S&W 686 Range Report

[ltorlo64]

Finally took my new S&W 686 out to the range. It has been a while since I shot a revolver and the last one was a Taurus .22. I will say right up front that it exceeded my expectations. The action was very smooth making it possible to shoot almost as well in DA as in SA. I got the 6" barrel which made quite a difference in felt recoil. I also took my CZ-82 out and the recoil from the 9mm Mak round out of the CZ felt stronger than the 38 SPL and was comparable to the .357.

I shot about 100 rounds today, 50 130 gr FMJ Winchester white box 38 SPL and 50 158 gr FMJ Geco .357 mag. Accuracy was very good, made me look like I knew what I was doing. Here are the last target that I shot in SA and DA in 38 SPL and .357 mag.

First, 38 SPL in SA


38 SPL DA


.357 mag SA


.357 mag DA


I also took my CZ-82 out. Last time I shot it, the pistol would not cycle. I would fire one round and the next would stove pipe and it did the same thing out of every magazine I had. I did some quick looking and then figured out that the magazines were not acting right. I took them home and gave them a good cleaning and oiling. They were filthy. That Russian ammunition I have been using gets carbon everywhere. Anyway, I tried the mags out today and the pistol cycled perfectly.

My CZ is working and I couldn't be happier with the S&W. If there was one thing I could change on the S&W it is the grips. They seemed to be just a little small, not unusable, just a little small. Overall, it was a great day.

[Schuetzenman]

That looks pretty good. Especially for a 1st trip out with a piece. I find it interesting that your DA group is almost perfect elevation but strings to the 3:00. Where as your SA groups are much tigher horizontally but string vertically. I'd say your grip is shifting when you reach your thumb up to the hammer spure for cocking. I'll bet that 686 fired from a Ransom Rest would do about a dime sized ragged hole at 7 yards. I think you've got a really good revolver there, congrats!

[alismith]

Damn. All those targets were punched very well. That is one accurate revolver. I'd say that one's a keeper.

[ltorlo64]

I felt pretty good with it. I did notice the rounds walking to the right (I am left handed and not sure if that had something to do with it) but did not notice the rounds walking up. It was very noticeable when you pointed it out and if I remember right each round was slightly higher than the next. As always I was having to concentrate on proper trigger form (a firm, smooth squeeze instead of a quick jerky pull) and not flinching, but overall I was happy with the results.

The range, on the other hand, I did not feel as good about. It was less "controlled" than normal. I prefer to not have the RO telling me my target is 2" to high or to low, which they do at the NRA range, but yesterday I was not even sure there was a RO on the range. The family in the lane next to me kept my attention so I could get out of the way if necessary. There were 3 people on the lane next to me, an man about my age, a young man probably in his mid to late 20s, and a woman, again my age but as far as I could tell was not related to the other two, though they all knew each other. First up was the young man. He picked loaded up a Glock and proceeded to empty it in about 5 sec at a target set at about 5 yards. I was shooting at 7 yards and their target was a little closer than mine. Anyway, 5 seconds after he starts shooting the slide locks back and there are no holes in the target. The target he was shooting at was one of those larger, rifle sight in targets, probably about 24" across, and no holes. The older guy tells him he thought that the young man was shooting a little low. A LITTLE LOW! Then they give the woman a .357 snub nose with full power rounds. She was having a hard time controlling the recoil from that little gun and the old guy is telling her to just keep shooting and she will get used to it. At least she hit the target with most of her rounds. There was no real grouping, though. Then she picked up a small .22 semi-auto pocket pistol and fires it twice and it jams. She did not know how to clear the jam and the old guy is telling her "just cycle the slide" (that didn't work). Not the most comfortable situation. I didn't see anything really unsafe, just a lot of unfamiliarity with the guns they had brought.

On the interesting side, the family on my right was shooting a Polish Radom P64 pistol. I thought that was interesting as I was shooting my CZ-82, both in 9mm Mak. Not often I see someone else shooting that round at the range, or even see any evidence of someone shooting 9mm Mak (not expended cases, not empty boxes, etc).

[O.S.O.K.]

Congrats on your new revolver! Looks and sounds like you had a good first trip with it. Pulling right when shooting left handed indicates that you may be using too much finger on the trigger- just use the first pad and that should fix that.

I don't much like shooting on public ranges just for the reasons you cited. Too many people that have no clue what they're doing and not smart enough to get some help...

[Schuetzenman]

The kid has probably played too many video games like Call of Duty. The range I shoot on is DNR run and if you shoot more than one round every 3 seconds they start yelling at you to slow down!. Fudds!

[NAPOTS]

Your range report has renewed my interest in getting another revolver. I'm wanting a model 27 but sadly my only option in this state is a 4". I just read an article in g&a about the smith and Wesson classic series and it sounds like they are better than ever

[ltorlo64]

Your range report has renewed my interest in getting another revolver. I'm wanting a model 27 but sadly my only option in this state is a 4". I just read an article in g&a about the smith and Wesson classic series and it sounds like they are better than ever

Well I could not be happier with mine. I believe it is comparable to the 586 (blued instead of stainless) in the Classic series. If you buy before December 31 (I think) there is a $30 rebate on all revolvers. That is about 5% off the price of the gun!