Smith & Wesson 585/686 Reviews

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Good Points: Solid engineering & high quality finish

Bad Points: No trigger Adjustment.
No external safety.

General comments: This is a working half calibre replica of a piece of film industry shooting history. An all metal working parts copy of the "Dirty Harry" Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum authorised by the original manufacturers.
The gun is actually made by Umarex and as I have no idea their usual build quality I can not pass comment on that.
What I do know is that this particular model oozes quality. I got the basic model with the 8 inch barrel and I was delighted to receive a package consisting of a rather garish blue plastic case with the Smith & Wesson logo emblazoned in white on the front of the case, but inside, Oh Boy. Nestling in a good density foam was the gun, two alternative foresights, a barrel changing tool and a cleaning brush all in their own cut outs and held securely.
Remember this is the Basic kit. The case also has the cut outs for various other items from the more expensive kits but you have to look hard to find them as the foam cut outs have not been removed and they are all tight fits. You get space for a tin of pellets, four gas cartridges, various scope attachments and even a block that lifts out to allow the gun to be stowed with a scope/laser/red dot still in place.
Now the gun itself, solid and hefty. I opted for the 8 inch barrel since this will give the maximum power but the balance is accepted as not being as good as the 6 inch barrel. Power output is not given, only a muzzle velocity of 393ft/sec which is not a lot of use since no pellet type or weight is given. If this is with "H&N Rabbit Magnums" the muzzle power will be 5.78 foot pounds but if it is with "Prometheus Truncated" this is only 1.92 foot pounds, that's quite a difference and I am going to have to invest in a chrono to check it out and I suspect it will be nearer the middle ground.
The gun is accurate and I find the trigger action reasonable in both single and double action with the usual aiming penalty for using double action. This is just as well since there is no trigger pull adjustment.
The trigger has a good shape for me (Stubby fingers) and the synthetic rubber grip feels right and fits my hand well so I do not notice the extra barrel length too much.
The overall finish is shiny black (I would have preferred blued but that's minor) and, joy of joy, the magazine is metal. Apparently this is fine for me but they don't do a nickel plated version so it looks a bit odd on the nickel plated gun.
Now the fun bit, shooting to sight in was simple but long winded since I only adjusted a notch at a time. Then again I was in no hurry since I was enjoying myself and I wanted to see how many shots I got per cylinder. The answer is 50+, but dump the cylinder after 50 as performance drops off rapidly. Accuracy is, as always, at the mercy of the shooter and I have no bench rest facility so any poor results are mine and not the gun. I say this because the best group I managed was 5 in a half inch at 5 metres and several 1 inch at the same range. Any other groups remain on the restricted list as I want to have SOME kind of reputation as a passable shot.
Power in practical terms meant that I managed several through & through shots on two beer cans standing one behind the other (fresh cans every time from a stock of empty cans I had prepared the previous night) and I got one in at the base and out of the top. I tried to get more than two cans in a row but space prevented me even with an inch of water in them to make them stay put and I had to settle for two at a time. Another bit of preparation, I converted all our house lights to energy saving ones, meant that I had ten light bulbs mounted in holes on a strip of wood. I put these in front of a board and over a large bit of scrap plastic sheet and had the most satisfying 30 seconds of the session.
There was a gratifying sharp but not particularly loud crack as the pellets (Dynamic Triple P1 at 6.9 grains) left the muzzle with the sound going distinctly "soggy" as the CO2 ran out. Recoil is negligible but there is a slight tremor as the hammer drops to actuate the gas valve to launch the pellet. I believe this is common to all rotating magazine guns which actuate the CO2 by dropping the hammer to provide a passing contact on the valve. The weight of the gun helps a lot as it absorbs most of the impact, The weight causes its own problems in holding the gun but since this is a known factor when you consider buying it don't blame the gun.
The safety catch is billed as "internal automatic" and what this means is that a bar inside the gun prevents the CO2 valve being operated if the gun is jarred or dropped. Good as far as it goes but it means that a loaded gun will fire any time the trigger is pulled so use more caution than normal.
A word about pellets. I have an objection to leaving loads of lead in the environment so I use the Dynamic pellets and it is a bonus that they are accurate and fly well. I have also found that short of standing on them they are highly damage resistant. Yes they cost more but you get what you pay for, quality.
All told I am delighted with the gun.