Best in class: REVOLVERS
Smith & Wesson 686 Plus
.357 Magnum 164194, $790
Reviewed: March 2007
The 686 Plus is more expensive than many of its competitors, but it also carries an extra round, and the action was very good. The Ruger GP100 may make magnum rounds easier to handle, but based on accuracy alone the 686 Plus might have landed on top in our previous test.
The Smith & Wesson catalog describes the seven-shot Model 686 Plus 164194 as having a full underlug that enclosed the ejector rod and added recoil-opposing weight beneath the barrel. It had a ramped front sight with orange-colored insert and a rear sight that was adjustable for windage and elevation. It had a flat-faced hammer and frame-mounted firing pin, finger-grooved grips, and counter-clockwise rotation of the cylinder.
Our session with the seven-shot Smith & Wesson 686 Plus was uneventful. We loaded it, we fired it. Whatever adjustment to the sights was necessary was completed quickly and easily with a single screwdriver.
The single-action trigger was heavier than we like, but before we knew it, the shot was gone. The double-action trigger was better than the action we found on the Smith & Wesson 619 in our last test. The gun was very well balanced, and despite the exposed backstrap of the rubber Hogue Monogrip the level of comfort and control was all we could ask for.
The ejector rod played a part in lockup and the ejector star was kept from turning by meshing with the outline of each chamber. This did away with the need for anchoring pins pressed into the cylinder face that can break off. The cylinder latch was contoured and taking a further cue from custom gunsmiths its surface was finely checkered for a sure grip. The sides of this stainless steel revolver were brushed in an understated manner and the top strap was treated to a matte finish to reduce glare. Originally, a sister model offered in blue steel was dubbed the 586. Today, the 586 is available as a special ported model only.
At the range we saw that the sights were sturdy and clear. The white outline on the rear sight notch wasn’t really noticeable, and not one of our staff really remembered it being there until after they had shot.
Accuracy from the bench shooting the .38 Special Black Hills 148-grain Match Wadcutter rounds was outstanding. One group barely measured an inch across. Our average group size measured 1.2 inches center to center.
The Black Hills 125-grain JHP .357 Magnum ammunition proved nearly as consistent as the light recoiling wadcutters. But the range in group size was measured to be between 1.7 inches to 2.0 inches.
Charles Daly 1873 Standard Model
.38 Special/.357 Magnum, $479
Reviewed: February 2007
The finish looked great, we thought. The bluing was very well done on nicely polished parts. The one-piece walnut grips’ dark finish was complemented by an incised and tasteful "CD" at the top. The fit of the wood to the steel was excellent. The wood was too sharp at the bottom. The cylinder had the appropriate bevels at its front end, and had the full-length, base-pin bushing insert common to early Colts. The trigger guard had the turn-of-century rounding that most of us prefer. The action was slick, the hammer feeling quite smooth.
The barrel bore the Charles Daly name and the caliber markings on its left side. Neither the barrel nor the frame had any of the usually seen Colt date stamps or address markings. The gun looked and felt like a Colt, despite the absence of the markings. However, the cylinder did not quite interchange with that of a genuine old Colt. The front sight was way too high, as we found on the range, but that’s always better than being too short. The rear notch sight picture was wide and clean, and the front sight had a flat top.
Daly offers several options, but in only two calibers, .45 LC and .38/.357 Mag. There is a stainless version with pseudo-ivory grips and with your choice of three barrel lengths, 4.8, 5.5, or 7.5 inches. There’s a brass-handled version in three lengths, but .45 only, at $450. There are three blued & case-colored versions, like our test gun, in each of 45 and .38/.357 at $479 each, and six stainless versions, each of which will set you back $630. From the images posted on the company website (www.charlesdaly.com), the brass grips do not quite have the correct contours.
One thing we didn’t much care for was the base pin. It had two notches cut into it that had to be lined up so they were in the bottom position as you pressed the base pin into the cylinder. The second notch acted as a firing pin block, and that’s fine, but getting either notch in the right spot was a nasty trick. We prefer the original Colt system, which had a groove machined into the base pin so all you had to do was slide it back until it stopped against the frame, and the catch would then lock easily into place.
