S&W 686 Plus I am considering

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aaaaa said:
Ha! Two guys had looked at it that day. I made it back and nailed it. It is mine and I got it for $675 by paying cash! I had sold a S10 pickup last August and hung onto the cash--good thing!

I suspect the wood grips would be $50 so that is a bonus. Now to get some .357 ammo. I know this gun will handle recoil a LOT better than the Airweight but still excited to fire my first .357.
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Good buy. I love snubbies over most barrel lengths and my 686+ has the 2.5" barrel. Love it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well.
 
$675 is a good price. Worst case scenario, if you don't like is that you can trade towards a longer barrel one at some point
 
reddog81 said:
$675 is a good price. Worst case scenario, if you don't like is that you can trade towards a longer barrel one at some point
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That is true, or get the longer barrel and keep both, or gift the shorter one to my son. Better to keep a gun in the family than trade it off, provided one has the cash. But who knows, I may get to where I don't want a longer barrel, if I can get good placement with this.

Compared to my 642 Airweight this 686 Plus is a beast! Has a great feel. Actually think the greater weight will help accuracy at the range. Kind of a stabilizer effect. Just speculating, don't really know.

I'd have gone for an 8-holer but that is a Ruger and I am afraid those might be rather rare and more expensive. Besides, it seems S&W is the best choice in revolvers, all things considered.
 
aaaaa
Ha! Two guys had looked at it that day. I made it back and nailed it. It is mine and I got it for $675 by paying cash! I had sold a S10 pickup last August and hung onto the cash--good thing!
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Good for you! A great gun at a fair price! Nice to see that "Cash is still King" on some occasions!
 
aaaaa said:
That is true, or get the longer barrel and keep both, or gift the shorter one to my son. Better to keep a gun in the family than trade it off, provided one has the cash. But who knows, I may get to where I don't want a longer barrel, if I can get good placement with this.

Compared to my 642 Airweight this 686 Plus is a beast! Has a great feel. Actually think the greater weight will help accuracy at the range. Kind of a stabilizer effect. Just speculating, don't really know.

I'd have gone for an 8-holer but that is a Ruger and I am afraid those might be rather rare and more expensive. Besides, it seems S&W is the best choice in revolvers, all things considered.
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Sounds like a great plan.

The 686 should be much easier to shoot.

Those Rugers are very rare. Prior to Covid they made them very sporadically. Since Covid I haven't seen any new ones and used are hard to come by. S&W makes a 8 shot 627. They're still pretty rare but I've seen more of those new and used at the stores local to me.
 
reddog81 said:
Sounds like a great plan.

The 686 should be much easier to shoot.

Those Rugers are very rare. Prior to Covid they made them very sporadically. Since Covid I haven't seen any new ones and used are hard to come by. S&W makes a 8 shot 627. They're still pretty rare but I've seen more of those new and used at the stores local to me.
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The 627 is one step up to the N frame. Shortest is 2&5/8 barrel. Then 4" I think 3" might be the perfect compromise.

But yeah, I can keep an eye out for a 627 in 4" or maybe 6" barrel.

One cannot have too many guns, eh?

Hey, I read something cool in a book recently. It said tht a gun is the original internal combustion engine, and that it is! Instead of a crankshaft it just sends the piston (bullet) on a one-time mission! Good thing the pistons are low cost!
 
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Finally got the 686 Plus to the range. Ran about 56 rounds of .357 Mag 125 grain and about 38 rounds of 38 Special 125 grain through it. Definitely can feel the difference in recoil between the 38 Special and .357 Magnum! Shoots well, i got some good groups at 4 yards and decent at farther distances. Did some 4 yard without using the sights, figuring in SD you don't necessarily have time to use the sights, so I just brought it up into my line of sight and fired. I also fired about 70 rounds 38 Special through the J Frame 642. I didn't think to compare the 38 Special between the two guns and the J frame has the Hogue Tamer grip, but I cannot say the J frame recoil was that bad or noticibly different from that of the 38 Special in the 686 Plus (L frame).

The .357 Magnum with the hard wood grips on the 686 Plus was making my hand sore at the web between the thumb and fingers. Either a shooter's glove or a new grip with padding would help.

The store had another nice S&W, a 44 caliber Model 69 wtih 2.5 inch barrel. It is a 5-shot. It also had the lock. They wanted $850. For a 44 I don't want the lock. Also I would like a longer barrel, maybe 3 or 4 inch, possibly 5. Maybe a 44 in a different brand to get 6 shots?
 
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I think the 686 with a 4" barrel is my favorite handgun bar none.

The frame itself is a little larger than I'd prefer for carry, even with a 2.5/3" barrel.

