I don’t know if there is a perfect revolver but a 4” 686 is close.
It’s big enough to absorb a lot of recoil so the shooter isn’t punished by heavy 357 mag loads.  The 38s feel like a pop gun so anyone who can cock it can shoot it.  You can load everything from deer slaying 180g down to 125g and even 110 bullets and shot shells.  I have yet to kill a deer with it but I hope to this fall.  The shot shells are made for snake and rats but in a pinch they will make short work of a rabbit or grouse.  The gun rides well in a pair of cargo shorts or day pack and is just the right size for a belt holster.  I got it a while back at a gun show because a guy was selling it for 300 and I had 300.  The gun is brand new and I thought it would be a good investment.   Little did I know it is a great little tool and fun to shoot.  I reload so it’s more economical than a lot of guns I have.  

The first few times I went to the range it “tagged along” with my serious guns but now it sits in the truck in a 50 cal ammo can that is full of 38 and 357.  if I get the urge to hit the range on the way home it’s the gun of preference.  

All this to say if you need a good revolver and are looking at a 38 this is a good choice!  

S&W Revolvers - good stuff.

I have a 686-4, 4" barrel. I agree it is a wonderful revolver. Mine is about 12 years old, but is still one of my favorites.

Just got mine a couple weeks ago. I love my Smith!

Quoted: I don’t know if there is a perfect revolver but a 4” 686 is close. It’s big enough to absorb a lot of recoil so the shooter isn’t punished by heavy 357 mag loads.  The 38s feel like a pop gun so anyone who can cock it can shoot it.  You can load everything from deer slaying 180g down to 125g and even 110 bullets and shot shells.  I have yet to kill a deer with it but I hope to this fall.  The shot shells are made for snake and rats but in a pinch they will make short work of a rabbit or grouse.  The gun rides well in a pair of cargo shorts or day pack and is just the right size for a belt holster.  I got it a while back at a gun show because a guy was selling it for 300 and I had 300.  The gun is brand new and I thought it would be a good investment.   Little did I know it is a great little tool and fun to shoot.  I reload so it’s more economical than a lot of guns I have.   The first few times I went to the range it “tagged along” with my serious guns but now it sits in the truck in a 50 cal ammo can that is full of 38 and 357.  if I get the urge to hit the range on the way home it’s the gun of preference.   All this to say if you need a good revolver and are looking at a 38 this is a good choice!

I'm itching to buy one.  What kind of holster do you wear with it?

Quoted: I don’t know if there is a perfect revolver but a 4” 686 is close.

The only thing better might be a 6". But I hear ya. I'm fond of the unfluted cylinders when I can get them.

Fondled a few but have never managed to get one.  I figure they would make a nice big brother to the GP100s I have....


Woody

Yes, Yes they are fffuuuunnnn to shoot. I have traded up for the model 29 tho. I got bit by the deer hunting with a pistol bug a year ago, and the four inch barrel is not legal in Texas for deer. Has to be a six inch barrel. Of course I may be mistaken, so do not quote me.

Look below for an update!!

To be legal for deer hunting, a handgun must shoot centerfire cartridges of .22 caliber or larger and have a  5 1/2 inch minimum barrel length, measured from the firing pin to the muzzle with the action closed.

When did the law changed?  It used to be a matter of foot pounds generated.  It came out to be a .357 magnum load was the smallest caliber allowed. The law was changed about 5 or 6 years ago (~ 1999 / 2000).  In the days when handgun hunting began in Wisconsin the calibers that most people used were the .357 mag, .41 mag, and .44 mag.  There simply were not many others that were popular.  Since that time however, technology surpassed what our original law intended to accomplish.  The Thompson Center and Thompson Contender, along with Remington XP 100's and the like all added to the confusion among our public.  As ammunition manufacturers created new loads for their handguns many became legal since a single load in a caliber met the legal standards (1,000 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle) of that time.  This was all very confusing to the public and to non gun aficionados (nuts).  It created a workload for our DNR frontline staff and our wardens.  So, we proposed a simple definition that anyone could understand; if you can use the caliber for deer hunting with a rifle then you can use it in a handgun.  That meant .22 centerfire or larger.  We have not received significant numbers of complaints from the public since the new law has been in place.  We are not seeing or hearing about significant numbers of wounded deer with handguns either.  That happens even with large caliber magnum rifles too.


I learned somethin new!

Quoted: I don’t know if there is a perfect revolver but a 4” 686 is close. It’s big enough to absorb a lot of recoil so the shooter isn’t punished by heavy 357 mag loads.  The 38s feel like a pop gun so anyone who can cock it can shoot it.  You can load everything from deer slaying 180g down to 125g and even 110 bullets and shot shells.

i finally got around to shooting my NIB 686 4" tonight...  its quickly becoming my favorite gun. I was shooting .38 spl 125gr and they had the same felt recoil as the 110gr .357mags.  Now i know why... didnt realize that .357 went all the way up to 180gr.    I need to try these out  I was thinking that i needed to trade in my 686 for something in .44 mag because there wasnt ENOUGH recoil for my taste.

Anyway... +10,000 on the S&W 686 4", all around a great gun.

i looked up the TEXAS TPWD web site and got this from the 05-06 annual.  i didn't see anything on pistol barrel length.  what it does say is...  please point to a statute because I don’t want to get busted for breaking a law that is not in the manual.  

