Smith 686 vs. Smith Night Guard 386

[insin]

I am looking at these two revolvers, the Smith 686 and Night Guard 386. Besides the obvious SS vs Metal Alloy, which would you recommend?

[savasyn]

for what purpose? The 686 is heavier so it'll tame recoil better and possibly hold up longer. I've heard the NGs in general shoot great but transfer a lot of recoil into your hands.

If you are looking for a range toy or competition gun, the 686 is great. If you are going to carry, the 386 would be better

[maxicon]

Yeah, usage is everything here.

The Night Guard won't be much fun to shoot a lot, even with .38s, while a 686 is probably the best shooting .357 revolver you can get for under $1000.

A 686 is way too big and heavy for most people to carry, but I consider a 4" 686 to be a nearly perfect nightstand revolver, while I prefer 6" for a range gun.

For fun shooting at the range, home defense, and just about anything except carry, the 686 wins. If carry's the goal, it's the 386, hands down.

[insin]

I was thinking more along the lines of having an alternative home gun. After handling the 686 (although it was the 6" version) I knew right away that concealed carry would be challenging with it. The 386NG might be lighter, therefore possible carry would be more comfortable, but that's about it. Consecutive or long strings of shooting with the 386NG could become annoying.

Maybe its just the color and design of the 386NG that makes it interesting.

Thanks

[jyo]

Two very different revolvers for two very different purposes---if you want a real nice revolver for general shooting/hunting/outdoorsmen gun get the 686---for around the house self defense the 386 would be better---just get both!

[Gryff]

I'd only recommend the 386NG if you are definitely going to carry it. Otherwise, the 686 is the better gun.

[QuarterBoreGunner]

I'm going to be putting a 386 on my CCW here in December when I re-qual, so I've been shooting it a lot lately...and yeah, with .38s it's a just fine, even 158grn +Ps. But full house .357s are a hand full. The Pachy grip really helps, but it's still not exactly fun.