Frank V
Member
Post away, as far as I know it's for admirers of the 58?
The 'unofficial' 58 Club
- Thread starter SAFireman
- Start date
Post away, as far as I know it's for admirers of the 58?
OP
SAFireman
Member
Yup, I started this page years ago when I got my first 58.....They are really great guns and the LE world missed out I am afraid.
Post anything you like....as long as you are a fan of the 58, you are in good company here. Welcome
SuperMan
Member
That is a nice conversion 10.... I have seen a lot of 58 conversions but that is the first .45 ACP I can remember seeing.... Most were .45 Colt or .44 Magnum...
Bob
Bob
10indian
Member
Thank you Bob, It does seem to be different; I haven't seen another one like it. I had purchased it with the intention of converting it back to a .41. After considering it's uniqueness along with it's shotability, and great mechanics; I decided it was just too good to be messing with. I will need to get a standard 58 as a stable mate for it though.
Don
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SuperMan
Member
For what it would cost you to change it back to .41 and then have it refinished you could have a second nice original 58...Bob
SuperMan
Member
Frank V
Member
Thanks for that link SuperMan.
I saw that on All Outdoor.com it's an interesting read.
Seems the 58 has almost a cult following.
I like them.
I saw that on All Outdoor.com it's an interesting read.
Seems the 58 has almost a cult following.
I like them.
BUFF
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I bought my Model 58 while a college student in August, 1978. NIB, blue finish, SN# N270873, for what was then MSRP which came out to $183.75 including about a 6% sales tax. I mentioned earlier that I planed to have a .45 Colt built out of it by adding a 6-1/2 inch 1955 Target barrel, the cylinder re-chambered and the top strap milled for S&W's adjustable rear sight. You couldn't buy a D.A. .45 Colt made by S&W at the time. Luckily, the .45 Colt M-25-3 was introduced a bit afterward, and I kept the M-58 the was it was.
I became a deputy sheriff in 1981. Our issue gun was the .38 Special Model 15, but you could provide your own S&W, Colt or Ruger in .38 or .357 if you wanted. While the K-frame Models 19 and 66 were the most popular choice, quite a few deputies carried the Model 28 Highway Patrolman, just as big and heavy a gun as the M-58. The captain over the detective division carried a 6-1/2 inch Model 27.
After a year or two, several of us who followed the officer survival movement began trying to convince the Sheriff and the administration to allow us to carry bigger bore revolvers. S&W was then making suitable guns in .44 Special, .45 Colt, .45 ACP, .44 Magnum and, of course, .41 Magnum. More importantly, Winchester, Federal and Remington were making ammunition in these calibers suitable for law enforcement, such as the Silvertips, and lead hollow point semiwadcutters. The department armorer was already trained to maintain the N frame, so that wasn't a hurdle. We proposed that deputies carrying anything other than .38 or .357 would be obligated to provide our own qualification and duty ammo, subject to any specification the department might issue. Nobody wanted to carry .41 and .44 Magnum full-charge hunting ammunition.
The armorer/firearms instructor for the department would put on practice shoots on Wednesday afternoons. One Wednesday, I took my Model 58, a .44 Special Model 24-3 and a .45 Colt Model 25-5 to the shoot, with appropriate ammo. Our 50 round course of qualification was fairly easy and I had time to shoot it twice, using the .41 and the .45, while a pal shot my .44 Special. We all shot perfect scores.
We had hoped our demonstration would get the armorer behind our proposal; if nothing else, it would save the department the cost of the ammo that big bore adoptees would otherwise shoot.
Our plan went nowhere.
My standard mid-range .41 Magnum reload was a cast 212 grain SWC over 8.0 grains of Unique. Sometimes I loaded and shot Speer's 3/4 jacketed 200 grain hollow point or 220 grain soft point. Those were excellent bullets. I also loaded various 210 grain jacketed hollow points over a full charge of H-2400 or W-296.
