S Amp;w 686-3 Manufacture Date
Tina Larzelere
Can someone tell me the manufacture date for my S&W 686-3? I did an internet search for this information and couldn't find any specifics so I hope someone here with a reasonably recent "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson" can help. I would ask on an S&W forum but the one I found is "not secure" and, having had my computer hacked a while ago, I avoid those.
I have a S&W 686-3 purchased in January 1993, serial number BJC7XXX. I believe it was made just before the 686-4 revision was introduced in 1993 since it came with a Hoque rubber grip but that wasn't made standard until the 686-4 was introduced. Mine was not drilled and tapped and has the old style rear sight .
Great and thanks for looking it up. I knew about the engineering changes from -3 to -4 but not the specific manufacture date of my gun. As I noted I was pretty sure mine was built near the end of the -3 model run.
Hi! I just bought an almost like new s&w 686-3 , 6 inch barrel,which came with aftermarket hogue grips, and also with the original wood grips, which I re-installed right away. I know this particular variant (686-3) was produced between 1988 and 1993. Since mine came with front and rear adjustable sights, it must have been manufactured between 1988-1992. As I have read, by 1993 the adjustable sights were no longer available (at least front and rear at the same time)after1992. I would like to know when was this gun manufactured and or delivered. The serial no is BPD40XX. Any help will be appreciated.
This may be a Commander .45, .40 Glock, or a short barrel magnum revolver. These handguns are my go-anywhere do-anything handguns. No matter what type of situation I am in, these handguns will be the measure of the problem.
Personal defense is most important. Home defense is important and while size is less of a consideration in a home defense handgun, I usually keep the pistol I have carried during the day at home ready. Another concern is defense against animals in the wild, with an unfortunate incident in the news every week it seems. This may not be as important to you as it is to those of us that explore the wild.
Incidents in which many shots were fired involve high-capacity handguns and a great deal of misses. This is partly because of fear, panic, and because those involved had little or no training. The distance involved is usually less than 21 feet, more toward three to five yards. In training, thousands of shooters over the past 40 years, I have experienced far more malfunctions with self-loaders than revolvers.
As an example, a few years ago a major chain store offered .38 caliber revolvers at the bargain basement price of $229. Several showed up in my class. All were rough and several suffered the actions binding during the drills. At least one simply refused to fire. Buy quality. A revolver is simpler to load and use. Unless you are willing to undertake training and regular practice, you have no business with a self-loading pistol.
The revolver cartridge most suited to personal defense is the .357 Magnum. Powerful and effective, this load produces ideal wound ballistics with the greatest likelihood of stopping a threat with a single shot. Some may feel the magnum is too powerful for the occasional shooter. They may be correct.
However, if the revolver is a medium-frame revolver with plenty of steel to absorb recoil and a heavy lugged barrel for balance, the .357 Magnum is surprisingly controllable by those who practice. While the ultra-light revolvers have a place, my .357 Magnum revolvers are steel-frame handguns. I also believe that a barrel shorter than three inches is counter productive in a .357 Magnum revolver. Two to 2.5-inch barrel revolvers do not properly burn the relatively slow burning powders that generate the velocity that differentiates the .357 Magnum from the .38 Special +P. The difference may be more than 300 feet-per-second in a three-inch barrel, and that is worthwhile.
My newest, and favorite, .357 Magnum revolver is the Smith and Wesson 686 Plus. This is a medium-frame revolver with a three-inch barrel and unfluted seven-shot cylinder. The unfluted cylinder and special grips mark this revolver as a limited edition custom shop handgun. Just the same, Smith and Wesson offers similar revolvers and others of the exact configuration are available, with a little searching. The balance is excellent, even ideal.
Many years ago, the great stunt shooter Ed McGivern had a Smith and Wesson Military and Police revolver cut to 2 7/8 inches and declared it the ideal carry revolver. The three-inch barrel Model 13 .357 Magnum and 3.5-inch barrel Model 27 .357 Magnum are other well-balanced revolvers. The three-inch barrel L frame is the best of the lot in my opinion.
While Smith and Wesson has manufactured great revolvers for a long time, the 686 Plus is superior in many regards. Modern CNC machinery results in tight tolerances in the throat and chamber dimensions. This means excellent accuracy potential, which is important to me for some pursuits. No one has ever been sorry for carrying a very accurate personal defense handgun.
The L frame Smith and Wesson is basically a strengthened Smith and Wesson K frame (.38 frame) revolver with greater strength, weight, and a design intended to allow constant use of .357 Magnum revolvers. It is lighter and smaller than the N (.44 frame) frame revolver. The L frame features the same grip frame as the K frame. The modern L frame revolvers all have round butt frames but may be fitted with conversion grips that make the revolver a square butt.
