Revolvers and cylinder capacity?

[N3rday]

How much of a difference does a larger cylinder (say, a 7 rounder versus a 6 or 5 rounder) make a difference in the overall width of the gun? Is it significantly harder to CCW a 7 rounder versus a 6 or 5 rounder?

Thanks in advance!

 

[First Person Shooter]

The 686 has been available for years as a 6-shot. I had the 686+ 7-shot, it's exactly the same size. That may not be true across the board though.

 

[N3rday]

Oh, so I guess they used the same size cylinder and just added 7 holes, with less space in between each slot compared to the 6?

 

[MrMurphy]

Yes, with stronger steel used.

The eight shot S&W is built on the large N-frame however.