I never was able to qualify with and carry any of the .40+ caliber guns, but one winter, mebbe 2 winters, I packed the Model 58 in a shoulder holster under my winter duty coat to finish off injured deer hit by vehicles. There was also a horse (the owner wanted it euthanized after it was hit by a truck) and a very large cow Shiras moose. The full power handloads put their slugs right through the horse and moose skulls.
I was NOT asked to finish off the two heavily damaged trucks that hit them.
Skeeter Skelton was somewhat involved in getting the .41 Magnum produced. He wrote that he, Bill Jordan and Elmer Keith envisioned a .40 or .41 caliber cartridge housed in a frame sized in between the large N frame and the smaller K frame, perhaps the size and heft of the L frame Model 686 produced 20 years later. But that was a bit too financially weighty for the times. So, S&W used what they had.
I need to dig my M-58 out of the safe and go shoot it. It's probably been 20 years since it roared.
I became a deputy sheriff in 1981. Our issue gun was the .38 Special Model 15, but you could provide your own S&W, Colt or Ruger in .38 or .357 if you wanted. While the K-frame Models 19 and 66 were the most popular choice, quite a few deputies carried the Model 28 Highway Patrolman, just as big and heavy a gun as the M-58. The captain over the detective division carried a 6-1/2 inch Model 27.
After a year or two, several of us who followed the officer survival movement began trying to convince the Sheriff and the administration to allow us to carry bigger bore revolvers. S&W was then making suitable guns in .44 Special, .45 Colt, .45 ACP, .44 Magnum and, of course, .41 Magnum. More importantly, Winchester, Federal and Remington were making ammunition in these calibers suitable for law enforcement, such as the Silvertips, and lead hollow point semiwadcutters. The department armorer was already trained to maintain the N frame, so that wasn't a hurdle. We proposed that deputies carrying anything other than .38 or .357 would be obligated to provide our own qualification and duty ammo, subject to any specification the department might issue. Nobody wanted to carry .41 and .44 Magnum full-charge hunting ammunition.
The armorer/firearms instructor for the department would put on practice shoots on Wednesday afternoons. One Wednesday, I took my Model 58, a .44 Special Model 24-3 and a .45 Colt Model 25-5 to the shoot, with appropriate ammo. Our 50 round course of qualification was fairly easy and I had time to shoot it twice, using the .41 and the .45, while a pal shot my .44 Special. We all shot perfect scores.
We had hoped our demonstration would get the armorer behind our proposal; if nothing else, it would save the department the cost of the ammo that big bore adoptees would otherwise shoot.
Our plan went nowhere.
My standard mid-range .41 Magnum reload was a cast 212 grain SWC over 8.0 grains of Unique. Sometimes I loaded and shot Speer's 3/4 jacketed 200 grain hollow point or 220 grain soft point. Those were excellent bullets. I also loaded various 210 grain jacketed hollow points over a full charge of H-2400 or W-296.
I never was able to qualify with and carry any of the .40+ caliber guns, but one winter, mebbe 2 winters, I packed the Model 58 in a shoulder holster under my winter duty coat to finish off injured deer hit by vehicles. There was also a horse (the owner wanted it euthanized after it was hit by a truck) and a very large cow Shiras moose. The full power handloads put their slugs right through the horse and moose skulls.
I was NOT asked to finish off the two heavily damaged trucks that hit them.
Skeeter Skelton was somewhat involved in getting the .41 Magnum produced. He wrote that he, Bill Jordan and Elmer Keith envisioned a .40 or .41 caliber cartridge housed in a frame sized in between the large N frame and the smaller K frame, perhaps the size and heft of the L frame Model 686 produced 20 years later. But that was a bit too financially weighty for the times. So, S&W used what they had.
I need to dig my M-58 out of the safe and go shoot it. It's probably been 20 years since it roared.
I was lucky in that my police department allowed .38 special, 9mm or LARGER. I always carried a .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .44 Special, .44 Magnum or .41 Magnum.
