Update 05-29-12... My light strikes were not the gun but cheap gun show RWS .357 ammo and .38 spl!!! What a sweet firearm, in love with my beautiful first revolver! I will probably still order the Wolff kit just so I know the spring is new and all, but I now understand I made no mistake with this wonderful revolver!

So I picked up a beautiful S&W 586-3, beautiful blue, no scratches and a wonderfully smooth trigger !!!!
Lock up, timing, everything is top notch no problems. The guy behind the counter said, it had been fired but not much. It looked like the barrel was a bit dirty so I ran a dry mop through it and looked like that was pretty much it! Well I got it home ran the brass bore brush and some hoppes elite cleaner and it looks like the bore has some scoring marks or odd pits. It only seems to be the front of the barrel closest to the cylinder. Here are some pics the last is the bore pic, hope you can see what im talking about!

Thanks everyone!






Bore

thats a drag ,to find that on your new toy.
looks maybe like a scratch from using a screwdriver for a squib rod? id shoot it and see how it does before i worried anymore about it.

that looks more like leading from here.
scrub that barrel good w/a proper bore brush and some favorite solvent, and i bet it goes away.

Eh... Shoot it and report back. My guess... it will shoot just fine.

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Centennial Every Day

There isn't much of a turn line on the cylinder which is a very good sign. Also, two other areas to check for usuage are the top strap near forcing cone ( for 'flame cut') and cell vibration "cycles" where shells vibrate against the recoil shield. I doubt the pitting at entry to barrel will have any effect on accuracy. Looks pretty good to me ! Best-dan

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HIS Trains 'a LEAVIN

I'm bettin' a serious, serious cleaning will make it look a lot different.

Maybe a Lewis Lead remover.

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Eccentric old coot

Tim, I got a 586 no dash a few months ago on a trade. I really like that gun.
If you do have leading, take a bore brush, and wrap it with some copper material from a copper chore boy pad. Run it through dry.This is supposed to be effective for removing lead deposits. Lewis lead remover should be good also if you can find one.
Try 1 of the items that I mentioned, and let us know the outcome. Bob

I'm with Ralph

Yup looks like something a brass patch would take care off

Thanks for the info everyone! I'm gonna try some hoppes 9 and let it soak for 10 minutes then go at it with the wet brush again! I paid 499 for it, and feel like I got a pretty good deal! I'm hoping I'm right!

Looks to me like you've also got some heavy carbon build up on the frame outside the barrel. This could simply be the same thing on the inside of the barrel. I'd give it a good scrub down and work from there.

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Son of a Gun...Smith

I had some spots that were identical in 3 revolvers that I purchased. At first glance it looked like pitting. The spots were still there after running clean patches through it. So, I took it out and ran about 30 rounds of lead +p through each of them. After shooting, the spots were gone. It must have been lead build up. The bores are bright and shiny now!

+1 on leading, not a big deal. I have found the right combination with lead bullets so it does not happen any more. Back in the day, I used aluminum screen cut in 1" square around a jag to remove that stuff, brass will work too but its harder to find and costs more.

I agree with Iggy. Try a Lewis Lead remover. Looks like leading to me.

Ha ha, I feel bad for you. Bought your first revolver today, betcha can't stop at just one! As far as the bore, shoot it with some jacketed bullets, see what it looks like after that.

I bought one, then another, then another...... I think we are up to 10 now, I'd have to go look.

It looks exactly like my 29 did shootin heavy fast cast loads, it will take a bit of elbow grease but will clean up nicely....

I agree with IGGY. Clean it, maybe a Lewis Bore cleaner and shoot a few jacketed bullets. I don't think you have a real problem.

Give it a good cleaning and enjoy.

Yeah I agree with my friend here. Time, effort and Hoppes No9 (or whatever your favorite poison) and is should come out fine.

That is a nice looking shooting iron! You should have many years of enjoyment with it!

But take it out and shoot it after just to check it out and be sure there is not anything else going on.

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Existimo ergo sum armis

Your "mistake" is buying an outstanding revolver. After you shoot it, you will be infected.

Ahh the 586! Definitely a great shooting revolver! Some here think it was one of the best revolvers S&W made. Also you can use Rem oil on the outside of the gun to keep it clean and rust free or you can use a wax which people call Ren Wax which is short for Renaissance Wax.

James

Looks like lead to me, too. Shoot a couple cylinders of full-power jacketed ammo, then clean with a bronze brush and plenty of Hoppe's.
Should be fine.

lead buildup for sure. Use some lead remover soak on a patch.....then a Lewis Lead Remover set up. I believe Hoppes makes one now if you can't find a "Lewis" brand. Congrats on the 586!

If it's heavily leaded Hoppes and bronze bore brush may not get it all. Wrap some bronze Chore Boy around your bronze bore brush or get a Lewis Lead Remover.

That really, REALLY looks like leading from using softer lead bullets in 357 magnum loads, or warmer 38 Special loads.

Using a 44 or 45 cal bore brush, with some solvent, will take that right out with the application of the proper amount of elbow grease.

Resist the urge to try to remove any of it with a screwdriver or other tool, (not MADE for bore cleaning), as that could result in some real scratches in the grooves and lands.

It might take an hour or more, but that lead will come out, and I'll bet the bore looks really nice under the **** the previous owner left for you.

Odds are, the previous owner mostly shot lead bullets in it, since they are less expensive. They simply don't put any wear on the bore of a modern revolver like your 586.

