S&W 686+ vs 19?

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jimeradams

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I never owned a 19 or a 686, but I used to own a 66 that was very nice. I traded that for a very nice 681 that I carried as a duty weapon for a while. Both are nice but the L-frame would be my choice. It handles magnum ammo very well.
 

diggler1833

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Did you make the deal? We need updates!

The 686+ is always going to have the internal lock and MIM internals like trigger and hammer. It'll handle full power loads a little better from the added weight, and the forcing cone is a bit beefier too.

The other poster who mentioned that the 19/66 suffered forcing cone failures occasionally from hot 125gr magnum loads is correct. I'd have to grab my S&W book out, but I think they got the forcing cone issue sorted out by sometime in the mid-80s. The ones in question had a thinner flat spot on the bottom.

Unfortunately, after this COVID garbage, many revolvers shot up in price. The 686 (especially the ones from the mid-90's and before) have jumped in fetching price about 25 percent over the last year. The 19s have gone up too, but not by quite as much.

I have representatives of both models, and really like them. My 19-4 has the TT and TH, and is butter smooth after I gave it a good smoothing internally. The 686 is a great shooter that I still carry on occasion. My 19-6 is unfired, and I'm not sure when I'll ever put any rounds through it.
Can't talk Smiths without sharing at least one photo...19-4.

20210505_202500.jpg
 

Fyrtwuck

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The L frame was S&W’s attempt to compete with the Colt Python. The L frame size is between the K frame and the N frame, yet the grips for the K frame will interchange with the L frame.
 

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