For S&W Model 686, Python 2020 owners--just for fun

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UncleEd

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Now that the newly re-introduced Colt Python has been around for nearly
4 years, I wonder how shooters compare it to their S&W Model 686
or Model 586.

I ask those who own both guns and have shot them regularly, which
one would they keep if they had to give up one. I know many hate the
thought of selling guns. Well, too bad. :oops:

But this is a just-for-fun very informal survey. Let's not get serious. :)

Which one would you get rid of even if it hurt? Hurt with a deep down pain? :evil:
 
I have the 686 no dash, an original python and the new python. Both pythons were given to me by my brother. I prefer to shoot the 686, for me the trigger is smoother and it is easier to operate the cylinder release as I am a southpaw. Just easier to push forward than pull to the rear with my index finger.
 
I've had three 686s. A 3" 686+ unfluted cylinder, a 4" 686, and a 5" 686+ "stocking dealer's special" with Ahrends cocobolo finger-groove stocks, fiber optic front sight and a half-lugged barrel. I've shot the snot out of 686s over the past twenty years.

That said, I never bonded with any of them the way I did with the K-frames. Give me a Model 10, Model 15, Model 19 or 66 and I'd happily live with one of them as my sole handgun for the rest of my life.

Based on my experience with my three Pythons (two 6", one 4"), I'd take a 3" Python (which I haven't picked up yet) over a 3" 686 any day of the week, even with one less round. I disliked the unfluted cylinder, just seemed wrong, and the trigger was meh in both modes.

My 4" 686 was ol' reliable, but The Lock nagged me even though it was serviceable, accurate and had a decent trigger, especially in SA.

My 5" was a jewel -- even with the MIM and The Lock -- and I sold it for way more'n I bought it for new, and have regretted parting with it ever since. I realized that the half-lug seemed to make it balance better for me, too. The lock-up was bank-vault tight, the trigger in DA and SA was sweet and it was accurate as hell. Don't know what I was thinking when I sold it.

Shot a lot of the "old" Pythons over the years, aside from the awesome bluing, never got hung up on them. But, ah, the "new" Pythons -- triggers are superb, the accuracy is splendid and they're oh so pretty. The cylinder release? Much ado about nothing, at least to me, having shot a lot of Colt revolvers since my teens. And the Pythons just feel better in the hand than the 686s to me.

While I sure wouldn't mind having my 5" 686+ back, I'd take either my 4" or 6" new Python over it seven days a week and twice on Sundays...

Now, just don't ask me what I'd do if it came down to either one of my new Pythons or one of my Model 19s or 66s.
 
Ive shot K, L and N frames.
The Ks fit me for double action stuff, and the 4" 19/66 looks and feels perfect.
However, Ive seen frame and forcing cone splits on old ones that got well used.
If I'm gonna go big frame, I'll hop to an N in .44 mag.

However, if I had to have one .357........it'd be a 6" 686 no lock.
Even then I'd have to look it over as I've seen some less than perfect examples from the factory.

Colt Python? Grew up shooting em. Got one. Has Custom Shop trigger job.
Its sweet, and in 6" blued is THE Python IMHO.
However, I'd like something stronger, and one I could put a reflex sight on (eyes getting old).
The new Python looks OK, but I hate old and new Python wood grips.
Hogue rubber for me.
My complaint w the new Python is the trigger, in profile, the looks. Silly but I like the old style trigger shape better.

And I like old Smith frames better, the new higher backstrap stuff looks funky to me.

On Smiths I'd go w a Brown Speed Latch.
The Colts are different but I don't mind that.
 
I'm mostly an S&W revolver guy but I do have new production 6" Python to go along with a 4" and 6" 586 and an 8-3/8" 686.

You'd have to pry any of them from my "cold, dead hands."
 
I've owned four Python's, one a blue one from 1964, and three of the 2020's, a 6" (since sold) and two 4" (yes 4.25...big deal) ones. I just got my first 686, a 4", -6 model I've been boring everyone about. I've only got about 150 rounds through the 686, so I'm not really up on it, but I've seen enough to rate it as VERY nice. It could be Smith and Wesson's Python.

