Navaho, Navaho, Navaho...maybe I was WRONG for assuming everyone KNEW what I thought was OBVIOUS, so I'll go ahead and state it now, "For the Record"...the MAXIMAL improvement that you will EVER experience from "Dryfiring" a revolver will occur between when the revolver is ABSOLUTELY NEW, just "Out of the Box" and somewhere around 1,200-3,000 "snaps"...this ASSUMES one is starting with a NEW revolver!!! Since YOUR Model 686 is THREE YEARS OLD and, one can assume, HAS been shot(and dryfired) some ALREADY, I am NOT surprised that you couldn't detect much-if any-improvement!!! This sounds expensive, but...it WILL give you an EXCUSE for buying another gun, so...try this exact, same procedure with you next NEW revolver...I'll bet you the price of a CASE of .38 special ammunition that, if you are HONEST about it, it WILL make a perceivable difference in the "smoothness" of the revolver's action!!! Care to try???....mikey357 p.s.-I think it's important to realize that the level of improvement that you can obtain in the revolver's "smoothness" thru "dryfiring" is never likely to be the same as you'd get from having a GOOD "action job" done by a professional...but it IS an improvement, nonetheless...sometimes a very MARKED improvement, but ALWAYS worthwhile...
[Edited by mikey357 on 01-13-2001 at 04:40 PM]