main/hammer spring and rebound spring mentioned above – a couple are shortened and some are left as is, as long as they are functioning. Eventually all of these small reductions add up to a significant improvement.
The end result is a nice, smooth trigger action with a crisp break. It's the difference you'd feel between running your hand across a coarse piece of sandpaper vs. a piece of glass that's covered in soapy water. "Slick" is a good adjective to describe the experience.
I'll almost guarantee that S&W's current PC does not have the expertise or desire to spend the time to perform a true action tuning on all of their revolvers. Check out some of Jerry Miculek's videos on YouTube.
I'm going to estimate that to do a "tuned action" by a competent gunsmith is at least 2-3 hours. At probably $80 p/hr = $240, (at least). If the price of the gun doesn't include that much over the basic price you can seriously doubt how much of a "tuning" the gun gets.
OP
The most fundamental approach to successful detective work is to follow the money. Thanks H Richard for reminding me of this fact. Note the following: The published MSRP for the standard S&W model 642 is $539. The MSRP for the Performance Center Pro Series model 642 is $579. How much action tuning will $40 buy us today? In fact the only enhancement listed for the PC Pro Series model are cuts for moon clips. I've done considerable research into the implied linkage between Performance Center and Pro Series and have concluded the linkage is likely more a marketing strategy than a statement of functional superiority. (The model 642 is now the only Performance Center Pro Series revolver listed in the S&W online catalog. A few days after I emailed Customer Service questioning the Performance Center-Pro Series linkage with the model 686 Plus, both the Performance Center and Performance Center Pro Series 686 Plus were labeled "discontinued" and deleted from the catalog.)
Sorry, I missed the plot in my response above. My J Frame (a 637) is a "Performance Center" (not "Pro Series") with a "tuned action" and, like I said, it is wonderful.
Coincidentally, just today, my "Pro Series" (not "Performance Center") 686 SSR came back from Nelson Ford after one of his action jobs and now it's wonderful, too. Previous to sending the 686 away to Nelson, the trigger pull on the SSR was noticeably rougher and a bit inconsistent from chamber to chamber. Now, it's great.
I believe that you're right. The "Pro Series" has some different/trick parts installed on the gun but no real attention to the functioning.
FWIW: I also have a bog standard 686+ which has an action that feels nicer and more consistent that the 686 SSR did before Nelson Ford worked on it. Now, I don't want to say that the SSR had a terrible feel - I put several thousand rounds through it and shot it at Gunsite - but it just never felt quite right, especially for a revolver named after an IDPA competition division. Now, it does feel right.
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