Quick and easy question for you 686 fans!

[TimboKhan]

I have a friend who just tried to order a 686 from Cabelas. They are telling her it is no longer being made. That seems weird and not true and I can't find any information to support that, but I want to ask you all: true or false?

 

[Snake Plisskin]

Guess those people either don't know, stupid or are lying or all of the above.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...57767_757751_757751_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y

http://search.smith-wesson.com/sear...roduct-atr2.product-atr3&q=model+686&x=13&y=6

 

[Zaydok Allen]

They're wrong. I'm pretty sure the 686 is one of their more popular L frames, especially given all the different variants.

Cabela's employees are hit or miss. Some know a lot, some couldn't find their butts with both hands. I'd tell her to go back and ask to talk to another sales rep.

 

[TimboKhan]

Well, I actually told her to go to one of our local gunshops!

 

[1KPerDay]

A guy at my cabelas said they won't order anything for you. You just have to choose from their inventory.

dunno if it's true or not, but FWIW.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Well, I actually told her to go to one of our local gunshops!

Even better.

A guy at my cabelas said they won't order anything for you.

True after the Sandy Hook insanity rush that swept the nation, and no one could find ammo, a gun, or a magazine over 10 rounds capacity, they would not order a gun for you. In fact I asked them to see what the price would be on a gun that I wanted to order AFTER things had cooled down and they were taking orders again. The guy wouldn't even check for me. It made me so mad, I placed the $80 worth of ammo I had in my hands on the counter in front of him, and said thanks for nothing, and walked away. I never saw the guy working there again. So either the manager saw what he did, or he didn't like telling people no. I know he was doing his job by not taking an order, but he could have at least checked on the price like I asked him.

They are again ordering guns for people, at least at my local store. May be different in your neck.

 

[hAkron]

That's one of the worst places to buy almost anything. Fun to browse. Sometimes decent sales, but overall a big markup over what it would cost to buy elsewhere.

 

[RustyShackelford]

686 or 686 + ?.....

To be clear, is the revolver a 686 L frame six shot or the plus version? The 7 round .357magnum 686 +?
I wouldn't know why S&W would drop the standard 686 L frame just yet.
Wheel guns aren't cheap in 2014.
Most new DA wheel guns run around $600-800.00 USD when I check.
Is it worth it? That's debateable but a 686+ .357 or a snub .44/.44spl can't go wrong.

Rusty
PS; the prices I quote do not include J frames or other models like the Ruger LCR or Charter Arms.

 

[boricua9mm]

They just introduced and released the 686+ Performance Center snub. Since they are still catalogued, I would assume they are still building the more pedestrian versions as well.

But honestly, do her a favor and help her find an older one.

 

[buck460XVR]

I have a friend who just tried to order a 686 from Cabelas. They are telling her it is no longer being made.

Saw a 686 priced @ $100 over MSRP a year or so ago in a large gun shop in a near-by town. This was when handguns were as scarce as hen's teeth. When I asked why the price was so high, the guy behind the counter told me the same thing......"they ain't makin' 'em anymore". When I told him I didn't think so and we could call S&W and find out, his response was......."well, they're still hard to get".

My LGS, 30 miles away, had the same model for $100 under MSRP at the same time, and could get more. When I mentioned what the other gun shop had told me the owner said ...."that would be like Ford droppin' their F-Series pickup trucks!".

Again, that was over a year ago and things may have changed, but one can still call S&W if they want....and what the owner of my LGS said, still makes sense.

 

[buck460XVR]

But honestly, do her a favor and help her find an older one.

The new L-Frames are some of the most accurate and reliable revolvers S&W has ever produced.....and a new one comes with a lifetime, no BS warranty. One can argue that the new Smiths aren't as pretty or as finished as older Smiths, but 686s are not collector guns, nor are the majority of them bought to look at, but are bought to shoot. One can save $100 on a used one over a new one, but without knowing where it came from, how it may have been abused and not knowing if sometime in the near future, S&W will stop fixing non-warranty guns for free, a buyer needs to consider if the $100 savings is worth it.

 

[Jim NE]

Yeah, I saw at least one 686 on S&W's site the other day, as I'm sure the links in the responses above prove. I wouldn't judge an entire store chain on one lousy clerk, but, to be honest, I don't really shop at Cabela's for guns anymore. They no longer have the killer deals that are so good I'm willing to stand in line like a person at a soup kitchen just to get a chance to buy a gun.

The Omaha store has a ticket system like at the department of motor vehicles so that you take a number just to LOOK at a gun. I'll still buy ammo from them on occasion, but not as much as I used to.

 

[CopperFouling]

Well, I actually told her to go to one of our local gunshops!

She definitely won't pay as much there.

Judging from the fact that I've not seen one new 686 in the past eight or nine months (it was some time toward the end of last summer), it might seem like Smith isn't producing them any more. In fact, my favorite LGS (in business for a quarter of a century) stocks over 2500 firearms in his shop, and he was saying that he's never had such trouble ordering plain Jane 686s, 617s, and 629s. They're not discontinued, but they're really hard to find. There's more profit for Smith (and more demand from consumers) in making the polymer semiautos, probably.

But honestly, do her a favor and help her find an older one.

+1 When I find a 686-4 4", my wife had better not check the bank account for a few weeks.

