Picked up a used 581 last year and figured out the recall was never done. Called S&W and sent it in Feb 16 and got it back March 3 (shipping on their dime). You can see the firing pin/breech insert has been replaced and maybe a new hammer nose. Not sure exactly.

So for anyone wondering, they do still do the recall upgrade on the old no dash L frames.

Rosewood

Sure - they will still do the M recall

__________________
S&W factory revolver armorer

Can you tell by looking? It it better, worse, or the same? What can happen to a non modified?

__________________
"Don't Give Up the Ship"

There were reports of non modified early L frames having the primer blow back into the firing pin hole which was to big and causing the gun to freeze up. If I recall correctly, it was only with light 125 grain .357 ammo but no problems with heavier .357 bullets or any weight .38 ammo. I knew a couple of friends who owned the guns and they never sent them in for the recall and they shot all weight .357 bullets with no problems and if one tried the lighter weight bullets and no problems, the gun was good to go.

I never had any problems with un-modified 581/586s using a variety of ammo. I recently picked up a 581 from 31 Jan, 1984 (no M overstamp) but I have not shot it yet.

Had my 681 done a couple of years ago. Process was painless. Took about a month. I suspect they do these in batches.

I hadn't had any issues from it. Just figured if there was a recall, why not send it in and get it upgraded before they stop doing it.

You can see the bushing around the firing pin hole is new. They may have replaced the firing pin nose also.

Rosewood

Yes. I think the recall did include replacing the firing pin nose along with the firing pin bushing. I believe the recall only included no dash models, but I'm not sure if dash 1's were included in the recall. I'm pretty sure that by dash 2's and up, the modification was not needed.

Here's the best write-up on the recall AFAIK. The 1987 L-Frame Recall – RevolverGuy.Com

__________________
AKA SixToEight

I have a 586 no dash without M. The S&W factory responded, they no longer take care of the matter. The revolver is in Finland

I bought the revolver in 1997, never had a problem with it even with hard .357 magnums

I want 581 or 681

I picked up a 686 no dash last week and it happened, but only on one out of six holes. I was shooting factory Fiocchi 142 gr. A couple other holes did slightly, but not enough to lock the cylinder. Not sure why just those three. Also, it didn't do it at all with my hotter 148 gr. reloads.

Did they stamp the M in the yoke cut?
Also did they tune up the action at all?
Did they provide a detailed list of what work was performed?
In the old days I heard they tuned up the action as a courtesy while there, that alone would be worth sending in a non M stamped gun IMO.

Just saw your post. They did stamp the M on the frame under the yoke above the model number. I can't say if they did anything else, I haven't had the gun long and really am not too intimate with it. It does have a really nice DA trigger. Better than most factory guns for sure. No idea if they did that or not.

No details, just said L frame recall and ghost materials.

Rosewood

I had a contract to do the recall through the gun shop I worked for part time. My Dept sent me to S&W's armorer course for revolvers.
Recall was to replace hammer nose & hammer nose bushing. All necessary tools and gauges were sent to me, and I still have them. Did the recall for a local Sheriff's Dept., and ended up having to send one of their guns back to S&W as there was a problem with the frame. S&W sent me a new gun to replace the bad one.
I never heard that S&W did a tune up on the guns. I always cleaned the guns during the recall work, and fixed any other problems the guns had, like end shake or whatever.
I enjoyed doing the work, and made sure that the work was done correctly.
Problem arose from Federal .357 ammo, whose primers are soft. S&W sent me several thousand rounds of Federal ammo to proof fire the guns after doing the recall work.

I never had an issue with my 581 (no dash) I bought in 1983. Sent it in in November of 2018. The nice people at S&W did the upgrade, retimed the gun, new hand, some new springs, and corrected the endshake. All for free after I had the gun for 35 years. I"m sure the gun will be shooting fine long after my ability to shoot it.

I don't know if they did all that work for free because I am the original owner, but superior service in my book.

I just sent mine in on the 13th. They recieved it on 15th. I will advise when I get it back.

__________________
Guns + Dogs= Bliss

Over the years I've had one 686 and two 586's sent to S&W for the recall. The 686 locked-up firing 158 grain Federal ammo on two separate occasions....from that point on any "No Dash" L-frame of mine has been returned for the fix.

Lot's of folks have older L-frames and have never had a problem, and that's great. And some say the problem only happens with hot 125 grain ammo..........that has not been my experience. My thoughts are since S&W offers the fix on their nickel then why not have it done and avoid a potential problem that "Murphy's Law" says will occur at the worst possible time.

BTW, all those L-frames after the fix have digested hot 125's to hot 180's without a hick-up.

Don

__________________
Laus Deo! <><

I sent my 586-no dash in a couple years back for the recall and also asked if they would look at the timing and BC gap.
After the recall they sent it to the custom shop and wanted to charge me for any further work.
I declined and it took 3 calls to get returned.

I just called S&W, no update as to when they’ll complete the recall and return. Was advised to call back in 2 weeks. Has been about 1 1/2 months since I sent, but they did have their 2 week maintenance break. While disappointed I’ve seen no movement, will call back in 2 weeks & report back.