On the range we found the Daly printed well enough, groups being 1.5 to 2 inches, but it shot about six inches low with everything. The light-bullet .357 loads printed even lower, though the 130-grain SXT Winchester ammo shot to about the same point as the cowboy loads. The blowby and blast seemed to be tolerable with .357 ammo in this gun. We tried one heavy-bullet Buffalo Bore .38 round and it shot much closer to the aim point than anything else. The fix here is to know what ammo you’re going to use, and then file the front sight so your load hits where you want. The gun also printed about 2 inches right, something you’d have to live with.
We thought the Daly was a pleasant option for the cowboy-action shooter or anyone looking for a fun gun that gives a taste of the old West. It was well made, looked good, and would probably last a long time. The front sight needs filing, but most cowboy guns have that problem. It had an excellent trigger, with no creep and a break at 3.3 pounds.
Ruger Redhawk KRH-444, $780
Reviewed: September 2007
If there is any comparison to be drawn between these revolvers and the world of semi-automatic pistols, it is perhaps the appeal of the big bullet. The small-bore high-capacity frenzy seems to have abated, and now it seems that every manufacturer is making a 45-caliber pistol. With the release of more .44s, revolver makers may also be saying when capacity is limited, why not chamber a larger caliber?
Ruger’s stout-looking 4-inch Redhawk cut a profile of classic lines unique to its manufacturer. Only available in stainless steel, the KRH-444 employed a brushed finish. The boxy frame featured a push-button cylinder latch, broad top strap, and a fully adjustable rear sight fixed by a short stem pinned into place.
The ramped front sight was a separate unit also pinned into place. It was black with a plastic orange-colored insert. The front of the unit was beveled for easier holstering, and except for the insert, the edges were lined to reduce glare. We didn’t experience quite as much glare from the insert as we did with the Smith & Wesson, most likely because the ramp was cut at a steeper angle.
The barrel carried just enough underlug to shroud the ejector rod, and the grooved flat top of the barrel was most pronounced. The cylinder offered two lockup points by way of pressure at the rear of the ejector rod and a detent latch located on the crane that interlocked with the frame just below the shroud for the ejector rod. The tip of the ejector rod does not play a part in lockup, and it was not screwed into place. It couldn’t back out and make cylinder release difficult. The timing lugs were cut deeply into the fluted cylinder, and the cylinder stop was tall and heavily sprung. There was no provision for an internal lock.
Ruger has recently begun offering Hogue grips with its Redhawks. Our revolver came with Hogue’s Bantam grip in place. This is the first time we have seen this grip on a large revolver, and it worked very well. The Bantam helps shorten the gun by leaving the back of the grip frame completely exposed. Shock absorption was addressed by evenly filling the hand with a bulbous profile. Given the Ruger was the heaviest gun in our test by about 7 ounces, we still would credit the Bantam grip with making the Ruger the most comfortable of our test guns to shoot. The Bantam was a slip-on grip that required a supplied tool to pry it from the frame. Underneath the grip we saw the mainspring action was supplied by a combination of a lever and a coil spring. Nevertheless, the double-action trigger was predictable and smooth. The shooter had plenty of feedback by way of telltale clicking and cylinder rotation. The Redhawk was the easiest gun to shoot accurately in our double-action repeat-fire tests.
From the bench the Federal Fusion ammunition in combination with the Redhawk produced the best overall performance. Velocity was about 70 fps less than the 629, but our best five-shot group measured 1 inch across. Groups produced firing the American Eagle ammunition were about the same as other guns, with a deficit in average velocity of about 40 fps. Accuracy firing our choices of .44 Special ammunition had groups measuring 3 inches across and more.
The 4-inch Redhawk shows how strength and consistency can pay off when properly downsized. The Ruger might prove too heavy for some to carry around on the hip, but it was small enough to be stowed handily in a drawer or other compartment.
The Redhawk KRH-444 was our top choice for all around performance.
