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Old March 1, 2011, 10:17 AM   #7
carguychris
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Join Date: October 20, 2007
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 7,523
Quote:
686 no dash... What year would this gun have been manufactured? Any MIM parts?
IIRC no-dash is 1980-1982 production, but I could be mistaken. You can narrow it down more by posting the 3-letter serial number prefix here or in the "Smith and Wesson serial number search" thread. FWIW all L frames such as a M686 have modern-style 3-letter prefixes, so the build dates are relatively easy to track.

MIM parts and the floating firing pin were introduced with the -5 version in 1996.

FWIW if you didn't already know this, no-dash and some early -1 L frames were recalled because some were shipped with out-of-spec oversize firing pin bushing holes that could allow a soft primer to backflow into the hole upon firing and lock up the gun. The factory normally marked recalled guns with a big letter "M" stamped inside the yoke cut, but I understand that this practice stopped recently, so if the gun has no "M" stamp, you should call customer service to verify whether the recall was done. Also, keep in mind that not every non-stamped gun has an oversize bushing hole; if you can verify that the gun has been fired extensively without problems, it is probably OK.
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