Smith & Wesson Model 686, 7 shot, Mountain Gun, 6" barrel

[jmorris]

What about a model 27?



686 on left, 27 on right.



Personally, if I needed to maximize the 357 magnum and wanted to keep weight down, I’d probably just go with a 329 and use light loads with it.

26.5 oz and I could throttle it up to loads no 357 could duplicate if I wanted to. Even with 2” less barrel length.

But it’s been a number of decades since I pushed 357’s to the edge.

 

[ECVMatt]

I think the smith and Wesson model 620 would work well in this role. I have always liked The design features of this model.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Because it's Goldilocks. The mountain gun is a packing pistol not a target gun.
When holstered a 6" barrel extends past the point of the hip, it hits when you sit down and gets snagged on more stuff moving thru brush.
As to weight 35-45 oz isn't too bad to carry on a good belt, so no reason to hurt shootability going super light I sold my M&P 340 because full house 357 was uncontrollable.
Although if I ever see a Smith 396 Mountain Lite

Mavracer, you had me 'till the last sentence. I have a 325, and it's a keeper, but it really isn't much damned fun to shoot. A .44 mag in the weight range makes me wince. I still have a well worn 340SC as a hiking gun; it isn't any fun with magnum ammo, but serves as a last ditch GTFOM for black bears.
You are spot on about the Mountain Gun; I run 1100'sec lead reloads that are relatively pleasant to shoot.
I'll forever love a Mountain Gun, after those pictures (in the National Geographic!) of the Norwegians, skiing to the Pole, killing a polar bear (!) with one.

I have been grabbing grip adapters since forever. Most of the gunshops around where I used to live would call me when they would get some in.

I've cribbed some from dealers, waited out some from Tyler (you send your money; they send you a T-grip when they feel like it), and have a few of the newer, poly ones. The former Facebook site "Gats and Hats" often featured them (Fastbolt posts here), and helped bring about their comeback. Apparently, Strawhat, you have been on that train a long time, and that is an interesting, useful collection. Thanks!
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

Jmorris, a nickel 27? Have I mentioned I hate you, really and truly hate you?
Moon

 

[mavracer]

Mavracer, you had me 'till the last sentence. I have a 325, and it's a keeper, but it really isn't much damned fun to shoot. A .44 mag in the weight range makes me wince.

JFYI the 396 was a 44 special not a mag, for any purpose same gun as a 325 I had one of those too and miss it a bit.

 

[halfmoonclip]

JFYI the 396 was a 44 special not a mag, for any purpose same gun as a 325 I had one of those too and miss it a bit.

Okay, my bad, thanks. I do load lighter bullets/lighter charges for the 325.
Moon

 

[natman]

Well, if "6in barrel that kinda defeats the intended purpose", what do you have to say about Model 27, on large N-frame, with 6" or 6.5"? And shorter cylinder than 19/66 or 586/686;

And why 4.12" barrel? Would be even better 1.88":

The purpose of a Mountain Gun is a powerful but relatively light weight carry pistol, that is still accurate at longer distances. A 6 inch barrel is slightly heavier and somewhat more awkward to carry than a 4 inch. While a Model 27 is a superb revolver, it's a bit heavy for the MG role. And a fixed sight snub nose isn't accurate enough.

 

[jmorris]

A .44 mag in the weight range makes me wince.

Loaded in the ~550 ft/lbs of energy range a 357 would have, I bet it’s not that bad.

Jmorris, a nickel 27? Have I mentioned I hate you, really and truly hate you?
Moon

Well, I rarely give people reasons to hate me but this was stapled on a cork “for sale/services“ board at the entrance of a diner I go to on the weekends.



I couldn’t hardly eat fast enough, as cell phones don’t work in the area but I did get it.

Keep your eyes open and cash in your wallet.

 

[halfmoonclip]

"Chrome" Model 27, eh? Deals are where you find them, and congrats on your good fortune.
Have a couple nickeled Smiths in the safe; been snooping after a nickel M40 on Gunbroker, but they end up north of a grand.
Thanks,
Moon

 

[jmorris]

Well, if he knew what he had, he wouldn’t have come up with that price. It is a factory nickel one though.

Prices on all of them are way up from when I was a younger guy. My first 686 was $250 NIB in the ‘80’s.

 

[Riomouse911]

Loaded in the ~550 ft/lbs of energy range a 357 would have, I bet it’s not that bad.



Well, I rarely give people reasons to hate me but this was stapled on a cork “for sale/services“ board at the entrance of a diner I go to on the weekends.

View attachment 1170963

I couldn’t hardly eat fast enough, as cell phones don’t work in the area but I did get it.

Keep your eyes open and cash in your wallet.

$275? I would have left before ordering for that deal!!

Congrats on finding a nice Model 27. I recently saw a nickel plated 4” 27 for $1,600 listed at a gun store about 45 miles from me. I would like to own a Model 27 and help round out the collection, but not that much.

Stay safe.

 

[jmorris]

Congrats on finding a nice Model 27. I recently saw a nickel plated 4” 27 for $1,600 listed at a gun store about 45 miles from me. I would like to own a Model 27 and help round out the collection, but not that much.

Well, I‘ll swap you for a 329 and tell you how they shoot with non magnum loads.

 

[Riomouse911]

Well, I‘ll swap you for a 329 and tell you how they shoot with non magnum loads.

My buddy has one as his backpacking sidearm, it Kicks like an angry mule!