I think your 586 will clean up nicely, and that bore will look NICE!

"Bought my first revolver today!!! might have made a mistake"

Your only possible mistake was opening yourself up to an addiction you didn't see coming. So you've already been warned..........but it's probably too late anyway. So enjoy it. We'll be waiting patiently for news of your next purchase......

You will never be sorry you purchased that nice looking gun. IMO the 586/686 is one of the nicest firearms ever made. I am in the Chore Boy camp. Take a little piece of Chore Boy and wrap it around a worn out brush, back and forth around the lands and that leading will clean right up. I recommend using a cone on cleaning rod on the muzzle end. That is the part you don't want messed up. Use a steel or plastic coated cleaning rod. No aluminum. I bought a 686 in a pawn shop years ago, before I knew what to check for. That gun looked great but, end shake, lockup and cylinder gap was awful. Someone must have been shooting hot handloads in it. Even so that gun was a great shooter and many years, thousands of rounds, and a couple club trophies later, that gun is still one of my favorites and extremely accurate.

Lewis Lead Remover.

JB Bore Clean Compound and Bore Bright.

Probably shoots balls accurate right now without the cleaning.

UPDATE!!!! Shot some RWS .357 magnum fmj 158gr. today and after getting home went at it again with a bore brush and some good soaking with hoppes. I would say that barrel is in 99 percent new condition, once that leading came off, I was truly amazed at the barrel condition for the age of the gun, but I guess the shop guy was right in that it wasnt fired much.


Now on to the next issue....In DA the 586 was giving me light strikes, on both the .38 spl RWS ammo and the .357 RWS. The screw on the inside bottom front of the grip is tight, not loose at all. Could it be cheap low quality ammo with hard primers or should I be looking at a new mainspring? Thanks again for all the help everyone, minus the light strikes today, I am bit by the bug, what a wonderful shooting firearm!!!! My only revolver experience before this was a snub nose smith .357 and I hated the recoil and the nickel size blister it gave me, but this is a whole different animal....so smooth no matter what the round!

My 686 looked that way after a lot of lead was fired and I had to change the way I cleaned my gun. I used a harsh lead remover almost like a screen and the rough stuff you see was gone. I only fire and reload with jacked (JHO) now.

You may need a new main spring. Does yours have a rib down the middle of it? Does the bottom end of the spring look like a P or a J where it hooks into the frame? Take a look at the tension screw and see if it looks like it's been shortened.

Also try some different ammo to see if it's ammo specific.

Buy some American Eagle by Federal .38 Special ammo and try that. Federal ammo has the lightest to ignite primers. The overseas ammo tends to have hard primers. It also might be an issue of the insides being gummed up from sitting for so many years. A good, thorough cleaning and lube of the lock work might fix things.

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Centennial Every Day

New or used, any gun new to you needs to be completely stripped, cleaned and oiled. If you didn't do this, that's your first step to determining your light strike issue.

Next you've already done: make sure the strain screw is properly seated (good for you).

After that, determine that you have proper firing pin protrusion.

Finally, try different ammo. Suggest a mix of Winchester, Remington, Federal (and its sub labels, like American Eagle), and CCI Blazer -- these are established, factory loads. For defensive reliability, your 586 should be able to consistently ignite them all (Federal's the lightest, CCI the hardest), and whatever defensive round you make your go-to.

Thanks! I tried getting the side plate off but found I am going to need a soft sided mallet to get it off. I also took some blue off the one screw head so I will be ordering a few from Brownells or Midway lol! I did take a spent brass case and trimmed it to make a small shim, and am going to try that tomorrow and see if that helps at all. I do not have a rib on the mainspring and may just order a new one for insurance. Would you all recommend a factory S&W mainspring or go with a Wolff or Wilson? I know my Dan Wesson from the factory uses Wolff...

Have you a piece of leather or thick vinyl, or even a piece of cereal box?
Lay that on the grip frame for protection, (side-plate screws removed) and strike the side of the grip frame (sharply, but carefully!) with a small piece of wood or a small'ish hammer handle. The plate should easily release with a bump or two.

I use Wolff or Wilson Combat springs with all My S&W and other make handguns.

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It is....what it is!

Tim12232, that is a beautiful 586! I love the 4in Im looking for a 586 with a 4in barrel to go with my 686-1 4in.The 686-586 are my favorite rev.to shoot! Just dont tell my GP100!

I had some RWS .380 and the primers were harder than the hubs of hell. Im glad you found the source of the problem.

If you order a spring, order at least one strain screw, but I advise on two strain screws (the screws that put tension on the spring). It's highly likely someone got very happy with a file and made it a little to short to tension the spring correctly to fire rounds, other than those reloaded with Federal Gold Medal Match primers exclusively. With two screws, if you were to go too far again, you don't have to wait until you get another one. They do come too long from the factory- they just have to be shortened just a wee bit to tension the spring correctly.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I've found that using a plastic handled screw driver and rapping on the grip frame works well. I also use the gun in the zip loc bag trick to keep any stray parts from flying out when the side plate comes off.

Patience is the key. The side plate will come off eventaully.

If I'm doing wrong, I hope someone with more experience will correct me.

I had light strikes with my 28 no dash. I thought that the strain screw was tight. I went back to it again, and it was not as tight as I thought. Tightened it, and never a problem again. As mentioned, look at the screw to see if it was shortened. My 586 was fine. The 28 was the only Smith I have that had this issue. ( you need a 27 or 28 next) The 586 comes in second only to my 28! Bob