Customer Reviews for Smith & Wesson Model 686 7 Round 2.5" 357 Magnum Revolver

I noticed a few problems with mine after I picked it up from the FFL. One of the cylinders wasn't locking into battery after manually cocking the hammer, the grip screw was marred up like a 4 year old installed it and the finish on the hammer was flaking off. It's currently on its way back to S&W.

this is a beautiful revolver!!

This is my first gun actually purchased for my wife and we both love it, beautiful color, shape and structure, very good feelings in hands.

Very good everyday carry revolver, will definitely be getting another 686 in a longer barrel for the ranch.

Perfect and fast transaction with Buds.....as always. Gun arrived at my FFL quickly, and in perfect condition. I've put about 100 rounds through this beauty and it is an absolute dream to shoot. Handles 357 mag loads like a piece of cake. Hands down my favorite revolver. The performance center trigger and fit and finish is amazing! Thanks again Buds!

Amazing weapon. Even better than expected. Bigger than it appears.

If you're a big man or smaller man with the wish for a Smithy 357 revolver with 7 rounds available at all times then the Performance Center has your baby. Upon delivery the front dovetail sight was a bit loose and need tightening and alignment which the Smiths at S&W were not resistive at all to doing then I must say this is a 10 of 10. If you expect a long money revolver to be absolutely perfect out of the box then I expect your expectations may be a little high. Especially when trading two handguns towards the purchase. I did not expect this sweety to be absolutely perfect. After it's visit to MASS. it has not to be disappointing. It has been near perfect through 200 rounds down range. The folks at Smith got the sighting within 50 yards to be flat out phenomenal for a 2.5-inch barrel. You get what you pay for. Sometimes you pay more for what you get. With the fair trades I made with Good Ol' Buds I must say I am more than satisfied after a trip to MASS. I found a full black leather holster to make it worthwhile to make this a daily carry but I still trade out with my mini Glock on occasion. Sometimes it's amazing just to stare at this sweet thing. I recommend everyone get a chance to at least hold one. Or maybe cash plus trade to buy one. It is a beauty.

Have not shot it yet but it seems to be very well made. Looks even better in person than the pic. Some of the recent reviews said the item came with a darker handle, and not the light colored handle in the photo, but mine came with the light colored handle, which I was pleased to see.

The gun is excellent quality. I'm very happy with the purchase. One negative, the grips I expected are the wood light in color. The gun I received has wooden grips, although the are very dark in color....almost Black. I rate this gun 5 Stars. Lee Eakin leeeakin@earthlink.net

Sweet shooting revolver. Performs as advertised. Only criticism is handle color is not the one shown.

Astehtically pleasing except for the lock. Performance center smiths should not come with them or should be optional. Slab side barrel lessens full power .357 loads. Definitely feel comfortable if I was to use it for self defense. Although the size difference isn’t much that different of the M frame. Might as well spring for the extra round, or go for the ported 586 with night sights. Definitely a beautiful wheel gun. But not as practical as the other two I mentioned. Definitely not an easy revolver to conceal.

Stunningly beautiful piece of hardware. More than I expected. Highly recommend it. All of my revolvers are Smith & Wesson and this is an impressive addition to my collection.

The best price ever on a super S&W 686 hand gun. It's just perfect in every way. So glad i got it from Bud's. 3 buy's so far with many more to come for sure

S&W M686 7RD 357MAG/38SP 2.5" Performance Center Very pleased with this gun. Smooth trigger, surprisingly accurate (not really, I have come to expect it from the S&W revolvers). looks great. These S&W PC guns are really smooth in all respects. Very easy and fast to put rounds down range. I have several Smith PC and Pro series, none havl disappointed me.

Picked up my 686 pc tonight, I had read a lot of reviews about canted barrels on S&W revolvers and about poor quality control at S&W but my 686pc has no defects that I can see. I am happy with the service I received from Buds Gun Shop and with the revolver.

What I expected from a S&W Performance Center gun. Great shooter.

Outstanding revolver! I was torn between this and the 627PC with the 2.62" barrel and I'm glad I bought this one. Fun to shoot and easier to carry in a concealable holster. I'm surprised by the previous two reviews as mine is excellent, as I would expect from a Performance Center gun. I own several S&W Performance Center guns and won't sell any of them. Fun to shoot, great attention to detail, and accurate. Top of the line!

Firing pin randomly fails to hit primers hard enough to ignite, causing misfires. When I say random, it is random in double action only, I never know which shot is going to misfire but it's at least once a cylinder. I haven't had this issue in single action. Also, the wooden grips seem to not be fitting 100% underneath near the trigger guard. They are tight everywhere else, including the screw, but there is a gap near the trigger guard. I'm pretty disappointed given that this is a brand new gun and it's from the performance center where they supposedly hand tune it and all of that before it ships, and I paid $1000 for it. I expect this kind of quality control from some $150 junk gun, not one of S&W's finest offerings. The only reason I didn't give this a full bad rating is that it will probably be taken care of promptly by S&W, and it is a drop-dead gorgeous firearm. However, a gun is worthless if it isn't reliable IMO.