Found a Nice 686 CS-1....

[Logos]

Found a 686 CS-1.....in my gun cabinet.

I knew I had a 3-inch 686....I even carry it concealed now and then. Probably shoot it on four or five range outings per year. It's a great hiking gun, powerful and accurate without being too big and heavy. With a shoulder holster you hardly notice it.

I remember that I bought it new in the early 90s....so recently I got curious about exactly how old it was and checked it to see if it had a dash or not.

No dash.

But I noticed that it had CS-1 stamped on it up above the model number and I thought, "That's odd."

So I Googled it. Imagine my surprise.

In 1991 I was on a road trip and stopped in a small town in northern MN near Mille Lacs Lake. I noticed a little hardware store that had a "Guns" sign. The guy had two brand new S&Ws.....this three-inch 686 and a four-inch 19.

I loved the balance of the three-inch. It just looked and felt right. So I made a real spur of the moment purchase. It was a little over $300 and that was a lot of money to me at that time......but, I went ahead and did it.

I've had quite a few six-guns since then, but this was always one that I would never part with.....just too damned perfect in form and function.

I've been looking at some of these CS-1s on the gun websites and I haven't seen any with the grips mine came with.....the standard small S&W wood grips for a round butt.

So I have to wonder if these came with different types of grips. Mine also has 2M stamped on the frame.

I have to assume that this was one that S&W had laying around left over and sent it out to be retailed.

So, just wanted to share the unexpected find and ask if anybody knows the story on the grips on these.

(Oh.....for those who may not know, these were specially made for the U.S. Customs Service which makes it sort of collectible.)

 

[clang]

The Custom Service guns came with Pachmeyer Compac grips on them. I believe the overrun guns that made it to the retail market had the standard round butt magnas.

I've got a 3" CS-1 that was a police trade-in gun. The dealer said it was the only one in with a bunch of 4" 686s and it came with the Pachmeyer Compacs. They are nice guns.

 

[Oro]

I have to assume that this was one that S&W had laying around left over and sent it out to be retailed.

Yep, pretty much as Clang described. Product code 104228. Early 90s would have coincided with the end of the Customs Service contract deliveries, and extras going out to dealers.

 

[Logos]

I know how annoying it is to hear about a gun and see no pics.....so I took one.



A while back I bought a modern 686 and switched the grips (smaller grips to smaller gun made the 2.5 inch that much better for concealed carry) so you have to picture the original grips on the three-inch.

And thanks much for the info on the grips.

Also, for anyone interested in these, the paperwork is tagged 1987 and the little parts list folder is marked U.S. Customs and identifies the parts that are unique to the model. The only one I've ever noticed is the front sight blade, which I really like because it's slightly narrower than normal and gives me quicker sighting.