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Http://www.flickr.com/photos/79690335@N03/9882321996/
Just got back from a quick trip to the range to test out my new toy, and let me just say this....
I had my doubts at first, I'd owned .357's in the past, a Taurus 689 4" barrel, and a couple different 4" Ruger GP-100's, and I always found them unpleasant to shoot, mainly due to the earsplitting report and muzzle blast, the recoil was also similarly snappier than I'd like...
I was expecting more of the same with the 686, I was prepared to hate it, to regret trading in the old Winchester '92 44-40 for it (basically an equal swap, a shooter grade '92 for the 686 seen in the Flikr link above), expecting unpleasant muzzle blast, noise and recoil, I should've just traded for that Rock River 1911 I had my eye on....
But no, I'm a revolver guy through and through, and the 686 called to me, stirring something deep in my soul, a place that the RRA couldn't touch, the RRA appealed to my logical side, and my cheap bugger side, but it didn't truly call to me, it called more to my wallet than anything
So, I was expecting disappointment as I loaded up my first cylinder, alternating 3 rounds of .38 Spl +P Gold Dot defensive ammo, and 3 rounds of inexpensive PMC 158Gn soft point flat nose .357, lining up the cylinder so it brought one of the .38's under the hammer for the first round....
The first shot was amazingly tame, felt like a .22 Magnum, no recoil, no muzzle blast or shock wave, and a reasonably mild report, this thing makes shooting .38 Spl an absolute joy
Up next was a .357, I steeled myself for the blast, pressure wave, and recoil, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad apprehensive...
I pulled the trigger and was surprised, sure it had a bit more punch than the .38, that's a given, but it was only marginally more recoil and noise than those .38's..... Could it be, the 686 actually made shooting .357's.......enjoyable?
I went through the remaining rounds, each time noticing how minimal the difference was between .357 and .38 in this heavy duty beast of a revolver, basically, the only difference between the two was a bit more noise, a little bit of recoil, and the shockwave, that was really the only unpleasant part of the experience, and it wasn't all that bad....
Oh well, out of .38's, now to the remaining .357's....
Each cylinder I fed through the gun, my grin got bigger, before I knew it, I had fired off 25 of my 50 rounds, and I had the biggest grin I have had in a long time, out of the multitude of handguns I've owned, played with, and eventually traded off for my next flight of fancy, this humble, used 686-1 has given me the biggest Grin-for-the-Buck of any of my handguns, short of my Ruger Single Six with the .22 Magnum cylinder fitted
I actually had to restrain myself from shooting up all the ammo I brought, because as of right now, I only have 25 rounds of the cheap PMC .357, 20 rounds of Speer Gold Dot .357 and 12 rounds of Speer gold dot .38+P left, thankfully, due to my tendency to squirrel away brass, I have at least 300 pieces of fired .38 brass ready for reloads, once I grab a set of dies, some primers, and bullets, (I'm thinking full wad cutters over a heavy load of Trail Boss for plinking) I'll be set for a while....
Haven't had this much fun with a handgun in ages....
There's no hesitation in my mind at all now, I'm glad I traded that old Winchester '92 for this brilliant revolver
Just got back from a quick trip to the range to test out my new toy, and let me just say this....
I had my doubts at first, I'd owned .357's in the past, a Taurus 689 4" barrel, and a couple different 4" Ruger GP-100's, and I always found them unpleasant to shoot, mainly due to the earsplitting report and muzzle blast, the recoil was also similarly snappier than I'd like...
I was expecting more of the same with the 686, I was prepared to hate it, to regret trading in the old Winchester '92 44-40 for it (basically an equal swap, a shooter grade '92 for the 686 seen in the Flikr link above), expecting unpleasant muzzle blast, noise and recoil, I should've just traded for that Rock River 1911 I had my eye on....
But no, I'm a revolver guy through and through, and the 686 called to me, stirring something deep in my soul, a place that the RRA couldn't touch, the RRA appealed to my logical side, and my cheap bugger side, but it didn't truly call to me, it called more to my wallet than anything
So, I was expecting disappointment as I loaded up my first cylinder, alternating 3 rounds of .38 Spl +P Gold Dot defensive ammo, and 3 rounds of inexpensive PMC 158Gn soft point flat nose .357, lining up the cylinder so it brought one of the .38's under the hammer for the first round....
The first shot was amazingly tame, felt like a .22 Magnum, no recoil, no muzzle blast or shock wave, and a reasonably mild report, this thing makes shooting .38 Spl an absolute joy
Up next was a .357, I steeled myself for the blast, pressure wave, and recoil, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad apprehensive...
I pulled the trigger and was surprised, sure it had a bit more punch than the .38, that's a given, but it was only marginally more recoil and noise than those .38's..... Could it be, the 686 actually made shooting .357's.......enjoyable?
I went through the remaining rounds, each time noticing how minimal the difference was between .357 and .38 in this heavy duty beast of a revolver, basically, the only difference between the two was a bit more noise, a little bit of recoil, and the shockwave, that was really the only unpleasant part of the experience, and it wasn't all that bad....
Oh well, out of .38's, now to the remaining .357's....
Each cylinder I fed through the gun, my grin got bigger, before I knew it, I had fired off 25 of my 50 rounds, and I had the biggest grin I have had in a long time, out of the multitude of handguns I've owned, played with, and eventually traded off for my next flight of fancy, this humble, used 686-1 has given me the biggest Grin-for-the-Buck of any of my handguns, short of my Ruger Single Six with the .22 Magnum cylinder fitted
I actually had to restrain myself from shooting up all the ammo I brought, because as of right now, I only have 25 rounds of the cheap PMC .357, 20 rounds of Speer Gold Dot .357 and 12 rounds of Speer gold dot .38+P left, thankfully, due to my tendency to squirrel away brass, I have at least 300 pieces of fired .38 brass ready for reloads, once I grab a set of dies, some primers, and bullets, (I'm thinking full wad cutters over a heavy load of Trail Boss for plinking) I'll be set for a while....
Haven't had this much fun with a handgun in ages....
There's no hesitation in my mind at all now, I'm glad I traded that old Winchester '92 for this brilliant revolver
