It's not my favorite but it's 1976 2 3/4" ruger Police Service six in 357 mag stainless. I just don't care for anything under 4" barrels. I'm the orginal owner. The action is super smooth for a ruger firearm. It's the years of use plus lubed with moly. She will still be in the family for another 100+ years.
During the height of the plastic pistol craze my LGS put a excellent condition ruger security six 357/6" blue in the case for $150. The revolver had to time to get comfy I grabbed it.
gunny;
I don't have a 3" 686 CS-1 but I have my favorite barrel length of that issue - a 4" barreled one. It is beyond good! It is one of my all time favorites. I got it new right when they hit the market. One of my better pieces of all time!
A model 65 for under $750 if I had one.
May never happen since I am 65 and this unavailability situation will probably outlast me.
I already have a 3" Model 60 with adjustable sights that is pretty nice, though.
I carried one like this my last couple of years as a patrol officer.
My 1911 wasn't feeding correctly and I didn't have the time or money to get it fixed properly. I did have a 5" M625 .45 ACP. I carried for a couple of weeks, but it was too heavy. I called S&W about buying a 4" Mountain Gun barrel, but they didn't have one in stock. Brownells had a 3" barrel, so I bought one and installed it. I prefer a 4" barrel for the sight radius, but made do with the 3".
I've also owned a 3" M13 and a 3" M65. Both were nice.
If I'm thinking 3" HB for some range time just because I've got plenty 38 Spl and dwindling stock of 9mm & 45, I'm faced with a choice...........blue steel or nickel
36-1 blue (1976) or 36-1 nickel (1982)....both handle & shoot the same....seems like a tad more "bark" than my Model 10's but plenty fun and "decently" accurate (Me....not either gun!).
My favorite, and only, 3" is a model 63 .22 I bought new about 2 years ago. It slips easy into a pocket holster to carry around the very rural area I live in. Lots of plinking and sometimes shooting of poisonous snakes or other varmints.
I own four of the 3-inchers. Three are K-frames and one is a 686+ L-frame. I guess my favorite would be the Model 65-LadySmith. The others are the Model 64 in 3-in and Model-65 in 3-in.