686+ loaders.

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Felenari

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I'm moving to Trinidad Colorado next year and wanted to get into competition shooting since the Whittington center is so close. I'm not planning on competing per se but I'd like to improve my handgun shooting at least and get into shotgun shooting as well.

I've currently got a smith and wesson 686+ as my one and only handgun and am having trouble finding good loaders for it. I've got one of the bks 7 shot loaders but when I load 357 as opposed to 38spcl the loader jams. My grip is a bit too thick on the side to clear the rounds properly and on occasion I even pull rounds back out of the cylinder when I go too fast. I'm making new grips for this revolver in school but I've heard that the safariland loaders have a much smoother mechanism. That said I can't find any 7 shot loaders from safariland, just the classic 6.

Anyone know of a good available 7 shot loader or a better technique to load with the bks? I insert part of the way till at least half of the rounds are in the charge holes and then I twist and release. If I try to fully insert the loader it impacts the frame/handle of the revolver.
 
Sorry, I don't know of such.
The seven shot revolver is not well suited for any form of competition I know of, so there is not much gear.

Your best move might be to sell it in California and buy a sixshooter in Colorado.
Or an eightshooter for USPSA, maybe ICORE.
 
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@Jim Watson, I just bought the 686 new. I bought it first and foremost as a platform for engraving so I might hold off with competition style shooting for now until I can buy a different revolver.

Why is the 7 shot not good for competition? Is it just why buy a 7 shot when 8 is available or are there many courses that run 6 shot or 8 shot groups? I've never attended a match so I'm very unfamiliar with the types of competition so far.

@ms6852 I'm a South paw also but I'm fairly ambidextrous. I go back and forth between left or right. One handed shooting I do much better lefty and double hand I shoot better right handed. Rifles I shoot right but I'm cross eye dominant on that one. I have to raise my scope by almost half an inch to sit comfy on a cheek rest. I'll check out one of those clips.
 
Also, yes I've looked into moonclipping it but I'm going to try and do it myself tlwhen I'm in gunsmithing school in a year.
 
It's not good for competition because there are no good speed loaders for it. I have one myself and just use the HKS loaders. They aren't the fastest to use.
 
I shoot mostly IDPA where you only get six in the revolver. A speed reload with one of the less speedy loaders, plus indexing the empty chamber under the hammer would be a real liability.

I shot my 686+ in USPSA with moon clips until the eightshooters came out. They now have a subdivision limited to six and one allowing eight, so seven is out in the cold.

NRA Precision is based on five shot strings with no reloads, you would be ok in Centerfire... except that nearly everybody shoots automatics but for those matches dedicated to the revolver.

NRA Action Pistol and Police are based on six shot strings. Reloads are less frequent but would still eat you up.

I had two .38/357 revolvers cut for clips, the + and a sixshooter. The long skinny cartridges do not load as easily as short stubby .45s. Just as well put in the practice with speedloaders, at least the Safariland Comp III and JetLoader six shot.

The German SL Variant speedloader was imported for the sevenshooters and is quite fast, but they have not been seen here in years and the importer has not succeeded in getting them made in USA.
 
Is there a company that ships the German ones to the US? My entire family lives next door in Belgium if not. :-P

I didn't know they were so strict on the amount of shots you can have in the firearm. I thought it was mostly if you get it stock you can use it, for most matches and then open comp where you can use anything.

I really need to read up more on competition shooting. Not very many places available where I live atm.
 
What type of competition shooting are you wanting to do?

The 7 shot revos are at a disadvantage to the 8 shot models like the 625. Plus, 45ACP drops into the cylinder easier than longer 38/357...

The 686+ is a sweet shooter...I have 2. But when it comes to competitions, it's at a distinct disadvantage.

Most competition revo shooters are using a 929, 610, or 625 with moon clips. For IDPA, the 686 SSR is great for "Stock Service Revolver". But still you will see the 625 used most often.
 
You could purchase a 6 shot cylinder. It's a straight swap over. Then you'll find many more accessories for reloading in competition.
 
@Vitesse304, I don't know what kind of competition yet. I bought the gun first and foremost as a blank canvas for engraving and for accurising in gunsmithing school. I got the 7 inch barrel so I can shorten it if I mess up the muzzle brake. :-P I got the seven shot because why have six when you can have seven right? Looking back I should have bought the 617 .22 but hindsight is 20/20 right?

I have never gone to a competition in person but I'm going to attend some events when I move to Colorado. I spend too kuh time fixing my house atm. I enjoy precision shooting with my bolt action but I wouldn't call my 300 yard range "precision" distance. I really enjoy shooting handguns at 50+ yards at steel. Same with my 22 lever. I like the fast paced target acquisition and the ring of steel. I find it very Zen.

@ms6852, Ty for the link I'll check them out. I think I've seen the speed beez version before but I'm not sure.

@Don P, do you have to change the lifting arm or the timing mechanism as well for that cylinder swap? I heard you can chamber a 357 for 9mm and I'd be stoked to have a dual caliber firearm. Will the new cylinder have to be machined to adjust cylinder gap? I don't want to spend the money on parts yet if I have to wait two years to machine them.

I'm not going to be competing any time soon but it would be fun to be more competent with a faster setup.
 
As I stated it's a straight swap. All you do is remove the cylinder and crane (lift) as you named it, unscrew the ejector rod, slide the cylinder off and slide the new one on and install the ejector rod. And all should be good. As far as the 9 mm goes it will not work as the 686 is a L frame and the 9 mm is an N frame. So no it will not work. 9 mm and 38/357 bullets are a different size in diameter
 
Now you are thinking. Use the sevenshooter as a blank canvas for your engraving, get Something Else to compete with.

Select that Something Else AFTER you have seen what form of competition is available and interesting.
 
Yup. There is never buying the "wrong' gun...
:)

Get a 617 for some steel challenge. There's a league that runs down in Pueblo during week days. The Speedbeez speed loaders work great for the 617.

Additionally, there's lots of precision shooting in CO and even in southern CO.
 
That sounds awesome. I'll have to look around for clubs or gatherings in CO. It'll be a while before I can buy another piece. I promised my wife I'd buy her a Rhino in 9mm as our next gun. I did see a really fun 6 shot 22 revolver for 199$ in trinidad tho. The 20 min background check still baffles me compared to the 10 day one here in CA. Feels like years sometimes.
 
Felenari said:
I've currently got a smith and wesson 686+ as my one and only handgun and am having trouble finding good loaders for it.
Click to expand...

Felenari said:
Why is the 7 shot not good for competition? Is it just why buy a 7 shot when 8 is available or are there many courses that run 6 shot or 8 shot groups?
Click to expand...

This is precisely the reason why I always recommend a 6- or 8-shot revolver over a 7. But it usually falls on deaf ears, since everyone seems to think solely in terms of SD. More often than you'd imagine, though, one gets gets the itch to try shooting some matches, then finds their 7-shot isn't so nifty any longer.
 
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