My Christmas Present.....

[scotties22]

Smith & Wesson 686 Deluxe.....357 Mag.

I am going to the range to shoot it for the first time tomorrow (Wednesday is for the Ladies and they shoot free.....I'll take it) Really excited. This has been a long time coming and I finally found someone locally that had the model I wanted. It has a 3" barrel and a wood grip....I'm in love!!

 

[Puff Daddy]

Hang on tight! :twisted:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Nah, those 686 have frames that absorb shock mighty nicely. A friend of mine's mother has one, and she's a crack shot with the damn thing...water-filled milk jugs at 50 - 70 feet beware... :lol: I always suggest ladies get bigger guns, rather than the tiny, "cute" pink or pearl-handled purse-stuffers. This isn't a lipstick tube, it's a weapon. If you don't like shooting it (but rather how it looks), you won't be effective with it, and it'll be a heavy fashion accessory. *shrug* In other words, great choice, Scotties. :cheers:

That's a great grip setup you have on there, Scotties, looks really comfy. I'm not a fan of the S&W factory grips, they feel "slippy" to me. Range report to follow?

8)

 

[scotties22]

Ooohhhhhh yeah....

Gonna put a couple boxes of .38 through her first. Get a good feel for it before I move up to the .357. :lol:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Ooohhhhhh yeah....

Gonna put a couple boxes of .38 through her first. Get a good feel for it before I move up to the .357. :lol:

The 686 handles .38 rounds perfectly. Some .357 handungs have setups leave a bit of a gap between the cylinder wheel and the frame at the barrel, and can cause some weird pressure issues that make the .38 bullet exit a little unpredictably (there's more distance to cover), but the 686 has always done well switching between the two cartridges. Ruger is another that does pretty well, and more recently, Taurus.

I have a feeling you'll be stepping up to full 357 Mag rounds before ya know it. In fact, bring a box of those with you tomorrow, too. You may be tempted to really fling some lead. :twisted:

8)

 

[scotties22]

I looked at a Rossi .357 (made by Taurus). It was half the money....and very tempting. But, it was about half the weight of the S&W and felt small in my hand. The frame was no bigger than the .38 that they make. The guy at the gun store (went local there and glad I did) pointed out the same thing about switching to the smaller round. S&W has a better rep and all-in-all I think it's worth the extra bucks. And besides, my husband told me to get what I wanted.....ssssoooooooo, why not the S&W

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Sounds like a decent gun store. Of course they're going to try and upsell, but sometimes there's reasons to spend the extra cash. The fit and feel are of utmost importance. The Rossi line of guns are alright, but it's been the actual Taurus brand/lines that really impressed me in their workmanship. I think you did well by the S&W 686--I hope you're all grins by the end of tomorrow after the range.

8)

 

[plumbernater]

I like your Christmas gift. I ran across a taurus 357 snubby awhile bake. When I got it home and showed it to my wife, she took it from me. She feel in love with the thing. Which it was no problem to give it to her. I like her protected. She always carried her taurus judge, And I think she liked the down size in weight.

 

[mark]

Lots of versatility with 120 Gr. .38 squibs all the way to full blown 357s. I'm happy with my 360SC but the extra weight of your gun is a big plus and easy on the hand. Enjoy,,, :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I have a 2 3/4" chambered Judge (not the 3" magnum, in other words) and most gals that I've let shoot it find it a bit unwieldy to hold for more than a couple of shots. It isn't the recoil, it's the sheer front-heaviness. I think a .357 medium-frame is a great lady's gun, and I'm happy to hear more of the gals are taking a fancy to them! The fact a .357 can take the step-down in powder load in a .38 round for practice (or general use) or the .357 rounds is great.

Hopefully Scotties is out at the range as we speak, grinnin' the whole time...

...I bet she likes it!

8)

 

[Hermit]

I have a 4" 686. Yer gonna love it.

 

[Dutch]

The .357 is a devastating round, and one that I would hate to be forced to deal with. I really like the looks of the wood grips, but you might find a set of rubber Pachmayr grips allow you much more control when shooting the .357 with hotter loads.

Either way, I'm sure you're gonna enjoy your time on the range! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I like talking about bullet calibers in that regard, come to think of it.

I often ask myself which I'd rather be shot with, .22, .357 or .45, etc... :lol: Personally, a well-aimed .22 or a center-mass .357 are about equal: either would be relatively suffering-free if applied to my body, so, here's to talking about personal preferences on bullet wounds. *raises glass* :lol:

One WWII vet I used to help take care of at the old folks home long ago used to say about guns (paraphrasing) "Son, no one's a tough guy with a gun barrel aimed at him, but if the one doin' the shootin' misses, it don't matter what size of cartridge he's using. Makes both guys think differently for a moment."



8)

 

[scotties22]

OOOHHHHHHHHH YYEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..............................I HAD A BLAST!!!!!

I put a box of .38 shells through her. Then my wrists started to get tired so I called it a night. Boy, is this a great gun!!! I didn't have a problems with the grip and recoil with the .38 isn't really much to talk about. I don't think I'll have a problem stepping up to the .357 when it's time. Guess I know what I'm doing next Wwednesday night!!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Annie/Calamity are pleased, m'lady. :twisted:

:cheers: Glad you had fun. The wrist-strengthening will come with time. Don't hold on too tight, nor too loose, and you'll find you can double your endurance. The same concept is with swordsmanship, as they are both extensions of your hand and arm.

If you like, get some snap caps to use at home...

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/11356

...that way you can really get used to holding the gun, pulling the trigger, and getting overall feel from all the mechanisms working. It won't replace actual shooting, more like "hand/arm training." It's good exercise.

8)

 

[scotties22]

That's actually a great idea. I will look into that. I am going to go every wednesday for the next month or so. And then I gotta quit until after the baby comes in June....Daddy's orders. But, that gives me plenty of time to get really comfortable and start honing in on my accuracy.

 

[George Kaplan]

:cheers: Sweeet!

 

[sand18f]

Have your husband stand behind you. Pass the gun to him over your shooting shoulder. He will mix up the rounds, some emty some not. That will elimnate your flinching.

Bill

 

[user 2031]

Congrats on the 686! Nice revolver. My first carry weapon in le was a 4" S&W model 28. Wish I had kept that gun.

Not that I think Scotties needs or wants any of my tips, she can probably out shoot me, but I do have a tip that helped me. It may or may not be relevant to anyone else... I had a hard time getting tight groupings, until I started putting a small red sticker on my targets and aiming for that. Aim small, miss small. I no longer use the stickers but have the image in my head. I can make head shots from a pretty good distance.

 

[LIPIPE]

I was an Auxiliary Police Officer with my county department between 1985 and 2000. I learned to shoot with the 686 4" barrel .38+P 158gr. and carried that duty weapon. Like Simple Man said it will take a bit of practice to handle well so take your time. It will only become a great gun when you become proficient with it. When it comes to any gun, my concept of gun control all boils down to accuracy. A .357 load is dangerous when you miss the target so practice well.