Smith & Wesson 686 Plus
.357 Magnum 164194, $790
Reviewed: March 2007
The 686 Plus is more expensive than many of its competitors, but it also carries an extra round, and the action was very good. The Ruger GP100 may make magnum rounds easier to handle, but based on accuracy alone the 686 Plus might have landed on top in our previous test.
The Smith & Wesson catalog describes the seven-shot Model 686 Plus 164194 as having a full underlug that enclosed the ejector rod and added recoil-opposing weight beneath the barrel. It had a ramped front sight with orange-colored insert and a rear sight that was adjustable for windage and elevation. It had a flat-faced hammer and frame-mounted firing pin, finger-grooved grips, and counter-clockwise rotation of the cylinder.
Our session with the seven-shot Smith & Wesson 686 Plus was uneventful. We loaded it, we fired it. Whatever adjustment to the sights was necessary was completed quickly and easily with a single screwdriver.
The single-action trigger was heavier than we like, but before we knew it, the shot was gone. The double-action trigger was better than the action we found on the Smith & Wesson 619 in our last test. The gun was very well balanced, and despite the exposed backstrap of the rubber Hogue Monogrip the level of comfort and control was all we could ask for.
The ejector rod played a part in lockup and the ejector star was kept from turning by meshing with the outline of each chamber. This did away with the need for anchoring pins pressed into the cylinder face that can break off. The cylinder latch was contoured and taking a further cue from custom gunsmiths its surface was finely checkered for a sure grip. The sides of this stainless steel revolver were brushed in an understated manner and the top strap was treated to a matte finish to reduce glare. Originally, a sister model offered in blue steel was dubbed the 586. Today, the 586 is available as a special ported model only.
At the range we saw that the sights were sturdy and clear. The white outline on the rear sight notch wasn’t really noticeable, and not one of our staff really remembered it being there until after they had shot.
Accuracy from the bench shooting the .38 Special Black Hills 148-grain Match Wadcutter rounds was outstanding. One group barely measured an inch across. Our average group size measured 1.2 inches center to center.
The Black Hills 125-grain JHP .357 Magnum ammunition proved nearly as consistent as the light recoiling wadcutters. But the range in group size was measured to be between 1.7 inches to 2.0 inches.
Charles Daly 1873 Standard Model
.38 Special/.357 Magnum, $479
Reviewed: February 2007
The finish looked great, we thought. The bluing was very well done on nicely polished parts. The one-piece walnut grips’ dark finish was complemented by an incised and tasteful "CD" at the top. The fit of the wood to the steel was excellent. The wood was too sharp at the bottom. The cylinder had the appropriate bevels at its front end, and had the full-length, base-pin bushing insert common to early Colts. The trigger guard had the turn-of-century rounding that most of us prefer. The action was slick, the hammer feeling quite smooth.
The barrel bore the Charles Daly name and the caliber markings on its left side. Neither the barrel nor the frame had any of the usually seen Colt date stamps or address markings. The gun looked and felt like a Colt, despite the absence of the markings. However, the cylinder did not quite interchange with that of a genuine old Colt. The front sight was way too high, as we found on the range, but that’s always better than being too short. The rear notch sight picture was wide and clean, and the front sight had a flat top.
Daly offers several options, but in only two calibers, .45 LC and .38/.357 Mag. There is a stainless version with pseudo-ivory grips and with your choice of three barrel lengths, 4.8, 5.5, or 7.5 inches. There’s a brass-handled version in three lengths, but .45 only, at $450. There are three blued & case-colored versions, like our test gun, in each of 45 and .38/.357 at $479 each, and six stainless versions, each of which will set you back $630. From the images posted on the company website (www.charlesdaly.com), the brass grips do not quite have the correct contours.
One thing we didn’t much care for was the base pin. It had two notches cut into it that had to be lined up so they were in the bottom position as you pressed the base pin into the cylinder. The second notch acted as a firing pin block, and that’s fine, but getting either notch in the right spot was a nasty trick. We prefer the original Colt system, which had a groove machined into the base pin so all you had to do was slide it back until it stopped against the frame, and the catch would then lock easily into place.
