# S&w 686



## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

OK, until last week I had never fired a handgun. Rifles and shotguns -yes, handguns - no.
Last week DW and I took an intro to handguns course at the local range. They had us shoot 5 different 22's, 5-38's, 5-9mm's and 1- .45, so 16 different guns total.

Both DW and I liked the S&W 686, they had it listed as a .38. I went online and see that it can take both .38 and .357 ammo However the description confused me when it said


> The magnum case is slightly longer to prevent magnum rounds from being chambered and fired in handguns chambered for the .38 Special


So does it fire both? or are there 2 models and the one designed for the .357 also can use .38? but not the other way around?

Sorry, I'm a complete newbie to handguns as you can tell.


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## lonelytree (Feb 28, 2008)

I had one in NM, liked it. Shoots both .38 and .357. 

What they are saying is that in order to enable it to fire .357 the revolving cylinder is longer.

On .38 only pistols, it is purposely shorter to prevent a person from trying to shoot a .357 round.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

The 686 is a .357 magnum, and will chamber and safely fire .38 special.
686 is a sweet shooting revolver


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Both DW and I liked the S&W 686, *they had it listed as a .38.*


They must have listed it by the *loads* they were using that day.
What you need to look for is the "chambering", which is usually on the barrel of most firearms.

That will tell you the largest, most powerful (normally) cartridge that will fit.

Some cartridges are based on other earlier, weaker cartridges that will also work, but those won't be listed on the gun


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## Gray Wolf (Jan 25, 2013)

686 is a great gun. Dry fire it a lot or have the action smoothed up and you'll love it. Start with 38's and get used to it. 

I've had mine for 15+ years and was running over 500 rounds a week through it, every week, during one period. Broken firing pin after a couple of years of heavy shooting has been the only issue. 

Things may have changed over the years but mine is a 357.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

there are several strait walled rimmed cartridges that can take the shorter , lower powered round of identical diameter

think of a 22lr you can chamber a 22 long or short in it 

357 and 38 special , are both .357 in diameter 
you will even see some convertable cylinders to shoot 9mm from a 38/357 like the ruger blackhaw k convertable that has 2 cilinders one for the 38 and 357 rimmed cartriges , and one for 9mm a cartridge that spaces off the mouth of the cartridge 
the proper diameter for 9mm is .355 but most manufacturers have been making .357 barrels in 9mm for some time any way , as what seems to be a cost reduction in tooling / safety measure 

there is also a convertible for 45lc and 45 acp 

454 , also takes 45lc 

a 44 mag will take 44 special they are actually .430 in diameter 

if you look at these cartridges you will see that the shorter lower pressure cartridge is the older cartridge and as things modernized the cartridge was lengthend and increased preasure specs givin the potential for more power 

the longer cartridge prevented it being used in the older guns that would be damaged by that much pressure 

we haven't even discussed Maximum cartridges as they are really more of a wild cat , but there is a 357 max and 44 max that are even longer and more powerful


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## Xplorer (Sep 23, 2010)

They are great for practice. Use the .38 ammo to shoot with & the .357 for actual defense. .38 ammo is much cheaper to shoot to get good at using the pistol.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

A 686 and any revolver that says 357 on the barrel will shoot 38 specials, 38+P, and 357 cartridges. The 38+P is a more powerful 38 load and should not be fired in a gun that has 38 special on the barrel.

The 686 is a, six shot, stainless steel revolver. The 586 is the same gun but in either a blued finish or nickel plated. The 586 is usually a bit cheaper. I have a nickel 586 with a 6 inch barrel and I put Houge rubber grips on it.

They came with different length barrels, 2 1/2, 4, 6, and 8 inch. They have great balance and are fun to shoot. In my humble opinion they are too big to be good concealed carry guns. My friend says it should have wheels. 

