Which 357

[Hawaiian]

After lurking and searching I think I have it down to the Ruger GP100 6" or the S&W 686. Would appreciate input on these or any other that I might have missed. Looking in the $400 to $500 range. Purpose is for a fun, but accurate plinker.

[CZ_]

Consider the short shrouded 6" GP 100. I have this model and a full shrouded 4". The 6" actually balances just as well as the 4", due to the short shroud, yet it gives you the advantage of increased sight radius and more velocity.

I just love my 6" GP 100 with the short shroud. Its a great shooter.

[Frenchy]

I'm somewhat biased, but I like the 686 or 586 in the 4 or 6" barrel length. Very accurate and a wonderful trigger out of the box. I prefer the "-4" or earlier models myself.

[chaim]

I love my 6" 586-nothing (it does have the M). It is my most accurate gun, very smooth trigger and action, well balanced, beautiful and it just plain feels good (both in handling and in shooting). It has started an affair with L-frames that I think won't be alleviated until I have quite a few more. Actually, between this and my K-frame they have me really loving S&W revolvers.

You ask for others to consider:
-Taurus Tracker, steel frame. Nice gun, great finish, if you like the grips they are supposed to do a great job in cutting recoil.

-Taurus 608. This gun is on their really beefy .44mag frame so it should handle anything you chose to feed it. It is a big, heavy 8 shot .357mag.

-Dan Wesson. The fact that they have available interchangable barrels is seen by some as a positive feature and by others as a gimmick. I think it is kinda cool that you can have a 6" or 8" target barrel on the same gun that you carry with a 2", 3" or 4" barrel.

[Jim March]

If it's not going to be a carry piece, the advice on a short-shroud 6" GP100 is very good. You'll have a fine "range queen" that can be pressed into "woods/survival gun duty" to good effect. Not a bad choice for home defense either.

The GP100 is incredibly strong...*maybe* tougher than the 686. Lots of aftermarket springs/sights available, trigger is sometimes not quite at S&W's level but can be tuned, or just dry-fire it a bunch.

[C.R.Sam]

Jim March too shy...

Read and print out his revolver check list here;
http://www.thefiringline.com/Misc/li...ver-check.html

Take it with you when shopping. Applicable to new or used guns.

Sam

[Ben Shepherd]

Prefer the ruger.

Trigger will become sweet over time.

And when you want to you can run hot rod loads as well.

[tonyz]

I have to agree with Ben Shepherd. The Ruger GP100 is the way to go. Good looks, built strong and as accurate as you will most likely ever shoot.
The triggers on the Rugers are getting better, but there are some that need to be sweetened up. This can be done by dry firing the gun alot or it is very easy for you or a smith to lighten and smooth out the trigger. Plus there are a lot of accessories for the GP-100. JMO

Tony

One of my Rugers

[Rob96]

Ok, here goes my opinion. I use to own a 6" S&W 686, I now currently own a Ruger KGP-141 (4",SS, Adj. Sites). The 686 I owned was completely reliable with 38special and would reliably lock up with full house magnums. It did make a trip back to S&W and I was promptlly taken care of. Kept it for a while and was offered a price I couldn't refuse. Bought the 4" GP and love it. I do actually like it better than the 686 I had. I wil never get rid of it. As a matter of fact when I was shopping for a snubby, I went with the SP-101. I would still like to add a 3" fixed site GP yet.

[Ala Dan]

As both are great firearm's, in their own right. I was a
big fan of the Ruger Security-Six line; then Ruger decided
to discontinue production, in favor of the GP-100 series.
Both, the GP-100 series Rugers and the Smith & Wesson
686 will serve you well. I happen to perfer the 6" Smith
-5 model, with the frame mounted (or floating*) firing pin.
The only negative comment I can make about either gun,
is the fact that I don't condone the use of MIM hammer's
and trigger's; as found on the Smith & Wesson!

*FootNote: a feature found on the Colt Python

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[kbc_inMA]

The 686 4" is one of my favorites. Mine had an excellent trigger out of the box, and only got better with more range trips.
Very accurate for me at 50ft.

[Grapeshot]

686.

Mine is a wonderful gun, perhaps the most accurate revolver I've ever owned. It is a -5, so it has the MIM parts and frame-mounted firing pin, but that didn't turn me off as much as I thought. Trigger is slightly heavier than I like due to the firing pin, but still not as bad as most Rugers.

There are two other things you should consider (and this is just my opinion).

First, Ruger quality just ain't what it used to be. I say this as a very disappointed ex-Ruger man, having owned many, many fine Ruger sixguns in years past, as well as some current specimens of theirs that I feel are simply "junk". In short, I've seen some real quality control issues in recent Rugers. I've spoken of it extensively in the past, so do a search if you want.

I don't believe Smith and Wesson is having this problem. Of course, this could change.

