686 barrel project

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Boattale

Boattale

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Bear with me here. I have a 6" 686-3 that I am very fond of. Has adjustable front sight, has had the action blueprinted, a trigger job, front of trigger guard stippled and it has a nice set of Pachmayer grips. It is a very good shooter. But. I don't do silhouettes anymore and the revolver has been sitting in the safe unfired for years.

I think I will have the barrel shortened and start using it as a truck and travel gun. I have a good local gunsmith who I will talk to and have him do the work.

I can find factory new 4" 686 barrel with front sight installed. Cannot (so far at least) find a 3" barrel. I am torn between having him fit a new 4" barrel vs. having him shorten the barrel I have to 3" and install a new front sight.

Don't bother suggesting trade or sell this one and get another one with shorter barrel. I know this one and it's not going anywhere. The money to do either job is not the issue, other's thoughts on 3" v. 4" and installing new barrel vs shortening existing barrel are what I am asking about.

So, all that considered, please give me your best advice.

Thanks in advance.
 
I personally shoot a 4" barrel much better than a 3". That extra inch of sight radius really help my eyes. I also find that the extra inch doesn't significantly impact my comfort when carrying. For a "truck gun" it wouldn't even enter my mind.

Beyond that, on such a nice gun I would prefer to have the parts so that I could return it to original condition if I ever had regrets. For me personally it would be an easy answer.
 
I'm not sure why 6" wouldn't work for a truck and travel gun. I would rather have 6" than 4" but 5" might be the best compromise.
If you have it shortened, you could just forgo the front sight and bolt on a reflex (red-dot) sight.
My advice is not to shorten it since it's better the way it is now.

Another thing to consider is getting a shorter barreled 686 or 586 and swapping the parts and cylinder. The resulting gun would have the new frame and barrel, but everything else would be from the gun you have now. Most of the fitting has to do with sear surfaces on the trigger and the hammer, and the hand to the cylinder notches which will both move to the new frame as a set. Besides that, you'd be swapping the springs, the rebound slide, the cylinder stop, and the whole cylinder with ejector. You can do all this yourself with nothing but a screwdriver and if you don't like the result, you can put it all back the way it was without any gunsmithing.
 
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A 6" barrel 686 should be good to go without a barrel switch. I wouldn't trade my 6" 686 for a 4".
 
I'm not sure what the cost of a barrel swap is but @labnoti had a pretty good idea with the parts swapping. You might want to consider that route. As to barrel length, I have a 686 no dash with a 4 inch barrel that is about perfect. I enjoy it a lot more than my longer barrel revolvers and my 3 inch barrels are on a S&W 36 and a SP101 so not a fair comparison.
 
I'll be honest with you,
I have two revolvers myself that I have shortened the barrels on. Still haven't re-attached front sites on either of them yet.
I shortened them for a reason. One was too long for me to shoot accurately, the other was just , not the barrel length I wanted. I have no regrets about shortening the former, (other people have done the same on that particular model), but the latter I do sometimes regret because it is somewhat collectible, and I very much did cut off 200$ dollars of value.
However as I said, I understand why I shortened both of them, and I can live with it. If you just need a gun that's a 'travel' or bedside gun, they're still perfectly useable.
With all this said, with money needing to be spent into re-crowning and figuring out how to remount a front site, and then rebluing any additional surfaces, it's much better to have originally bought the barrel length you originally wanted. I have decided I'm never shortening another gun again. If I want something of a certain barrel length, that's final and I'm not getting it until I have it in said barrel length. Again, I don't fully regret what I did to the ones I currently have, but it does make me think a bit and It's something I'm definitely not gonna want to do again. They're my personal guns, and so I can get away with it, but If its something you're gonna sell later down the road, you'll have a lot of explaining to do.
So if you do shorten it, keep all that in mind. You might just be better served buying another gun altogether, or trading the one you have although you said it's one that means a lot to you. If you do decide to shorten it, gunsmith or otherwise, make sure you have all the plans laid out, and understand there's no turning back. (though I know you already know that)
 
I wouldn't mess with it... 6" is perfect for that gun IMO. If you don't like it, sell it to someone who does.

It's your gun and your money, though. So...
 
It's a terrible length to trouble one's self over.

I have much the same issue between a particular pair of pistols. Of course, the less inches there are, the more a single inch matters.

4 inch with the factory sight sounds nice but then too.... If you're gonna customize an already owned gun and you trust him, are there any alternative fronts that he might install to lean you back in that direction?

All in all though, I'd have top ask myself if anything gained by one less inch is worth it over the 4 inch?

Or.

If you're gonna do all this - is the ultimate return more justified by halving the barrel length rather that 2/3sing it?

Damn it man.... I'd just talk myself and you into every-vexxing swirling vortices of doom!:evil:

Make is easier on all of us and say you already have the holster or it needs to fit in the glove-box of your truck and your truck is a Volkswaegn Rabbit truck.

Never mind; problem solved. I just flipped a coin for you and it came up *heads*.... I think. What side of a car-wash token is heads?

Todd.
 
ApacheCoTodd said:
It's a terrible length to trouble one's self over.

I have much the same issue between a particular pair of pistols. Of course, the less inches there are, the more a single inch matters.

4 inch with the factory sight sounds nice but then too.... If you're gonna customize an already owned gun and you trust him, are there any alternative fronts that he might install to lean you back in that direction?

All in all though, I'd have top ask myself if anything gained by one less inch is worth it over the 4 inch?

Or.

If you're gonna do all this - is the ultimate return more justified by halving the barrel length rather that 2/3sing it?

