Help me pick a S&W 686 Plus

[actionflies]

Help me pick a S&W 686

I am going to buy a S&W 686 in a 6" barrel for target/plinking at the range, but I can't decide if I want the 6 or 7 rounds or the compensated model. My friend said the 6 round cylinder will be stronger than the 7 round. What do you recommend.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

First off, the M686 Plus is a 7 round revolver. The Plus is there to tell you there's an extra round.

I'm sure you will be happy with any of the M686's available but if you tell us what you are going to use the revolver for we could probably give you an opinion on which to buy to fill that need.

I own a 4" M686 (6 round) and a 4" M619 (7 round) and I don't see a difference in the cylinders strength wise. I don't think you will have a failure problem with any L frame .357 Magnum S&W offers.

 

[jameslovesjammie]

You won't see any noticable difference in cylinder strength between the two. It won't allow you to make hotter loads in the gun...the brass will fail before the gun does in either configuration if you're too hot.

If you ever decide to use it in any competition, the extra chamber may not do you any good. I think in IPSC you can only use 6 of the 7 chambers at a time, unless you go to unlimited class, and you're really handicapping yourself there with a revolver in the first place.

The 686 is a fun, reliable, smooth gun and I don't think you would go wrong with either model!

 

[Nightcrawler]

The six-shot model has the advantage of better speedloaders, i.e. the Safariland models. With the seven-shot model, you're stuck with HKS, which is perfectly servicable but requires more practice. Also, the Hogue monogrips that they come with interfere with extraction and reloading on the seven-gun, so it's best to swap those out as soon as possible.

Personally, I think the extra shot makes up for the slower reload speed. With the 686 Plus, you can take on seven ninjas instead of six and come out on top!

Watch for the ejector rod unscrewing. My former 686+ was the only S&W revolver I've had, new or old, to which this happened. A couple drops of Blue Loc-Tite will fix that right up.

 

[LSCurrier]

I would get one without "the wart" - meaning the internal lock.

I will never buy a S&W with an internal lock.

Luke