S&W had a recall back in the day. The chamber pressure in really hot loads would push the dent in the primer back out and it become an outie. This would prevent the cylinder from turning or opening and jam the gun. Not good if you were counting on a second shot at the bad guys. The problem was that the hole the firing pin comes through was too big. S&W replaced the part with one with a smaller hole and the problem was fixed. When I had the problem I sent it to S&W and they did the mod for free and paid for shipping too even though the recall was long over. That's customer service. Guns that have had the mod will have an M stamped above the model number that you see when you open the cylinder.

They have made slight changes over the years. The first ones just had the model number stamped on it. Subsequent guns had the model number followed by a dash and a number from 1 on up. I think they went to 8. Bigger numbers are later manufacture. Detailed descriptions on the online auction sites will list the dash and number if there is one. 

Both are discontinued but S&W reissued the 686 with a 7 shot cylinder so you can buy new if you want to. I believe the new ones have a lock built in and you have to have the key to unlock it and fire it. Nanny gooberment strikes again.

Hope you find a good one.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

technically +P does not = more power to the target just higher chamber pressures , as a slower burning powder in a longer barrel would result in =or >velocity with less pressure
+p may use a faster burning powder to get better velocity out of short barrels 

all some what confusing , but both will work in a 357 

want more confusion there is a 38 S&W and 38 S&W Long but they are .361" not .357 and are even earlier and lower pressure than 38 special , 38 special was the magnum of it's day.

added : 38 s&w is larger in bullet diameter and case diameter and should not be attempted in a 38spl or 357


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

So let me sum this up and make sure I have it.

If I buy a brand new S&W 686 made for .357 I can use: .357, .38, .38 SP, and .38+P in it bullets in it, correct?


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

If you buy a new or used 686 it will chamber and safely fire 38 special (SP), 38+P, and 357 magnum rounds. Do not try to use 357 Sig cartridges in it. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070531121344AA5jlpD I don't think you could have selected a more confusing caliber.

I would try to find a 686 or 586 in very good condition and buy it. Look carefully. LEOs used to carry these and there are a lot of used ones that have a lot of wear. I would not want a new one with a lock and key set up.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> If I buy a brand new S&W 686 made for .357 I can use: .357, .38, .38 SP, and .38+P in it bullets in it, correct?


Any revolver chambered in .357 will fire all those (.38 and .38 SP are the same thing)

*38 S&W* is NOT the same and will not work

Many chambered in 38 Special are also *rated* to fire +P ammo, but not all are.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

More than likely at that "handgun event" the guys just did not want to get into the discussion of what all that 686 will fire.
Plus the 'recoil' from firing a .38 is very light compared to a .357........
Firing a hot .357 reload would / will scare many folks away......
686. . . really good stuff.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

A bit off topic, but you may want to consider a S&W 625. It is essentially the same revolver as the S&W 629, except it is chambered for .45acp. We have two - mabe 3 - Model 625s. One big advantage of the 625 is that it loads with moonclips. You simply drop a clip of 6 rounds into the cylinder and its loaded. There is no faster way of loading a revolver....even faster than using speedloaders. 

The world speed record for shooting 6-rounds - a reload - and another 6-rounds from a revolver was set with a Model 625.

[YOUTUBE]lLk1v5bSFPw[/YOUTUBE]


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## Usingmyrights (Jan 10, 2011)

I have to add that there was a distributor exclusive that I'm kicking myself for not buying. It was a 7shoot 686, 5" barrel and had an unfluted cyclinder. It had great balance, and if i could go back,I'd snatch one up.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I have been a .38 Spec shooter for over 50 years..You can fire 38's in a 357 , but don't fire 357's in a 38 , it's that simple......


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

A .357 will not fit in a .38 only gun. At least I've never come across one that will..


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Both DW and I liked the S&W 686


If it had the factory wood grips, I think you'd like it even more with rubber grips


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

The 357 is the longer case and the 38 is the shorter one. This is why 38 cartridges fit into a 357 chamber and 357 cartridges don't fit in a 38 chamber. If you fire a lot of 38 cartridges loaded with lead bullets in a 357 revolver, there will be a buildup in the last, unused, 1/8 inch of chamber. The 357 cartridges will have a hard time fitting all the way down unless you clean the buildup out. 

