REVIEW: Smith & Wesson 686

This was my first revolver, and what an introduction it was. This is a substantial gun and, with contoured Hogue rubber grips, fills the hand nicely. It is stainless steel with a 4 inch barrel and weighs 40 ounces. It is double-action with an exposed hammer. For the sake of comparison, I bought one box of .357 Magnums (American Eagle 158gr.) and one box of .38 Specials (Magtech 158gr.).

After my initial impression of size and heft, I noticed the gun was a bit on the dirty side. It has seen lots of action. The fellow who checked us in picked this one out for me and said, “This is one of my favorites to blast away with.”

I started with the .38 Specials and was able to keep several cylinders-full in the black. No precision work on my part but respectable. My groups got tighter as I went along. Shooting in single-action helped greatly. (FYI: Double-action means that your long trigger pull cocks the gun, rotates the cylinder then fires a round. When firing single-action, you pull the hammer back manually, rotating the cylinder and cocking the gun. This reduces your trigger pull to less than a quarter inch and requires only a light short pull to fire the gun). Recoil was on par with light 9mm autoloaders I’ve fired before.

Once comfortable with the .38s, I loaded up the .357 Magnums. Though the cartridge is only a fraction of an inch longer than the .38 Special, it is the distance from pleasant to unpleasant. The recoil, report and muzzle blast are substantially greater—manageable, particularly in such a hefty gun, but not really a recreational round. I never felt as though I wasn’t in control, but I was able to shoot more accurately and more rapidly with the .38s.

As for the gun itself, it was well-made and had a good feel. You could tell it was up to the punishment. The cylinder didn’t drop out smoothly, though, and the ejector didn’t always clear all the empties. This is probably due entirely to the need for a good cleaning. The sights were simple and easy to see. The Hogue grips had a good feel and helped absorb and manage some of the recoil.

All in all, this is a solid gun that would last anyone a lifetime. Though too big for concealed carry, it could work well as a service weapon and has been rumored to have been used by Navy SEALS on occasion. It would be a good choice for a home defense weapon, though you’d probably want to stick to .38s for practice and only load .357s for emergencies. Prices run $550-600.