i recently inherited a model 586 from my dad. i think he bought it new in the early to mid 80's. i have the original box with it. i was wondering if any one could help me date it and give an approximate value range to it. it's been in the box for most of it's life. if it has 25 rounds through it, i'd be surprised. this gun may very well never be shot again. even though my impending death may be decades away(i'll be 39 tomorrow), this gun will either be buried with me or passed onto one of my daughters. the sentimental value far outweighs any monetary value the gun may have.

the serial number is ach72xx.

thanks in advance.
tim

Between Jan and Oct of 83. Sounds like a great gun.

thank you. that is what i was thinking as my brother was born in april 1983, and i thought i remembered them both "arriving" at about the same time. here is a pic...my camera work does not do the gun justice, nor anything else that i take pics of...

Very nice! I have 1 that is fairly close to yours. # ACH25xx. My gun was obtained in a trade. The previous owner got it from the original owner (probably) with less than a box through it. It kind of would be a shame not to shoot it, but it is yours! I have a 1919, M&P that was given to me by my dad before he passed. I just shot it a few weeks ago. 586's are NICE! Enjoy it. Bob

thank you. i've gotta say, i'm torn with this. i want to shoot it. i always asked dad to shoot it. the answer was always no. one day heox came home with a box and said lets go. i may have been 13. he shot it a few times then he helped me hold it while i sent that one round down range. after i shot, we went back in the house. he cleaned it and put it in the box. i don't think that i saw it again until mom gave it to me a few weeks ago.

Your story is very similar to mine, except with a rifle. My dad had a '56 winchester .22 bolt he bought new, shot a couple times, and put it up. Growing up as a kid, I bugged the heck out of him to take it and me out shooting, always got 'no'. Bought him a hoppes cleaning kit one Father's Day (hint hint), always talked about it, no go. Finally (I think due to mom's intervention), we went out to the range and shot a few boxes through it. I was on cloud 9 for weeks following, but that was it for that. I went on to become a lifelong fan of shooting and hunting, and got my own stuff to do it.

My dad passed away, and driving back home after the funeral with the winchester in the back of the truck, I said to myself 'I'll be damned if this rifle is going to sit in it's case for the rest of MY life'. I shoot it as often as possible, and it still looks the same as when it rolled off the winchester line 50-some-odd years ago. Whenever I shoot a freaky tight group with it, I like to think that I had a little otherworldy assist from pops, heh heh..

My point is this: guns are made to be shot, and fine guns should be shot a LOT. So long as you use, clean, and maintain it properly, there is no reason that you can't put a box thru it every week for the rest of your shooting days, and still have a fine gun to hand down. Life is too short, you know?

take care,
Dave

Well, I agree. I don't know about your income level, but I couldn't afford to shoot enough to wear out an L frame revolver like yours. I bought a new 686 when they first came out in the early 1980s. I discovered that I really liked shooting a handgun at indoor ranges and found myself at the range a couple times a week, and that was when all the ranges sold their own reloaded .38s for a couple bucks a box, and that 686 was the only handgun I owned. I still have that gun and its still my favorite. You mentioned passing it on to your daughters...would they rather inherit a gun Daddy had stuffed in the safe, or the one they shot all the time when Daddy took them to the range?