S&W Model 58 41 mag. Anything special about them?

At least I think its a 58. Its a 4", fixed sight 41 mag in a large frame. Pinned and recessed. This is a gun thats part of a batch of confiscated handguns and rifles that a local shop won in a police auction.
Gun has almost no finish, and is priced at $430 + tax. That seems awful high, considering I bought a nice S&W 19 for $360, and a decent TC Contender in 30/30 with vintage scope for $260 that are out of the same batch of police guns.
Maybe the shop owner realized he was selling stuff a litte cheap? Maybe a S&W 58 is something hard to find?

From your description, it is a model 58. These are nice, kind of a model 10 heavy barrel on steroids. They are relatively scarce and collectible, but as described the price does seem high. Sportsterguy here on the Forum will also sing the praises of the model 58 shortly .

They are a "niche" gun . . . most either love them or hate them. They are big, they are heavy, they shoot a caliber somewhat off the mainstream. The reasons most either hate them or love them.

For a practical matter, unless you have a situation where you pack it in the open in a hip holster as a duty or hunting gun (and without adjustable sites there are better choices for a hunting gun) the gun is strictly a novelty for most and range gun to play with. I was into the 41 mag for a while, got out and a trade for a 58 pulled me back in. But then, I am a hopeless N frame addict . . . . .

From your post the best deal sounds like the TC if it isn't shot to doll rags . . .

I think I have seen the one you are talking about and to me it seems too high, it looks like it might have been a little close to a fire. They are hard to find and if a person really wanted one you might try to make him a low offer.

I bought one last year when I walked into a gun shop to buy a Ruger Old Army they had, and saw it in the showcase. Had to have it after looking at it closely. It shoots great with my reloads and is very accurate. It came with the target stocks, but I had Keith Brown make me a set of PC Magnas for it and they really look fantastic on the gun. Oh, I did buy the Old Army too.

lawandorder said:

I think I have seen the one you are talking about and to me it seems too high, it looks like it might have been a little close to a fire. They are hard to find and if a person really wanted one you might try to make him a low offer.

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The one at Bates? Yea, I think its high because of the condition. Seeing you are from Arkansas, do you notice the lack of Smiths on the shelves other than newer J frames and autos? I'm always on the look out for K, L, and N frames, but they rarely show up.

And, they can be opened up to a very nice 44 Special!!!

EarlFH

EarlFH said:

And, they can be opened up to a very nice 44 Special!!!

EarlFH

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Now there's the ticket man, there's the ticket!

EarlFH said:

And, they can be opened up to a very nice 44 Special!!!

EarlFH

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senecaap said:

Now there's the ticket man, there's the ticket!

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Now that would just be silly.

KO

senecaap said:

Now there's the ticket man, there's the ticket!

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...and if you do someday someone from "The Cult" will find you.....desecration of a venerated object is a crime most places...with Cult members it is a Capital offense....

With no original finish on it for $400+- it would be a decent buy if the metal was not dinged up and the action tight. I have seen 58s that were recently refinished by the factory and they are gorgeous...

Bob
Cult of the .41 Member....

Bill: Those KB Magnas are beautiful. Nice way to dress up that ole classic.

SuperMan said:

...and if you do someday someone from "The Cult" will find you.....desecration of a venerated object is a crime most places...with Cult members it is a Capital offense....

With no original finish on it for $400+- it would be a decent buy if the metal was not dinged up and the action tight. I have seen 58s that were recently refinished by the factory and they are gorgeous...

Bob
Cult of the .41 Member....

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I fear not your heathen cult, most likely associated with Set and the heathen snake gods of old. I am of the Cult of Double Perfection, the Special Cult which is .03 times better than the Cult of the .41.....but both are better than the .357 Cult

On a serious note, I have shot a 58 converted to .44 Sp, and it was a good shooter and good to carry (for the day and a half I borrowed it), the owner was forced to rechamber it, something about a damaged bore, I only saw it after in its reincarnated state.
I would try to get the price down and keep it for a shooter/truck gun.

It would be a beast if you could rechamber it to 44 mag or 45 colt. A 58 is on my short list but I cannot afford another project. I would pick it up of the metal was in good shape still. No pitting or dents. A couple hundred toward s&w for a refinish and You'll be doing ok.