I took a round butt 4" M19 to the police academy, but only because the PD supplied me with 500 rounds of .38 special ammo and I couldn't afford to load up that much .44 Special ammo at the time. I was then carrying a M27 to .44 Special conversion as my duty gun.
I took a round butt 4" M19 to the police academy, but only because the PD supplied me with 500 rounds of .38 special ammo and I couldn't afford to load up that much .44 Special ammo at the time. I was then carrying a M27 to .44 Special conversion as my duty gun.
SuperMan
Member
Funny how 8.0 grains of Unique seems to be one of the most popular reloads for a .41...and exactly duplicates the original 210 Police Load...
I was also lucky in that Dallas PD allowed large bore revolvers the whole time I was with them. They finally eliminated them sometime in the mid-1990s...
Bob
I was also lucky in that Dallas PD allowed large bore revolvers the whole time I was with them. They finally eliminated them sometime in the mid-1990s...
Bob
SuperMan
Member
It is too bad that when S&W brought back the 58 a few years ago they had to -1 it...with the IL. If they had just brought it back without the pinned barrel, recessed cylinder and had the MIM parts and internal firing pin I think it would have sold a lot better...
I had a nice nickel one but sold it to a guy in California who could not "import" a no-...
Bob
The gun that serves no real purpose. Too big and heavy with excessive recoil for police work. The fixed sights make it less attractive for sporting use than the 57. There is nothing the 41 Magnum can do the 44 can't do better. The 41 is a caliber that demands reloading for economy and to make sure you have some as not every store will have it on hand.
Yet the 58 has developed a cult following. I described the 58 as "a Model 10 on steroids" many years ago. Back around 1988 when I had an FFL I saw a wholesaler offering 58s as police trade ins for $189. I bought one as a curiosity. Came with the usual (and abominable) Pachmayrs so I dug through my big box of parts and found that somewhere along the way I had acquired two sets of correct 58 Stocks (without even looking for them) so I slapped on a set.
No matter how hard I tried I never could figure out a specific purpose for this gun. The closest I came was as a "woods" or backpacking gun where one might want a lot of power for dangerous animals is the most compact package possible. But this was reaching. I am not in the least bit surprised that the 58 was a failure in the marketplace.
I have kept this gun for 23 years just so I can say I have one... I guess. I shoot it now and then. I must confess that I don't understand the fascination with this revolver.
But, I do have one. I lettered it back when it cost $20 and it was shipped to Philadelphia in 1977. I have never been able to ID any police agency in PA that used the 58 so I don't know which (if any) department used this gun. The serial suggests a 1974 date so it appears this pistol set in inventory three years before being shipped. They were not fast sellers.
Hi. I might be able to help you identify the agency that issued your 58. Back in the mid 70s, the Pennsauken Police issued the Model 58, just after the Camden riots. Pennsauken is right across the river from Philadelphia, in New Jersey. A buddy of mine was on the force when they issued the 58, and I was lucky enough to be able to try his 58 down at the "pit". That session started my interest in the 41 Magnum that wasn't quenched until I got my 57 in early '92.
Frank V
Member
Thanks for sharing some nice guns everyone.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
Let's say if you don't have a m58 then you should have one.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
I remembered that time the mafia owned many square blocks of housing there. The rioters were warned not to enter that area.
They listened.(60's) I lived in John Travolta and Jimmy Galfino's home town of Westwood, that's near Paramus.
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BigBill
Absent Comrade
I don't like shorter barrels than 5". But the m58/4" is balanced spot on with the larger N Frame. The m58 is the only N Frame I have ever shot. I'm a ruger SBH, Redhawk guy. The N Frame is awesome.
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Frank V
Member
I have shot several 58s & I agree they are well balanced & I like the regular "magna" stocks too.
I am a 41 Mag freak and have several. But the current price of 58's and their availability has kept one out of my collection. I haven't decided yet if I want to pay the freight or just stand pat on my current 57's and 657's.
SuperMan
Member
I've seen several shooter grade guns go for under $750 recently...never stop looking...
Bob
Bob
