Customer Reviews for Smith & Wesson Performance Center Pro Model 686 SSR 357 Magnum Revolver

fantastic gun and great service. Love the trigger. Couldn’t be happier

I love the pistol but the one I received was not new. It obviously had been dry fired by the ring on the cylinder like all revolvers get. Also there were scratches, a sing in the crown, and now I see the front sight is bent like it was dropped. There was also a Hogue grip in the box so obviously it was not even opened by Buds staff prior to sending. I wish things were maybe inspected before being sent as a new item. The warning sticker from the box was inside the box on the foam and the rust resistant wrap was balled up. I mean it was fairly obvious it was not new. I had emailed Buds the day it was received, no response. I emailed again today hoping for a new front sight as this was is 15 degrees off center. I’ll give a rating after I hopefully receive a reply. As we have a 10 day waiting period it is difficult to get a good inspection in until it is home. Buds is awesome and this is not the norm. All other items have been perfect.

Great project highly recommend, thanks to Buds for great service and quick shipping!!

The SSR was a buy I made so that I could enter steel challenge events but still have a carry revolver. The performance and finish are exactly what I had hoped for. It didn't blow anyone at the competition practice events away but a few shooters still raised eyebrows at it's overall quality and features already in a sub $1,000 pistol. This is a pistol if you want to shoot pistol matches right away and don't want to get made fun of walking in the practice room. This pistol and it's ability to augment my skill level garnered me some back slaps from seasoned competition shooters. But it is also a gun you can carry because it's ability to be a premium service revolver will bridge the gap between you and someone carrying a semi auto pistol or rifle. Because this gun can handle the hottest .38 or .357 loads a skilled shooter can deliver fast and accurate shots at preferred power levels. And this gun was built to run your speed loader or strip if it came to a speed reloading. My only complaint is that it didn't come in black. No matter how much you scrub the stainless shows where carbon still is or a shiny patch difference in your spots you really have to scrub it off.

This is my third Smith and Wesson revolver, and the best. The fit, finish and details are beautiful. The purchase included both wood and rubber grips. When I received this firearm, the cylinder spin was a little dry, so I lubed it up a bit. After that it spun freely. I took it to the range and put about fifty rounds through it: 125, 158 and 180 gr. .357 magnum, plus some 125 gr. .38 special. The latter had soft recoil, while the former are very controllable. Accuracy at 25 yards is excellent; I did not need to adjust the sights. The single action trigger is like glass, with no uptake. The double-action is a little stiff, but I'm hoping it'll smooth out with use. I wore it in a pancake holster while on a three mile hike and had no problems carrying it. This is my sixth firearm purchase from Bud's; as always, the process has been great. Handguns arrive in a matter of two or three days, but long guns can take almost a week.

great revolver at the range or to carry while hunting

Excellent revolver in all aspects (accuracy, size, performance, quality, value, and Buds’ service). Highly recommend for home defense, hunting medium size game inside 50-75 yards, target shooting, and concealed carry under limited circumstances). Ability to shoot 38 Special as well as .357 is an important plus.👍

This is my favorite revolver now. Out of my entire collection, and that is saying something. I enjoy the matte finish. The wood grips are beautiful but more importantly fit my hand comfortably. The little details are what make the 686ssr really beat the other brand revolvers at this price point. The recessed target crown on the barrel is a nice feature. the extra set of rubber grips that shipped with mine is thoughtful but i will stick with the wood ones. But really it just feels better in my hand than some of the other revolvers i was considering. Recoil is what you would expect from a .357, but I also shoot a performance center .460 so to me the 686ssr is easy to handle. Additionally, I am used to carrying full size semi autos for daily carry in the winter, and despite a previous review of the 686ssr being heavy, I think it would be an excellent carry piece. I do not have a holster yet however so time will tell. The moral of the story is- this is a fine revolver... In my opinion the best option at the price point.

Solid built Smith and Wesson Great Home Defense Pistol would not Recommend for Concealed Carry due to the Weight
You cannot go wrong with a Smith & Wesson Pro Series Revolver highly recommend.

Another great Smith,shoots great,looks great.I will change the front sight and keep the wood grip.Happy BUD’S guy.

Smith & Wesson at its finest

My first S&W revolver, I have not shot it yet. looking it over the fit and finish are great and the trigger in single action is amazing, as good or better than many of my custom trigger jobs. I own a GP 100 match and there is no comparison. maybe a convert. I had trouble with rebate, called customer service, the best experience I have ever had with any customer service department in my life. if they went to work with the president they could solve all the world's problems in a week!

i fell in love with this gun when i tried one out on the range. to start off the trigger is slightly smoother than average for a 686. not by much though and am sure theres examples of the 686 on a store shelf that would be as good, after a few hundred rounds it gets even smoother and is just a joy to shoot in da mode, sa is what i would call a hair trigger though my gauge puts it at just over 3 lbs. da is 10lbs. this gun is easy to move quickly from one target to the next. Ive shot a mix of 38+p and 357 mag threw it, definitely prefer the 38 for plinking but the 357 mag loads are very controllable with better grips. I love the look of the stock laminate grips but magnums with have the gun moving all around on you despite how tight you grip it. the included rubber grips are probably ok for people with smaller hands or thinner fingers. I tried them out and could not get a comfortable hold. Theres many grip styles available though and i tried the VZ grips with the checkered sides and they fit my meat hooks perfectly. The gun stay put even with magnum loads letting me get back on target for fast repeat shots., just my 2 cents, would probably use the included hoague grips if they had fit me, The gun itself was spot on target at 25 yards. keeping on a 6 inch plate at 15 yards at a face pace was a piece of cake, thats what this gun is made for. it performs well.

First time purchase though Buds and all went well received timely info on he processing and shipping of my Order and would purchase again from Bud's based on this experience.

Great .357. Love the balance. Felt the 686 4" was a bit muzzle heavy for me. Nice fit and finish. Great trigger pull.

Superior Firearm. Great accuracy out of the box. Fits hand well. Works well with speed loaders. This is a keeper.

What a great gun! Very smoothly in DA and SA. It has good balance and weight to help with recoil. I buy most of my firearms through Bud's and have never had a problem with them. Best prices, availability and shipping.

First off, Bud"s was great! I am almost afraid to write this review as no one would believe it from a Smith and Wesson Revolver. I have now shot this revolver 4 times. I am consistently shooting very low. All of my friends are also shooting this revolver very low! We were unable to adjust sights to correct the issue. In fact, we turned the adjustment screw up so far the screw came loose and it was still shooting about 2” low at 21 feet! I installed a laser bore sight. I could not adjust the sights to get the red dot in the sight picture. I took it to a gun smith. He felt it might have the wrong sights installed. He requested that I bring him a target shot at 21 feet. I just fired it on a bench with a rest. I got a 1” group but 4” low. I also fired my Rossi 971. Same test and I got 6 shots all bull’s eyes or in the 9 circle. This SSR just has issues! Before I let the gun smith work with it, I am going to return it to S & W and hope they find the issue and make the repair. I will update. Other than this issue, the gun is beautiful and fires perfectly. Too bad no one cannot hit anything with it!

Love it. Trigger pull is very smooth, very accurate. Biggest problem with it is that I'll have to get another as my wife has decided that this is now HER gun to shoot.

Very nice finish and shoots awesome.