Early inheritance (S&W 686).

[Coal Train]

My family has been in the excavation business since the 1920's and my Dad ran heavy equipment all his life. Growing up, our next-door neighbor was the President of one of the local banks. Our families were very close, to the point that I referred to them as "Aunt Linda" and "Uncle Hollis" even though we were no relation. When I was ~7 years old my Dad brought home a backhoe and did some cleanup work at the back of their property. Hollis wanted to pay my Dad for the work but Dad said he wouldn't accept any money as he was helping a neighbor and it really wasn't much work.

A few weeks later Uncle Hollis showed up at our front door with two blue cardboard boxes with "REVOLVER" in white lettering on the outside. He told my Dad that he wanted to give Dad a gift for the work he had done so he went to the local gun store and bought two identical stainless S&W .357's revolvers. One for Hollis and one for Dad. Dad thanked him, put six rounds of .38 in the cylinder, and literally placed the gun under his mattress. His instructions to me were, "if I ever catch you messing with that gun I will wear out your backside." So of course I never looked at the revolver.......while Dad was home. I was smart enough to wait for him to leave before I went and messed with it (which is why since I have kids my guns are always locked up). That revolver is what I have always thought of when I think of a "handgun." We had an honest to goodness S&W revolver! Just like the "protected by S&W" signs folks hung up. We were protected by S&W. Just like real-life cops and countless people on TV and movies.

Now when I say Dad dropped some rounds in the chamber and put it under the mattress that is exactly what he did. The revolver was never shot, it was just placed under the mattress. One year I bought him some .357 mag ammo for his birthday. My Dad liked guns but they weren't really a thing for him. We would shoot shotguns rabbit/quail hunting but we never shot handguns or rifles. About the time I left for college I asked Dad if we could go shoot his "mattress revolver." He agreed and I met him on some friend's land. For reasons that I can't remember he showed up with the gun and he told me to bring the ammo. He was very specific that it was to be .38 ammo, NOT .357 magnum. Of course I was 18 and there was no way I was going to shoot anything but .357 magnum so when I was choosing between the two boxes of ammo in the closet by "mistake" I grabbed the .357 box.

"Sorry Dad, I guess I wasn't paying attention and grabbed the wrong box." So we shot and had sore hands later.

Time went on and I moved away, got married, and got more into guns. Dad continued to store the revolver under the mattress wherever he happened to be living at the time. While I hadn't thought about that revolver in a while it has always been my default image of a "handgun."

I have been on a bit of a revolver resurgence as of late and I thought more of that gun. I didn't know the exact model for all these years but based on the time period I had a pretty good idea what it was. Yesterday I was taking my kids up to hang out with my parents for a few days and I asked Dad (79 years old) if he still had that revolver. He said yes and asked if I wanted to go ahead and take it was just sitting in his safe and he didn't have a use for it anymore.

"And I still wish Hollis hadn't bought that gun for me. I guess it was a lot less expensive then than it would be now."

He pulled it out of the safe (loaded) and it was till dirty from where we had shot it ~30 years ago. I unloaded it and looked it over and confirmed my suspicion. It is a 686 (no dash) and there is no "M" stamp so it was never sent in for the recall. I was trying to date it by the serial number but when I removed the grips they are stamped "November 8, 1984" so I think that is a pretty good clue. I cleaned it up yesterday evening and reminisced about being a kid in the 80's. I know it is the 50's/60's Smiths that are the most collectible but this one is worth infinitely more to me than any of those. Baring something unforeseen it will be passed down to my son one day. I'm headed out to the farm this morning to put some rounds through it.

[okie john]

Great story and a great revolver.


Okie John

[Coal Train]

Took the 686 out to put a few rounds through it this morning. Unfortunately the cylinder was wanting to hang up after the 3rd or 4th shot with both American Eagle 158 grain and Remington 130 grain 38 special. I assume this is related to the mid-80’s recall as it appeared that the primers were backing out on the spent cartridges. The trigger would move rearward but would eventually stop because the cylinder wouldn’t turn. It happened once with both kinds of ammunition so I just stopped shooting the 686. In both instances I was able to open the cylinder and it appeared that the primers had “popped out” a bit above the case rim.

Assuming this is related to the recall:

1) Is this still something that S&W can be trusted to repair?

2) if not, is there someone else more trustworthy I can send the revolver to for the fix?

The revolver obviously has sentimental value so I would like to get it functional.

[FrankB]

Revolverguy.com has all you need to know:
https://revolverguy.com/the-m-stamped-l-frames/

The hammer and frame bushing need to be replaced, or you could simply use ammo that doesn’t result in the primer cups popping out. I’d send it back. My only experience with S&W revolver repair was flawless, and took 4 short weeks earlier this year.

ETA That article is from 2020, so I’d imagine S&W is still doing the repair.

[tango-papa]

I would NOT send that gun back to S&W under any circumstances - they are riddled with the cancer of incompetence. They might fix it or they might, and likely will, screw it up.

Talk with one of the legit known revolver-smith's and seek their guidance.

Karl Sokol
https://chestnutmountainsports.net/

Frank Glenn
http://glenncustom.com/

Nelson Ford
https://www.thegunsmith.com/price_list.html

Maybe start with those three - there's a few others, but those are the three I thought of first.

I assume others can/will add to the list of competent guys who are NOT Smith & Wesson.

[TC215]

Great story. Hard to beat a 686.

[Hambo]

"And I still wish Hollis hadn't bought that gun for me. I guess it was a lot less expensive then than it would be now."

IIRC correctly, my 6" 686 was about $300 in 1984/85. If you can find some vintage Rogers grips, you'll be all set.

[lwt16]

IIRC correctly, my 6" 686 was about $300 in 1984/85. If you can find some vintage Rogers grips, you'll be all set.

My mother bought hers in 1985 if I remember correctly and it was 330.00 with tax.



Sits in my son’s safe.

Great revolver.

[john c]

I put $330 from 1985 in an inflation calculator, and that’s $886.67 in today’s money. They were cheaper, back then. Especially since the $330 included tax.


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[FrankB]

I put $330 from 1985 in an inflation calculator, and that’s $886.67 in today’s money. They were cheaper, back then. Especially since the $330 included tax.

I paid less than $800 in February 2021 for a 2” 686+, $785 in 2018 for a 4” 686+, and about the same a few months ago for another 4” 686+. All were bought locally, and they’re all well made and function 100%. I haven’t checked the online prices lately…

* Wood stocks were $80 for each revolver. Two of the 686+ revolvers were bought from shops that don’t charge tax for cash purchases.