Which .357 magnum revolver?

[Tony617]

I have a S&W 686-1 with 6" barrel. I used to shoot this all of the time since this was my first gun I ever bought. You're probably getting tired of me posting this picture over and over again probably the 3rd or 4th time now.

 

[po18guy]

How do they feel in your hand? How does the action feel? Are you going to sell it? No? Then resale is off the table. Either will shoot only as well as the shooter. Hard to wear either one out, but I have never heard of or seen a worn out Ruger. If you like smooth triggers and light double actions, the Smith will win hands down.

How new is "newer model"? S&W has gone through some politically-motivated engineering changes that are not all that popular - with reason. Should you ever need it, hesitating even a split second to ponder if it is locked or not may cost your life.

Editorial: The thrust of modern engineering, driven by anti-American legislation is toward producing idiot-proof guns which will not fire rather than those which will. Only idiots think that idiocy lies outside of themselves.

 

[DeanMk]

If only someone had done a head to head comparison between the GP100 and the 686...

I have many older S&W double action revolvers including a 686 (all are "pre-lock" no Hillary Hole) and two Ruger single action revolvers but no DA Rugers. I'm not too interested in newer S&W revolvers except the Model 327 TRR8. The Ruger DA revolvers seem to be well-built and are probably more value for the money compared to the newer S&W revolvers. Be careful with some used newer S&W revolvers because it looks like for a time they had a QA problem and were drilling the barrel hole in the frame a little off-center. I think they corrected the problem and the new ones are OK but if you are looking at a used newer one inspect it carefully and make sure the barrel isn't off-center.

...good one, BSG!