The 686 6-inch is one of the finest revolvers, technically, that's ever been produced. They were designed and engineered to kick the Colt Python squarely in the pants, and the first iterations of the gun did just that. Gun writers and reviewers had a field day bolting Pythons and 686s into Ransom rests or shooting the guns side by side and comparing the results, and the 686s not only kept up accuracy wise, they incorporated superior designs. While the smallish pawls of the Pythons made them go out of time frequently, the 686s used beefy parts that didn't hearken back to the 1930s.
I don't know whether the newer guns can still keep company with the Pythons -- it would require some of you with both guns to shoot them in similar side-by-side tests. I did walk into a gun store recently and I wasn't nearly as impressed with the new 686s as I was the old. I bought two back then. One in 4-inch and one in 6-inch. Both had stamped side plates and beautiful wood grips. The ones I saw recently had rubber grips, an integrated lock, a poor finish, crappy rear sights, MIM hammer and trigger and the action wasn't nearly as good.
That said, you did well to get yourself a 686-1, as they most likely are better than the later models. But, in honesty, I don't know. In the first one or two issues, S&W workers strived to keep the tolerances as close to right on as they could. I'd drop a bullet into each chamber and they'd catch, and not fall through. The cylinder gap was almost always .004-.006 (.006 was generally considered optimum for accuracy). Headspace was perfect and the actions were decent right out of the box. I'd clip one and a half coils from the rebound spring and replace my mainspring with a Wolf mainspring, and I'd put my 686 up against any .357 made.
Having said all that, I never much cared for the balance or weight of the 6-inch Pythons or 686s, which seemed to be awfully muzzle heavy. I also didn't like the fact that the color of the thumb latches of many of the Pythons was just a tad off from the rest of the revolvers. You'd have to look closely, but I could tell often. I'd foolishly sold my 4-inch 686 because friends told me that the 6-inchers were more accurate, and they had the trigger stops, which the 4-inchers didn't have, because engineers at S&W thought the stops might loosen and cause a jam if engaged in a shoot-out.
The old 6-inchers had trigger stops installed (left). I ended up buying some
Ruger Security-Sixes (right), for a much better price.
I don't know if the 6-inch 686s still have this feature or whether S&W cut this corner so they could pass the savings on to...well...themselves. I love my 6-incher 686 and still have not fired my particular model, though I've fired many other first-issue models, including two previous models I owned. I loved the stop feature, but I figured I could always buy more. After all, S&W wasn't going to stop making them, right? (I didn't figure they'd cut all those corners and raise the price!)
Anyway, I kept a 6-incher and spent the money I got selling my other guns on Ruger Security-Sixes of various barrel lengths, which were going for almost nothing. They weren't as accurate as the tuned Pythons/686s, but I liked the weight and balance better. Besides, being a dealer, I could get a Security-Six delivered to my door for $179 apiece, whilst the 686s cost me about a hundred dollars more. Now a hundred dollar difference doesn't mean much now, but back then it was major!
Anyway, let me know if the 6-inchers still have the stops installed in the triggers.
This 6-inch 686 is still the best .357 I own. Getting an early one
is probably a much better idea.
.
I have been looking to replace the one I lost a few years ago, and found a nice one. The trigger and action are super smooth as well as accurate. I forgot how sweet the original style 686 is!! 
