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First revolver..what to look for

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ramair2k

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Buying my first new revolver soon (S&W 686 6”) and would like to know what I should look out for/what to check before taking it home. Any tips would be appreciated.
 
ramair2k said:
Buying my first new revolver soon (S&W 686 6”) and would like to know what I should look out for/what to check before taking it home. Any tips would be appreciated.
Click to expand...


Oh boy.
Brandy-new or used once-or-twice-sat-in-a-safe-trade in?
Brand new in the box- Nothing to look for really, what you see is what you get. Maybe change the grips and front sight out if its going to be a regular range gun.
Break it in before you go playing around with the innards.
Outside of that, n.i.b. is about 12-13lbs double action and about 5-6lbs s.a.
 
ramair2k said:
Buying my first new revolver soon (S&W 686 6”) and would like to know what I should look out for/what to check before taking it home. Any tips would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Current production S&W revolvers are horribly lacking in quality control. Make sure you check it out really well, both function and cosmetics, before buying or it will likely end up going back to S&W customer service for something (and they are badly backed up with the COVID thing going on). In particular, make sure the barrel isn't canted... one of the more common (and yet initially overlooked) complaints. [thinking]
 
Agree with Fudd. Send in the warranty card just in case a problem gets spotted later. Odds are it's fine, but issues may not become obvious until some actual firing is done. There's a pretty extensive and well-established process for revolver inspection. Check out the 5th edition Kuhnhausen S&W shop manual. Nothing more enjoyable than shooting and working with a S&W revolver. Don't get discouraged, it's a fine choice that will serve you well.
 
I am with @EJFudd on this one. I would buy a new S&W revolver right now if I liked the model and the price was right, but they are having some problems with quality control. And if you need warranty service, they are backlogged. With that said, your warranty issues will eventually get properly fixed, so there is no great cause for concern.

Barrels incorrectly aligned, so the front sight is not perfectly at 12 o'clock, has been a frequently reported problem, but there are also many other issues that can occur. A revolver has many areas with close tolerances, and all of these tolerances can affect function. When you really study how revolvers function, it is pretty amazing that they work as well as they do. But humans have been perfecting these designs longer than any other repeating firearms, and they really do work very, very well when they are in spec.

Here is a link to the best known revolver checkout document. It has more info than you probably want, but is well worth a look. Note that for some reason it would not open for me in firefox, but it worked fine in chrome.

http://tinyurl.com/revocheck

There is discussion about the above doc in this thread.

THE REVOLVER CHECKOUT - 10 year anniversary update. - The Firing Line Forums

THE REVOLVER CHECKOUT - 10 year anniversary update. Handguns: The Revolver Forum
thefiringline.com

Here is another less known, but quite good, revolver inspection guide.

 
I'm not really a big revolver guy but out of all the ones I've owned, S&W's are definitely my favorite. I don't have much to offer up in advice on what to look for but with a S&W you really can't go wrong unless the gun has been beat to shit. The 686 is a nice revolver. I have it's somewhat rare cousin, the 681-2, 4" stainless. It's pretty much the exact same gun as the 686 except the 681 has fixed sights, the rear being nothing more than a notch in the frame. The 581 (blued) and 681 (stainless) models were S&W's last attempt at the police issue revolver market, as they came about around the same time as the wonder 9's. Mine was made in 1984 and has one of the best D/A triggers I've ever felt in a basic duty revolver.
 
The 686 are nice. You will have fun.

Check the cylinder, make sure it is not loose, make sure it doesn't feel weird. Dry fire it a few times, check the timing.

No need to ever send a revovler back to SW. Unless you like bad customer service and waiting 3 months for them to maybe come back and say you have to pay then $200.

SW 686 are very common. 99% of the issues can be solved at home in a few minutes. Almost every part has an after market supplier and tons of videos on how to change them.

For the remaining 1%, which would be really bad stuff, a gun smith can solve it.

Don't spend extra money for Performance Center. It is marketing BS, it means nothing.
 
I have a 686+, great gun. When I went to buy my second one, the gun shop guy asked if I had looked at it's Ruger counterpart, the GP100, I had not. I picked it up and liked it, particularly the double action trigger right out of the box and the sights. I mulled it over, went back and bought the Ruger. Its a matter of personal preference but if you're in the market for a 686 you might also want to look at the GP100.

Hehehe, someone had to bring up the Ruger [pot][popcorn]
 
Thanks for all the replies! Appreciate the insight. For those asking, I plan to get a brand new 686 provided the LGS has them in stock. Never know these days given the current climate.
 
ramair2k said:
Thanks for all the replies! Appreciate the insight. For those asking, I plan to get a brand new 686 provided the LGS has them in stock. Never know these days given the current climate.
Click to expand...
You can order online. Save the sales tax for some polishing stones and springs.
 
I've been shooting .38spl/.38spl +P/.357 magnum all last week out of a new-to-me Ruger GP100 3". Maybe 500 rounds total over 3 days. (not big on "counting")

OP, you are gonna have sooooo muuuuch fuuuuun!


First revolver. What to look for.
Oh yeah, ammunition...
 
EJFudd said:
Current production S&W revolvers are horribly lacking in quality control. Make sure you check it out really well, both function and cosmetics, before buying or it will likely end up going back to S&W customer service for something (and they are badly backed up with the COVID thing going on). In particular, make sure the barrel isn't canted... one of the more common (and yet initially overlooked) complaints. [thinking]
Click to expand...
Canted barrels are commonplace right now on all revolvers, not just S&W. Really all revolvers manufacturing has taken a nosedive in the past 10 years among US makers not Freedom Arms or Magnum Research. This may sound crazy, it is 2020 after all, but right now the best quality for revolvers is Taurus or Rock Island.

I would say the biggest thing to watch for is excessive barrel/cylinder gap. S&W and Ruger are running everything damn near .01" because it's easier for them to machine and assemble the revolvers if the gap is larger.
 
T-Unit said:
Canted barrels are commonplace right now on all revolvers, not just S&W. Really all revolvers manufacturing has taken a nosedive in the past 10 years among US makers not Freedom Arms or Magnum Research. This may sound crazy, it is 2020 after all, but right now the best quality for revolvers is Taurus or Rock Island.

I would say the biggest thing to watch for is excessive barrel/cylinder gap. S&W and Ruger are running everything damn near .01" because it's easier for them to machine and assemble the revolvers if the gap is larger.
Click to expand...
The answer for me lies in older Smith & Wesson revolvers... the older, the better in most cases and obviously not ones that have been beat to Hell or monkeyed with. And if I can't find a suitable vintage S&W for some reason, I'll sometimes go with a brand new all-metal (never plastic) Ruger revolver. At least I'll know that Customer Service will be timely and satisfactory if it needs it.

Going to a Taurus revolver in lieu of a brand new S&W revolver is something I can't imagine, but I can't speak to that from personal experience. Likewise, I have no experience with Rock Island revolvers, although my RI 1911A2 has been flawless.
 
I have a S&W 19-3 and it is my favorite handgun. I have probably shot 10000 rounds through it (not all .357). Around the same time I bought the 19 I also purchased a Python and the Colt sat unused and the S&W went everywhere. I do have several trophies with the Smith when I used to do Bullseye. I could compete using two out of the box Smiths (K-22 and the 19) against hot rodded guns. My 1911A1 was worked over by Alton Dinan from CT. I would have a hard time buying a new Smith, that friggin hole drives me batty.
 

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