Smith & Wesson Model 686 Reviews

by **firedawg60** » Mon Aug 02, 2010 7:45 pm

I just picked up a shoulder holster for my 6" 686 today. So, this winter I can carry it once in a while. Kind of hard to conceal this piece of field artillery

by **BrianB** » Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:23 pm

Very cool Firedawg, let us know what kind it is and how you like it. I have been thinking of getting the Uncle mikes vertical shoulder holster and carrying it during the winter as well, though of course that is a really short time down here.

by **SittingMooseShaman** » Wed Aug 04, 2010 6:58 pm

I carry my 586(686s' blued predecessor)

with the 83/8" bbl and 4-step front sight

in a Unk Mikes' shoulder rig.

I did some custom work on 'er

to remove all the corners and bobbed

the hammer for a smooth draw...

by **firedawg60** » Wed Aug 04, 2010 7:42 pm

Hey BrianB, I haven't had a chance to carry it yet. I know I need to do some adjusting. But at 108 degree's, I ain't wearing any cover garments for a while. I'll post when I do.

by **BrianB** » Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:04 pm

Sure thing Firedawg.

As to my review of the 686 (SSR version). I chose the 6 cylinder over the 7 because I just felt the extra material between each cylinder would keep the gun going strong forever.

Not sure what the deal is but I thought things would go a bit better with this one. Not sure if the problem is the site or me but I had to adjust the hell out of the rear site to shoot decently accurate with this gun. Had to raise it up a bit and move it too the left practically as far as it would go and it just does not look right, haha.

Finally got it to where I was shooting a decent grouping at the actual place I was aiming for. That group being about what would fit within a six inch circle shot at about 7 yards. I say acceptable but somewhat disappointing from all the raves I have heard about with this model I expected better. Of course this could just be me, so I guess I will just have to practice more, haha. Perhaps just a problem with high expectations verse my lower skill set. The one thing I could say about the Taurus where it beat this one was accuracy, when it chooses to work that is. Perhaps that ported barrel really is a plus.

On the good side, the pistol is obviously well constructed, built like a tank and will easily take the punishment of 357 ammo. No stuck cylinder problem as I had with the Taurus Tracker. (Though that one seems to be fixed)

On the funny side, no one at the range wanted to be next to me, they complained that the gun just had way too much shock for them, that they could feel it with every shot I took. The person on the right even said he could feel powder from the gun, hahaha. Not that they were rude about it really, they were friendly about it, even seemed to admire it. I even allowed them to shoot it as they all admired it for being a 357 and I guess they had a sort of respect and appreciation for the power even though at the same time they didn't like the shock from it, kind of weird. One of them let me shoot his Beretta storm 40 cal sort of trade for trade. I got to say, it was much gentler than my Sigma 40.

Anyways, I know the lady that owns the range and asked her about the fact that people complained about the shock of the 357 later. She was pretty funny. She shrugged about it and said basically that some people are just kind of stupid, what do they expect, they are at a gun range, hello. She told me how she has had some people many times in the past come up to her and ask her for a "Quiet" place to shoot, laughed and shook her head. Pretty funny to me too.

Overall though, ignoring my own skill issues, the gun seems to be great, well build and dependable. I am sure that those that claim to have super accuracy from it are right, I just got to work on that part. I really like it.

by **GOANRA** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 4:43 pm

Brian, what length is your barrel? The rear sight issue seems the same as I had with my 586 4inch back in the 80s. However, even though I shot 'AA' Class competition with that rev for years, I never got the front adj sites.

Max shot was 60 feet and with weak hand, group had to be mostly covered with a quarter to be a contender.

The 586/686 with 6 in bbl was the most common handgun in Statewide LE combat competitions.

You may want to use some low dose 38s for the range, they come fairly cheap by the case.

Winchester 'range' & Federal's AE are good range ammo.

Some Master Class shooters prefer the wood [target] grips, but I used Pachmayers since I used mine for duty & had lives at risk with wet/sweaty/bloody/dirty/sticky-from-donuts/ hands.

Don't expect great results with .357 mag rounds until you have mastered accuracy with 38spls [a few cases] LOL.

At 60-75 feet, sights don't change anyway, so no need to send $$ downrange.

by **BrianB** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 6:08 pm

Goanra, thanks for the advice. I did notice a big difference between 38 and 357 as I both started and ended with 38. I shot about 40 shots with the 38 and did most of the site adjusting with it. Then shot about 50 or so rounds of 357. I went back to 38 for about another 30 or so rounds. After the first shots of 38 I thought I had the gun decently sighted but the 357 were a bit sporadic so I went back to the 38s and was shooting much more accurate again. As to shooting the 357s, in general I really wanted to make sure the gun could handle it. Knowing now that it will I will more than likely use a good majority of practice rounds in 38. Got to run a few 357s through it every once in a while though, keep the people in the next booth awake, ha!

Mine is a 4" barrel as well, I wonder if the site issue is a common trait? I was also using the wood grips so perhaps I will use the rubber grips that came with it next time, see how it goes.

I would hope to some day be half the shooter you have been, I am not that good at 7 yards with my strong hand at this point though, hahaha.

by **neverenough** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:10 pm

Hey BrianB,.....Again, goanra offers up some excellent advise. (hands sticky from donuts!! good one goanra)!

Brian, as you describe the results from shooting .38 to .357 I wonder if possibly you are antisipating the increased felt recoil in the .357 rounds? As I have mentioned in other comments (somewhere) could it be you have a case of the "flinchies" or trigger yank with the magnum loads?

I just always approach shooting with an awareness that no matter how accurate, how well your sights are dialed in or what quality of ammo, if the trigger isn't given a smooth and steady squeeze (single action mode), your shot placement is gonna be crappy.

Just a thought.....

neverenough

by **BrianB** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 6:57 pm

I would not doubt it neverenough, I have had the problem before with my Sigma 40 cal. The cases are a little different, though could be the same root cause, in that with the Sigma I was clearly pulling down with my shots whereas with the 686 my shots were simple more of just a larger pattern. For example, the 38s would be within perhaps a four or five in group with rounds pretty much filling all the circle. With the 357 the pattern would be the same but the circle bigger, perhaps about 8 or 10 inches.

So anyways, I am certainly going to look into it and work on it. I was determined to get better with the Sigma and did (later on I pulled a spring out AFTER I got better with it just to make the trigger a little easier but I was not going to do that until I could beat the accuracy problem.) and I will make sure to get better with this one as well.

Thanks for the input neverenough, appreciate it. And yeah, I agree, Goanra is a funny as well as informative guy!

by **SW-Insured** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:13 pm

Hey Tig: Are you still having the problem you mentioned with the cylinder not spinning freely/normally? If so, I may have a reasonably easy solution for you. Let me know.