Thoughts on the SW 686?
- Thread starter benstt
- Start date
Annihilator
Emissary
Great gun, owned several of them over the years, personally, I like the regular six shot version, anyway, you won’t go wrong on this model.
HansGruber
Ronin
I think it's the best .357 revolver you can own for under $1k, hands down.
Built heavily enough for a constant magnum diet, but not as heavy as an N-frame -27 or -28. Light years ahead of a GP-100.
I've got two; a no-dash M686 4”, and a 686-6+ 2.5”. Both are joys to shoot, and the 2.5” is a tack driver with 125gr loads.
Built heavily enough for a constant magnum diet, but not as heavy as an N-frame -27 or -28. Light years ahead of a GP-100.
I've got two; a no-dash M686 4”, and a 686-6+ 2.5”. Both are joys to shoot, and the 2.5” is a tack driver with 125gr loads.
I have personally never shot one but my cousin loves the smith 686 plus, he also thinks the ruger gp100 is a fine 357 also
Sounds like my P320 deathtrap gets a new owner on Monday. It's too bad, I like shooting the 320 but I can't have an unsafe firearm in my place, nor can I put it in the hands of any friends or family who want to shoot. I guess I'll have to look for a P220 or 226 once the pandemic panic stops and people stop buying up everything with a trigger.
C
chrisjohnson65
Guest
krunchnik
Master Class
Why is the 320 called a deathtrap-just wondering
Hi benstt,
What would be the intended application of a 686?
I used to own a 4" 586. It was one heavy handgun. For bipedal self-defense, it was always loaded with the FBI load. I gave it to a very close and dear friend. I even paid to have it shipped to his FFL for transfer.
I consider the .357 Mag our most versatile handgun cartridge. For specific applications, there are superior cartridges.
I was never able to come close to advertised .357 Mag ballistics. The best I could pull off was ~1250 with 158 grain factory and hand loaded rounds.
Impressive .357 Mag ballistics were (allegedly) derived from 8.375" barrels. My guess is those velocities were inflated.
It's hard to beat the .357 Mag as a wilderness survival cartridge, not to be confused with a wilderness self-defense cartridge.
From experience, my model 586 was not a concealed carry handgun. It was far too heavy and inconvenient for concealed carry. Reloading a revolver takes at least twice as long as reloading a semi, and one is reloading only 6 rounds. Reloading a revolver at night and under stress is not easy. Also, one has to take his eyes off a threat to reload a revolver.
I do have affinity for revolvers. For self-defense, they can't compete with good quality semis. And don't believe the urban legend that revolvers are more reliable than semis. I've had at least three revolvers fail, and they were all catastrophic failures, meaning an armorer had to repair them. Fortunately, all failures occurred during training. I have knowledge of many more revolvers suffering catastrophic failure. I have never seen a good quality semi fail to do anything. And when a semi does fail, it's usually cleared and back in action within seconds.
My Sig P229 was by a huge margin the most reliable on-duty handgun I've carried. That handgun was flawless. Now, my urban self-defense handgun is a Springfield Armory EMP 3 9MM, and my wilderness self-defense handgun is a Springfield Armory TRP .45 ACP. Both have been 100% reliable and incredibly accurate.
I'm not attempting to talk you out of going with a 686. I own revolvers. I love beautiful revolvers. My intention is merely to stimulate thought about application of a 686.
What would be the intended application of a 686?
I used to own a 4" 586. It was one heavy handgun. For bipedal self-defense, it was always loaded with the FBI load. I gave it to a very close and dear friend. I even paid to have it shipped to his FFL for transfer.
I consider the .357 Mag our most versatile handgun cartridge. For specific applications, there are superior cartridges.
I was never able to come close to advertised .357 Mag ballistics. The best I could pull off was ~1250 with 158 grain factory and hand loaded rounds.
Impressive .357 Mag ballistics were (allegedly) derived from 8.375" barrels. My guess is those velocities were inflated.
It's hard to beat the .357 Mag as a wilderness survival cartridge, not to be confused with a wilderness self-defense cartridge.
From experience, my model 586 was not a concealed carry handgun. It was far too heavy and inconvenient for concealed carry. Reloading a revolver takes at least twice as long as reloading a semi, and one is reloading only 6 rounds. Reloading a revolver at night and under stress is not easy. Also, one has to take his eyes off a threat to reload a revolver.
I do have affinity for revolvers. For self-defense, they can't compete with good quality semis. And don't believe the urban legend that revolvers are more reliable than semis. I've had at least three revolvers fail, and they were all catastrophic failures, meaning an armorer had to repair them. Fortunately, all failures occurred during training. I have knowledge of many more revolvers suffering catastrophic failure. I have never seen a good quality semi fail to do anything. And when a semi does fail, it's usually cleared and back in action within seconds.
My Sig P229 was by a huge margin the most reliable on-duty handgun I've carried. That handgun was flawless. Now, my urban self-defense handgun is a Springfield Armory EMP 3 9MM, and my wilderness self-defense handgun is a Springfield Armory TRP .45 ACP. Both have been 100% reliable and incredibly accurate.
I'm not attempting to talk you out of going with a 686. I own revolvers. I love beautiful revolvers. My intention is merely to stimulate thought about application of a 686.
I have some HK VPs in 9mm and
40 that I love, and they are smaller than my P320. I also have some 1911s, a couple 10mms, a .44 single action, a HK45, and a model 10 .38 special. I'd carry them the VPs if I was to carry anything. The 686 would be for shooting and maybe wilderness and hunting. I'm looking at a 6", far too big for a EDC or CCW. Its largely because I want a .357.
You weren't kidding about it being accurate. That's a great revolver!
I look forward to using it. My first 6 rounds through it at 10 yards were all within an inch. That's pretty good for me. It was even better with .38 specials. The first five cloverleafed, then I threw the last one when I got cocky. Id love to see what a marksman could do with it. All told, I love it. Thanks for your advise.
Annihilator
Emissary
All the ones I owned shot great, and as time and shooting it, your trigger will definitely get smoother, glad you like it, there great guns, have tons of fun with it.