The Colt Python and the Smith & Wesson 686 are two mid-sized .357 Magnum revolvers which have competed with each other on and off for many years. Whereas I’ve lengthy been a fan of Smith & Wesson revolvers, Colt’s reintroduction of the Python in 2020 made me curious as to how the fashionable iterations of every revolver stack up. Just lately the celebrities aligned, and I’ve each the brand new Python and 686+ in stock. Though I anticipated a day and evening comparability between the 2, capturing them each aspect by aspect gave me a extra evenhanded image. However there are authentic causes to desire one over one other.
Colt Python and S&W 686+: The Background
Popping out of World Struggle II, Colt and Smith & Wesson competed for legislation enforcement contracts. The Nineteen Fifties noticed an rising motorization of the American public and the extra highly effective .357 Magnum cartridge was beginning to achieve steam over the archetypical revolvers chambered in .38 Particular that extra usually rode in police holsters.
Colt produced just one .357 Magnum revolver on the time—the Colt .357 Magnum. Submit-war, Colt sought to go up market by taking their Officer’s Match revolver and beefing it out for the magnum spherical. The Colt Python that debuted in 1955 was a totally totally different animal. This hand-fitted six-shooter featured adjustable sights, a completely beneath lugged barrel for recoil management and the distinctive vent rib sighting airplane. Regardless of its value, it was properly acquired.
Smith & Wesson, as much as that time, had been extra proactive on the magnum entrance. Their Registered Magnum, or Mannequin 27, had been in manufacturing since 1935. That revolver, the simplified Freeway Patrolman or Mannequin 28, have been joined by smaller Okay-frame weapons like the longer term Mannequin 19.
Revolvers just like the Mannequin 19 and the later Mannequin 13 and Mannequin 65 turned legislation enforcement staples. Though straightforward to hold, these revolvers have been largely unchanged from the unique .38 Particular M&P on which the Okay-frame is predicated. Regular diets of magnum ammo tended to wreck forcing cones over time. To reply the demand for a revolver that would deal with magnum masses full-time, Smith & Wesson made the Okay-frame cylinder body. They made that cylinder taller and beefed up each the barrel and forcing cone. In 1981, the Smith & Wesson 686 made its debut.
Within the mid Nineteen Nineties, the primary Smith & Wesson 686+ fashions hit the market. These are seven-shot, moderately than six-shot revolvers. Though the usual 4-inch 686 and 686 Efficiency Middle fashions are nonetheless made and have six-shot cylinders, most 686 fashions on the market now are Plus fashions.
Whereas the 686 has been in steady manufacturing, Colt scaled down Python manufacturing till lastly terminating the mannequin in 2004. However in 2020, the mannequin was reintroduced by well-liked demand.
Fast Specs:
Colt Python S&W 686+
Caliber: .357 Magnum .357 Magnum
Capability: 6 7
Barrel Size: 2.5 inches 2.5 inches
General Size: 7.5 inches 7.5 inches
Top: 5.13 inches 5.75 inches
Width: 1.45 inches 1.55 inches
Weight: 2 lbs. 2 oz. 2 lbs. 2.7 oz.
Colt Python vs. 686+: An Up-Shut Look
The 2020 Colt Python and 686+ can be found in various configurations and barrel lengths. On this explicit case, the fashions I’ve are the snubnose 2.5-inch configuration.
The Smith & Wesson 686+ is an all stainless-steel revolver. It’s classed as an L-frame revolver, though this merely signifies the taller body and bolstered barrel, however the grip body is all round-butt Okay-frame. The revolver ships with Hogue over-molded rubber grips and has a seven-shot fluted cylinder. Though this can be a snubnose variant, it options the identical full beneath lugged barrel and the identical sights—an adjustable sq. notch rear and a pinned red-ramped entrance.
It’s a double-action/single-action revolver, that has an uncovered hammer that may be thumb cocked for a lighter set off pull. Alternatively, the revolver could be fired by pulling the set off throughout. In contrast to a few of Smith & Wesson’s smaller revolvers, the 686+ makes use of a leaf mainspring, which interprets to a smoother and extra predictable set off pull. On my Lyman scale, this revolver’s set off breaks at 3 lbs., 12 oz. in single motion and eight lbs., 2 oz. in double motion. Characteristically, the set off pull in double motion begins off mild and will get heavier, earlier than getting lighter earlier than the sudden break.
When it comes to controls, the 686+ has a push-forward cylinder launch and a brief ejector rod to match its shorter barrel. This new manufacturing Smith & Wesson contains a head-shaking keylock security you can select to make use of or disuse.
The 2020 Colt Python debuted as a elegant chrome steel revolver fitted with service-style checkered wooden grips. Now, a matte model with rubber grips is out there. In 2024, the primary blued Pythons rolled off the meeting line. Just like the 686+, it is available in various barrel lengths from 2.5 inches to eight inches.
