When you get a chance to form an opinion, I'd be interested in hearing how you feel about that big, heavy bbl sticking out there. I've only shot a 4" 686. Didn't feel unbalanced at all. I hope the six inch is still similarly well balanced.
First revolver I owned was a 6", no-lug Model 17/K-22. Felt great, if a bit light.
Second revolver I ever owned and the first I ever bought (paper route money) was a 6" 686-3, and I thought the look was
EXACTLY what a revolver was supposed to look like.
The feel and balance, I always thought, was also exactly right. However, over a -lot- of time and experience, I do absolutely find it muzzle heavy and ill-balanced now. And what I
really find is that I notice things like "balance" so much more now than I ever did in the past, and it seems to almost be something I'm forever chasing.
I find a noticeable difference between a heavy barrel and a pencil barrel Model 10. I think a four-inch full lug, like a 686, has a fantastic balance, better than my six-inch 686.
I've got myself convinced that a five-inch barrel may be the ULTIMATE "Goldilocks" length, but the truth is... it changes depending on caliber, too. I owned a full lug, five-inch Model 625 for a short bit, and it seemed a bit LIGHT at the muzzle,
, and I told myself it was because of the bigger .45-cal hole taking away weight that a .357-cal hole doesn't.
Still love the first revolver I ever bought with my own money, that 686-3. But I don't shoot it as often as some others, and when I do shoot it, I usually put 150-250 through it in one session, and what occurs to me is that, WOW, it's muzzle heavy and after that long session, I'm ready to put it away for a while before I take it back to the range.
Sometimes...I believe I over-think it.