The Model 58 is certainly a cult gun at the moment. They were made from about 1964-78, so they have been out of production for a while. Smith has put them back into their Classic line of revolvers.

When they originally came out, Smith couldn't give them away. The 58 would sit on dealers shelves for a long time and have only become popular to collectors in the last 10 years or so. I realy don't know why this pistol has taken off in the collector area of Smiths.

I do have one that I bought in the late 1990s. It shoots great and also has a Mag-Na-Port barrel on it. I reload for this and also my Model 57. Purchasing factory ammo in 41 is very pricy, if it can even be found.

It's fun to shoot, but at the price and condition you mentioned, I would pass.

murphydog said:

From your description, it is a model 58. These are nice, kind of a model 10 heavy barrel on steroids. They are relatively scarce and collectible, but as described the price does seem high. Sportsterguy here on the Forum will also sing the praises of the model 58 shortly .

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Here I am murphydog. This is one great SD revolver and can be very versatile if you reload for the round. It can be a deer slayer extrodinaire if it shoots to POI and you keep the range down. I'd have yours either reblued or better yet hard chromed by Accurate Plating & Weaponry if you use it for either of the two choices. Swap the magnas out with Pacs for shooting, load that baby with some Speer 210 gr. GD's and you have a killer combo for a round that shoots straight and packs a punch. They pretty much are a model 10 with more muscle and that model has been keeping folks safe and burying bad guys for decades.

I have one but it's just too darn nice to end up in an evidence locker, but have a 3" 657 with the SGD's at my bedside real close to my 870 for intruders. Ammo can be had if you look around, but reloading is the way to go. My old Rock Chucker allows me to reload that round for about $8.00-$10.00 a box with LSWC's and 7.0 grains of Unique. Way cheaper than a factory box of 9m's or .357's To get my 58 shoting POI I upped the grains to 7.5 and its right on at 25 yards and a pleasure to shoot. The Gold Dots have a kick so I'd suggest buying some Cowboy Loads from Georgia Arms and work your way up to the GD's. Accuracy is king in a shoot so make sure that first shot hits COM then continue shooting AS/IF needed.

As I have said before I've taken 38 deer with my .41 mags over the years and will put it up against any .44 mag for taking home the venison. If it works great on a 150-250 lb. deer it will do it's job on a human if needed.

It is an all around great revolver and not many around. I let my first one go (DUMB) and finally replaced it last year. This one is in fantastic shape and shoots like a champ.

Try to get him down on the price, hard chrome that baby and you'll have a great gun for the house, woods or for hunting at close range.

The new classic series is an insult to the revolver IMO. Grips don't fit the frame and it has that obnoxious hole drilled in the sideplate. They are selling for more than many of the older revolvers, which have some great triggers. As much as I love .41 mags I will never own one!

SG - .41 mag cult member and darn proud of it.

bronco45 said:

Bill: Those KB Magnas are beautiful. Nice way to dress up that ole classic.

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Got to thank Keith for his excellent craftsmanship. I agree that they really dress up the old girl.

Yet another PROUD CULT member here...and while I have one, I want another....
Yeah, reloading is the way to feed it.....and as others have said, you can feed it two legged varmint medicine, or stoke it up for close range 4 legged varmints...
Mine shoots better than I do, and I am not afraid to carry it anywhere, anytime....
I would have tried to negotiate him down, but for just over 400 bucks I would have walked out with it...you can always refinish it, if it needs it....

I've got a mdl 58 that I got from a client, they wouldn't let him take it to the joint for some reason. After it came out of evidence it was pretty sorry. I had S&W Adjustable Sites installed and refinished in Armalloy. This was back in the 70s. I have taken several deer with it. I see no noticeable difference between the .41 mag and .44 mag. on Whitetail.

lawdog45 said:

I've got a mdl 58 that I got from a client, they wouldn't let him take it to the joint for some reason. After it came out of evidence it was pretty sorry. I had S&W Adjustable Sites installed and refinished in Armalloy. This was back in the 70s. I have taken several deer with it. I see no noticeable difference between the .41 mag and .44 mag. on Whitetail.

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Pic of that 58 would be nice lawdog45. LMBO at your clients dilemma on not being allowed to take your 58 to lockup for SD.

With my handloads most of the deer went down as if they were hit with a 30-30.