Means and Methods Firearms Game animals and game birds may be hunted with any legal firearm, EXCEPT: • white-tailed deer, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope may NOT be hunted with rimfire ammunition of any caliber. • shotguns are the only legal firearm that may be used to hunt Eastern turkey during the spring Eastern turkey season (see County Listings). Rifles and handguns may not be used to hunt Eastern turkey. • pellet guns and other air guns are NOT LEGAL. • fully automatic firearms are NOT LEGAL. • firearms equipped with silencers or sound-suppressing devices are NOT LEGAL. • a shotgun is the only legal firearm for hunting migratory game birds and lesser prairie chicken (see Definitions - Legal Shotgun, pg. 68). Nongame Animals (Non-Protected): Any lawful firearm, pellet gun, or other air gun is legal. Magazine Capacity (number of shells/cartridges allowed): There are no restrictions on the number of shells or cartridges a legal firearm may hold when hunting game animals or game birds (except migratory game birds, see Legal Shotgun, pg. 68). Muzzleloader: Any firearm that is loaded only through the muzzle. Note: A cap and ball firearm in which the powder and ball are loaded into a cylinder is not a muzzleloader.

If you want a "combat revolver" the 686 is the best you will find. Then again, maybe the 681 is better since the sights are fixed.

we agree

I want one, but I can't bring myself to buy a seven-shot six-shooter (bonus points if can name the movie that's from). I'm looking for an old pre-lock six shooter.

My FIL has a 681 .357 K-frame that my wife will inherit one day, but I want an L frame for my shooting.

686+ (7-rd cylinder) 2.5" bbl. for CPL duties.

Since this post is worthless without pictures, I will post mine:



Truly state of the art in the past service revolver world.

(just a bit slow due to the wireless card)

The only thing thats stopped me from picking up a 686 is the safety in the hammer Ive heard some have had trouble with them, have any of you heard about the 686 having any trouble? I know most of the problems with the safety lock is from taurus owners but a in a few forums ppl were stating their S&W's were haveing trouble with it and SW's preformance center charges $150 for a regular hammer.

I always wanted a 686 and I finally was able to buy one last fall. It has a 4" barrel (six shot). GRet balance and great trigger. Do not regret making the purchase.

Quoted: The only thing thats stopped me from picking up a 686 is the safety in the hammer Ive heard some have had trouble with them, have any of you heard about the 686 having any trouble? I know most of the problems with the safety lock is from taurus owners but a in a few forums ppl were stating their S&W's were haveing trouble with it and SW's preformance center charges $150 for a regular hammer.

Shop around for a used one.  It will probably be a better finished gun with better parts.  

I have never looked at one to see how it works but i suspect you can pull out the hammer and remove the "gimp" parts and have the hole in the side welded up by a compitent welder.  put it all back together and it's better than new.  

I'm going shopping for one this weekend.

I'm looking for a 6" 686+ with the wood grips.

a 586 4" would be slick as snot but I doubt I'll have that option..

as hated as the hammer locks are I really couldn't care less.

In my case it will never be used for hunting anything other than condemned appliances computers paper targets and other inanimate items.

I think I might actually try reloading for this one. I'm not really interested in reloading for my bottom feeders but it would be fun to do in an over built revolver :)

When I was drooling on the 6" in the case at the range I frequent the guy behind the counter mentioned that out of every handgun in the store if he could only have two he would pick a les Baer 1911 or a S&W 686+ 4"or 6"

I tried out the 4" 686+ rental gun. Even as beat up as it was, missing the red ramp from the front sight, Scratched to all hell... burn marks at the front of the cylinder.... worn rubber houges with a little chunk taken out near the heel of my palm....

despite all that I managed to print tighter groups with it on my first cylinder of .38 than I did through my P228 or my BHP clone.

I was all ready for the .38s to have as much kick as a 9mm but alas... it was almost more soft shooting than my .22lr autoloaders!

(Ahem Walther P22)

I plan to get the 6" simply because it has a longer sight radius and I think the 6" guns just look AWESOME.

Like I said, I like the unfluted models, pre-lock, pre-MIM, with firing pin on the hammer:

629-2, limited run 7.5" barrel. She's sweet with .44 Special.
686-3  6"
686-3  6"

I don't have a 686, but I do have a SS 3" 696 & a 2 1/8" 296 Ti cylinder and Al frame.

Yep, they are sweet!  My first handgun was a 686, I break it out and polish the hell out of it every now and then.  Great shooter IMO.

--VT

Quoted: we agree img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/twonami/102_0246.jpg

Twonami,
What model/caliber Airweight and how do you like it?

Quoted: Quoted: we agree img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/twonami/102_0246.jpg Twonami, What model/caliber Airweight and how do you like it?

642 .38 special +P the stubby grip was replaced by the hogue for comfort. Love it.

Quoted: All this to say if you need a good revolver and are looking at a 38 this is a good choice!

I just picked up my first wheelgun, a S&W 586 and I have to agree, this frame size with a 4" barrel is pretty sweet.

Congrats on the 686

I've had one for a 4 months now I try to shoot it at least once a week. 686  4 inch barrel. Unfortunately the thing is costing me to much money. I just went and bought  a reloader and all I do now is reload 38/357's. Everything froM 110 grain HP to 158 solid lead. Now I'm looking at the 8 shot tactical w/ a 5 inch barrel. I regularly shoot a 9mm Sig and now since I keep shooting the Smith I can't get used to the auto trigger. HRRRRRRRMMMMPPH!!

Own three (pre-lock). Damn fine weapon.