Stuff That Works — S&W 686 .357 Magnum

My S&W 686 .357 Magnum and its little brother in .22 LR.

I’m a rifleman and a shotgunner by preference. If I had a pile of money, I’d have a fine collection of both. I’ve never felt that way about handguns. But a fella ought to be competent with all three guns, so I do a fair bit of work with my revolvers.

Yep, revolvers. Supposedly obsolete in a world of polymer-framed, high-capacity 9mm and .40 caliber wonderguns. Maybe. I’ll concede that carrying 15 or 17 rounds in a pistol can have its advantages, and changing magazines is quicker and easier than charging a revolver with a speedloader.

Do I need two-dozen rounds for self-defense? Probably not. Jeez, I hope not.

I’ll stick with my Smith & Wesson Model 686, 4-inch barrel .357 magnum loaded with 158-grain semi-wadcutters. Yeah, it’s got limited capacity, it’s heavy and it’s not readily concealable. But it hits hard. And it’s the pistol I’ve got. That and its little brother, a .22 caliber Model 617. Picked up that .22 for a great price, and it’s a lot cheaper to shoot than the .357.

My then-boss gave me that 686 when I took on the news editor’s position at my newspaper, more years ago than I like to think about. Cool boss, eh? Him, he’s a BMW-driving, German engineering kinda guy, so he shoots a Sig Sauer P228 .40 cal. and its .22 twin. I really like the Sig, always have. Wouldn’t mind having one.

But if I’m gonna spend close to $1k on a firearm, I’m gonna by a CZ 550 FS rifle.

So I’ll stick with the one I’ve got — it’s Stuff That Works.