Smith & Wesson's M686-6 SSR Pro Part II

A week of walking around in the woods with the Smith and Wesson Model 686 SSR and I came to the brilliant conclusion that pressing it into trail gun duty would offer the most shooting opportunities. So there I went, up and down hills, putting tree stumps and pine cones, near and far, out of their collective miseries. You don’t even want to know about the giant fungus massacres. Unfortunately, I was not set upon by an angry bear, a rabid fox or malcontent moose, so nothing there to report.

Compact and narrow, the S&W hugged my hip and did not cause my pants to fall down. A big plus and not one to be taken for granted. To me, a perfect trail gun does not get in the way or keep reminding you that it is there by rubbing at your side or tugging at your belt. Pulled from a holster in a high grip, the Model 686 fills the hand, conforms easily to a two handed hold, and the sights settle quickly on a target. Muzzle jump is not major and recovery for follow on shots is minimal.

Most of my shooting was done with hard cast 158 grain handloads; 9.5 grains of Power Pistol, small pistol primer and R-P brass, which were good for 1259 fps through the Smith and Wesson’s 4″ barrel. That is about where Power Pistol ran out of steam and began bumping pressure too high for my taste, so I switched to Hodgdon’s Lil’ Gun and Winchester 296 and worked up some new handloads for both the 158 grain and 190 grain cast bullets. Either will hole punch a deer or hog, or break heavy bone. There is higher velocity rated cast bullet ammo available from Buffalo Bore and Grizzly in similar weights, however, the handloads cost about 80% less than that factory ammo.

Two for the trail or hunting

Bullet	Manufacturer Recommended Application	Bullet Type	Weight Grains	Bullet Length”	COL”
Acme Hard Cast	Self Defense &Hunting	SWC	158	0.715	1.600
Hunter’s Supply – Hard Cast	Hunting	FP	190	0.756	1.600

There seems to be a common misperceptions regarding the 190 grain Hunters Supply bullet, with some folks thinking the bullet is made for the 35 Remington or 35 Whelen centerfire rifle cartridge. Hunters Supply lists the bullet for 38/357 application at 0.357″ diameter and 35 Remington and 35 Whelen at 0.358″ and the 357 Magnum case has more than sufficient capacity to handle this weight.

Both handloads loads exceed SAAMI maximum cartridge overall length, but easily clear the Smith & Wesson Model 686’s cylinder face. The measured length from breech face to cylinder face is 1.700″. Typically, magnum small pistol primers would be used with both powder types, but standard small pistol primers were used, producing reliable ignition and very uniform shot to shot velocity.

Warning:Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These are maximum loads in my firearms and may easily be excessive in others. All loads should be reduced by 5%,  and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.   Cartridge: 357 Mag  Firearm: S&W Model 686 SSR  COL: 1.405″ – 1.590″  Bullet Diameter:  0.3590″ +0.0000″/-0.0030″ (Lead)  0.3580″ +0.0000″/-0.0030″ (Jacketed)  Primer: CCI 500  Barrel: 4.00″  Reloading Dies: Lee Precision  Max case length: 1.290″ +0.0000″/-0.0200″

COL and Capacity   Load Data & Performance Bullet Type Bullet Weight C.O.L. Inches Case Grains Water   Powder Charge Grains Muzzle Velocity FPS Muzzle Energy Ft-Lbs 5 Shot Group ” 25 Yards Acme Hard Cast 158 1.600 15.3 Lil’ Gun 15.5 1307 599 2.0 Acme Hard Cast 158 1.600 15.3 Win 296 16.0 1282 577 2.4 Hunters Supply FP357 190 1.600 4.4   Lil’ Gun 14.4 1241 650 2.2 Hunters Supply FP357 190 1.600 14.4   Win 296 14.4 1175 583 2.5 Groups shot from a well supported sand bag rest.

Neither load resulted in noticeable leading at these velocities, no pulled bullets and no malfunctions. The 190 grain did produce noticeably greater muzzle rise and recoil, but neither handload  was at a level that would be deemed objectionable. Which to choose for a deer or hog hunt?

As can be seen below, the 190 grain load generate a bit more power and the 158 grain does not shoot substantially flatter. However, I think the significant factor is in momentum which is a good indication of penetration. Neither are expanding bullets and rely on penetration for killing power and penetration becomes significantly important when we accept that deer don’t always present themselves in silhouette for an ideal shot.

190 Grain 122 Yards Point Blank +3 Ordinate
Yards	0	50	100	150	200	250	300
Velocity – fps	1241	1147	1073	1015	969	930	895
Energy – ft.-lbs.	650	555	486	435	396	365	338
Momentum – lbs-sec	1.04	0.96	0.90	0.85	0.81	0.78	0.75
Path – in.	-1.5	2.8	0.6	-9.3	-27.5	-55.0	-92.5
Time of flight – sec.	0.0	0.1	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.7	0.9