S&W 686, what to offer?

pilgrim · Feb 4, 2013

I was looking for a GP100 SS 4", yea Ruger fan.
Then a friend of family asked if I wanted to buy her S&W 686.
S&W 686, .357 SS, 4" partial lug. She purchased it new, maybe 10/12 years ago. She tossed in back of the safe and forgot it, she does not remember it being fired. I have not seen it in person but here is photo.

My questions are
Any issues or anything to know about S&W that age?
And I have no clue what to offer? What is a fair price?

jimbobborg · Feb 4, 2013

$600.

Boom Boom · Feb 4, 2013

Looks NIB to me. Yep, $600. $550 is she wants to cut you a break since it has to be transferred at MSP or an FFL.

They are nice revolvers. Nothing to sweat. First thing I would do is swap out the ugly grip.

Mooseman · Feb 4, 2013

That looks great. I am a Ruger fan as well. I would jump on that S&W if given a chance.

dohc97 · Feb 4, 2013

I am no SW guru but i thought 686 has a full lug under the barrel. I just bought a 686 no dash for 700
I think it might be 66. I would get it if I were you.
.

MaxVO2 · Feb 4, 2013

dohc97 said:
I am no SW guru but i thought 686 has a full lug under the barrel. I just bought a 686 no dash for 700
I think it might be 66. I would get it if I were you.
.

*****I own a 586 which is the blue'd model of this firearm and it has a full lug below the barrel. Mine is a 6" barrel but have seen the 4" and it also has the lug. It is a beefy gun and a pleasure to shoot. $600-700 is about typical for the 686 gun in stainless, closer to $700 if unfired, original box, etc.. I have been offered $600 for mine before all of the hoopla recently.

pjwphoto · Feb 4, 2013

That S&W looks amazing. I purchased a S&W 686P (& round cylinder) new, last year and paid about $725 , I'd grab that handgun for anything below $625. I see it has the internal lock so it was manufactured no earlier than 2001. It must be new in box, I'd go for it!

Second Amendment · Feb 4, 2013

Even if you pay her what she paid for it originally, it's a deal. They have gone up in price quite a bit in 12 years.

byf43 · Feb 4, 2013

pilgrim said:
I was looking for a GP100 SS 4", yea Ruger fan.
Then a friend of family asked if I wanted to buy her S&W 686.
S&W 686, .357 SS, 4" partial lug. She purchased it new, maybe 10/12 years ago. She tossed in back of the safe and forgot it, she does not remember it being fired. I have not seen it in person but here is photo.

My questions are
Any issues or anything to know about S&W that age?
And I have no clue what to offer? What is a fair price?

To me, that looks like a S&W mdl 66, not a 686! Cylinder and frame look too small to be an "L" frame.
The barrel looks to have a different finish on it, too.
That Smith has a "Glory Hole" (lock) too.

What information is stamped on the inside of the receiver, where the crane closes????

Second Amendment · Feb 4, 2013

byf43 said:
To me, that looks like a S&W mdl 66, not a 686! Cylinder and frame look too small to be an "L" frame.
The barrel looks to have a different finish on it, too.
That Smith has a "Glory Hole" (lock) too.

What information is stamped on the inside of the receiver, where the crane closes????

I didn't think S&W made the model 66 post year 2000?

fivepointstar · Feb 4, 2013

thats a sweet revolver....$550-$600 is fair

pilgrim · Feb 4, 2013

byf43 said:
To me, that looks like a S&W mdl 66, not a 686! Cylinder and frame look too small to be an "L" frame.
The barrel looks to have a different finish on it, too.
That Smith has a "Glory Hole" (lock) too.

What information is stamped on the inside of the receiver, where the crane closes????

I wondered what that mark was. Nothing of mine has an internal lock.

It is a 686, sent me a picture of the box label.