Second, the "Rugers are built like tanks" mantra is somewhat mis-leading and not accurate in my experience. It is possible to break one. I have broken two Ruger revolvers through the simple act of dry-firing. Sure they can handle high pressures, but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and I feel the Ruger has one in the cheesy 30-cent casting they call a "transfer bar". When it breaks, it causes a catastrophic failure to function, not a nice thing to have happen in some circumstances.

Also, the 686 should be even stronger since Smith added their endurance modifications in the later models.

Just my opinion, no flames necessary.

Please, ALWAYS USE SNAP CAPS!

[kbc_inMA]

Now that the Xmas tree is up, I have all those great targets to aim at with my 686 & snap caps!

[S&W 24]

you can never go wrong with a good condition S&W 27/28
or if it is just a fun gun a ruger blackhawk.

[jar]

In the price range you mention I'd probably look in this order...[list=1][*]S&W M-27[*]S&W M-19[*]S&W M-28[*]S&W M-66[*]S&W M-586[*]S&W M-686[*]Ruger Security-six[/list=1]

[mec]

the L frame and Ruger enthusiasts know what they are talking about. Hard to go wrong with either-althought both companies are perfectly capable of turning out a really turkey buzzard occasionally. I do consider the Rugers to be the basic best for .357 loads and have the 4" heavy and the 6" short shroud. My six inch is of recent manufacture and is virtually identical to the one I had several years ago.

[CZ_]

I do consider the Rugers to be the basic best for .357 loads and have the 4" heavy and the 6" short shroud.

You have the exact same models I have, even the same material (stainless).

The only difference is that I have aftermarket grip inserts on my GP 100s.

[SaltyCracker]

If you go used, and do a lot of shopping around, you can probably get BOTH for a little over the $500 you are talking about spending.

Works for me!

[Ala Dan]

Att: Grapeshot,

Very well stated, my friend. Those Smith & Wesson
686-5's are some mighty fine firearms aren't they? I
know since my day's as a LEO; it just seems like I like
to shoot the 5"- 6" barrel revolver's a lot more!

With Warm Regards,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[Russ]

I like the 686. Great gun and a real tack driver. See which feels better in your hand. Both are good guns and you really can't go wrong with either one. One thing in Ruger's favor, at least where I am, is that they are about $80 cheaper.

[Grapeshot]

Thanks Ala Dan, good to hear from you. I've been reading your posts on that spiffy 5-inch .44 and I think I'm gonna have to have one of those, heh heh. Hopefully someone will buy my Redhawk.

If I might add a little more fuel to the fire ... I think the GP100 is a fine weapon. But the ones I've seen (with adjustable sights) are nearly as big as my Redhawk. I find them to lack the finesse and refinement on the level of the 686, which feels "just right" to an awful lot of people. Having carried the 686 hunting, I can tell you that if you have to carry one of these, the 686 soon feels like a whole lot of gun.

I think we have to ask ourselves if we are really going to be hot-loading any .357's. Do you like sticky/difficult extraction? I might humbly suggest that if someone feels the need to do this, maybe they would be better off with a bigger caliber in the first place, such as a .41 Magnum.

While I'm at it, I hate to get on here all the time and complain about my Rugers compared to my Smiths, but the quality gap in my mind only continues to widen. I was reminded of this thread again today when I had my 686 out playing with it and decided to get out my Bearcat and Redhawk. Sigh. Both of them have, for lack of a better description, lumpy, bloated-looking frames. I don't know what Ruger does this, but the sides of the frame are noticeably bent to accommodate ... whatever it is they did. I've seen cheap companies dent a sideplate by over-torquing a screw, but this is simply bizarre in its consistency and uniformity. They both work, but each looks as if a gorilla used a vise to put together two ill-fitting halves of a frame.

I always thought the sides of a revolver frame were best left FLAT, as on my 686. I have finally concluded that my sub-standard Rugers are going to be sold as soon as possible to pay for some Smith and Wesson replacements.


Warm Regards,

Grapeshot

[Hawaiian]

Thanks for the input. I will be in Portland this weekend and will go to the gun show at the Expo. Will see how they feel and then make a decision. I will come home with one and will post it. Thanks again, your help is apprecaited.

[Poohgyrr]

I won't say Rugers are a poor choice, and I could be happy with either, but I'd prefer a 686 or an N frame.

[Kevinch]

I'm partial to a 686, because I have one of late 1980's vintage & it is the first ever firearm I owned. Bought it new.

That said, I would only consider one of the 686 models with the hammer mounted firing pin. You can find them used, in excellant shape.

The Ruger will be more "chunky" than the S&W, & probably would stand up to a steady, long-term diet of heavy full house magnum shooting better than the S&W. The S&W will handle better, & will probably have a superior trigger pull.

[LiveWire]

686.

The "Po-Boy's" Python.

Get the dash 4 with a 6" bbl if you can. That's what I did.

Replace the original rubber grip with a Pau Ferro round-butt from Hogue, polish it with Antiquax, and take it to the range. You'll get your doubletakes---trust me!