Damn it man.... I'd just talk myself and you into every-vexxing swirling vortices of doom!:evil:

Make is easier on all of us and say you already have the holster or it needs to fit in the glove-box of your truck and your truck is a Volkswaegn Rabbit truck.

Never mind; problem solved. I just flipped a coin for you and it came up *heads*.... I think. What side of a car-wash token is heads?

Todd.
Click to expand...
I've thought seriously about tritium sights while I'm at it.
 
Hanshi said:
A 6" barrel 686 should be good to go without a barrel switch. I wouldn't trade my 6" 686 for a 4".
Click to expand...
I'm going down another road, having spent the time I care to on the road I've been on.

You may feel free to use the first sentence of this post without fear of copyright infringement claims.
 
labnoti said:
I'm not sure why 6" wouldn't work for a truck and travel gun. I would rather have 6" than 4" but 5" might be the best compromise.
If you have it shortened, you could just forgo the front sight and bolt on a reflex (red-dot) sight.
My advice is not to shorten it since it's better the way it is now.

Another thing to consider is getting a shorter barreled 686 or 586 and swapping the parts and cylinder. The resulting gun would have the new frame and barrel, but everything else would be from the gun you have now. Most of the fitting has to do with sear surfaces on the trigger and the hammer, and the hand to the cylinder notches which will both move to the new frame as a set. Besides that, you'd be swapping the springs, the rebound slide, the cylinder stop, and the whole cylinder with ejector. You can do all this yourself with nothing but a screwdriver and if you don't like the result, you can put it all back the way it was without any gunsmithing.
Click to expand...
Truck and travel guns need to be relatively convenient and comfortable to carry. 6" 686 isn't that gun. Leaning to the 3" option.
 
Boattale said:
I've thought seriously about tritium sights while I'm at it.
Click to expand...
So that's a decision-making sign-post on its own.

Maybe there are other custom touches to throw in while you are at it.

Sights, finish, chamber chamfering, cut for moon-clips (they bang around glove-boxes and back packs better than most speed-loaders)..... Once this pandora's box is open and you don't cry about cost or queering the *collector* value of the gun - there are so many ways to go and hell, you may find yourself with as much of a Bar-B-Que gun as a truck gun by the time it's done.

I'm really enjoying these D&L Sports rears for knock-around Smiths. Less *snaggy* and no moving parts. Down side is you can't even drift them should you feel the need to do so. It's on the the top model 29.

Also, can another model's barrel successfully screw onto that 686 of yours... like a model 66 maybe?

Todd.
IMG_1353.JPG
 
Another take a $1000 gun and put $300 into it to make a $600 custom.

Buy a l-comp and don't look back. You'll be hard pressed to put a 3"/4" bbl on that 686 and be in the same zip code as the l-comps.

5vi2mrE.jpg

This is coming from a guy that's owned 3"/4"/6"/8 3/8" 586/686's along with changing bbl.'s on a couple of 586's.

That l-comp flat out shoots.
 
I am not sure but I would be surprised if a new barrel would correctly fit an older frame. No dash through dash 4 should be all the same though
 
Boattale said:
Bear with me here. I have a 6" 686-3 that I am very fond of. Has adjustable front sight, has had the action blueprinted, a trigger job, front of trigger guard stippled and it has a nice set of Pachmayer grips. It is a very good shooter. But. I don't do silhouettes anymore and the revolver has been sitting in the safe unfired for years.

I think I will have the barrel shortened and start using it as a truck and travel gun. I have a good local gunsmith who I will talk to and have him do the work.

I can find factory new 4" 686 barrel with front sight installed. Cannot (so far at least) find a 3" barrel. I am torn between having him fit a new 4" barrel vs. having him shorten the barrel I have to 3" and install a new front sight.

Don't bother suggesting trade or sell this one and get another one with shorter barrel. I know this one and it's not going anywhere. The money to do either job is not the issue, other's thoughts on 3" v. 4" and installing new barrel vs shortening existing barrel are what I am asking about.

So, all that considered, please give me your best advice.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
If you decide on putting on a 4 inch barrel, I have several that I've pulled for other projects and will sell you one very reasonable.
Shoot me a PM if interested.
 
If it was standard barrel, and you wanted it shorter, I would say go for it. However, the adjustable sight demands a premium and it would be a shame to trash it. If I were you, I would just find a replacement barrel then sell your take-off barrel to somebody like me who has a soft spot for silhouette models.
 
It is not hurting anything sitting in the safe. It is not like wives. You can have more than one at the time. Just go buy a new gun. The 3" 686 feels good to me. And you can fill your gunsmithing project itch by having the new one customized how you want it.
 
If it's going to ride in a dash holster or other off body carry method, I'd go with a 4" barrel or leave it as is.

If I was going to wear it I'd go 3".
 
fireman 9731 said:
If it was standard barrel, and you wanted it shorter, I would say go for it. However, the adjustable sight demands a premium and it would be a shame to trash it. If I were you, I would just find a replacement barrel then sell your take-off barrel to somebody like me who has a soft spot for silhouette models.
Click to expand...

I'll probably do exactly that.
Stepwise:
Buy a 4" barrel from Eddie Truett
Have it shortened to 3" and properly fitted to the gun.
Install tritium sights
Sell the 6" barrel with adjustable sights to fireman 9731
Think about ApacheCo Todd's other suggested touches.
Decide on which if any
Have it done
Be happy.

I have my reasons for keeping this gun. And so I will. As others have correctly observed, it's my gun and my money and I'll waste it on something else anyway. That or somebody that gets it after I croak will.
 
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