Which revolver to purchase?

[Nephrology]

So, long story short, I am planning to buy a gun to celebrate a recent landmark professional achievement of mine that I probably won't equal for many years to come. This will be gun I will want to hold on to for many years and to enjoy equally for sentimental value and its value as a shooter. I almost certainly won't carry this gun, but would like to be able to use it in local matches just for kicks. For this reason, I think I've settled on some kind of revolver. I want it to have roughly the following features :

1. Durable and reliable, of course.
2. Chambered in .357
3. 6 shot cylinder (or more)
4. Sights I can easily see (Target sights at a minimum - fiber optics or some other high-visibility front sight might be nice too)
5. Quality craftsmanship
6. can be readily found for at or under $800-ish... I can be persuaded to go up a little bit, however.
7. No lock, dangit!
8. Trigger that is either very nice (i.e. my Model 19) or can be readily made serviceable.

I currently already own a pinned and recessed Model 19 as well as a less exciting but more practical Model 442 that I carry pretty often. For this reason I am leaning towards a 586 or 686, but the Ruger GP-100 Match Champion seems to really tick all the boxes too... any thoughts?

[RevolverRob]

GP-100 Match Champion or 686 SSR...but that has a lock. So GP-100 Match Champion.

[jh9]

So, long story short, I am planning to buy a gun to celebrate a recent landmark professional achievement of mine that I probably won't equal for many years to come. This will be gun I will want to hold on to for many years and to enjoy equally for sentimental value and its value as a shooter. I almost certainly won't carry this gun, but would like to be able to use it in local matches just for kicks. For this reason, I think I've settled on some kind of revolver. I want it to have roughly the following features :

1. Durable and reliable, of course.
2. Chambered in .357
3. 6 shot cylinder (or more)
4. Sights I can easily see (Target sights at a minimum - fiber optics or some other high-visibility front sight might be nice too)
5. Quality craftsmanship
6. can be readily found for at or under $800-ish... I can be persuaded to go up a little bit, however.
7. No lock, dangit!
8. Trigger that is either very nice (i.e. my Model 19) or can be readily made serviceable.

I currently already own a pinned and recessed Model 19 as well as a less exciting but more practical Model 442 that I carry pretty often. For this reason I am leaning towards a 586 or 686, but the Ruger GP-100 Match Champion seems to really tick all the boxes too... any thoughts?

Thoughts on the two bolded:

The no lock requirement is going to remove a lot of convenient options, like the interchangeable front sight system on the 686ssr and 627pro. You can get that as a gunsmith add on, but it will almost certainly blow your $800 budget.

It also limits you to older guns. With 686s, that puts you in pre-MIM territory except for the 686-5. Pre-MIM spare parts, as it came up in the other thread, are getting harder and harder to find. (I gave out my last sear spring for a pre-MIM hammer a couple months ago; midway and brownells have been out of stock for months. There's no guarantee they'll get stock in the future.) If you actually want to use this in competition with frequency the growing lack of parts is something you should consider.

post-MIM parts are still easy to find and should be for the foreseeable future.

edit: I like my 686-5. These are pre-lock with the easy to find MIM parts and are generally of great quality since they were made in the late 90s when the CNC tooling (bought during the Tomkins era) was still new. (That observation was made on benos; I'm just repeating it here because it mirrors the experience I've had.) An option might be to find a used one in great shape on gunbroker then have a smith install an SDM fiber front sight.

[Nephrology]

I had forgotten about the 686 SSR. Do you think my concerns about the lock are overblown? The gun will almost certainly never be carried. That said I have not been impressed by the build quality of newer smiths. Thoughts on that? I agree that otherwise the Ruger seems like the gun for me based on my criteria.

edit: I should emphasize that my primary criteria is that the gun I buy is *nice*. I want to be happy owning it 20, 30 years down the line.

[jh9]

I had forgotten about the 686 SSR. Do you think my concerns about the lock are overblown? The gun will almost certainly never be carried. That said I have not been impressed by the build quality of newer smiths. Thoughts on that? I agree that otherwise the Ruger seems like the gun for me based on my criteria.

On a full size steel gun that you won't carry? Wouldn't bother with the plug or think twice about the lock.

My 627pro was built in 2012 and is well put together. It has a very light rusting problem on the frame. Frekles mostly. You need a light and close inspection to see it. S&W offered to take it back but I never got around to sending it in. I might have it cerakoted. Everything else about it is great, though. The action cleaned up nicely. The SA is about 2lbs from the factory with a very crisp break. I've done nothing to the engagement surfaces on the hammer or trigger. The DA is nice and light, and a little polish on the trigger/hammer/rebound's frame surfaces has given me a very nice DA. It will light off foreign (hard) primers even with what looks like a Wolff Type-2 spring (OEM). It's been my main USPSA gun since the new revolver rules (2013).

My 3" 686+ (talo run) is great so far. The ratchets on the extrator had whiskers that were probably the result of a dull cutter, but came off easily enough. Everything else seems nice. The SA is probably under 2lbs from the factory and breaks VERY cleanly. The DA was rough but with some polishing is smoothing out. Once I get the cylinder cut for moonclips this is going to be my carry gun that occasionally shoots steel challege.

So...both had minor cosmetic issues, but the fit and finish is very nice. The actions in SA were both amazing. The actions in DA cleaned up nicely (the pro more so than the talo gun, but I've had more time on it). Gaps, crowns, bore, barrel clocking, etc were all exactly as they should be.

By way of contrast my Bangor era 25-5 was rough as a cobb and both my lear-siegler era guns (681, 64) needed mechanical help when I got them.

If you know where to look, they all have warts.

The GP-100 match champion I handed was nice. I wouldn't consider it an easy button for getting a gun "right".

If you want *nice* I'd get a S&W that's put together correctly and eventually send it off to one of the big names like Randy Lee or Tom K and let them put their mark on it.

[Hizzie]

Ruger GP100

Match Champion: SS, FO front sight, Novak plain rear and 4" tube

Wiley Clapp I: SS, FO front sight, novak plain rear and 3" tube

Wiley Clapp II: blued, gold bead front, Novak plain rear and 3" tube



WCII / SP101 WC / WCII



Gold bead Novaks

[jh9]

Wiley Clapp II: blued, gold bead front, Novak plain rear and 3" tube

Anyone that doesn't dig a 3" blue steel magnum with a gold bead front sight probably has a signed copy of Das Kapital.

[imp1295]

I'd have to second Hizzie's recommendation of the Wiley Clapp II. I don't have a brace of them, but it's a beautiful piece and I too bought mine as a bit of an heirloom piece to use hard and expect it to last longer than I will.

[WDW]

I'd get a like new pre lock 686. Plenty of them available.

[jetfire]

I think your fears about the lock are a little overblown, and I'd recommend either a 686SSR or a GP100 Match Champion with the adjustable rear sight.