He asked me to load up some powderpuff .44 Specials for him a few years back so he could shoot it for his CCW qualification course. A 175 gr TCFP over a pleasant charge of IMR Target gave him the control to shoot a nice score. (Too bad both that bullet and powder are now discontinued.)

A nice idea, but Ol’ Sir Issac really spoke loudly about mass and momentum with every shot I fired!

Stay safe.

 

[DDDWho]

686 dash none 6 round

 

[mavracer]

Okay, my bad, thanks. I do load lighter bullets/lighter charges for the 325.
Moon

No problem as I said I miss my 325PD, it's just another step on the quest for what John Taffin's perfect pakin' pistol.
Not sure how many articles he wrote in the subject but here's one on the S&W Mountain Gun

Perfect Packin’ Pistol Part 3

The origin of the .45 Colt goes back to the early 1870s. When the military called for tests to select a new sidearm, Colt produced the 1871-72 Open Top.

gunsmagazine.com

 

[jmorris]

My buddy has one as his backpacking sidearm, it Kicks like an angry mule!

Even with spl loads or did you get a chance to shoot your loads?

 

[halfmoonclip]

No problem as I said I miss my 325PD, it's just another step on the quest for what John Taffin's perfect pakin' pistol.
Not sure how many articles he wrote in the subject but here's one on the S&W Mountain Gun

Perfect Packin’ Pistol Part 3

The origin of the .45 Colt goes back to the early 1870s. When the military called for tests to select a new sidearm, Colt produced the 1871-72 Open Top.

gunsmagazine.com

Mavracer, thanks for the link. I have to admit a .45 Colt Mountain Gun would be great, and if I ever stumbled on to one..
Pretty happy with my .44 Mag version. I did have a M25 6" target, traded it away (damnitdamnitdamnitdamnit.....); still have a 4" and 3" 625s, all in .45ACP. Finally scratched the .45 Colt in a modern revo with a M25-15.
Moon

 

[Riomouse911]

Even with spl loads or did you get a chance to shoot your loads?

I only shot it with a cylinder of 240 gr magnum loads. Not fun.

I only loaded him 30 of the softies for his 30-round qualifying course, so I didn’t get to try them through his 329. (He retired in December, and in July he sold his house around the corner and he and his wife moved to a house with a boat dock in Naples, Fla.)

I have shot these loads through my 6.5” 629 full-lug. They had so little recoil I stopped after each of the first couple of shots thinking I had a squib load. I didn’t, in that heavy revolver they had less felt recoil than target wadcutters in a K frame.

Stay safe.

 

[Riomouse911]

All this 4” revolver talk got me to drag the Model 629 MG and Model 69 .44’s and Model 57 .41 to the range this morning to reacquaint myself with them.

I brought a couple of .41 and .44 Special loads and one each of the .41 and .44 Magnums I have.

The .41 shot well, but I was surprised that the recoil of my 210 gr load (6.8 gr Unique) was snappier in the heavier 57 than my 215 gr SWC .44 Spl. load using the same charge in the Mountain gun. I will only guess that the smaller internal volume of the .41 Spl. case increased pressures enough to make a difference that could be felt.



The Model 69 is a nice shooting .44. With 240 gr factory magnum loads




Or milder .44 Spl SWC loads.

The MG shot OK, nothing really picture worthy. I kept finding out that a black ramp front sight is not my friend when I am shooting indoors.

Stay safe.

 

[StrawHat]

4”, N frames? I have a few,



And a few more that did not come to the photograph session. All 45 ACP, the only cartridge I need.

Kevin

 

[Targa]

There is a whole lot of eye candy in this thread…very nice!!

 

[halfmoonclip]

The MG shot OK, nothing really picture worthy. I kept finding out that a black ramp front sight is not my friend when I am shooting indoors.

You sent me scurrying to the safe; couldn't remember if the front sight on my -4 was detachable. I did replace it with an enclosed fiber optic, which seem more durable than the exposed light pipes.
Hear what you're saying about indoor ranges, and some of my older Smiths have the forged in front sights.
Moon

 

[UncleEd]

Seems to me Poster No. 2 summed up things
pretty well regarding the mountain gun concept.

 

[Onty]

I think with a 6in barrel that kinda defeats the intended purpose.

Seems to me Poster No. 2 summed up things pretty well regarding the mountain gun concept.

Mea culpa, mea culpa. No, I will never, ever, again call 6" revolver "Mountain Gun", you have my word! Sorry, trickle of humor wouldn't make Earth rotating other way.

Nevertheless, in order to avoid any confusion in the future, I asked moderator JohnKSa to replace illustration on post #1, and he did promptly. THANK YOU SIR!

Yeah, I am searching right now for a nice Security Six, exactly like 357 Terms showed, later model with scalloped shield. What keeps me off from previous models is poor quality of the barrel, and this is not the only revolver I had seen that doesn't have a nice, smooth barrel. Here is the worst:

At the first moment I thought that somebody used coarse steel wool or some sort of abrasive to remove deposits, but more likely that in manufacturing process worn out broaching tools were used. First on land dia, straight pull, and than groove dia, twisted. I contacted other sellers asking to snap picture of the barrel, but they never replied.

Search for a nice Security Six continues on EU websites. Hopefully, somebody will come up with something nice in foreseeable future.

 

[cfullgraf]

For shooting at the range, I prefer a 6" plus/minus barrel. The weight and balance works well.

But, for carry everyday in the field, I really do not have any real experience, But, I'm sure lighter would be better for the most part. It could become a drag to have a 2-3 pound drag on your hip 24/7.

Do what your experience tells you but in the absence of knowledge, I'g go with with the longer barrel.