S&W 686 Plus I am considering

Around here that would be a good price.

I have a 2.5" 686 Plus and its a good shooter. Its not as svelte as 2.5" 19, but its a good shooter. I also had a 2.5" standard 686 in the past and it was a good gun too. Both are easily carried if you're looking to.

I dont worry about the locks. I have a bunch of S&W's with them and they have never been a problem.

The timing on the Plus is "quicker" for lack of a better way to describe it. Compared to my other DA revolvers, the trigger on the Plus does seem noticeably lighter, although I dont know that it actually is.

Generally the Smiths have some wiggle in the cylinder when the hammer is down, but lock up pretty tight with the hammer cocked, or coming into lock when shooting DA.

My brother bought one, 3 years ago, for $700.

The few I am seeing are $800 for 6 shot and $850 for 7 shot.

No visible damage, I would be all over it, at $750.

aaaaa said:

One other thing. Is the cylinder supposed to have any rotational wiggle when closed and on a chamber? My 642 does and this one does. I would think it is impossible to have zero wiggle as then the locking tab above the trigger would have to be a very tight fit, perhaps too tight to reliably drop into the slot.

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Upon lockup, sometimes the trigger needs do be fully depressed in order to check wiggle. Obviously do this with empty chambers. There should be zero wiggle when the trigger is fully depressed and held back.

aaaaa said:

My 642 has wiggle under all those conditions, not much, just a little, even with the trigger staged.

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Are you getting lead shavings coming back at you? The few revolvers I've owned that wiggled with the trigger depressed always seem to spit lead back at me.

If one became available at that price around here it would vanish quickly.

I have a 327 with a 2.5” barrel and once I found loads that it liked it is more accurate than I ever thought it could be. I shoot it well in single and double action. I wouldn’t discount it because it’s not a 3 or 4 inch.

Edit: but if you are set on a longer barrel maybe you should wait. Or…one will come along shortly after you buy that one. Murphy’s Law.

I have a 3 inch 686 plus. Great gun. These days, $750 is a pretty good price for any 686. They are running $850-1000.
Here is mine.

Fair price

aaaaa said:

Guy when I was in the store said 3" barrel, but I just called back and it is a 2.5" barrel. It was sold by a guy who got a divorce and is having some health issues so decided to part with it. Best of all, I asked if he has a cash discount, and was told they coudl do about $675. If only the barrel were a little longer.

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The 2.5 inch shoots like a big gun

Nice! I think you made a very good purchase.
That’s a good looking revolver.

Jonesy814 said:

I have a 3 inch 686 plus. Great gun. These days, $750 is a pretty good price for any 686. They are running $850-1000.
Here is mine.
View attachment 1065993 View attachment 1065994

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Love those grips

I really like those grips! Nice flamethrower!!!

Howdy

I bought this 686-6 brand new in 2015.






When I took it to the range i had to crank the rear sight all the way to the right to get it to print where I aimed.






When I got it home I found the reason was the barrel is canted slightly. This is what the yoke looks like when completely closed. There should not be a gap like that, there should be no gap at all. They are not all like that, but I have heard that a few are. With the revolver unloaded, check the gap where the yoke closes. It should not look like this.






Regarding a little bit of rotational wiggle, I would not worry about that. I have lots of revolvers. Many of them have a little bit of rotational wiggle.

aaaaa said:

I grabbed it. Turns out the guy bought the Performance Center grips and installed them instead of the stock rubber grips. Also have an original shell fired by S&W in the yellow envelope. Sales tag from previous owner's purchase. Gun is from 2011 per the yellow envelope.
View attachment 1066003

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Very nice looking revolver. At that price you can’t go wrong. If you really don’t like it, you can no doubt sell it for a nice profit. My 2.5 inch was $550 out the door, back in 2016 and that was a pretty good price then. I added the wood grips a couple years ago. Mine is a 6 shot.

WestKentucky said:

I really like those grips! Nice flamethrower!!!

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My avatar is me shooting my 2.5” 686.
125gr bullet over 21.7gr of H110. Makes a heck of a fireball. One evening a friend and I went out at dusk with my 2.5” 686 and a box of the above loaded rounds with the intention of seeing what kind of flame we would throw. The following was filmed in slow motion, 120 frames per second and these are screen shots. This is 6 consecutive frames shat at 120 frames per second so this whole sequence took place in 1/20th of a second

You’ll notice it goes from a ball to a donut, then it starts to dissipate, or in reality it has expanded to the point you cant see it


By the time the flame has traveled only 3 or 4 feet it’s gone
Here a few more from that day. Some of these are my buddy’s 3 inch GP100





You can film at a regular 30 frames per second and not catch a single flash unless you get lucky

I have the 2.5" and the 3" 686+. Not much of a difference. You do get a full ejection rod though with the 3", but that's not a huge deal IMHO. The overwhelming majority of revolver carriers EDC a J frame snubby sized guns for self and home defense for decades, and none of those have full ejection rods...

Here are the LuckyGunner test results if 38 special and 357 mag out if 2" and 4" revolvers using the most popular self defense ammo available. Out of a 2" barrel, 38 and 357 still performs well ballistically. Even with a 2" barrel, expansion and velocity isn't to far off from the 4" barrel. Your 686 is a 2.5" barrel, so your results will be even better and closer than to the 4" barrel results than what's listed. 357 out of a 2.5" 686 is also very manageable in my subjective opinion.



I EDC the 2.5" which is only very slightly bigger than the Model 66. My 686+ even fit all my Model 66 holsters. Not sure why people claim it's to big for carry, but the 66 is not. Not only is the size negligible, but so is the weight. Tbe current 2.75" Model 66 Combat Magnum weighs 33.5oz. The 2.5" 686 weighs 34.1oz. I see no reason the 686 in any configuration is always considered to be too big for carry, but the 66 is not.

S&W 686s are going for around $850-$900 NIB. Your 2011 686 should be in just as good of shape as my 2021. $675 is a great deal. Just about $200 off. I would have purchased it even though I already have one.

Despite all the whining and hatred, the lock is not a big deal. If you are honest with yourself with all biases aside, there would be zero difference in performance, accuracy, ergonomics, and functionality whether the lock was there or not. Your tool would work just the same.


@aaaaa

My 686+ 3" is my favorite handgun! I don't carry it very often though. I like pocket carry and it is just to big and heavy for that.
I do like carrying it in a OWB holster while scouting new hunting locations.
The lock is not an issue with me. I did change the grips to Hogue Bantam rubber grips, I like the feel...

I used to have that gun in the 3" and still keep the 5". It's likely the most accurate 686 I've ever owned. $750 is a good price!

Good luck on it still being there when you go back.

aaaaa said:

Ha! Two guys had looked at it that day. I made it back and nailed it. It is mine and I got it for $675 by paying cash! I had sold a S10 pickup last August and hung onto the cash--good thing!

I suspect the wood grips would be $50 so that is a bonus. Now to get some .357 ammo. I know this gun will handle recoil a LOT better than the Airweight but still excited to fire my first .357.

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I was going to ask you for the shop's info to see if they shipped if you didn't buy it