Help. S&W 686 for IDPA and IPSC

[BLKLABMAN]

I need some help.
I have shot IDPA, and IPSC with 1911;s, and now want to try my hand at the revolver division.
I shot a 686 6" that I loved, but my uderstanding is that the barrel is too long for IDPA.
The last revolver that I owned was a 629. Needless to say my revolver, knowledge isnt the best in the world.
For IPSC I have no idea what the max barrel lenght is.

I am thinking of going the 686 4" and was wondering what your thoughts were on this pistol.

I am wanting kind of a jack of all trades. Not only shoot comp with it, but also use it as a trail gun from time to time, and maybe for some close up deer hunting on my property.

Any help, would be most welcomed.

 

[SnWnMe]

IDPA SSR division is owned by the 45ACP 625 in these parts. The fat stubby moonclip't rounds seem to load faster than the long skinny moonclip't ones. I have no idea if 45ACP will work on deer though. The trajectory is probably too poor outside of 50 yds anyway.

 

[desmark6]

Good revolver

You may want to consider the S+W 610 for your revolver choice. I have one that I use for IDPA, IPSC, ICORE etc and love it. You have the advantage of moonclips, the ability to shoot light 40's and if you choose to go after deer with it you can go to full house 10mm ammo. I currently use mine out of a side armor holster with RIMZ moon clips. I have no complaints at all. (Just a side note, ever since I got my 610 my 4" 686 and 66 haven't been used at all, competition or hunting!) Good luck and keep this one in mind.

 

[cratz2]

Competition aside, a 4" 686 is a fine choice for any revolver duty... except pocket duty, I suppose.

I think one of the orginazitions has a 5" maximum lenght as I've seen couple websites mentioning it and one even showed you how to cut your barrel down step by step.

As far as competition, I'm told that the 45s rule the roost - as said, those fat stubby cartridges are faster to relaod than any other load/method. The 610 is a viable option as well and I'm pretty sure the 625 and the 610 are available with a 5" barrel.

For hunting, check your local regs... I know many states have minimum case lengths to quality for big game hunting and that length usually forces use of a magnum. I wouldn't hesitate to take a deer with a 357 magnum or a 10mm. 45ACP... I guess with the right load and absolutely no further than 75 yars or so but the 357 or 10mm would certainly give me more confidence.

 

[Preacherman]

There's also the limited-production 646 - a 6-shot .40 S&W built on the L-frame, as opposed to the 610's and 625's built on the N-frame. It's significantly lighter, and fits any 686 holster. I love mine! There was a good thread on them recently - see here.

Alternatively, you could use your 686 and have it converted for moon-clips, but I don't know whether or not this would be within the rules for IDPA - better check first! If you want the conversion, there are several gunsmiths doing it. See www.moonclips.com and check on the "Machine Cylinder" link for a list.

 

[Jim Watson]

"One of the organizations" (IDPA) reduced the maximum allowable barrel length from 5" to 4" the year before last. I don't think USPSA has a limit, but 6" is certainly ok and more not needed.

Moon clip CONVERSIONS are NOT allowed by IDPA.

SnWnMe is right, the 625 .45 is the way to go for IDPA or IPSC.

I have seen folks shooting 610s with "shorts", a few of the 646 .40s, and a couple of 686 .38 Supers, along with a lot of .38 Specials in speedloaders; but not the top competitors. I shot our last revolver-only match with speedloaders, but it was run with separate divisions for speedloaders and clips; which is not normal IDPA policy.

I would want a .44 for handgun hunting. Sounds like you have a great excuse to buy two guns.

Or you could get a 4" .44 magnum and load it light for targets and heavy for deer. Not a match winning setup but you could do as well as anybody for the first six shots. I have heard that you can still get SL Variant speedloaders from somebody in Arizona; they will go as far as possible to equalize the speedloader with the clip.

 

[desmark6]

The western regional IDPA championship SSR division was won by a guy shooting a 610 in October, and he was even using the new polymer moon clips from Beckham design..........so much for the top competitors not using 610's!!!!!!!!

 

[scott45b]

.45acp revolvers have been quite successful but, their reign as the top dog in IDPA is being seriously challenged by competitors using the S&W 610 with its 3-7/8" barrel. Competitors using the S&W 610 have finished in the top spots in state and regional IDPA matches. Last October (2003) Dan Short blistered through the South Mountain Showdown in Phoenix posting the fastest revolver time using a S&W 610 and RIMZ polymer moon clips.

 

[roo_ster]

IDPA Competition:
S&W 625 .45ACP & moon clips

686 is a fine revo, but won't win the day in IDPA.

Food for thought: You can shoot .45Super/.45SMC outta 625s & you'll get inthe neighborhood of 10mm power.

 

[SnWnMe]

45acp revolvers have been quite successful but, their reign as the top dog in IDPA is being seriously challenged by competitors using the S&W 610 with its 3-7/8" barrel. Competitors using the S&W 610 have finished in the top spots in state and regional IDPA matches. Last October (2003) Dan Short blistered through the South Mountain Showdown in Phoenix posting the fastest revolver time using a S&W 610 and RIMZ polymer moon clips.

Hmm.. Been thinking of getting a 10. What makes the 610 superior to the 625 in gaming apps?

 

[ChristopherG]

SnWnMe,

All that's been shown to this point is that the 610 can be competitive with the 625, and that some good shooters have used it. I think you'd have a hard time making the case that it actually has an advantage, and you could point to two disadvantages compared to the 625. First, the cylinder is heavier, because it's unfluted and has smaller holes. That means more inertia to overcome on every pull of the trigger. Second, the bullets are smaller, as are the holes they go into. I lack the technical vocabulary to effectively say why a big round bullet is easier to drop into a big round hole than a smaller one, but I intuit that it's true.

Now, it must be granted that these are both very slight advantages for the 625, and for some users, might be overcome by some other appeal of the 610. I just wanted to pitch in that I think the 625 remains THE game revolver par excellence (at least among 6-shot N-frames).

cg

 

[Ankeny]

Like the guys are saying, the 625 pretty much rules the roost in both sports because of the reload issue and gun avaiabilty. The .45 is faster to reload if you can reload fast. However, there are some very good shooters in both IDPA and IPSC using the 610. Heck, for that matter one of the top dawg IDPA shooters uses a 3 inch K-frame Smith with speed loaders.

In IPSC a 6.5 inch N-frame is hard to beat. I used a 6.5 inch 610, but the 6.5 inch 25-2 would be even better. Pat Sweeny has commented that he would use an 8 3/8 inch 25-2 if he had one and he wasn't joking around. IPSC is pretty much dominated across the board by the model 625 as opposed to the 25-2 because of availability and lots of guys sure like the under lug.

Two answer your question, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot IDPA with a 4 inch Smith and speed loaders unless I had aspirations to win the nationals. There are better choices. OTOH, I wouldn't be real thrilled about shooting a 4 inch 686 in an IPSC match.