The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: The Revolver Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old July 12, 2019, 11:01 PM   #1
YankeeIronSights
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 262
If you could only keep one...

Hi Everyone,

If you could only keep one, which of these two revolvers would you choose?

SW 686 2.5” Pre-lock or
Kimber K6s 2” w/hammer


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
YankeeIronSights is offline  
Old July 12, 2019, 11:30 PM   #2
cslinger
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 14, 2002
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 2,049
686 all day everyday and twice on Sunday.

Not bashing the Kimber but they ain’t making that 686 anymore.
__________________
"Is there anyway I can write my local gun store off on my taxes as dependents?"
cslinger is offline  
Old July 12, 2019, 11:36 PM   #3
gbclarkson
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 4, 2014
Location: None of yer business, sonny
Posts: 440
If I could only keep one? You mean, I get to keep it? Well, then, I choose the Kimber.

If you get to keep it then pick the one you shoot most accurately.
gbclarkson is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 01:09 AM   #4
balin
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 26, 2006
Location: Federal Way
Posts: 122
Depends on what you want it for. Shooting or investment the Smith. Carry then the Kimber.
balin is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 01:35 AM   #5
AzShooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 20, 2006
Location: Surprise, Az.
Posts: 766
I'd say the 686 and never look back. You can get an excellent trigger on the Smith and there are many gunsmiths that work on them. The Kimber is rare and not many gunsmiths that I know of.
AzShooter is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 02:27 AM   #6
44 AMP
Staff
 
Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 30,487
of the two choices offered, "there can be only one"


SW 686 2.5” Pre-lock
__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.
44 AMP is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 06:55 AM   #7
shurshot
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 25, 2006
Posts: 1,819
I would chose the SW 686, even if it had the lock (which can be easily removed and plugged).
shurshot is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 07:56 AM   #8
P5 Guy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 1, 2005
Location: Tampa Bay
Posts: 1,804
Smith&Wesson 686-4
P5 Guy is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 08:27 AM   #9
CajunBass
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 6, 2005
Location: North Chesterfield, Virginia
Posts: 4,789
686, but then I've never even held the Kimber.

Why bother when there are still Smith and Wesson's out there...
__________________
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 (NKJV)
CajunBass is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 09:38 AM   #10
rclark
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 12, 2009
Location: Butte, MT
Posts: 2,650
Neither.... I wouldn't have owned one in the first place, so no choice to make . Why bother if there Colt and Ruger Single Actions around. Ha!
__________________
A clinger and deplorable, MAGA, and life NRA member. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Single Action .45 Colt (Sometimes colloquially referred to by its alias as the .45 'Long' Colt or .45LC). Don't leave home without it. That said, the .44Spec is right up their too... but the .45 Colt is still the king.
rclark is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 09:46 AM   #11
Hal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 10, 1998
Location: Ohio USA
Posts: 8,564
686 all day long.

It's a pre-lock so it's value is going to increase - IMHO - more than the Kimber will (if it does at all).




Plus - I just flat out don't like Kimber. (even though I have 2 of the 1911's and carry one of them on occasion)
Hal is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 10:28 AM   #12
223 shooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 26, 2008
Posts: 557
Quote:
Smith&Wesson 686-4
The -4s are my favorites of the 686s - I have 2.5" seven shot and a 6".
223 shooter is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 10:35 AM   #13
Auto5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 18, 2013
Location: Chicago suburbs
Posts: 662
Can I have the other one? :-)
Auto5 is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 01:05 PM   #14
mk70ss
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 12, 2008
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 1,642
686. No contest, and I like my Kimber K6s, but......
__________________
Say when.....
mk70ss is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 01:25 PM   #15
HighValleyRanch
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 15, 2005
Posts: 4,140
I've already gone through this. Have owned 586, sw 19, ruger security six and speed six, LCR's and now I am going with the Kimber K6.
It shoots as wells as any of the others but is a much smaller, compact package for carry that feels like a swiss watch.
So my vote is Kimber K6. Would have gotten the hammered version if it was avaiable at the time, but no problems in accuracy with the original version.
__________________
From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail"
HighValleyRanch is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 01:37 PM   #16
Ben Dover
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 11, 2013
Location: High up in the Rocky Moun
Posts: 665
I'd trade them both for a 686 with 6 inch barrel.
Ben Dover is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 08:46 PM   #17
YankeeIronSights
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 262



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
YankeeIronSights is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 08:49 PM   #18
YankeeIronSights
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 262
Size and weight is a practical factor, if one wants to conceal carry. The Kimber wins hands down for that purpose. For any other application, the 686 is perfect.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
YankeeIronSights is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 08:59 PM   #19
Cheapshooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 2, 2007
Location: Missouri
Posts: 8,306
I would never allow myself to get into that dismal of a situation in the first place.
But if I must play, the S&W with no contemplation.
Cheapshooter is offline  
Old July 13, 2019, 10:04 PM   #20
FrankenMauser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 26, 2008
Location: In the valley above the plain
Posts: 13,776
686
__________________
-Unwilling Range Officer
-Unwilling Match Designer
-NRL22/PRS22/PRO
-Something about broccoli and carrots
FrankenMauser is offline  
Old July 14, 2019, 06:58 AM   #21
thesmithiz
Junior Member
 
Join Date: March 24, 2019
Posts: 4
any 686 lock or not. I have a 3" with lock an i shoot that thing better than every gun i have, second to that one is my MP 9 2.0 full size. Those 2 guns would keep me very safe in my hands. All that said though i have looked and handle those Kimbers and would love to justify the expense sometime.
thesmithiz is offline  
Old July 14, 2019, 11:17 AM   #22
Super Sneaky Steve
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 9, 2011
Posts: 1,330
Most people saying to keep the Smith don't own a Kimber K6.

I own both and I say keep the Kimber. It's a better carry gun.
Super Sneaky Steve is offline  
Old July 14, 2019, 12:34 PM   #23
cslinger
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 14, 2002
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 2,049
The Kimber is a very nice revolver with a nice, but odd feeling to me, trigger. More importantly the Kimber is a current production item.

The 686 is a revolver from a storied name from a time when we all look at through rose colored nostalgic glasses that they are not making anymore. (That hole in the side makes a difference if not mechanically, aesthetically and or politically. This makes the 686 the better choice overall IMO unless the choice comes down to PURELY tool for tool.

If this is simply a tool for tool choice. Pick the one you shoot better or addresses your problem better. Carry take the Kimber. Bedside/Jack of all trades take the 686.

Heck took for tool all value and emotion aside.....sell both and get a mid sized piece of tactical Tupperware.

All that said for me personally in that conundrum I still take the 686.
__________________
"Is there anyway I can write my local gun store off on my taxes as dependents?"
cslinger is offline  
Old July 14, 2019, 01:29 PM   #24
HighValleyRanch
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 15, 2005
Posts: 4,140
It would be fun to see a photo of the Kimber next to the 686.
The smith would seem HUGE!
__________________
From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail"
HighValleyRanch is offline  
Old July 14, 2019, 02:23 PM   #25
FrankenMauser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 26, 2008
Location: In the valley above the plain
Posts: 13,776
Quote:
I own both and I say keep the Kimber. It's a better carry gun.
True. I don't own both.
But I also don't carry my 686. It's for shootin'. Other things are for stuffing down my pants.

No one ever said that the "one" had to be used for concealed carry.
__________________
-Unwilling Range Officer
-Unwilling Match Designer
-NRL22/PRS22/PRO
-Something about broccoli and carrots
FrankenMauser is offline  
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2025 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.09652 seconds with 8 queries