Smith & Wesson makes many different variations on its five basic revolver frames. This situation was not always so. For many years, each model was made in two or three barrel lengths, and that was about it. Things have evolved to the point that the grand old Yankee gunmaker wants to satisfy everyone. But it costs money to design, tool up, produce, stock, promote and sell odd guns like an 8 3/8-inch J-frame in .32 S&W.

To satisfy the need for small runs of special-feature handguns, Smith & Wesson developed the Stocking Dealer program. With this arrangement, dealers who are willing to stock a certain level of S&W regular-production handguns have exclusive access to small runs of special guns for which the factory feels there is a definite demand.

Invariably, the Stocking Dealer specials sell quite well, and everyone ends up happy. And if the demand exceeds the supply, well, they just make more. It is clever marketing and ends up providing shooters with great handguns, like the one at hand.

So let's look at a Model 686+ .357 Magnum with a seven-shot cylinder and a 5-inch barrel of unique shape. The revolver is all stainless steel and has most of the contours and features of the regular-production L-frame .357 Magnum revolvers in 2 1/2-, 4- and 6-inch barrel lengths.

Certain features differ, which adds a little spice to the mix. For one thing, the grips that the factory installs on this L-frame's round butt are Ahrends smooth cocobolo. With pronounced finger grooves, the design roughly approximates the shape of the old square-butt target grips. It's a good, hand-filling design that has a slight outward flare at the lower rear corner. That's a good thing because it creates a bearing surface for the heel of the hand to help keep the muzzle up.

The gun also sports a set of sights that S&W has been using a lot lately. The rear sight is a plain black "V" notch, and the front is a Hi-Viz fiber optic pipe. In use, the shooter picks up a bright-red dot that he aligns in the small V notch. It is quick to use and still provides adequate alignment for precise shooting.

However, the main difference in this special revolver is its barrel. To understand why S&W used the different contour and length, I have to spend a little time talking about S&W revolver barrels in general. Before WWII, all of the company's barrels had the same shape. It was a graceful taper beginning just forward of the barrel's junction with the frame. Some of the N-frames had the short underlug that protected the ejector rod, and the 1930s-vintage .357s have a slim sighting rib atop the barrel. The basic shape was that slim, classic taper.

As the company modernized the line in the immediate postwar era, a slightly different barrel shape was used on some models. To add recoil-taming weight to the mighty .44 Magnum, S&W developed a barrel with the same short underlug and a much wider sighting rib. The basic shape was a straight-tapered heavy barrel. It was used on the .41 and .44 Magnums, the 1955 .45 Target, the K-frame Combat Magnum and a few others.

When the L-frame revolvers came along in the 1980s, Smith & Wesson responded to the then-current demand for a more muzzle-heavy gun for police service. All early L-frames have a heavier barrel with a so-called "full" underlug that runs all the way to the muzzle. This style began with the Colt Python revolver and became very popular on L- and N-frame S&Ws. It was briefly used on the K-frame Model 14.

SHOOTING RESULTS
S&W Model 686+ Revolver .357 Magnum
FACTORY LOAD	AVERAGE VELOCITY (fps)	STANDARD DEVIATION (fps)	GROUP SIZE (ins.)
Remington 125-gr. Golden Saber	1,334	16	1.47
PMC 150-gr. JHP	1,211	36	1.68
Black Hills 158-gr. JHP	1,119	25	2.00
Winchester 158-gr. JHP	1,300	15	1.57
Remington 165-gr. Core-Lokt JHP	1,255	20	2.94
Pro Load 180-gr. FPJ	1,046	32	2.85
Remington 180-gr. SJHP	1,188	16	1.83
Federal 180-gr. Hi-Shok JHP	1,137	18	1.15
Winchester 180-gr. Partition Gold JHP	1,093	35	1.51
Notes: Accuracy results based on a 14-shot group fired with the revolver mounted in a Ransom Rest. Velocities measured with an Oehler Model 35 chronograph with sky screens placed approximately 12 feet from the muzzle.

In my opinion (and it's only an opinion), there is no real need for the full underlug on any S&W barrel longer than four inches. It makes any of them muzzle-heavy beyond any practical need. The barrel of this Stocking Dealer special is 5 inches long and has a contour much like that of the Model 19s and 66s. The ejector-rod-protecting underlug (or shroud) is short, and the barrel still has the typical L-frame contour. It is a step back to a classic of yesteryear; it looks great and handles even better.

The barrel is five inches long because there was a demand for that length. The origin of the demand is a little harder to pin down. Part of the demand probably originates as a matter of nostalgia. Five-inch N-frames have always been popular with high-volume shooters.

That interest appears to have carried over to the L-frame, which was, after all, the frame designed by S&W specifically for the .357 cartridge. However, I can't help but believe that the main reason is utter practicality. Longer-barrel guns get more from the ammunition and provide a greater sight radius. Shorter-barrel guns are easier to use and get entirely adequate performance from the ammunition. The typical long barrel is 6 inches, and the most common short barrel is 4, so a 5-inch drops right into the middle.

SPECIFICATIONS
MAKER:	S&W
CALIBER:	.357 Magnum
ACTION TYPE:	Double-action Revolver
BARREL LENGTH:	5 inches
OVERALL LENGTH:	10 3/8 inches
HAMMER:	Target
GRIPS:	Round-butt Ahrends cocobolo with finger grooves
TRIGGER:	Smooth Target
SIGHTS:	Hi-Viz front, adj. black V-notch rear
FINISH:	Satin Stainless
WEIGHT:	40.5 ounces

All analysis aside, the 686+ 5-inch is a fine, strong, modern revolver that balances and handles very well. That seven-shot cylinder is a big improvement in a couple of ways. First, the odd number of chambers has the beneficial effect of positioning bolt-stop notches between chambers for greater strength rather than over chambers, where they are weakest. Second, when compared to a six-shot, the 686 seven-shooter has a 16 percent increase in firepower. That gives you, to coin a phrase, "three pair and one spare." It works, and it makes sense.

For my shooting test I used a Ransom Rest and a variety of typical ammo. The tabulated results are nearby and are nothing less than spectacular. This shiny seven-shooter averaged 1.88 inches for 14 shots (twice around the cylinder) with nine different loads at 25 yards. Best group was a nifty little cluster of 13 rounds in one hole, flawed only by a 14th round that crept a fraction of an inch away from the others. It still measured 1.15 inches.

This is one of those unusual guns that come along once in awhile and just strike you as perfect. I haven't completely made up my mind about the sights, although I will concede that they seem to work quite well. I may change it over to "geezer sights"--a 1/10-inch front post and wide rear--but that's a matter of personal preference. As it comes from the box, about the only possible improvement would have to be a return to the short-lug, classic-taper barrel contour. Who knows? That might happen.