S&W 686-3 Opinions?

[gjohnsoniv]

Never been much of a wheelgun person, but I curious as to what everybody thought of these.

[Garufa]

Outstanding handguns.

[gjohnsoniv]

What frame is that? The J-frame?

[McAllyn]

I think the 686 is an L frame. Fairly large.

FWIW, one of the very few weapons I regret getting rid of...

Mac

[Garufa]

What frame is that? The J-frame?

Nope. J-frames are the snubbies.

686 is an L-frame, medium-large I think they call it. Bigger that a K, smaller than an N.

[gjohnsoniv]

Ah alright, gotcha.

[TNWNGR]

The S&W L frame and Ruger GP100 were beefed up enough to better withstand a continued diet of 357 Magnum round's. I've owned earlier 686's but will pass on the newer one's. Dollar for dollar the GP100 can provide excellent accurcy and service, it's trigger can also be easily improved as well. But in the end an older L frame with a good trigger job is near impossible to improve on.

[Guest sL1k]

i love mine it is fairly large but its a good weight and very accurate.

its my back up zombie gun at the moment. Next trip to the range its coming out of the case for a bit to come with me lol.

[gjohnsoniv]

What's a fair/going rate for one of them? Checked some sights but getting everything from 4 something up to 8 something.

[Garufa]

What's a fair/going rate for one of them? Checked some sights but getting everything from 4 something up to 8 something.

Welcome to pricing S&W's.

4 something will get you something functional but kinda beat up, then again you might get lucky. 8 something would be mint, in box, never fired. Even then that's way high for a stainless L-frame.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Garufa

[SonnyCrockett]

cant go wrong with a 686,I own one and shoot it often

a -3 means NO LOCK which is IMO even better

should be worth 500 bucks on average used

[gjohnsoniv]

Welcome to pricing S&W's.

4 something will get you something functional but kinda beat up, then again you might get lucky. 8 something would be mint, in box, never fired. Even then that's way high for a stainless L-frame.

LOL. That's what I gathered from reading around. Just all over the place.

[gjohnsoniv]

cant go wrong with a 686,I own one and shoot it often

a -3 means NO LOCK which is IMO even better

should be worth 500 bucks on average used

So one box through it would be? Six to mid six?

[gregintenn]

$500-$600 in my guestimation. A 686 is the perfect platform for the 357 Mag cartridge. If you fancy a revolver, you'll not improve upon the 686.

[Garufa]

If you fancy a revolver, you'll not improve upon the 686.

Except maybe a 586, but that's just who I am.

[gjohnsoniv]

Except maybe a 586, but that's just who I am.

That's cool too.

[DaveTN]

They were King of the Law Enforcement revolvers. It took that spot away from the 19 & 66 when it came out in 1980. A -3 was made between 88-94.

Excellent home defense gun. The original point & click interface.

Pre-locks are going for 500-600 in excellent condition, occasionally you will see one for $450. Heavily used ones still bring a good price because it’s pretty easy to make a stainless gun look brand new.

Pre-locks are a good investment; the price just keeps going up.

[wjh2657]

I have one in 2 1/2" Barrel. It is the house handgun (Primary HD is Mossy 500A tactical). Probably easiest revolver in the world to shoot.

[gregintenn]

Except maybe a 586, but that's just who I am.

Me too. I just assumed he was set on stainless.

[gjohnsoniv]

Is the 586 a blued version?

[diablo982]

Is the 586 a blued version?

Yes. Not to confuse things further, but there is also a 581/ 681 which is a fixed sight version. I have a 686-3, and it happens to be the greatest gun I have ever owned. You can't go wrong with an old S&W in excellent condition. It will only go up in value if you decide to part with it.

[Major Kong]

You will not be disappointed with a 686-3. If you are, put it in the classifieds here and it will be gone pretty quickly.

[Guest sL1k]

I thought the 786 was the blued version?

[gregintenn]

...and the 686 plus is a 7 shot version!!! S&W model numbers are complicated.

If it starts with a 6, you can be sure it is stainless.

Edited September 21, 2012 by gregintenn

[Tuffus]

I have a 686 plus and I would keep it if I could only have 1 gun. The great thing about wheel guns is that they aren't picky about ammo. Ball, hollowpoints, shotshells, doesn't matter. They just go bang. No need to test hundreds of rounds to make sure they are good to go in that gun.