Smith 686 or Ruger GP

[PTS1]

I am considering the purchase of a 6 inch revolver for hunnting/home defense and have narrowed my choices to these 2. Anybody have experince with either (preferably both)? By the way, I will use it for whitetail in southwest Texas where the deer average about 100 lbs. and will not take shots over 50 yds. This is why I decided on the 357 and not the 44.

 

[Playboypenguin]

I am a big ruger fan but recently bought a &W m686. I bought the 2.5" barrel but if it is any indication of the quality of the 6" I am afraid I might recpommend it over the GP100.

I already have the 6" Ruger GP100 and I love it but the Smith is awesome.

 

[cje1980]

You are going to have a hard time keepin shots within 5yds Anyway both are good guns. I have both a GP and a 4" 686. I used to have a 4" and 6" GP but kept the 6" after getting the 686. Overall I would say they are both durable and accurate guns but just have a different feel to them. The GP seems more bomb-proof and feels that way when you shoot it. The S&W seems smoother and more refined. The trigger is just really nice and smooth. For mainly hunting and range shooting the GP ought to be fine as this activity is done mainly in SA mode. For competition or heavy DA firing I would give the S&W the nod. Both are really solid guns and will not let you down though.

 

[Sturmgewehre]

For hunting, right out of the box I think you'll find the S&W smoother with a nicer trigger. The GP100 is a fine pistol though and I doubt you would regret buying it.

 

[Detective_Special]

686 vs GP

I think cje1980 is right on. You can' t go wrong with either, handle both and see what feels better for you.

 

[habeuscorpse]

Did some figuring the other day, and there may only be a slight ballistic loss with the 2.5 inch barrel compared to the three. The next half inch to a 2.0 would be the kicker. It would be interesting sometime if you could chronograph that new toy and post the results.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I own a 686 and have shot a GP100 quite a bit. My take is that overall, the Smith is the winner based on a smoother trigger pull. In all honesty however, the price difference in Northern Kentucky is as much as $150 more for the Smith. Is it worth the difference? I'm not sure. I prefer my Smith, but the two guns are damn close. I'd look at both hard and really let the trigger be the judge. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

 

[bds32]

I'm a new owner of the GP. I have shot the 686. I chose the new Ruger over the Smith because of the lock. The Ruger GP enjoys a very outstanding reputation as does the Smith. However, I refuse to buy any new Smith's because of the lock.

 

[croyance]

There are a lot of used S&W 686's out there without the lock. Many haven't seem much use, so I can't think of many reasons to buy new.

The thing is, for most hunting you will be using the SA trigger pull. While I think the S&W starts out with a nicer trigger pull (both DA and SA), I can't say that the difference will affect your outcome here.

Neither will you need monster boderline-.41 Magnum loads for whitetail. So the stronger (and by how much, really?) Ruger frame isn't doing you much good here.

So I would choose the S&W because of its use in home defence. While the trigger of a Ruger will get better with use, the S&W is generally better out of the box. Self defence shooting is DA and so I would go with the better trigger. Here most of the loads are hot 125 grain or 158 grain loadings, not a situation where the stronger Ruger frame is a definitive advantage.
Plus the S&W handles better in my hand, another self defence consideration. Not by a huge amount, but considering the situation for SD, any advantage is a good one.

 

[NCHornet]

Unless it was being used as a SD weapon the lock would not bother me. However there are plenty of 686 with early dash numbers out there to choose from. I have a 686-1 with a 4" barrel and it is one of my favorite shooters and a real tack driver. I prefer my 629 for deer hunting though. Shot placement will be key, so what I do is practice with paper plates, they are about the same size as the vitals on a whitetail, if you can place all 6 rounds on the plate you are good at that distance. Use a large hard cast bullet and that begger will fall.
No gun collection would be complete without at least one 686 in it.

 

[FastDraw]

I own several 686's and they are great ......... I also own a couple of SP101's. Love em both. I don't have a GP100.... yet..... but I bet it is a fine handgun.

 

[rnovi]

GP100 Fan here. You have to consider what you want to do with it. If you want to blast away major amounts of heavy magnum loads to the tune of thousands per year, get the Ruger.

If you want a competition gun with the smoother trigger, get theh Smith.

