OK. *cracking knuckles*
I was actually considering both of these guns when I was looking for a CCW. They are both tuned-action precision machines. The 8-shot is really cool. I love N-Frames. The thing about N-frames though, is that they shoot better than they carry. If you don't mind having a cylinder protrusion the size of a large lime under your cover garment, go for it. When you go from the 3-in tube down to the not-quite 2, you are giving up a lot of barrel, but not really making the overall size of the gun any easier to carry - which defeats the advantages of an N-frame in the first place.
This is why I wound up getting the L-Comp. It is a nice compromise on so many different levels. I don't like either set of grips that comes with it, but your mileage may vary. I've loved the crisp action from day-1. I've learned that moonclips really are faster than strips or loaders. I've learned to love the tritium dot, and to tolerate the ported muzzle. This gun balances well and has a lot of meat to absorb recoil. I think I might actually prefer it to be bright blue or stainless as opposed to the matte blue, but that's a very minor complaint.
In fact, I love the 586 so much that I had to get a second. As sweet as the first one is, my second one is just slightly sweeter. It's like the action is just slightly more precise and lighter than the action on the first. The first one gave me troubles with light primer strikes, but a little nail polish on the mainspring screw threads fixed that problem. It had been backing out after about 50 or so shots. The second one has given me no such problems.
I was shocked at how comfortable it is to wear both guns. I have them in mirrored, home-grown, pancake holsters at 4:30 and 7:30. They are heavy, but with the proper belt and holsters, I forget they are there. For stowage (when I have to put them elsewhere to go into the school to get the boy, or post office, or whatever), the moonclips are wonderful! They both shoot well, left- or right-handed. POA to POI is not quite as intuitive as my wife's 627PC, but it's not far off from that level.
I had thought about getting a 686+ and having it tuned, cut for 'clips, and install a night-sight, but at that point, I would have paid for the L-Comp and then some. I don't know for certain, but I believe they only made 1000 of these. Others are certain to correct me if I mis-speak on that one.
So many of these threads where the OP asks should I get this gun or that gun, my response is to get them both. Not this time. Get the 586. You will love it. If you want an N-Frame, then ALSO get an N-frame, but not that one. Get a real N-Frame as a range gun. The 327 snubby is an oddity that doesn't really fit in a niche in real life. It's neat as a novelty, but it's the answer to the question that nobody asked.
IMHO,
--Michael