Opinions: S&W 686 vs 686+

Tacoma · May 1, 2022

WrongHanded said:
Various defensive applications. I know many people consider revolvers inferior to semi-autos for defensive use. There are many reasons to feel that way. There are also a few ways revolvers are superior. Accuracy at farther distances being one, and bullet design being another. Both of which are potential benefits in a woods/wilderness setting. I also find hip shooting with a revolver far easier than with a semi, due to the barrel and underlug weight helping to index the gun. And I find a full sized revolver slightly faster to draw, mainly due to the grip shape. So, there are some objective reasons, and some subjective reasons.

I don't have a preference between the two. I carry semi-autos most of the time these days. But when I do carry a revolver, an extra shot could come in handy.

When I worked in a gun shop, I always advocated revolvers to newbie's/women who wanted a defense gun but were not committed enough to drill with it regularly. I myself always keep a back up revolver in the under the bed safe (beside my lighted 45 acp SW M&P.) I know that even at 3 AM when jarred from a sound sleep, my wife will be able to operate it without worries of jamming's, safeties, mag releases, limp wristing...... etc. The greatest attribute of the revolver is it's simplicity of operation. Pull the trigger and it goes BANG. If it doesn't, just pull it again.

WrongHanded · May 6, 2022

Update:

No picture for you guys. But I finally settled on that 7 shot I was previously not too impressed with. After taking a close second look at several of the other 686s I'd found, along with an 8 shot N frame blacked out space gun, a Colt King Cobra, and a Kimber something something, I decided I was being overly fussy.

So I now have a plain Jane 686-6 Plus with a 4" barrel and a stupid little internal lock. We'll see how she shoots. Overall, I like it. I figure the trigger will smooth out with some dedicated dry firing. It looks nice, and it feels nice (except for the trigger). I'm happy to have a S&W revolver again.

Tacoma · May 6, 2022

WrongHanded said:
Update:

No picture for you guys. But I finally settled on that 7 shot I was previously not too impressed with. After taking a close second look at several of the other 686s I'd found, along with an 8 shot N frame blacked out space gun, a Colt King Cobra, and a Kimber something something, I decided I was being overly fussy.

So I now have a plain Jane 686-6 Plus with a 4" barrel and a stupid little internal lock. We'll see how she shoots. Overall, I like it. I figure the trigger will smooth out with some dedicated dry firing. It looks nice, and it feels nice (except for the trigger). I'm happy to have a S&W revolver again.

Nice choice. The trigger will improve with use however it's is easy enough to improve on a S&W ( once you get past the hesitation to start) . Leave the main spring alone and drop in a 14# trigger return spring. In my experience, that should show you some notable improvement and still be 100% reliable. If you want to do some polishing while your in there, you might get it down so that it takes a 12 or 13# spring. YouTube is full of how too vids on the topic,

Opinions: S&W 686 vs 686+

Tacoma

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WrongHanded

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Tacoma

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