Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 686 Competitor

The Performance Center Model 686 Competitor is Smith & Wesson's factory-tuned take on the L-frame .357 Magnum revolver, built for competition and precision shooting rather than daily carry. This example wears the standard matte stainless finish across its steel frame, barrel, and cylinder, paired with a black Hogue synthetic grip that fills the hand and helps tame recoil during rapid strings of fire.

The 6 inch barrel carries a full-length Picatinny rail on top, a detail visible clearly in the accompanying photos, along with twin barrel weights mounted beneath the muzzle. Those weights are adjustable, letting a shooter fine-tune the gun's balance and reduce muzzle flip between shots. Up front sits a Patridge-style front sight in a dovetail cut, working against a fully adjustable rear sight for windage and elevation. Both are visible in the images and match the configuration S&W lists for this variant.

Inside, the Competitor gets what Smith calls a PC tuned action, along with a chromed hammer and trigger. The chrome hammer is visible in the supplied photos; the trigger's chrome finish and trigger stop are consistent with the images but harder to confirm in fine detail from photographs alone. The cylinder holds six rounds of .357 Magnum, and the gun will also chamber .38 S&W Special ammunition, giving owners a lighter-recoiling option for practice.

Smith & Wesson's Performance Center has built these guns since the 1980s in one form or another, refining the 686 platform specifically for bullseye and PPC-style competition shooting. This example presents in what appears to be new or unfired condition based on the supplied images, though that assessment is limited to what a photograph can show and doesn't confirm mechanical function or internal condition.