My dad is a retired deputy sheriff. His nickel 586 Burned up inside a house fire a few years ago. I am in possession of it currently . The grips are of course gone along with sights and all finish.The action can be worked but all spring tension is gone. The cylinder was loaded and the melted casings are partially inside the chambers. While I'm fairly certain this gun will never fire again I'm wondering if it could be made to look like it did for a display piece. I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks in advance!

With enough time and money all is possible. PM me if you need grips.

You may be able to find a reasonably priced 586 parts kit on Gunbroker.

It can be refinished in nickel as well, but it will be somewhat expensive and given it has been in a fire it should be a display piece only. Also, the factory does refinishing but will probably not do it due to liability reasons. You can call them to ask.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Thanks ! Any idea on how I can get the brass outta the cylinder?

If it were mine, and had been my dad's, it would be priceless. I would send it to either Dave Chicoine, or Doug Turnbull. Only.

Yeah my dad was a deputy from 66-86. I have his badge, gunbelt, handcuffs, a few billy clubs, slap jack, his model 19 in nickel with 2.5 barrel and colt police positive but the 586 was his favorite and Daily duty weapon.

Doug Turnbull's group does great work. I don't know about Dave Chicoine, but he's probably just as good.

They are the very best punchers in their weight class. Both of those shops have turned garbage into gold many, many times over.

Ok, I'll have pics up tomorrow. Im on a limited budget so I'm gonna have to scrounge for parts. I have no doubt the two guys you have listed are the best but I figure I won't be able to afford them on a paramedics budget . I figure I have to just get the parts one at a time as I run into "deals" .

Let's be realistic.

A fire hot enough to melt brass and nickel has certainly softened and
warped the frame and made the internal parts useless.

Simply polishing and replating the frame and cylinder would cost about
$200.

IMHO - you could have the cylinder welded shut , and mount it on a
nice wall plaque with a brass name and date plate as a souvenier.

If you want to "replace" his gun start saving (maybe with help from other
family members) and buy a real one for his next significant birthday.

^ he's probably right. You can test the heat treat, however, and see if the steel actually got annealed.

You can either do one of two things:

Get it completely restored by one of the fine gunsmiths mentioned by the previous posters (Turnbull, Chicoine, etc) or just keep it as a curio and keepsake. The restoration will likely cost much more than the gun is monetarily worth, but it's hard to put a dollar value on a sentimental item, so what it is worth to you - only you can answer that. If you do go the restoration route, you might as well do it right, otherwise just dedicate it to a keepsake.

chief38

PM sent to you about your Dad's gun.

My first duty weapon was a 686. I purchased a 586, four inch barrel last year and have enjoyed shooting it recently.

I wonder if the fire was hot enough to change or weaken the metalury used in the forging process. Anyway I would clean it up and restore it as best or have it professionally done. I have no idea who might do so or how much it would cost.

I'm sure it's priceless to you as anything my dad had.

Best wishes.

Here's pics :

Serial is :abd93xx any info on year of manufacture?

It looks fine. What's the problem?

What does S&W say about it ?


If that were a DILLON, you'd be getting a brand new reloading machine

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ABD serial is probably late 1983 to early 1984.
Realisticly early Model 586's are not rare guns,
You can probably find another for somewhere between $400 and $600 dollars.
It wont be THE exact one he carried but it will be its identicle twin and be safe to shoot.

I haven't contacted s&w yet

Got all the parts I need minus grips ( gonna keep a check on e-bay ) from sndbggr1484 who , by the way , has been the biggest help in world !!!!! I'm shipping the frame/receiver back to smith and Wesson in the am to see if they can make sure it's safe and re-nickel. I'll keep everyone posted.

I'm glad you're doing this. Warms the heart.

You can spend couple thousand for one of the big name restorers or you can have some gunsmith reblue it and replace grips for maybe $3-400. If you plan to put it in a shadow box and hang it on the wall, the latter will be just as effective as a hi-dollar job.

It's gonna be nickel like it was originally. I jut sent it to s&w to check the frame and re-nickel it.

As long as the frame is in spec and s&w will re nickel it it I'll put it back together myself.

Keep us all posted for sure!

Ok here's what happened. I send the frame off to s&w along with pictures of my dad during his career as a deputy sheriff and the following letter :      Enclosed is the frame to my fathers nickel 586. My father is a retired deputy sheriff and he has used this weapon through the entirety of his law enforcement career. A few years back my parents home burnt and his 586 was in the fire. I am trying to restore this weapon for him as a surprise for his 73 birthday. I have acquired most all of the parts but I need to make sure the frame is still safe and in spec after being in the fire. I have also included the trigger and hammer assembly. I would like to have you re-nickel the frame and re-case color the hammer and trigger. Any help you can provide will be appreciated beyond belief!! I have enclosed some pictures of his gun after the fire , also a couple pics of my father during his career. Below is my contact info im also including a business card. Thank you so much in advance! . I get a phone call and a voice mail from s&w that said " hello mr Gilbert, I have a frame here and there's nothing I can do with this thing so just letting you know we're sending it back " the guy sounded very sarcastic and aggrevated that he had to call me! Today I receive it in a box from fed ex, no explanation, just my frame wrapped in paper in a cardboard box. If they could not repair it I understand , but I expected a little more of a personal response especially since I made it clear how important this was to me. I currently own several s&w firearms but from this point forward I'll never buy a new product from them.

killswitch...i agree they could have done a better job breaking the news to you...from reading the previous post i think several were trying to gently tell you that when a gun goes thru a fire like this..forget it...far to much damage to repair...i'm pretty sure the nickle would not take and they have to guarantee the work....to me the fire is a part of the history of that gun...think of displaying it to include it's entire history

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Yeah , I just wanted to try to see if it was possible, It was obvious to me that s&w service could have cared less .

Send it to Turnbull or Dave Chicoine. Either will at the very least give you an HONEST assessment of this project.
It would be a terrible shame if this couldn't get done.

I understand you desire to restore your Dad's gun, but from what I can see in the pictures, I suspect no one is going to want to restore the gun if for no other reason than liablilty if the gun was ever to be fired and something bad happened.

I'm sure you don't intend for that to happen, but who knows what will happen in the future.

Perhaps,,,, perhaps, if you agreed to have it permanently deactivated in some manner, someone might agree to help.

I think I would clean it up as best you can and put it in a shadow box in honorable retirement.
Then get Dad another gun just like it. It will be cheaper and safer in the long run, and your Dad and your family can enjoy the new gun for years and years to come.

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Eccentric old coot

Yeah, i put it and the parts away in back of the safe for now. I understand everyone's point about liability . Thanks everyone who tried to help.

I can understand S&W not wanting to do it, but they sure handled it piss poor. Total lack of tact and compassion...

I also have to agree, I would not want to fire it after it's been through such heat, metal changes when it's been exposed to that much heat.

I saw 4" nickle 586's at two different tables at the last gunshow.

they are out there.

Buy him a clean used one of the same vintage, one you can go out and shoot some hot 125gr without worry.

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