I went Ruger and have never regretted it. Fantastic gun. You really can't go wrong either way though.

 

[Ichiro]

My GP is a 4" and is pretty sweet with the 10-lb. trigger spring. I shoot only double-action, and it's easily the most accurate handgun I own. I shoot better with my 4" GP in double-action than I do with my Sig 226 in single-action.

The new 686 looks very similar to the GP-100, with a few differences:

• It's got a sideplate.
• Its grips do not cover the backstrap.
• It's a lot more expensive.
• It's got a stupid internal lock on it.

The GP-100 requires a ton of firing and a lighter spring to make the double-action trigger nice, but the stock grips are great, it has no lock, and it costs a lot less.

I do not own a 686, but I do own a GP-100. I really can't imagine a better L-frame sized .357.

 

[Norstrog]

I don't own a GP100 but do own a SP101. That being said I don't own a 686 either. However, if I had the extra cash I would definitely pick up the 686. Seven rounds of .357! My Glock 36 only holds 7 rounds.

 

[cheygriz]

Would you rather have a Mercedes or a Volkswagen? either will get you from point A to pointB. But the Mercedes has "class." The Ruger will go bang EVERY time you pull the trigger.

but the Smith has class!

 

[croyance]

They will both "go bang" every time - and Mercedes last longer, from what I have seen.
Comparing a pick-up to a Mercedes might be more apt. If you want a diet of 200 grain hot loads, the Ruger is the way to go.

 

[629 shooter]

There are a lot of used S&W 686's out there without the lock. Many haven't seem much use, so I can't think of many reasons to buy new.

If I were in the 686 market this is what I would do. The prices of the new ones have risen incredibly in recent years. I probably would look used in the GP market as well. The fit and finish of some of the new GPs I have handled left a lot to be desired.

With that said I do have a 6" 686-4 which is now over 12 years old. The vast majority of rounds fired have been with reloaded magnum ammo. The revolver shoots now as well as it ever has. In fact I would say it is the most accurate 357 revolver I have ever fired.

I used to own a 4" full stainless GP100 in the late 1980's. This was a very good revolver too. For making the long shots the single action trigger was not in the class of the Smith. Regardless , it always impressed me with it's accuracy. I eventually traded it - a bad move on my part.

While I lean more towards the Smith I can't fault a shooter that chooses the GP100 - I might end up with a GP100 again myself

 

[Ichiro]

Actually, I'd take either one. In fact, I'd like to have about a dozen of them, mix and match.

 

[bbarnett256]

Experience with 686-6

Well, today 3/2/07 I took my first shots at the range with my new 686-6 4". Previously, I've owned only semi-autos such as Colts,glocks, Beretta, Astra. etc. The 686 has a much nicer double action trigger than my Beretta 92FS. Unfortunately, On many occasions, it failed to strike the primer hard enough to fire. This was repeated with several different brands of ammunition. It's now on the way back to the S&W factory for warranty repair. It's ironic that I bought a revolver for home defense because "A revolver can sit around for 10 years and still function. Semi-autos, with all their springs/slides are more susceptible to failure when sitting around for long periods of disuse." Pure Bunk. I also fired my glock 23 today. It hasn't been fired for at least 5 yrs. Not 1 misfeed/jam ! I've never owned a S&W revolver before. I was thinking of getting a model 60 also, but with my experience with the 686, I decided against it. Another Person next to me at the Range states he has a Ruger GP and is happy with it. Not exactly a personal testimonial, but looking through the forums, most people seem quite pleased with their GP's. Then again, most people like their 686's too, so it looks like I purchased a lemon. I don't think the cylinder lock has anything to do with it, but I'd be curious if anyone else has had the same problem with theirs.

 

[Greguw]

I owned both the gp100's and a few of the 686's ...one was locked and was bought when I was just getting back into guns a few years back ...I did not know any better .
I love my older 686's but my gp100's are a much stronger gun but a little less refined than the smiths , but with some polishing and trigger work I like them better .
I just sold the locked smith and will not buy any current locked S&W either !
I buy on average 2 guns a month ... right now I bought 3 guns last month and just ordered a gp100 6" which will replace the one and only locked smith I just sold .
Good luck with your choice .

Greg