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S&W revolver info

79mustang
I am looking for 686 s&w for my revolver collection. My question is what is the difference between the 686-1 686-2 686-3 and so on?
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Date Votes
  • 22hipower
    Look for a copy of the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson by Supica and Nahas. It's in its third edition now I think and has lots of information about the various changes by model, production quantities, serial numbers etc. In the case of the 686 here's some info from the 2nd edition. 686 = 1980 production begain at serial number AAD4276 686-1 = 1986 Radius stud package/floading hand 686M = 1987 Recall by S&W and overstamped to indicate modification by the factory 686-2 = 1987 change hammer nose/bushing and associated parts 686-3 = 1988 New yoke retention system 1990 2 1/2 inch barrel introduced 686-4 1994 Change rear sight, drill and tap, change extractor, Hogue grips 1995 Introduce power port barrel.
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  • beantownshootah
    Oversimplifying, the different "dash" variants refer to slight differences in the overall design of the pistol over time.

    When Smith makes a change to how a particular model is manufactured, it denotes that change with a new "dash" number.

    Usually these are done for cost-savings purposes (eg no longer pinning the barrels or recessing the cylinders on later model revolvers), but sometimes they add new features (eg the built-in gun lock in later models, etc).

    Now, I can't tell you off the top of my head exactly which changes were performed in each iteration of the Smith 686, but in *general* purists and collectors tend to prefer the lowest "dash" number possible, as they usually (though not always) indicate more thorough or more expensive manufacturing processes.

    For example, many purists absolutely despise the new internal gun locks. Those in the "know" tend to prefer the older screw-in barrels, rather than the newer (cheaper and mostly non-replaceable) crush-fit barrels.

    22Hipower has it. If you need to know the *Exact* differences, go check the standard Supica reference book.

    Edit: If you are a serious collector, then what you'd want is a new-in box 686 (no dash).

    If you're just looking for a "shooter", it probably isn't going to make any difference which "dash" number you have, since pretty much all of these guns are tough as nails, and highly accurate.
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