Patiently waiting…..

__________________
Guns + Dogs= Bliss

That's a sad commentary.

I recently acquired an all original, very early 581 (AAA serial number prefix, with the box). I do plan on shooting it, but there is no chance it will ever go back for that recall, at least not by me.

I have a 4 in nickel no dash that I bought new. never has failed and I ain't sending it back.

__________________
S&W Accumulator

I sent my M586 in for the M Bushing recall back in the early 1980's just because. I never had ay issues with it but figured if there was a recall there must be a reason why. That was in the early 80's but now days I'd think long and hard before sending in a beautiful vintage revolver that was not giving me any problems.

Good news! Just got an email from FedEx that a package is being prepared for shipment from Springfield MA. My guess is I’ll see it arrive by Weds next week. Will report back after it arrives.

__________________
Guns + Dogs= Bliss

I bought this one in the early 80’s. Never had a problem and don’t plan on sending it in either.

Attached Images

IMG_0315.jpg (64.1 KB, 306 views)

I have a 586 no-dash that hasn't been through the recall modification. It's given me no trouble with what I've fed it. That's not to say it would be trouble-free with other ammo. I won't sent it back to S&W for two reasons. 1) I hear too much about their ham-fisted gunsmiths to let them have a crack at it. 2) The action has been slicked up and tuned. It's as smooth as melted butter and I'm concerned that they'd "fix" it. Return it back to factory specs. So, unrecalled she remains.

I took a look at the 581 I mentioned in post #5. It's ANIB and i will not be sending it back.

By the way, Wilson's had the audacity to charge $239 for this thing back in 1984.

I had never heard before that S&W might have done action work on recalled L frames but I have always wondered why my "M" yoke stamped 686 is such a shooter. I bought it used in the 90s and it has the best single and double action trigger of any Smiths I have including the ones I put Wolff spring kits in. Because it is a silhouette model I always wondered if it had been given a trigger job by the previous owner, which still might be the case. Thanks to the posters on this thread, I have a new possibility.

Attached Images

	686 yoke.jpg (68.8 KB, 17 views)
	686 full.jpg (47.9 KB, 19 views)

I picked this 681 no dash up today at a local pawn shop, no M stamp and it will stay that way.

Attached Images

RenderedImage.jpg (76.0 KB, 26 views)

My first revolver purchase a few years ago was a 4" 686 no dash. I looked it up in the standard catalogue 4th Ed. and THEN I noticed the recall ! Being inexperienced with such matters I took the recall very seriously, and sent the gun back to S&W. It took 10 weeks to get my 686 back, but it shoots great ! They even smoothed out a rough spot on the ejector shroud ! I am very happy with the gun !They did stamp an M above the model number.

I bought and started carrying a 586 soon after they came out. Had no problem with any factory or reloaded ammo I used. Later sold it to a good friend, who had it tie up on some type of .357 ammo; he mostly shot his own reloads. I offered to buy it back, but he declined and sent it in for the "M" modification. Several years ago I acquired a LNIB no dash. I had no trouble with .357 ammo, but sent it in anyway. If I had it to do over, don't think I'd send it in. IIRC, I did have S&W give it a tune up while they had it. Cost about $60.00 I think it was. My current no dash is definitely not going to be sent in..

Attached Images

686 (5).jpg (105.1 KB, 21 views)

__________________
NRA Life, COTEP 640

I thought cutting/re-cutting the forcing cone was also part of the original modification. Did you do this also?

Hello everyone, I picked my 581nd up a couple of years ago,wasn't shot much, I have no intentions of firing with hot magnums or using it for self defense. So it stay with me at home.

Sent from my SM-S918W using Tapatalk

My 581 arrived today. M stamped and new firing pin bushing & what looks like new firing pin on the hammer.

Now time to get a decent set of grips…..

__________________
Guns + Dogs= Bliss

Wow, they saw you coming! It's been said that a sucker's born every day! LOL

__________________
Dan
Ps 96 SWCA 2930 SWHF 524

They got me.

Attached Images

IMG_1244 (2).jpg (33.8 KB, 29 views)

Was finally able to get to the range with my 581. It shot well, over 50 rds at some near and close targets in my adhoc IDPA stage, moving while shooting with some strong hand only shooting.

I’ll admit, the front sight is tough for me to see, especially in comparison to my SIg P365 w/ X-ray sights. Will try a simple paint the front sight trick first to see if that helps.

Like the gun quite a bit. Still need to get new grips for it

__________________
Guns + Dogs= Bliss

The problem was the 357 produced by one manufacturer was blowing out primers and causing the cylinder to bind. S&W didn’t want to be known for a jamming revolver and modified the hammer nose and firing pin bushing.

S&W wanted their firearm to be 100% reliable with all ammo instead of telling the end user to try a different brand of ammo. All manufacturers should live by that gold standard. And maybe S&W has lost some of that in today's environment.

Rosewood

Doing the forcing cone was not part of the recall.