Though it’s a snubnose, my Python retains the total underlugged barrel that the later 686 mimicked. It additionally has the identical distinctive vent rib and goal crown. Mine is polished stainless with service grips. It contains a pinned red-ramped entrance sight and an adjustable-notch rear, though the setup is totally different than on the 686. The rear sight on the Smith is longer and the sighting plain is milled to chop down on glare, whereas the Colt is just not. The Colt has a thinner entrance sight and a cylinder that’s 1/8 inch shorter and barely leaner than the Smith.
Just like the 686, it comes from the manufacturing unit as a double-action/single-action revolver, though the Python’s hammer is each longer and wider. It makes use of a serrated set off, a relic of older revolver designs that prioritized good single-action capturing. The Colt’s set off pull measures 5 lbs., 8 oz. in double motion and stacks to its heaviest earlier than the break. In single motion, there is no such thing as a set off journey, however the closing break comes at 5 lbs. 2 oz. That is possible due to how Colt revolvers lock up. The hand continues to work and the cylinder bolt pops in place when the set off breaks. The Smith & Wesson locks up earlier than that closing break.
The Colt retained the clam-shaped cylinder launch that should be pulled again, as an alternative of pushed ahead. This snubnose Python has a thinner ejector rod than the 686, however it’s nonetheless quick to enhance the barrel.
Taking pictures Impressions: How Do They Stack Up?
I fired the Smith & Wesson 686+ and Colt Python via a number of capturing classes and in the beginning I believed the 686 would come out forward. In any case, I used to be used to Smith & Wesson revolvers and their triggers. Though there are actually fashions of the Python that function rubber grips, most variations of the Smith & Wesson 686 even have the benefit of coming with bigger Hogue shares from the manufacturing unit. Thus, I anticipated the Smith to be simpler to deal with and extra correct. However the Python proved to be a shock.
In timed drills, the Python stored up when it comes to accuracy and price of fireside when peppering bullseyes at 7 yards in double motion when utilizing .38 Particular ammunition. Recoil between these two all-stainless metal weapons was gentle, though there was some blast from their shorter barrels.
The story modified considerably when capturing full-bore .357 Magnum ammunition together with Federal 158-grain Hydrashocks and Remington 125-grain HTP masses. I discovered that the naked metallic backstrap on the Python allowed for my hand to slide, requiring me to regulate my arms. However the shelf on the prime of the grip prevented me from shedding management of the revolver. Between the 2, accuracy on the identical distance was the identical between the 2.
I prolonged the vary out to 25 yards on some 8-inch metal plates. Whereas I had a better time working the set off on the Smith and making hits, the broader entrance sight on the Colt allowed me to extra shortly reacquire my aiming level.
Different Issues
Taking pictures the Smith & Wesson 686+ and Colt Python was a wash, however there are variations between every revolver that aren’t all the time apparent when on the vary. From a carry perspective, the 686+’s marginally bigger cylinder could make it more durable to hold, notably in an IWB holster. It’s also a number of ounces heavier, which can make it simpler for some to shoot however more durable to hold.
The Python’s single-action set off pull is crisp, however almost as heavy as its double-action pull, whereas the Smith will get heavier however ends its journey lighter. However, for those who desire to shoot in single motion, the Smith’s hammer is smaller and requires an extended attain for the thumb. The 686+ has the benefit of getting a seventh spherical, however the Achilles’ heel is fewer velocity loading choices.
On the planet of revolvers, HKS and Safariland makes essentially the most strong velocity loaders. The HKS requires a twist to launch the rounds, whereas the Safariland, which I desire, requires pushing the bottom towards the cylinder to perform the reload. Each firms make a loader for the Python, however Safariland solely makes a loader for the six-shot 686.
Internally, each fashions have departed from their unique iterations. The 686+ has various metallic injection molded components together with the set off and hammer. The Colt’s design is improved over the unique with a thicker prime strap and an extended cylinder pawl to stop untimely put on to the hand, which brought about timing points on the previous fashions. On the within, the Colt is solid and milled, though the stirrup is a forged metal piece.
The Backside Line
If you’re a mid-sized .357 Magnum, the Colt Python and the Smith & Wesson 686+ are two choices you might be assured to look over. It’s a rivalry that has been performed out for many years, though the most recent fashions are considerably totally different animals than what they have been traditionally. The 686 has a deserved status as a workhorse, however that doesn’t make the Colt inferior as a shooter. In actual fact, the brand new Python is a extra sturdy handgun than its predecessors. Between the 2, I favored the 686’s set off however little else as I discovered the Python’s controls, grip and measurement to be completely proportioned in what I imagine a mid-sized revolver needs to be, whereas the 686 comes throughout as just a bit too cumbersome. Naturally, that is one individual’s opinion and a pattern measurement of 1 Colt and one Smith. However how they examine when it comes to options and on the vary is value a structure so you possibly can choose one—for those who can’t choose two.