 

[boricua9mm]

The new L-Frames are some of the most accurate and reliable revolvers S&W has ever produced.....and a new one comes with a lifetime, no BS warranty. One can argue that the new Smiths aren't as pretty or as finished as older Smiths, but 686s are not collector guns, nor are the majority of them bought to look at, but are bought to shoot. One can save $100 on a used one over a new one, but without knowing where it came from, how it may have been abused and not knowing if sometime in the near future, S&W will stop fixing non-warranty guns for free, a buyer needs to consider if the $100 savings is worth it.

I would gladly pay $100 MORE for a nice pre-lock specimen. A pre-purchase inspection tells me all I need to know about its previous lives, and S&Ws long-standing reputation for standing behind their guns eliminates my concerns about a written warranty card.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

There are 13 variants of the 686 including the + models listed on S&W's websight. There are also the 586's. A simple search on Gunbroker.com for "S&W 686" brings up A LOT of guns, new and old. I regularly see them for sale in my local gun shops.

They are definately still in production. I do wonder though, if distributers look at what they are selling more of in their region, and shift their supply to support the demand. The guns are being produced, but may not be getting shipped to your particular area.

That doesn't explain the difficulty of ordering one though, just the scarcity in certain areas. I have a lot of old cowboys where I live, so I suspect revolvers still sell quite well here.

 

[RustyShackelford]

Interesting remarks.....

These are interesting to hear from different parts of the USA. I haven't really priced any new S&W K/L/N frames since they all have the stupid "lawyer lock" design.

I'm surprised too that S&W seemed to scale back on old stand bys like the model 19/66, 686, model 10, etc.

To my knowledge, S&W has doubled the entire staff in MA & Maine since 2008. That's a lot of new floor workers. You'd think a few "old timers" would crank out wheel guns.

 

[B!ngo]

There seems to be some info missing from the OP. There are many 686 models. Some are new models and I believe that some older models are no longer made. So the sales person might just be right. Exactly what 686 model (SKU number or detailed description) was being ordered?
B

 

[B!ngo]

These are interesting to hear from different parts of the USA. I haven't really priced any new S&W K/L/N frames since they all have the stupid "lawyer lock" design.

I'm surprised too that S&W seemed to scale back on old stand bys like the model 19/66, 686, model 10, etc.

To my knowledge, S&W has doubled the entire staff in MA & Maine since 2008. That's a lot of new floor workers. You'd think a few "old timers" would crank out wheel guns.

In addition to the trainied people, there's the additional manufacturing facilities, the training of old skills to build them and the availability of parts suppliers who also need the time to ramp up their production. Also what the risk of losses if or when they have to ramp back down? Then within those constraints there is the 'what is the neediest?'. That is, if S&W has to spend money to ramp up production, which model will yield the highest return?
It's probably more complicated than just searching for people who know how to build revolvers. Manufacturing planning is a really complicated and costly set of processes where wrong decisions can be financially painful.
BTW, and I have no idea about this, but in the U.S. consumer market per year, how many semi-auto handguns are sold versus revolvers? If I had to guess, I'd suspect it's 10:1 or maybe 100:1. Any data out there?
B

 

[TimboKhan]

I haven't a clue as to the sku number or a detailed description. I just know that they didn't offer her any options. Talking to her further, the attitude seemed to be "buy what we have in stock" as opposed to "that particular model is unavailae"

 

[buck460XVR]

I would gladly pay $100 MORE for a nice pre-lock specimen. A pre-purchase inspection tells me all I need to know about its previous lives, and S&Ws long-standing reputation for standing behind their guns eliminates my concerns about a written warranty card.

I've yet to see with 686s any reason to pay $100 more for a used over new. But I respect your desire to do so. Not every new to revolvers purchaser knows the correct procedure for checking them out. Many that think they do, still get hoodwinked. S&Ws lifetime warranty is only for the lifetime of the original owner. While there are many posts of S&W standing behind guns that folks bought used, there are also some of where the fix had to be paid for....plus the cost of shipping overnight both ways. Your roll of the dice. The minute S&W starts losing monies because they are fixing non-warranty guns for free, I guarantee you, stockholders will make it stop. S&W still gives a warranty.....Ruger does not. Ruger also still stands behind their guns, but have given themselves a way out if worse comes to worse. Odds are, the time will come.

I have pre-lock S&Ws and I have Post-lock S&Ws. The lock, nor the MIM makes any difference in their reliability or how accurately they shoot. When lookin' down the sights at the target, it's dam hard to see that little hole in the side.

 

[boricua9mm]

I have pre-lock S&Ws and I have Post-lock S&Ws. The lock, nor the MIM makes any difference in their reliability or how accurately they shoot. When lookin' down the sights at the target, it's dam hard to see that little hole in the side.

If the market, at large, opined that MIM, locks and little/no hand-fitting are no big deal, then we'd still be able to go out and buy a pre-lock 686 for $450. These guns are continuing to go up in price, and there is a reason for it, whether we agree on the quality of new guns or not.

The used market for these revolvers speaks to us.

 

[TimboKhan]

Follow up to this, my friend came over last night with her brand new 686 that she bought at Liberty Arms in Fort Collins. She loves her new revolver and was very impressed with the service at Liberty. I think Cabelas lost a customer.

 

[slickone]

Over the last 8 months I have bought or traded three 686's. They aren't that hard to find. At this moment I have a 686-1 4" that I have for sale in the local area. Someone in the area wants to trade his BNIB 686 2.5 never fired for mine. I'm debating that right now.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Follow up to this, my friend came over last night with her brand new 686

Cool! She should be happy with it. I love both of mine. What length barrel did she get?