I have a local fellow wanting to trade me a slightly used 357 S&W 686 stainless 7shot 7 in barrel for a gun I have, was wondering if this is a good gun comes with a shoulder holster and some ammo. I got out of revolvers several years back and just wondering about it.

For handling, 7 inch is off. the sweet spot for that frame is 4 and 5 inch revolvers, with it leaning more to the 4. For target shooting five and six inch is my preferred length.

I have a 3, and a 6 inct 686 +. both are nice, but I wish I had picked up the PC 5 inch a while back.

For me 3-5 inch is the sweet spot. I do have one 6inch revolver that I very much like but the jump from 5nch to 6inch in FEEL is disproportionate to the small change in actual size. I think 7 and 8 inch revolvers feel a bit like Jack Nicholson’s “Joker Gun” in the first Tim Burton Batman.

Beyond the personal preference “feel/balance” the 686+ is a GREAT GUN. Now if you are an old school revolver guy and haver never used a 7 shot the lockup might feel short/weird to you as it feels different then a six gun.

686+ is a great revolver, but I would have no interest in a 7". I had a generation 1 686 in 6" and I never liked even the 6" gun. I traded it long ago.

I have a 4" 686. I LOVE it

I have a 5" 686 and would not want to go any longer.

The heavy underlug on the barrel is good for taming recoil and muzzle flip, but makes models with long barrels cumbersome for handling and target transitions.

Time was when I enjoyed shooting powerful revolver cartridges. I would have been attracted to a 686 if it had had a long barrel with a normal contour and without the long underlug.

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Originally posted by kyoung:
I have a local fellow wanting to trade me a slightly used 357 S&W 686 stainless 7shot 7 in barrel for a gun I have, was wondering if this is a good gun comes with a shoulder holster and some ammo. I got out of revolvers several years back and just wondering about it.

The 686 family of revolvers are very accurate, reliable and durable.

As others have mentioned a 7" full underlug barrel will be nose heavy, however if you are referring to the Talo Exclusives that have a standard barrel with the ejector rod shroud I think the balance will be just fine

Seven is a bit long for carry, IMO. Even a six, really. Four inch is a sweet spot. Again, my opinion.

Is this one of the set commissioned by Talo a few years back?

There was a 3”, 5”, and 7” (get it? 357)that came with unfluted cylinders and custom grips with 357 on them. I wound up with two of the 3” models and was planning to complete the set.
But I found out I couldn’t shoot Smiths worth a durn (I grew up on Rugers) and the grips were the most uncomfortable I’d ever felt on a revolver.
Those two things are easy enough to swap out and train out. But I guess, really, the idea just lost its shine.

He says its a Talo special edition, I havnt seen a picture of the actual gun. He sent me a link to a 686 thats not Talo.

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For me 3-5 inch is the sweet spot.

Right there with you. For myself anything longer than 5" becomes too unwieldy for handling. My 4" hits spot-on right down the middle.

I have the 686 (cannot remember the dash number) with the 6" barrel, and silhouette sights,

works wonderfully, and I like the 6" barrel

For long-range handgun shooting, you might appreciate the long sight radius that that barrel provides. It's not going to carry very well, though. I personally like shorter barrels on handguns and leave the long barrels for rifles. But if you're ok with the long barrel, the 686 is an excellent revolver.