I much prefer my 3" 65-5 for carry, but for OWB open carry or range days, my 4" 686-0 gets the nod
 
You did great, especially for $ 675. I would have jumped on it sooner just to make sure I got it.

Snubbies are great guns and easy to use for CCW. I can conceal a 6 inch Model 29 with no troubles so your physique has a lot to do with it.

Wood grips are the bain for the .357. Perhaps you could put the rubber grips on it.
 
If I only shoot 38s at the range it will be fine as is, but its fun to fire off a few .357s every now and then. Just makes me want to try out a 44 someday. I think i have to get a larger frame, 629, for the 44 to hold 6 rounds. The model 69 only holds 5. But the 629 is even more expensive.
 
aaaaa said:
If I only shoot 38s at the range it will be fine as is, but its fun to fire off a few .357s every now and then. Just makes me want to try out a 44 someday. I think i have to get a larger frame, 629, for the 44 to hold 6 rounds. The model 69 only holds 5. But the 629 is even more expensive.
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I have a S&W Model 69 Combat Magnum which is a 44 magnum. It's on a L frame just like the model 686. It's best suited for carry. Similar to 38 special/357 mag revolvers, you can predominantly shoot 44 special out of it at the range, and then carry it with 44 mag.

If all you ever plan on doing is range shooting, then the 629 is the way to go.
 
Styx said:
I have a S&W Model 69 Combat Magnum which is a 44 magnum. It's on a L frame just like the model 686. It's best suited for carry. Similar to 38 special/357 mag revolvers, you can predominantly shoot 44 special out of it at the range, and then carry it with 44 mag.

If all you ever plan on doing is range shooting, then the 629 is the way to go.
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Actually, the 686 Plus would be plenty to carry if I want more than the 642. The .44 would be more for kicks than anything else, so I either rent one at the range and fire of a couple boxes and be satisfied, or I get a budget priced .44 such as the Taurus Model 44, which is apparently much like the S&W as at one time both companies were owned by the same company, so I have read online.

I have the two revolvers (686 Plus and 642 J frame) and a semi-auto S&W SD9VE 9mm. So besides a .44 revolver, a pocket semi-auto is something I am considering, liking very much the Beretta Tomcat.
 
Nice pick up, especially for the price. I enjoy seeing everyone share their 686+ 3" and 2.5" pieces, they are my current item of lust. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to pick one up later this year.
 
aaaaa said:
The 627 is one step up to the N frame. Shortest is 2&5/8 barrel. Then 4" I think 3" might be the perfect compromise.

But yeah, I can keep an eye out for a 627 in 4" or maybe 6" barrel.

One cannot have too many guns, eh?

Hey, I read something cool in a book recently. It said tht a gun is the original internal combustion engine, and that it is! Instead of a crankshaft it just sends the piston (bullet) on a one-time mission! Good thing the pistons are low cost!
Click to expand...

I have several short barreled N-Frames. I really like them all. But my vote for best looking is the 3.5" barrel on my Model 27-2:

51926837294_2e14605b51_b.jpg
 
DR505

That's a great looking Model 27, especially with the 3 1/2" barrel! Isn't this what the FBI use to issue to it's field agents?

Myself I have always had more than a passing interest with the 5" barrel version of the Model 27, not too short (4" barrel) and not too long (6" barrel). At 5" just right and along with great balance and handling as well!
 
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Good price, great revolver...a bit heavy for CC use for me, but with a good OWB holster it'll do nicely. I agree with those that are not concerned with the &@$&#_@$ internal lock...it's a none issue on the several Smiths that I own that sport that abomination. I predict that you'll forget it's even there with some extended use.

For carry or just plain range use, I recommend wadcutters in Special or Magnum brass loaded to ~750 fps. They're easy on your hands, superbly accurate in any quality .38 or .357 and will do for any sane CC use. For a little more punch, and this is my day to day carry load here on our farm, try one of the "FBI" LSWC loads (158 gr LSWCHP @ ~900 fps from your 2.5" bbl.). My son and I have used that load, albeit in its solid bullet configuration, to put down large stock animals, as well as finishing a cpl of deer. It's more than enough for those jobs, and not to difficult to master and shoot well.

Best Regards, and good luck with your new 'Pistola'. Rod.....
Here's a pic of my 4 incher and the home-made holster that totes it.​

686_Holster.jpg ​
 
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DR & Bannock: Agree with you both on the "N" frame Smith M-27...I've got the 5" version, love it's accuracy but find it just a hair too bulky for even daily carry for me; Skeeter's druthers notwithstanding...now that 3-1/2" bbl. beauty...well that's gotta be the cat's meow...As I'm now 75, I'd better start searchin' if I'm going to get any use out of it. ..... Rod
 
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