Info/Price on 686 no dash?

[Venom1956]

Hey all I stumbled across a no dash 686 at a local pawn shop wondering what you all think. Its a 4" barrel shows some signs of use nicks, scratches and the like, its also very dirty.

The original 686 had all forged internals correct? no MIM, no Lock (obviously) it also has the firing pin on the hammer. It is also wearing pachmayr grips I have no idea what shipped from factory... Only to things that I didn't like was a small nick on the crown of the barrel and the cylinder has maybe a 1/16" of forward/backwards play in it.

All in all not a bad piece for shooting. I'm not a huge fan of stainless but this one seemed like a pretty good deal, It is just the gun nothing else I got them down to 480 OTD gonna try for 20 bucks lower with cash. Only thing that really concerns me is the cylinder. Could it just need to be tightened down?

Opinions? Suggestions?

 

[FlyFish]

The original (no dash) Model 686 was produced from 1980 to 1986 and predates MIM parts. It would have come from the factory with the standard S&W Goncalo Alves (a type of rosewood, as I understand) target grips. They're readily available, but will obviously add to your cost of the gun if your intention is to return it to original condition.

The forward/backward play in the cylinder is known as end shake, and you are correct to be concerned. If it's really 1/16th of an inch, that equates to .0625, i.e., 60+ thousandths, and that's an unusually (to say the least) large amount of end shake. End shake is typically considered a problem that requires attention at just a few thousandths, at which point it's easily corrected by stretching the cylinder yoke or inserting some thin stainless washers - my gunsmith charges only $25 for this. End shake of over 60 thousandths is an indication that the gun has been both abused and ignored. I honestly don't know if it can be corrected at reasonable cost.

I'd recommend determining the actual amount of end shake with a set of regular automotive feeler gauges. Push the cylinder back and measure the gap between it and the forcing cone, then to the same while pushing it forward - the end shake is the first measurement minus the second. A purist would do the measurement on all six chambers to ensure that the axis of the cylinder is parallel to the axis of the barrel. If it really is as large as you eyeballed it I wouldn't touch the gun at half the price asked. If it's a good bit less than that it can be fixed (and really must be fixed) at relatively little cost but again that adds to your cost of the gun.

At $480, with the problems you mention, my choice would certainly be to pass on the gun. There are plenty of very nice specimens around for just a bit more money.

One other thing - the no dash and -1 686s were subject to a recall due to problems with the firing pin bushing causing the cylinder to bind with certain loads. Guns that have had the factory fix will have an "M" stamped in the yoke cutout. If you plan to use the gun for SD, and maybe even if you don't, you'll want to have S&W do the fix. They'll do it at no cost and even pay the freight both ways, but it would be one more thing to deal with.

 

[MrBorland]

$480's much too high for this gun, IMHO.

I recently did an action job on a friends' 686 no dash, and was blown away at how rough & poorly fitted that gun was. Being a no-dash, it made in the early 80s, when Bangor Punta QA/QC seemed at it's nadir. It may have been a particularly bad example, but it's unlikely I'd pay much (if anything) for one of these guns.

The no dashes I've seen came with wood magna grips, so Pachmayr's wouldn't be original.

The endshake can likely be fixed with washers/shims designed to take up the slack. Or, a gunsmith can stretch the yoke barrel a bit to take up the slack.

The nick in the crown may seem small, but it may very well affect it's accuracy, and I'd recommend having it recrowned while the endshake's being fixed.

 

[pendennis]

I heartily agree with the first two responders.

That's a huge amount of end shake, if it's really that much. However, I doubt that the frame is stretched. The design of the 686 was such that you could shoot full-house loads in it without the frame stretching.

The stocks on the revolver are replacements. The originals would have been Goncalo Alves target stocks.

I own an early model 686-no dash, and the trigger is superb. Mine has the original stocks, shoots like a dream, and I got it for about $425. Even for a newer model, you could do better.

I vote "pass".