SW 686 ...is it a great gun or just a good gun?

[phantomak47]

I have read a lot of reviews of the 686 and the Colt Python. Most say that the 686 is a good all around gun, but I dont find that many people raving about it and "loving it" like some do about certain well known guns out there like the 1911.


So which is it, a great gun or a good gun?

 

[10-Ring]

Greatness is in the perception I like the 686...I like it alot really, but I thing this is a great wheelgun

 

[RON in PA]

I think that the original six shot S&W 586/686 is the highest development of the DA revolver. Note the emphesis on DA. When Smith created the 586/686 they optimized the DA trigger pull so that it's slightly better than a K frame in my opinion. All this is ignoring the basic reason for the gun, a more robust .357 able to handle large quantities of hot 125 grain ammo.

The Python lovers will chime-in, yes they are prettier with great blueing, but they don't have the guts or the trigger pull. And they cost too much just to have a pony on the side.

It would have been very interesting to see what percentage of law enforcement would have gone to the 586/686 if the autos hadn't taken over in the mid to late 1980s.

The Ruger GP 100 gets second place in my opinion, rugged with a decent trigger after you shoot the snot out of it.

 

[461]

I'd say the 586/686 qualifies as great. A true standard when it comes to a .357 wheelgun.

 

[MCgunner]

I prefer K frames, the M66 in stainless, the M19 in blue. But, to say the 686 has a better trigger than a Python? Maybe my friend's Python is abnormal, but I don't think so.

686s and GP100s are too heavy for a carry DA IMHO, okay in a bedroom drawer, but I don't wanna tote that much weight. Gimme a K frame, thanks. Of course, I'm talking IWB, the only way I could possibly carry such a gun 10 months out of the year.

The M19 combat magnum, now that gun is about as close to greatness as a .357 gets IMHO. You might say it's weak, but I never saw that. I do fire a lot of .38 stuff in my .357s, but it took plenty of hot .357 handloads, too.

 

[cadfael]

Just shot one in an IDPA match today. I think it's one of the most fun to shoot guns I own.

Adam

 

[mnrivrat]

I think they are one of the top 5 wheels guns and that's not a bad thing.

Individuals might prefer this gun or that one, but if you took a poll of the top of the line wheels guns 586/686 (particularly the 6 shot gun) would likely always show up near the top choices.

 

[Golddog]

I'm with Ron in PA; I wouldn't trade any of my many 686's for a Python, or any other revolver, for that matter.

 

[joneb]

I don't have a S&W 5 or 686 and I don't own a Python either but I do have a S&W 696 and a poor man's Python a Colt Trooper .357 both are among my favorites, but I would never part with the 696.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Ah a topic near and dear to my heart.
S&W 66 and S&W 686

I consider them to be two of the finest revolvers ever and the dumbest thing I ever did was sell my 66 and my 686 However I fully intend to fix that error in '07

 

[johnny blaze]

I have one of the first 686's that were produced. I will never part with it. Alot of the other 357's have been sold, but not this one. It's a keeper!!!

 

[The-Fly]

This 686 pictured was the first gun I ever shot at age 13, and the first handgun I owned at age 30.

 

[Colt46]

Distinguished Combat Masterpiece?

Too much of a mouthful. Compared to the original 'Combat Masterpiece' in .38 spl it seems overly heavy and not as sweet on your hip.

 

[YodaVader]

The 686 I have is the finest shooting 357 revolver I have ever shot , for me , it is a GREAT GUN! If I could own only one revolver - the 686 would be it!

 

[Majic]

I would say it's as good as all the other top quality DA revolvers. They all have their pros and cons.

 

[Hook686]

yes.

 

[antediluvianist]

You want more weight? Get an N frame.

You want less weight? Gt a K frame but limit the number of full-power .357s you shoot in it.

You want a less good-looking gun with an inferior trigger that may however be more rugged (although the 686 will hold up to all the magnum cartridges you are likely to fire in your lifetime) , then there's the GP100.

You want a blued gun? Find a 586.

Otherwise, yes the 686 - in my opinion the 686 plus, why not get the extra shot - is a great gun.

Or blow a few thou and get a Korth, and worry about it for the rest of your life.

 

[newfrontierfirearms]

Yes, it is a great great gun.........I've owned S&W Model 13's, 19's, 65's, 66's, as well as Ruger GP-100's and SP-101's, Colt Pythons & Trooper MK III's - all were very fine guns but for the money and quality the L-frame is just hard to beat.

 

[cottontoptexan]

S&W 586 N frame or L frame

Is the S&W 586 and N Frame or an L Frame. I have a 586 in 357 cal. with the 6 inch barrel. I think it is one of the fines revolvers i have ever owned. I only hunt or target shoot with it. It is not for concealed carry that is for sure. I also own a 625 in 45 acp which i purchased about 6 months ago. Are they the same frame? Many people reading the forums have more knowledge of S&W than I and would appreciate your input.

 

[Confederate]

I vote GREAT.

When the 586/686 first arrived on the scene, Smith wanted it to top everything else on the market, including the overrated but highly photogenic Colt Python. The first revolvers to be reviewed rated easily as the Python's equal in accuracy. Meanwhile, Ruger, making Security-Sixes that were selling close to cost, needed a new leg up. The new Smith offing gave Ruger just that opportunity. The public, hearing that mid-frame magnums couldn't take the constant pounding of magnum loads, erroniously included the Security- and Speed-Sixes. So did a few gun hacks.

But the 686s quickly became the new king of the hill and all Ruger fans got was a heavier magnum that showed no improvement in accuracy and a ho-hum trigger pull. The 686s also were beauties, with flashchromed hammers and triggers. And they were robust. Pythons looked robust, but the tiny pawls hand-fitted into them wears quickly, throwing the big gun out of time. Python owners found that by hard chroming the pawl and wratchet, they could extend the time between timings. But the 686 didn't need this and, since it improved both accuracy and was more robust, I'd say definately that would make it great.

 

[LWS32]

Love mine true love is hard to find.

 

[Ala Dan]

S&W 686-5

Great Gun~!

 

[Odnar]

Let me put it this way: It's not the only revolver I own, but it's the only one I shoot anymore.

 

[Golddog]

586 is an L frame; 625 is an N frame. The N's are slightly larger in virtually every dimension, and they use bigger grips.

 

[swampgator]

I think the 586 is S&W's crowning achievement in a revolver. My four inch is more accurate than I'll ever be and the factory trigger was superb. This is an original -nothing.

A buddy has a 4 inch nickel 586 that was tuned by a S&W armorer/rep when his agency transitioned over to them. That revolver's trigger is the cat's meow. The best I've ever pulled.