The second picture is my 586, in nickle, with the rubber grips. They fit my hand better and are softer.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I have to shoot my .38 Spec tomorrow to qualify , I have to shoot for score every year for my LEOSA carry permit...


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I shot my 2 in Colt Det Spec and qualified with it, good for another year now.....


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## Tomthearcher (May 4, 2013)

I had and carried for many years the Blued version of the 686 more commonly known as the 586. I did a trigger job and polished the inner workings and man alive did it shoot sweet. I competed with it and completed SWAT training with it and then like an idiot I traded it off. I have been searching for another one ever since but Revolvers have gotten WAAAAAAYY over priced and so far to date I have not found a good used one. 

It would eat magnum loads slicker than snot sliding down your chin in the winter time. The .38spcl would scream down that barrel and the recoil was sooooooo much reduced thanks to that full length barrel lug. I trained exclusively with the .357 magnum round and would compete then with the .38spcl. I miss that gun as badly as I have ever missed any man made anything.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

I've got a 586-1
Crappy cell phone pic, but it's a good looking gun that is smooth as butter


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## Tomthearcher (May 4, 2013)

Oh man does that ever stir images of aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. I loved that gun and the only reason I traded it off was, I got talked in to shooting bowling pins and the only allowed caliber here was .45. Ironically about 6 months after signing up, the founder of the local league and chief financial officer decided the league needed to expand to allow other calibers. He was the one I traded my 586 to but, ironically he didn't want to part with it because it was so slick. Which by the way was one of the negatives working against me when we were talking trading. Guess who won most of the pin matches.

I recently saw an ad for the 586-1 and had to wonder how they could fit any more in to that old work horse. Thanks for sharing that photo, it warms the cockles of this old shooter. That is indeed a beauty to put it mildly.


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

Not sure what a decent 586-1 is worth, but I gave $350 for this one a few months ago


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## Tomthearcher (May 4, 2013)

Oh heck 350? That is exactly 600 bucks cheaper than anything I have been able to come across here in Georgia. Even the gun store that I have bought many guns and traded with for years, I saw used straight 6 586 that had the bluing worn off the muzzle and the wood grips were almost worn smooth. The gun shop owner said it was in on consignment. The gun was priced at 750.00. I had to walk away from it and then I was in 3 days later and it was gone and the gun shop owner was away that day and his flunky was there and did not realize that it was me that was inquiring about he gun just a few days later. I asked him about it since I did not see it as I walked in. He told me that the gun shop owner had bought it from the gun owner. I asked him what it wound up costig the John. The flunky said that he thought that John had paid something in the neighborhood of 200 bucks. I didn't respond other than to ask if the shop owner was going to put it back up for sale. He was it turns out and I was back in a week later and sure enough there the 586 sitting pretty with a new set of grips and bluing touch up on the crown. The price tag was $1100.00. 

The shop owner was there that day and I was talking with him in a casual manner and mentioned the 586 being still for sale. He smiled and said that he decided to pay the guy what he was asking and cleanign it up and put the new set of grips on it. I asked him how much I "jew" him down. He looked me squarely in the eye(at first) and said that there just wasn't any wiggle room for him I offered him double his investment without he knowing that I knew how much he paid. That's when he looked away saying that he just didn't have the price where he could come down any because he paid too much. Last time I have been in there................


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Went back to the shooting range where we took the handgun course. DW and I rented a S&W 686 and fired off a box of .38's and a box of .357's (50 in each)
She's actually a pretty good shot, though she had a bit more trouble with the .357 kickback. Have not bought one yet, but they had a really good price on one that I'm thinking about - $80 less than the lowest I've seen it anywhere else (for a new one).


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