Smith & Wesson Model 686 357 Magnum 6-Shot/4-inch Revolver

CAUTION – this Smith & Wesson, Model 686-6 is not representative of S&W’s reputation for quality and craftmanship. In the interest of brevity there are too many substandard quality exceptions to be listed. The Smith & Wesson Trade Mark on this pistol is seriously discredited by the finished production standard of this pistol. Bottom line, the trade mark and the pistol quality do not match. It is as if this S&W pistol was subcontracted out to a third world country to be assembled. Smith & Wesson’s legacy of quality and craftsmanship is jeopardized based upon the finished product standards of this pistol. I own other pistols from other manufacturers whose finished standards far exceed these. My anticipated pride of ownership of an icon, Smith & Wesson 686 was destroyed in review of these finished standards. I have been shown the quality and craftsmanship of a Smith and Wesson, Model 686 from the past compared to this pistol. The Smith & Wesson Trade Mark is the only thing the past and the present pistols have in common. What happened Also antagonizing this situation unfortunately is a reluctant on-line firearms retailer unwilling to acknowledge the poor quality of the product they are selling. It is as is. The marketing sales pictures do not show you the details of the pistol you could receive.

This is my first revolver purchase not my first gun by any means and I have to say that I couldn't be happier with its performance and build. I've put over 500 rounds of a mix of .38 special and .357 magnum down range and I've had no issues of any kind. This revolver easily handled both loads. It feels very solid in my hands and I have complete confidence that I could put thousands of magnum loads through it without the slightest detriment to the gun. I get the impression that it was cut from a single block of steel and it would take extreme circumstances to compromise it in any way.

The only criticism I have is with the out-of-the-box quality of the satin finish. The bead blasted rib on top is done very nicely and has no variation. The balance of the gun does have some issues. Nothing that would cause me to return it or send it to S&W for work, but still worth mentioning. I'm very pleased with the price I paid for this gun, but for that price I expected more attention to the finish. I simply bought some Scotch Brite pads and fixed a few patches and did some detail/fine finishing of the satin and it now looks like I expected it to look. At some point I will have to touch it up anyway, so now I have the supplies to do it again after I mar it from use.

A great experience purchasing my S&W 686 357 Magnum. It only took 5 days to get my purchase and it was in perfect condition. I will certainly use Sportsman Outdoor Superstore again!

Went to GunBroker.com to make this purchase and the lack of their website to issue me a code to do so, I went to Sportsman Outdoor the next morning at 5 am and it took me less then 10 minutes to find what I wanted, it's being shipped and I'm looking forward to getting it soon!!!