Opinions on S&W 586

M

mr00jimbo

New member
A guy has one locally for sale with a 6" barrel chambered in .357. I bought a Sig 220 9mm. If it ever came down to self defense, compared to the 9x19 how much more stopping power does a .357 magnum have? Also how reliable are revolvers? I guess they are VERY, but what problems could arrise? Could it ever jam?
Thanks!
 
You can comfortably drive a 158 grain bullet at 1200 fps out of that 586. Even a bit faster than that if you want to. Or you can shoot .38's out of it. A full house .357 round has a lot more power than a 9mm

The L Frame S&W's (586, 686, 581, 681) were the improvement to the K frames. The L frames can take a steady diet of .357 rounds. Everything wears out eventually but the L frame will go many thousand rounds before it wears out. Not so the K frames, when talking about .357 rounds.

There is not much in the world of guns that is more reliable than a S&W revolver. I suppose you could wear it out and eventually get a jam of some kind.

If you ever get a chance, try a 4 inch version of the 586. Just one man's opinion but it is the most perfectly balanced combination of pistol and power that I have ever tried.
 
Canadian law says that you cannot have a barrel length shorter than 4.2 inches or so :(
Edit: When revolvers DO jam, what causes it, and is it easy to clear?
 
The 586 is an excellent gun.

If you fired a steady diet of .38 special "generic" ammo -- such as 130gr FMJ ammo -- you might need to have the barrel inspected after something like 20,000 rounds. The hotter the load the more frequent your inspections should be. If you fired nothing but 158gr JHP .357 Magnum loads, I'd suggest having the gun inspected by a good gunsmith every 5,000-7,000 rounds to spot wear early.

Revolvers can jam, just like semi-autos, due to malfunction, breakage or debris in the system. Typically seen range jams include;

  • Lightweight bullets forced to "walk" out of the case and protrude from the front of the cylinder.
  • Unburned powder particles lodging under the star extractor
  • Loose ejector rod unscrewing while in the barrel underlug housing.
  • High primers (mostly reloads) dragging against the recoil shield
  • Unburned powder or other debris entering the action

A revolver has "had enough" when fired enough to either stretch the frame's cylinder opening out of spec, metal fatigue sets in (cracks), or the frame itself has been seriously damaged.

For what it's worth, I've seen at least 2 S&W's (both K-Frames) with over 400,000 rounds through them -- not all of them target loads -- and still going strong. As long as the frame is in good shape, you can have S&W replace the barrel, cylinder or lockwork to keep it running.
 
The only serious malfunction I worry about is if the timing of the cylinder is out of wack and the firing pin strikes the primer when it's not properly aligned with the barrel. :eek:
 
As mentioned above K frames are VERY reliable and almost indestructable. I have never had one jam, but while trying to work up a hot hand-load I did have a few cases swell making them hard to eject. Please note that is a problem with the ammo and not with the firearm.

One thing to look for is how "tight" the cylinder is. First, make sure the gun is UNLOADED. Two, slowly pull trigger and HOLD it all the way back while easing the hammer down, check and make sure the cylinder is lined up and "tight" - - there should be very little to no wiggle. Repeat this process checking the cylinder at each chamber.
 
As mentioned above K frames are VERY reliable and almost indestructable.
Click to expand...

And L frames such as the 586 are even more so.:cool:

The 586 is a fine revolver and will handle full magnum loads quite nicely.
 
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