In 1998 Smith & Wesson added an L-frame .357 Magnum to their Mountain Gun revolver series. It was based on the Model 686 Plus platform, which has a 7-shot cylinder. Like the other Mountain Guns, instead of a full-length barrel underlug, it had a tapered, half-lug 4-inch barrel, and was only produced for one year. At the 2025 SHOT Show Lipsey’s re-introduced the Smith & Wesson Model 686 Plus Mountain Gun as one of their Exclusives.
The new .357 Magnum Mountain Gun differs from the original by having a 4.25” barrel, a pinned patridge front sight with a gold bead, the forward cylinder locking point on the yoke/crane, a reinforced forcing cone, bevels on the front edges of the cylinder, flash-chromed trigger, and hammer, plus Tyler Gun Works walnut Bear Hug grips. It weighs less than the standard Model 686 at 35 oz., and the overall length is 8.01-inches.
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T&E was done on the new Lipsey’s offering with three different .357 Magnum loads and two different .38 Special loads. The best group, shooting from the bench, single action, at 15 yards measured 1.43-inches. Two 21-round practical shooting exercises were also run with the 686 Plus Mountain Gun using first .38 Special, then .357 Magnum ammunition. During the entire T&E there were no issues or malfunctions during the shooting of some 167 rounds of .38/.357 ammunition.
