Help with frame size

[irold]

Gentlemen :  I bought a special edition Smith, model 686, back in the eighties.  If I remember right it was supposed to have been built on a different frame, with target hammer and special grips, they're wood with finger grooves.  It is stainless with a 2 1/2 inch barrel.  At that time the 686 only came with a 4 or 6 inch barrel, I think ?  I believe the name Lou Horton was associated with this handgun somehow or another.  I've been wanting to put Hogue or Pachy's on it to soften the recoil, but they seen to be frame specific...hence my problem....what frame is it ?  The literature that originally came with the gun says its a L frame, however they included a K frame guide for Holsters....At the time I purchased a S&W Holster from the factory with it.  On the package it says....designed for the Special Edition Model 686, 2 1/2 barrel .  No other mention of frame size.  Your help please...Thanks, Mike

[Hammerdown]

Hello
I Believe the ticket to the Mystery here is Lew Horton. He gets custom designed guns from S&W and several of his have the smaller K-Round frame grips on them. I hope this helps, Hammerdown

[irold]

Hammerdown,  Thanks , we're getting there....I'm not really a Smith person, help me out.  The grip size can be altered , leaving the frame size as is ??  The grips on have a round butt...What frame is a new 686 ?  As far as frame size goes...N is their largest ?  ( besides the X frame )  K  , then L  ?  So you think a L frame grip ( round ) should fit ?   Thanks bunches  !   Mike

[irold]

Sorry.........looks like maybe I've got it backwards.  K frame grips should fit mine ??   They're smaller than the L frame ?   Thanks again.

[Hammerdown]

Sorry.........looks like maybe I've got it backwards.  K frame grips should fit mine ??   They're smaller than the L frame ?   Thanks again.

Hello
On The Lew Horton Performance  Weapons the grips frames of the L-Frame revolver's will be the smaller K-Round grips. Normally the model 686 would take the same set of grips as The K-frame models such as the 586 but the frame of The 586 & 686 is a tad Bit larger than the smaller K-Framed revolvers Being just the revolver's main frame not the grip framers is larger than the K-Frame sized revolvers. The N-Frames are the larger models like the 629 and 627 revolvers and the largest frame revolvers they make now are chambered in the .460 and .500 rounds and they too have the smaller K-Round grips size, yet the Older 629's and 627's took either a Round-N-butt grip and the earlier ones took The-N-Sq. Frame grips before they changed them all to round but frames. I hope this helps, Hammerdown

[irold]

Yep, thinks I have it !........Thanks much