I have been browsing for a 2 1/2 inch .357 for occasional carry and nightstand duty. I would prefer a revolver I actually can enjoy shooting as well. I am leaning toward an L frame. I have found very little selection under $500.00. I just read a thread about a 2 1/2 inch 586. They are high dollar too. I own a 4" 586 already...not mint. What is the feasibility of getting the barrel shortened in lieu of putting out over $400.00 for a 686 with a short barrel? Could I customize the 586 and have a blued revolver the way I like it? Or is this just crazy?

Does anyone have an EXCELLENT, REPUTABLE gunsmith to recommend in Missouri that I might be able to talk to as well?

I appreciate the help.

Given the scarcity of the 586, I'd really, really recommend against what you're planning. My wife loves her 586 no dash, and she'd have a cow if someone considered chopping it up. It's just too good a gun, and made for the 4" barrel:

I hope I don't get in trouble with the mods, but if you want a compact .357, I'd get a Ruger Speed Six. (That's twice today I've recommended a Ruger on this, a S&W forum!). The Ruger sixes are so well built, used ones are almost always good shooters.
For what the 586 re-barrel/refinish, etc. would cost, you can buy another gun.
However, I don't think ANY gun, short of a Colt Python, or possibly a Model 13-1, is going to have a trigger action like that on the 586. I can see why you want to carry it.
Unless you're going to shoot thousands of 125 grain .357s, a K-frame like a Model 19 or 66 should be fine. I've seen a number of good, K-frame snubbies.

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NRA Lifetime Member

Your 4" 586 will do everything you want and more. Put your money into leather and ammo.

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

I recommend the same. Once I got my Milt Sparks summer special 2, I started carting my 29 4" under a loose shirt. With specials of course.

I dumped a 2.5" 686 that I bought new because the ejector rod is too small to eject the cases.

No one tells you that. Not acceptable for what I wanted it for.

These days it's highly desirable, but I'd MUCH rather have a 3" version.

Don't chop the 586, sell it to finance what you'd like to have and give someone a chance to appreciate the 586 for what it is.

I personally really dig my 4" 586-1, it's a keeper.

You have a few options besides shortening. Finding a shorter barrel/ejector rod assembly and swapping - difficult, but not impossible. Selling/trading for the 2.5 or 3" L frame gun you want as others suggest. Also, think about a much more available 2.5" K frame .357. Good luck in your decision.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I would opt for the 4 in. 586. The shorter barreled (ca 2 in.) revolvers have a very short ejector rod which complicates fired case ejection. I consider the S&W 642, which I carry, as a 5 round defensive weapon.

Look for a 3" 686 CS-1. They are out there but expensive and hard to find. I have owned two of them and still have one. Leave the 586 alone!

Tom

With some skill and patience you can do it. I cut and crowned this 581,reshaped the ejector rod shroud, and converted to round butt, the only money laid out was for a crowning tool, and I had a gunsmith cut a dovetail for the front Novak night sight.
Eta- this gun was picked up pretty cheaply before prices got crazy

Leave the 586 along, not many of them out there. If you do chop/shorten it, you will only decrease the value of it. If you must, sell it and buy what you want.

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Pine_Worker
Ex-LEO, NRA Life

While I agree with all the practical reasons listed above, I will say that it is your gun, do what you wish. It's just that every other option named does indeed make more sense. IMHO, you only customize to get something that is just NOT available.

A ten-year old thread comes back to life! I had a feeling when I clicked it that someone was wanting to make a 2-1/2” 586. Maybe I was just remembering it from reading it a long time ago?

Anyway, I once owned a 2-1/2” 586. I subsequently sold it to a fellow forum member, unfortunately no longer with us, who was quite an enthusiastic collector of modern S&Ws. My recollection of the gun is that it really didn’t do anything for me that a 2-1/2” Model 19 didn’t do just as well, and Chuck really wanted it. I thought the gun was better off in his care. For my own uses, I prefer the 4-inch barrel in both models.

Or find a 2.5” 686, and have it black nitrided. Here’s a 15-2 I had done last year. The higher the polish the more shiny the black will be, and it’s much more durable than the original blue. Moreover, it’s still closer to original than chopping the barrel. A win, win!

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213th FBINA

Sometimes I wish I had gotten the 4", but the 6" makes the most of the .357 cartridge. I have a 2.5" model 19 also, but that short barrel does not use all of the potential the .357 has to offer. The powder does not all get burnt in the short barrel. You get a lot of muzzle flash and recoil, and velocity/power wise I don't think you are getting much, if any more than a hotly loaded .38 special. A 4" is a great compromise between the 6" and short barreled versions but the 6" really make the .357 shine. That's why I have kept mine. I don't care for a 6" gun in a belt holster so I carry mine in Guide's Choice chest holster.

You can pretty much make or have made anything you can describe, more or less. I have a 2.5" 686-4 but really wanted the longer ejector rod that comes with the 3" and I happen to like square butts over round, so, I bought a 686-3 with a 6.5" barrel and square butt and had my gunsmith lop it off at 3" and install a Weigand front sight taking S&W sight inserts and had S&W change the 6 chamber cylinder to a 7 which causes the revolvers weight to fall exactly where I like it. Viola, just what I wanted.

Stu

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I didn’t even notice the date.....lol

LOL I'm sure the OPer did something in the last 10 years...................