Posted: 12/13/2007 11:42:21 AM EDT
|
A fellow officer that I had worked with for the last few years fell ill with lung cancer and passed away last month. In his will, he left me a blued Smith and Wesson Model 586 .357 Magnum (L-frame, square butt) with a 4" bbl and a few hundred assorted rounds of .38 and .357 ammo. I picked up the weapon a couple days ago, had it re-registered, and put it into my gun safe. I've never been a big revolver fan, but I intend on keeping this weapon. I'd rate it at about 95%. It has some blue worn off / a bit of rust the back strap and trigger guard, and a little holster wear on the cylinder and bbl. It does not appear to have been fired (less than a few hundred rounds at least) and it's nice and tight. Here are my questions: 1. How can I go about telling what year this weapon was manufactured? 2. Hogue rubber grips are currently on this weapon and mounted via a small set screw on the bottom. Are aftermarket square-butt L-frame wooden grips with the screw in the side compatible with this weapon? 3. Since I am planning on keeping it, I am not worried about affecting collector's value. Any recommendations for a refinish/hot reblue for this weapon? Who should I use and how much should I pay? Thanks in advance for your answers. |
|
1. Give S&W a call, they will tell you when the pistol was made. 2. Yes, you can get after market wood grips for both the square and the rounded L frames. If your looking for the stock type wood grips, try CDNN. If after market, then Hogue or you may even luck out finding a set that S&W used to offer a while back. I have a pair of rosewood composites on my 686, back when they used to offer them direct (note CDNN has a few other non stock types as well. www.cdnninvestments.com/smithwesson1.html 3. While you have S&W on the phone for the year of production, ask then about having the pistol refinished as well (they will be the cheapest you will find). Another positive thing about having them do the refinish is if they find something wrong with the pistol, they will replace/correct the part (s) at the same time. |
|
1. What's the serial number, minus the last 2 digits? I'll check for production dates. 2. All the rubber Hogues mount via a screw in the bottom. Standard target or magna grips will work on the gun. CDNN has grips, but I cannot speak to their quality or beauty. You may wish to check in with smith-wessonforum.com classifieds if you're looking for authentic L frame target grips. 3. S&W has a pretty good reputation for refinishing. Another place that seems to do a great job is Ford's, here in Florida. Their high-polish bluing looks like it's a foot deep. |
|
Thanks for you input on this post. I called S&W and they gave me the manufacture date of the weapon and an estimate of $165.00 for a refinish with a 4-6wk turn around time. Probably something I will look into after the holidays. Thanks again for your replies to my original post! |