On the range we found the Daly printed well enough, groups being 1.5 to 2 inches, but it shot about six inches low with everything. The light-bullet .357 loads printed even lower, though the 130-grain SXT Winchester ammo shot to about the same point as the cowboy loads. The blowby and blast seemed to be tolerable with .357 ammo in this gun. We tried one heavy-bullet Buffalo Bore .38 round and it shot much closer to the aim point than anything else. The fix here is to know what ammo you’re going to use, and then file the front sight so your load hits where you want. The gun also printed about 2 inches right, something you’d have to live with.
We thought the Daly was a pleasant option for the cowboy-action shooter or anyone looking for a fun gun that gives a taste of the old West. It was well made, looked good, and would probably last a long time. The front sight needs filing, but most cowboy guns have that problem. It had an excellent trigger, with no creep and a break at 3.3 pounds.
Ruger Redhawk KRH-444, $780
Reviewed: September 2007
If there is any comparison to be drawn between these revolvers and the world of semi-automatic pistols, it is perhaps the appeal of the big bullet. The small-bore high-capacity frenzy seems to have abated, and now it seems that every manufacturer is making a 45-caliber pistol. With the release of more .44s, revolver makers may also be saying when capacity is limited, why not chamber a larger caliber?
Ruger’s stout-looking 4-inch Redhawk cut a profile of classic lines unique to its manufacturer. Only available in stainless steel, the KRH-444 employed a brushed finish. The boxy frame featured a push-button cylinder latch, broad top strap, and a fully adjustable rear sight fixed by a short stem pinned into place.
The ramped front sight was a separate unit also pinned into place. It was black with a plastic orange-colored insert. The front of the unit was beveled for easier holstering, and except for the insert, the edges were lined to reduce glare. We didn’t experience quite as much glare from the insert as we did with the Smith & Wesson, most likely because the ramp was cut at a steeper angle.
The barrel carried just enough underlug to shroud the ejector rod, and the grooved flat top of the barrel was most pronounced. The cylinder offered two lockup points by way of pressure at the rear of the ejector rod and a detent latch located on the crane that interlocked with the frame just below the shroud for the ejector rod. The tip of the ejector rod does not play a part in lockup, and it was not screwed into place. It couldn’t back out and make cylinder release difficult. The timing lugs were cut deeply into the fluted cylinder, and the cylinder stop was tall and heavily sprung. There was no provision for an internal lock.
Ruger has recently begun offering Hogue grips with its Redhawks. Our revolver came with Hogue’s Bantam grip in place. This is the first time we have seen this grip on a large revolver, and it worked very well. The Bantam helps shorten the gun by leaving the back of the grip frame completely exposed. Shock absorption was addressed by evenly filling the hand with a bulbous profile. Given the Ruger was the heaviest gun in our test by about 7 ounces, we still would credit the Bantam grip with making the Ruger the most comfortable of our test guns to shoot. The Bantam was a slip-on grip that required a supplied tool to pry it from the frame. Underneath the grip we saw the mainspring action was supplied by a combination of a lever and a coil spring. Nevertheless, the double-action trigger was predictable and smooth. The shooter had plenty of feedback by way of telltale clicking and cylinder rotation. The Redhawk was the easiest gun to shoot accurately in our double-action repeat-fire tests.
From the bench the Federal Fusion ammunition in combination with the Redhawk produced the best overall performance. Velocity was about 70 fps less than the 629, but our best five-shot group measured 1 inch across. Groups produced firing the American Eagle ammunition were about the same as other guns, with a deficit in average velocity of about 40 fps. Accuracy firing our choices of .44 Special ammunition had groups measuring 3 inches across and more.
The 4-inch Redhawk shows how strength and consistency can pay off when properly downsized. The Ruger might prove too heavy for some to carry around on the hip, but it was small enough to be stowed handily in a drawer or other compartment.
The Redhawk KRH-444 was our top choice for all around performance.
