Mr. Smith goes to the range......
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2022 7:06 pm
Yes the new S&W 686 3 inch 7 shooter I picked up this week! Went to my LGS to look at loading supplies and came back with this.
The reasoning my only pair of 357 DA shooters are from 1977 with a lot of use being the SW Model 66 and a Ruger Police Service 6 so when I saw that
beefy 357 L frame 686 with 7 holes I had to have it!
Fit and finish really nice with a tight .004 cylinder to barrel gap and just enough cylinder play to rotate no end shake. The chamber throats were on the tight side for a cast .358 bullet so a bit of honing with 320 grit got them to .3585 perfect for either cast or JHP bullets.
Off to the range this morning with a variety of ammo and the 158 gr. MB RNFP bullet loaded in 38 Special brass with 5.6 Power Pistol looked to shoot very well after some elevation and windage adjust. Out of the box the sights were full low and to the right.
The famous MB 180 pug load really shined with some good grouping from one hand 10 yd. shooting. So out of target plates I just made a black circle on the board and tried one handed double action shooting with 7 rounds and moved up to 8 yds. For a second I thought I had missed that section of target board but could not believe it when I walked up to see that cluster of shots in the black!
The 180 pug load is my go to load for target and anything else! It shoots well and doesn't hurt the hand which by the way is the one with sore finger joint. Think this is going to be a great 3 inch carry piece when you want a 357 shooter!
The reasoning my only pair of 357 DA shooters are from 1977 with a lot of use being the SW Model 66 and a Ruger Police Service 6 so when I saw that
beefy 357 L frame 686 with 7 holes I had to have it!
Fit and finish really nice with a tight .004 cylinder to barrel gap and just enough cylinder play to rotate no end shake. The chamber throats were on the tight side for a cast .358 bullet so a bit of honing with 320 grit got them to .3585 perfect for either cast or JHP bullets.
Off to the range this morning with a variety of ammo and the 158 gr. MB RNFP bullet loaded in 38 Special brass with 5.6 Power Pistol looked to shoot very well after some elevation and windage adjust. Out of the box the sights were full low and to the right.
The famous MB 180 pug load really shined with some good grouping from one hand 10 yd. shooting. So out of target plates I just made a black circle on the board and tried one handed double action shooting with 7 rounds and moved up to 8 yds. For a second I thought I had missed that section of target board but could not believe it when I walked up to see that cluster of shots in the black!
The 180 pug load is my go to load for target and anything else! It shoots well and doesn't hurt the hand which by the way is the one with sore finger joint. Think this is going to be a great 3 inch carry piece when you want a 357 shooter!
