S&w 686 ...?

G

Greguw

New member
I am looking at a 686 + with a 2 1/2 barrel , how do these guns shoot with the small barrel , I have a older K frame 66 with a 4" barrel and thats still a nice gun .
I would love a 3" barrel ... I did look at the sp101 , from all the posts on the ruger that seems like a very nice gun too .
My carry gun is the S&M 60 J frame , I know the 686 frame is a little bigger , the gun won't be a every day carry , but I do see carrying it from time to time .

Thanks Guys

Greg
 
Hi Greg - I have a 686P with the 4 inch barrel... that's about as small as I like. Some people seem to be able to shoot quite well even with a snubnose, but that's an uphill battle for sure.

Just my opinion, but I think that frame and grip size are more important for concealability than barrel length (at least at the 4" mark)... no right answer for this really - it's a tradeoff, and going to come down to your druthers.
 
Re : 686

Thats why I love a 3" barrel ...it's kind-a right in the middle ... you still have some control .
I have shot short barrel 32's and 38's but once you step up to the larger guns with a short barrel your loosing a lot of accuracy .

I'll will end up with a sp101 , but I don't know if it will be this purchase or the next one ...LOL

Thanks

Greg
 
I suppose it depends on whether you like the balance and shortened sight radius of the short-barreled wheelguns, and what velocities you desire to see out of your .357 Magnum ammunition.

I have a friend who sent a 6" barreled M686 to MagNaPort to have it rebarreled with a 2 1/2" barrel. A 3" barrel was his first choice, for the extraction/ejection length issue, but no 3" barrels were available at the time he sent it in. He settled on a 2 1/2" barrel without being particularly bothred about it.

After the grip frame was modified from a square butt to a round butt, and the action received the attention of an experienced revolver armorer who was a close friend ... the resulting snub revolver turned out to be a fine gun. It's remained so, too, after more rounds than he's bothered to count in the years since then.

Personally, I've always thought the 2 1/2" barreled K & L frame guns were handy belt guns, and the newer 'higher capacity' wheelguns from S&W have always interested me. Just too many other guns on my list that I want to buy before I retire. :) Haven't gotten around to them, yet.

I carried a M686 4" revolver as an issued service weapon for several years, and it's not exactly what you'd consider a lightweight weapon when it comes to either uniform or off-duty carry. It's sometimes amazing how much more comfortable a 2-3" barrel can be over a 4" barreled revolver, however. That single inch or inch & a half can sometimes be a very noticeable difference, especially when carried IWB ... which I used to a do a lot.
 
Re :686 ...butt

Thanks for all the useful info fastbolt ...You were refering to shaving the butt , I did take notice that the 4" has a different grip than the 2 1/2 barrel.
The 4" was more of a flat and the 2 1/2 had more of a rounder design ... which I prefer my self .
I was wondering if that was just the grip design for each gun or are they 2 different butt designs for the guns .

Thanks again

Greg
 
If this link works, taking you to the exact page of the Hogue Online catalog, it should answer your questions about the differences ... http://www.hogueinc.com/getgrip/merchant.ihtml?id=36&step=2

The current 686 model variations with the 2 1/2" barrels are interesting ... http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...ted=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15705

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...ted=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15705

My friend's 686 was one of the early production models offered in the traditional Square Butt configuration, and he wanted to make it feel like a round butt M19/66.

Now we can buy them that way.
 
Re: 686

Thanks again Fastbolt ...thats exactly what I was talking about ... What do you think about the 686+ ... it weighs less that than the standard 686 , I would figure because there removing a little more metal for the extra round .
Is there a noticeable differance between the 2 guns .

Greg
 
I haven't had the chance to handle and fire a 686+ ...

It would interest me, however, because of the extra round.

A trusted friend of mine, who is a longtime S&W and Colt revolver armorer, and someone else at the S&W factory, both told me the shorter arc of travel for the 7 & 8 round .357 revolvers make for some fast and smooth shooting revolvers.

If I were to return to carrying a revolver for uniform, and were permitted to choose it, I'd give serious thought to ordering one of the 5" M627 8-round .357 Magnum revolvers. Ditto for the 7-round 686+ snubgun for plainclothes.

Have you handled and fired any of them at a range? It pays to test-fire them if you can rent one similar to what interests you.

.357 Magnum wheelguns aren't for everyone, and revolver skills seem to be a diminishing set of skills ... more's the pity.
 
I got a lew horton special, 686 (No dash.) 2 1/2", and let me tell you.
It's the best shootin snubby I've ever shot.
It's got full, usable sights, a real gripframe, and a good trigger.
It's also the lightest gun I'd want to run full throttle hunting loads through.
Better than any of the lightweight snubbies out there, as far as usablilty, accuracy, and comfort.
It's not exactly a beginners' gun, but it isn't exactly bad for the beginning shooter, once they have a good sight picture and trigger control.
 
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