686-#

[nebshooter]

new to smith revolvers,  thinking about getting a 686. what does it mean when someone says they have a 686-3 or a 686-4. what does the dash and no. mean. thanks in advance for any info if some one would like to explain it to me.

[Iowegan]

Each time S&W made an engineering change that affected interchangability of parts, a new dash number was issued. The 686 started off with the basic 686 model number then went to 686-1, 688-2 etc.

Each engineering change on the 686 was done to reduce manufacturing costs. As such, the lower the dash number, the more desireable the gun. The history on the 686 is a bit different than other models. The no-dash and early dash 1s had a recall for the firing pin bushing. If you find one of these, make sure it has a "M" stamped in the frame by the model number to indicate the factory modification was completed. The dash 2s had a funky floating hand that was restored to the standard hand with the dash 3s. The dash 4s came with elcheapo Hogue rubber grips instead of wood target grips and a goofy extractor. After the dash 4, S&W started using MIM parts (hammer, trigger, and a few more) to cheapen them even more.

The best 686s were the no dash through the dash 4.

[Hook686]

I most certainly will accept the excellent detail of the progression of the - no # through the - 6 model 686's. However, I might have a different personal opinion about the changes that were involved. I have a 686 - 6, both a 4 inch revolver, and a 6 inch power port model. I am happy they have no firing pins in the hammer, and have the Hogue rubber grips (I can imagine the potential "slip" in grip with wood grips under "full house" .357 magnum loads). I am quite happy with my 6th generation S & W 686 ... safety lock and all. It really comes down to "different strokes, for different folks".