Thinking of buying a 357 revolver smith-wesson 686 or a ruger gp 100. Is it better to buy stock revolver and have a custom action job done or buy a match champion or performance gun.
Thank you for your opinions.

An older 686 doesn’t need any action work it’s pretty much perfect..
Newer guns are hit and miss.

Look for an older S&W 19.

The older Dan Wesson’s were hard to beat for a smooth double action.

Stick with stone stock, improvements can be done later, let's see if you even like the pistol first. If you can get a 686 I'd personally go there and see how you shoot it. I prefer a Smith trigger over any other factory triggers offered including Colt. Ruger holds it's own against the Smith and exceeds in some area's. It's a Ruger and you know it's going to be tough and over built, a little too over built for me. The trigger and action are not as smooth nor does it break as clean as the Smith. If it's for home protection I'm not sure you can go wrong with either in a 4 inch. If your going to be wearing while hunting I'd bump it up to a 6 inch barrel in either. If we're talking serious hunting with lot's of heavy loads I'd go with the Ruger. This is where that overbuild comes in handy they can take some punishment, pretty sure there's some spring kits available for the Ruger.

Yep. Best I've ever handled. I love mine.

I have a bunch of gift cards for Cabelas, so I’m going to buy a new S&W 686 3” Talo 357. I’d prefer a older model, but this if free money, so I’m not going to complain.

I've put a ton or rounds through Model 19's, without a doubt my hands down favorite of all revolvers, but with that said I'd probably go with the 686. Back when we were shooting 19's in all the combat and pin matches we would have loved to have had a 686. Hell we even had folks putting Python barrels on 19's trying to make something similar. For carry the 19 was absolutely perfect but for competition it needed more weight. The 686 puts all the weight in the right places and a little beefier frame to handle today's hotter loads. Shot a 6 inch 19 in the 100 yard silhouette matches for a full year feeding it a steady diet of 158 +P's. Never had a breakage but it was noticeably loser. Just for the record a Colt Python probably wouldn't have made the season, they really didn't like heavier loads, but they sure are pretty.

HWY,

good points and great photo, carry/defensive pistol is what default pops to my mind, had not considered other possible intended uses.

OP,

what is the intended use?

I have a mostly stock 686 in 357 and absolutely love it. I bought it used and believe the Hogue grip is the only modification.
I'd buy a stock one and then decide if you really want to spend the extra funds.

I absolutely love my GP100. I chose the base model over the Match Champion because I didn’t feel a difference in the trigger and I liked the grip better.

I honestly feel it has a better trigger than my S&W Performance Center model.

I have a strong preference for my GP100 - it seems to have an internal guidance system It fits my hand and just feels right to shoot. I know that the 686 is a huge favorite of many people for good reasons, but I prefer the Dan Wesson, right behind my old GP100.

Marc

I like Rugers a lot, have a Speed Six in .357 (precursor to GP100) and used to enjoy shooting a friend's GP100 4-inch a lot; however, I've shot a GP100 and a 686 in .357 back-to-back for a range session, and I walked away really wanting a 686. It seemed to balance better, and despite the GP100 being 'built like a tank' the recoil when shooting the 686 was easier to control and didn't deliver as much shock to the hand, at least to me, I think it was due to the different grip (both were stock grips).

To the OP's question: I'm not as familiar with 686 special models so I won't try to speak to those, but if I were getting a GP100, I'd probably go for the Wiley Clapp model. The Match Champion gets a lot of praise, but the WC edition has more features I'd want in a field or possible carry gun. The base model GP100 is nice, but these two models have nice upgrades yet maintain a reasonable price.