The L frame 686 Plus (Plus means it is a seven-shot version) is well balanced. The unfluted cylinder is a distinctive feature. The heavy, underlugged barrel adds both strength and balance. The revolver features a ramp front sight with an orange insert. This insert is a great aid in sight alignment and has been instrumental in helping many good folks win their battles. The fully-adjustable rear sight is easily adjusted for accurate placement of .38 Special or .357 Magnum loads with bullets from 110 to 200 grains.
The hammer features a wide spur for easy cocking. The trigger is ideal for rapid manipulation in double-action fire. The action is smooth and the trademark action allows staging a shot at longer range. This is simply bringing the hammer back by pressing the trigger, holding the trigger press, and then applying a slight pressure to drop the hammer. This type of shot, with practice, results in excellent accuracy.
The revolver has a different feel than the six-shot Smith and Wesson revolvers. I believe, the different geometry results in a faster action and shorter duration of trigger compression with the seven-shot revolver. This revolver is fitted with a special type of synthetic grips. These grips fit the hand well and keep the hand separated from the steel frame when the revolver fires.
These grips are pebbled lightly to maintain good adhesion. Abrasion is light, however, and this is ideal for such a powerful handgun. A sharply-checkered wood grip would be too raspy for this revolver.
I tested this handgun with a good number of loads, including my own handloads, and the piece has performed beyond expectation. Using heavy .38 Special loads for practice, the revolver has proven fast on target and accurate on man-sized targets. Once on target, the front sight just hangs there as you press the trigger.
The .357 Magnum has been called a rifle on the hip. It can indeed be surprisingly accurate, and the power is sufficient to take medium-sized game well past 50 yards. If I anticipate the need for greater penetration, as against the big cats or large feral dogs, I load the Winchester 145-grain Silvertip. This is an overlooked combination and among the finest magnum loads ever produced.
The Smith and Wesson 686 Plus is a great all-around revolver. It is a suitable revolver for personal defense but also well suited to defense against animals. In a pinch, it will get you out of a hairy survival situation by keeping meat on the table or engaging opponents at 100 yards or more. The Smith and Wesson .357 is considerably updated from its introduction in 1935 but remains a marvel.
I got a 686 in a trade for an old military rifle (I came out way ahead on that trade I think). Over the years I got to where I count my shots without thinking. When I fired a friends 686 Plus, I kept leaving an un-fired round in it. I do love my 686 though.
Long a fan of 38 cal. revolvers and appreciate this well written article.
Long time fan of silvertop ammo in the 120 grain for 357, but there are a lot of more than capable bullet choices today, along with both improved primers and powder.
I liked a heavier hard cast lead bullet 130 grain in the 5 or longer barreled that I used to pack unconcealed in wilds.
No laws are going to refrain me from firing first at 35-40 feet shot at a charging bruin, as indeed recoil delays good shot placement.
While S&W pistols are some of best revolvers ever made, I too this day cannot forgive them for joining into Clinton era Federal gun registration program and their forcing of sellers to do same on all autos or lose their nuying rights,
So everafter that I would only buy and resell or use as trade material.
Yes I understand new management, I dislike Rock Island for their last sneaky attempt along same lines as well.
I get rid of any self defence weapon that is unreliable.
I have had quality built 100+ year old revolvers that have always gone bang when needed, and yes S%W fit that catagory to the T.
I agree you should carry the biggest gun you can and dress around it. I carry a 12 gauge pump with a 20 inch barrel. Sure it looks strange wearing an overcoat on an 80 degree day but not as strange as you do on the beach with your 686 tucked into your speedo. Revolvers are obsolete. You can get a 9 mm that will push your 125 gr. to 1300 but do it 18 times in a row.
In 1987 I was hunting deer in Northern California in the X-4 zone. I grew on Hat Creek so I was veryfamiliar with the area. My rifle was a 1949 722 Remington 300 Savage and my side arm was a Ruger 6 inch Gp-100 which was a new offering from Ruger it had 1 round of Snake Shot and 5 shots of a hot home load with 160gr hard cast. I had taken a deer with it and a couple of pigs with it and was very comfortable and accurate with it being able to hit clays it would to 100yards with about a 65-70% rate.
Well to get to the point I jumped and surprised a Ca black bear that had a cub and she was only about 35yards away. She flattened her ears and charged not giving me a chance to unsling the rifle but I had time to fire the cylinder of all six rounds the snake shot did nothing but the next five rounds all struck in the head and she came to rest less than 5 feet from me.
The cub was taken by Fish and Game and placed accordingly.
To this day I still have the Gp 100 and have never felt under gunned even though in Alaska I carry a .44 mag in a guide holster chest rig.
I would hate to see what the round would to a person in a self defense situation but I know what it did to a 356 pound Sow in the bush. At the time I was 19 and invincible. I have since learned better but I still carry that same .357.