So which would I get rid of? Well, a Python of course. I've got two of them, so I'd still have one.

But a more serious answer would involve "why" am I selling one? If I needed to raise some quick cash for a really serious reason, the Pythons would probably go on the chopping block first. They'd probably sell faster, and even selling them to a gun store would raise more cash than selling a rather mundane 686 would. If on the other hand, let's say I just wanted to reduce my inventory? The 686. It's not a gun I've wanted all my life, it's just a gun I wanted to try. And they're pretty common at the LGS, so if I changed my mind later on, getting another one wouldn't hard. I'd look for a 4", 586 though. So no sentimental attachment to the 686 at all. I do have some minor sentimental attachment to a Python, having wanted one for years, and finally getting a couple. That '64 blue one, was supposed to be that one, but I had to sell it when I lost my job at one point. One of the few guns I really miss.

As shooters I actually rate them about the same right now. The Pythons look better, but if one shoots better than the other, I'm not a good enough shot to tell it. Triggers are pretty much the same, maybe a slight edge to the Smith and Wesson, but not much. They both feel about the same. Minor details like cylinder releases, locks, sights and such don't bother me. I guess I don't think one is "better" than the other...Just different.

image_50398977.JPG
 
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Whenever Im in doubt, I keep whichever one shoots the best.
At least you'll always know that part, the rest can be over "looked". A pretty gun that doesn't perform isn't as pretty to me anymore.

Always wanted to Love Ruger Security Sixes. I love the way they look... but they were always out done by Smith's and Colts as far as shooting, so they all went bye bye eventually, of course at a time when I needed the money.
 
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The Pythons I have are sweet, no doubt about that. They have better triggers than my 6" 7 shot 686 pre lock, pre MIM. The Pythons are also prettier. They have a nicer finish, and I just like the aesthetic design better. I am pretty good with them too.
HOWEVER, the 686 fits my hand perfectly. It is also one of those handguns with which magic seems to happen when I fire it, and I can't seem to miss. I'm quick with it as well. I am abetter than good with it, I would be a strong competitive shooter with it if I shot competitions. For those reasons, the Pythons would hit the chopping block before the 686. The 686 would be one of the last ones sold, perhaps THE last one if it came down to it.
 
Ideally, a pre lock Smith 686 with a Python barrel.
Off to check if Bowen has done one.
I know some others built K frames w Python barrels.
 
That my newest (in terms of its age) revolver is over 43 years old should tell you something; I'd not get rid of any of my S&W .357's to get any Colt version. I wouldn't mind having a Python made in the era of my S&W's, but I'm not as much of a Colt fan anyway. I've got a M19-3, M66-1, M27-2, M28-2 and M520 and they shoot as good or better than the Python. Or the M586/686.
 
Well, I've gone down that path, at least with an early Python. In my opinikon, the S&W Model 586 is the finest DA .357 Magnum to come down the pike. A Colt Single Action came up for sale that had special mesaning to me, and I gladly parted with the Python.

The S&W DA action is superior, in my opinion, to Colt's. And the longer cylinder of the K- and L- framed S&Ws allows them to digest rounds that poke thier bullet noses our of the front of the cylinder. Not only the Python, but the N-Framed Smiths as well.

I bought the 4" 586 when it was fikrst announced, then added a 6" version later.

Bob Wright
 
I bought my Pythons to shoot, the 6" for PPC before the Smith L came out, the 4" for IDPA because I was accustomed to shooting the first one.
But these days I gravitate to Smiths. The Colts are nice to have around for an occasional outing just to show the Internet Generation that they work, but if anybody offered me stupid money for them, bye, bye, Sam.
 
I've never even held a Python, but they would have to be pretty dang awesome to sway me from my S&W revolvers.
I do have a Colt 1911, and a Police Positive Special, and like both.
 
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