Just got back from the range with my S&W talo 686 and my Ruger GP100 Wiley Clapp.......... and must saw both guns are a blast to shoot, very accurate with very nice triggers. The groupings for both guns aren't bad but could be better and I blame myself on that as I was rushed. Leaving on a quick out of town trip tomorrow so I squeezed this range time in (couldn't wait till we get back) LOL ...............I put 50 rounds of Remington 125 grain 357 magnum rounds, yes they have some snot to them, thru both guns. Between work and school not much time to relaod, so I had to hit Wally World and this is all they had. Any ways, I shot the 686 first, 7 rounds (it's a 7 rounder) in single action and the remaining 43 in double action. The gun has a nice solid feel to it and the sites line up nice and naturally. The trigger pull is clean and crisp, much smoother than my Ruger Blackhawk or my Charter arms bulldog (only other revolvers I have besides new GP100). I've posted some pic's below of my shooting, the first one is of the 1st 7 rounds in double action and the 2nd is of all 44 shot in double action.
I shot the Ruger second again with the first 6 rounds in single action and the remaining 43 in double action. Again I must say the trigger pull is clean and crisp and I'm thinking a little smoother than the 686. The grips in my opinion are just as attractive as the ones on the Talo 686, but in a different way. Posted below are some pic's of my shooting with it. Again the first 6 shot in double action and then the remaining 44 total.
Both guns are very accurate, way more so than my shooting here represents. The triggers are very close, but I give a slight edge to the Ruger. The 686 Talo holds 7 rounds in roughly the same size as the Ruger, so an edge here goes to the 686. The grips are beautiful on both guns in my opinion but the edge goes to the Ruger as the rubber portion allows for a firmer, more comfortable grip than the Smith. I've got to blisters on my shooting hand from the Smith from shooting it, where as the Ruger provides a very comfortable grip, fits my hand like glove. The sights are nicer, more useable on the Ruger than on the Smith. The Novak rear and fiber optic front are very visible even to my old eyes.
One more thing I'll note before I close out this post is that I really like both guns and both will be passed down to my brothers son. But if I could only get one, all things considered I would go with the Ruger GP100 Wiley Clapp edition for all the reasons I've listed, plus the Ruger cost me about $90 less than the Smith.
This is my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt as I am by far not a gun expert. Thanks for looking..........
