S&W 586 nickel

[Classic12]

Although I am abroad on a well deserved beach holiday



I didn’t stop checking the classified, just in case something rare and/or exciting passes by. I was secretly hoping that it wouldn’t be the case, but this enthusiastic accumulator knows no rest.

So enter this beautiful 1981 S&W 586 nickel revolver with box manual and tools. I won’t have it in hand for a couple weeks but I’m quite excited about it, and I felt like showing it straight away since seller’s pictures are quite good. So here goes (price was $ 1240).

[Classic12]

I don’t think I’ll be shooting it much, I already have a 586-1 that I’ve shot extensively



But it was too pretty to resist

[Drm50]

I just traded off a NIB 4” Nickel 586. I would have kept it had it been blue.

[44 AMP]

IF/when you do shoot it, keep a close eye on the barrel. In the early 80s when S&W dropped the pinned barrel, S&W had a few problems. Most of the guns were fine, but some were...less so...

Friend of mine got an 8 3/8" 629 in 81. It was the first unpinned barrel S&W I ever had experience with. Over a few months, a couple hundred magnum loads and 5-600 lighter loads went through the gun. Though the gun was very accurate, my friend noticed that the barrel had turned.

Not enough to make the front sight "lean over" but enough to see (and feel) where the barrel rib met the frame. It had been flush and squarely fitted when he got the gun new, but now it wasn't, the barrel had moved enough that you could tell. I saw it, myself. It was a real thing.

He sent the gun back to S&W, and it came back after a few weeks, with the barrel now straight (again) and a note from S&W saying there was nothing wrong with it.

No longer trusting Bangor Punta S&W, my friend sold the gun.

Your gun will probably be mechanically flawless, nearly all of them were, BUT there were some with problems, early on, and you need to keep an eye on the early unpinned guns to be sure.

I've always liked the idea of the L frame, but the way they did them with the full length barrel underlug makes their balance feel "wrong" to me. Some people like it, I don't. Its a personal thing.

[105kw]

I bought a nickel 586, 4in, in 1981. The first revolver after my 21st birthday.
I shot it a lot, and really liked it, but hated cleaning the nickel finish.
Eventually traded it for a 4in Blued 586.
Yours is beautiful I hope you enjoy it.

[2wheelwander]

Beautiful!

[101combatvet]

I've never considered a nickel one but that sure is pretty.

[10-96]

I'd be too chicken to try it on a nickel plated one, but I suspect if I had a non-pinned revolver- I'd sure be tempted to try my hand at pinning it. Can it really be all that hard?

[wild cat mccane]

Sounds like a great title for a new thread filled with desperation

[Classic12]

I picked it up from the LGS several weeks ago, and found the time to fondle it and take a few pictures. It’s in really nice condition, seems hardly fired, I can see three powder rings on every other chamber.

That’s probably one I won’t fire

[Classic12]

With it’s blued brother

[stagpanther]

Having a beautiful gun and never shooting is like having a beautiful wife and never...well, you get the idea.

[Classic12]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

Having a beautiful gun and never shooting is like having a beautiful wife and never...well, you get the idea.

I’m with you mostly, and I shoot all my guns. But I’ll make an exception for this one since I own a blued one that should provide the exact same shooting experience (and several other S&W revolvers). Similarly I decided not to shoot my mint 1943 Ithaca 1911A1, as I have a Remington Rand and a Colt of same vintage.

Think of it as having 180 wives and not touching two of them.

[stagpanther]

Think of it as having 180 wives and not touching two of them.

It's the two I'll be thinking about the most.