I bought one of the used S&W 686s from centerfiresystems.com. I had high hopes for it when I took delivery of it.
Although it is nickel-plated instead of brushed stainless, the price was simply too good for me to resist. ($289) It is a 4" barreled model.
The cylinder is hard to get out; like it is hanging up a bit on the piece at the end of the underlug. I discovered that if I push backwards slightly when I'm opening it, that is overlookable. (is that a word? Hehehe)
But the real disappointment came when I shot it.
I loaded up 4 boxes of ammo, all in 357 cases with 158 gr. hardcast lead bullets:
1. Light 38 Special loads - 3.8 gr. of Bullseye
2. 38 +P+ or light Magnums loads with 5.8 gr. of Bullseye
3. Light magnums with 11.2 gr. of 2400
4. Full magnums with 15.0 gr. of 2400
Load 1 was fantastic. I was immediately more accurate than I am with my Glock 34 or Ruger P90.
Load 2 was not quite as good, but still quite acceptable. Probably on par with my Glock 34 or Ruger P90. (But not in the same ballpark as my 8 3/8" S&W 29)
Loads 3 and 4 were awful. They went to shotgun patterns. I really don't think it was flinching. Even from a rest, it was hard to keep them on paper at 25 yds.
Is this common? I figured they may not be quite as accurate as the 38 Special loads, but they were just horrible. Could it be that the heavy bullets with the magnum powder charge is not a good combo? My Smith & Wesson 29 shoots nearly as well with the full-house magnums as it does with light Specials.
I'm interested in everyone's comments.
Although it is nickel-plated instead of brushed stainless, the price was simply too good for me to resist. ($289) It is a 4" barreled model.
The cylinder is hard to get out; like it is hanging up a bit on the piece at the end of the underlug. I discovered that if I push backwards slightly when I'm opening it, that is overlookable. (is that a word? Hehehe)
But the real disappointment came when I shot it.
I loaded up 4 boxes of ammo, all in 357 cases with 158 gr. hardcast lead bullets:
1. Light 38 Special loads - 3.8 gr. of Bullseye
2. 38 +P+ or light Magnums loads with 5.8 gr. of Bullseye
3. Light magnums with 11.2 gr. of 2400
4. Full magnums with 15.0 gr. of 2400
Load 1 was fantastic. I was immediately more accurate than I am with my Glock 34 or Ruger P90.
Load 2 was not quite as good, but still quite acceptable. Probably on par with my Glock 34 or Ruger P90. (But not in the same ballpark as my 8 3/8" S&W 29)
Loads 3 and 4 were awful. They went to shotgun patterns. I really don't think it was flinching. Even from a rest, it was hard to keep them on paper at 25 yds.
Is this common? I figured they may not be quite as accurate as the 38 Special loads, but they were just horrible. Could it be that the heavy bullets with the magnum powder charge is not a good combo? My Smith & Wesson 29 shoots nearly as well with the full-house magnums as it does with light Specials.
I'm interested in everyone's comments.