NickZac · Feb 4, 2013

I agree with others. It's a great quality gun at a great price, and it is IMO THE gun to transition new shooters from a .22 to the LE calibers, and simplicity in design makes it one of the premier home defense weapons. It's the gun I learned to shoot on and chances are many other younger members here have also learned to shoot on the 586/686 as well. I've wanted a 586 or 686 for a decade. They are so well built that at a decade they are just starting to break in!

byf43 · Feb 4, 2013

Second Amendment said:
I didn't think S&W made the model 66 post year 2000?

I'm not sure of that, but, the revolver in the OP's pic sure looks like a mdl 66 to me!
I've NEVER seen a 686 with a barrel configured like the one in the pic.
Don't get me wrong. . . . I'm no S&W expert, but, it sure looks like a 66!

pilgrim said:
I wondered what that mark was. Nothing of mine has an internal lock.

It is a 686, sent me a picture of the box label.

IF you can get a look inside the frame, where the crane meets the frame, there should be stamped the model number and the serial number.
"Something" just doesn't look right about that revolver, to me.

Does the serial number on the frame match the serial number in your photo of the box??

Maybe I'm bat**** crazy, but, it sure looks like a mdl 66 to me!!!

dohc97 · Feb 4, 2013

Here is a list of all 686 for sale at gunbroker. All of them have full lug under the barrel.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Revolvers/BI.aspx?Keywords=smith+686

True test will be to look at the model number of the revolver itself.

august1410 · Feb 4, 2013

I'm jumping on the 66 bandwagon....definitely looks like a 66.

Lou45 · Feb 4, 2013

dohc97 said:
I am no SW guru but i thought 686 has a full lug under the barrel. I just bought a 686 no dash for 700
I think it might be 66. I would get it if I were you.
.

byf43 said:
To me, that looks like a S&W mdl 66, not a 686! Cylinder and frame look too small to be an "L" frame.
The barrel looks to have a different finish on it, too.
That Smith has a "Glory Hole" (lock) too.

What information is stamped on the inside of the receiver, where the crane closes????

Second Amendment said:
I didn't think S&W made the model 66 post year 2000?

byf43 said:
I'm not sure of that, but, the revolver in the OP's pic sure looks like a mdl 66 to me!
I've NEVER seen a 686 with a barrel configured like the one in the pic.
Don't get me wrong. . . . I'm no S&W expert, but, it sure looks like a 66!

IF you can get a look inside the frame, where the crane meets the frame, there should be stamped the model number and the serial number.
"Something" just doesn't look right about that revolver, to me.

Does the serial number on the frame match the serial number in your photo of the box??

Maybe I'm bat**** crazy, but, it sure looks like a mdl 66 to me!!!

august1410 said:
I'm jumping on the 66 bandwagon....definitely looks like a 66.

All the above quotes I have to agree, well almost (explained at end of post). When I saw the first pic my thought was it's a 66. The box end nomenclature may not be conducive to the firearm as byf43 made reference.

Although, if the box is correct to the gun serial number and gun model number as stamped in the gun, it most likely has had it's barrel replaced with a model 66 barrel; that is, if the barrel shank length, diameter, and threads are the same on both models.

Boom Boom · Feb 5, 2013

Lou45 said:
Although, if the box is correct to the gun serial number and gun model number as stamped in the gun, it most likely has had it's barrel replaced with a model 66 barrel; that is, if the barrel shank length, diameter, and threads are the same on both models.

I agree about the barrel. It's had me scratching my head. The mount for the front sight blade does not look like normal S&W to me. It's closer to a Ruger Security Six front sight mount. I think it's a limited-edition 686 mountain gun, similar to this one from Lipsey's: http://www.gunblast.com/SW-357MtnGun.htm

garym · Feb 5, 2013

The 686 Mountain Gun has this barrel config also. I just bought a 4" 686-2 on Gunbroker last week that was LNIB for $575.

Any 686 is good unless you don't like the internal lock versions.

HumbleEinstein · Feb 5, 2013

What does the suffix mean when it comes to 686s? For example, what is a "686-2" or "686-4" or any other variation? Thanks.

S&W 686, what to offer?

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