586 questions- tool kit and "M" stamp

[carguychris]

Howdy all,

I just bought myself an early Xmas present... a very, very nice early-production no-dash Model 586 with a 6" barrel, target stocks, and a Patridge front sight.

It's my first L frame.

I have a couple of questions...

1) It came with the original box and documents, however, there is no tool kit. Is there supposed to be one? I know S&W stopped including them at some point, but I'm not enough of a nerd to know when that was.

2) The gun has the "M" stamp inside the yoke cut, and I've been told this was due to a recall to fix faulty firing pin bushings that could back out under recoil. First, is this accurate, and second, were some of these guns built this way and factory-stamped? The stamp is above the MOD. 586 text and is crooked, so it looks like it could have been done after the gun was shipped.

I'll post pics later.

 

[carguychris]

Howdy all,

I just bought myself an early Xmas present... a very, very nice early-production no-dash Model 586 with a 6" barrel, target stocks, and a Patridge front sight.

It's my first L frame.

I have a couple of questions...

1) It came with the original box and documents, however, there is no tool kit. Is there supposed to be one? I know S&W stopped including them at some point, but I'm not enough of a nerd to know when that was.

2) The gun has the "M" stamp inside the yoke cut, and I've been told this was due to a recall to fix faulty firing pin bushings that could back out under recoil. First, is this accurate, and second, were some of these guns built this way and factory-stamped? The stamp is above the MOD. 586 text and is crooked, so it looks like it could have been done after the gun was shipped.

I'll post pics later.

 

[xrmattaz]

Originally posted by carguychris:
Howdy all,

I just bought myself an early Xmas present... a very, very nice early-production no-dash Model 586 with a 6" barrel, target stocks, and a Patridge front sight.

It's my first L frame.

I have a couple of questions...

1) It came with the original box and documents, however, there is no tool kit. Is there supposed to be one? I know S&W stopped including them at some point, but I'm not enough of a nerd to know when that was.

2) The gun has the "M" stamp inside the yoke cut, and I've been told this was due to a recall to fix faulty firing pin bushings that could back out under recoil. First, is this accurate, and second, were some of these guns built this way and factory-stamped? The stamp is above the MOD. 586 text and is crooked, so it looks like it could have been done after the gun was shipped.

I'll post pics later.

A no-dash 686 (like mine) would have been delivered without the modification. I've not sent mine in, yet. Some folks had/have trouble with hot loads causing primer flow, effectively tying up the revolver. The modification will fix this.

You are missing your tool kit, which would involve a cleaning rod, mop, brush and screwdriver.

 

[G-Mac]

Authorized S&W repair centers also used the M stamp. Some guns were stamped at the factory, some weren't.

 

[Gunhacker]

If I remember correctly, I think the tool kit my 686 no dash came with had a cleaning rod that was straight and knurled on the end, instead of the loop on the earlier styles, and the sight adjusting screw driver was flat, stamped from sheet steel, instead of a real screw driver with the fluted aluminum handle.

A lot has been said about the recall... and for the most part it's been blown out of proportion.

There was some limited problems with a specific loading of Federal .357 Magnum ammo, S&W decided to issue the recall to play it safe and head off a potential disaster in bad press and also loss of confidence by their LE customers. Remember this was at a time when the popularity of the semi-auto was starting to gain favor. Having the lions share of the LE market at the time, S&W needed to prevent any perceived lack of confidence in their product.

My 686 was sent back for the modification, I also have a 586 no dash acquired later that was not modified and it has not had any problems whatsoever.

 

[packnru]

My 686-1 came with the loop cleaning rod and the flat screwdriver.

 

[Hillbilly Jim]

I just purchased a 586 this past weekend with box and toolkit sealed in plastic. No owners manual. Extremely accurate although has a very high round count.
Good luck and safe shooting.
Cheers
Hillbilly Jim

 

[carguychris]

OK, here are the pictures.

Crooked "M": (last 2 digits of s/n obscured by me)

Here's why I'm a bit bummed that I don't have the tool kit:

The stocks still have the inspector's stickers on them.

The box is numbered to the gun and still has the wax paper in it. Amusingly, the holster pamphlet is for K frames... I wonder if the worker at the factory grabbed from the wrong stack.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Keep your eyes open carguychris, I've seen some of the tool kits for sale on this and other forums lately. I saw them about a day too late though.

 

[MarineAce]

Seems there are a lot of 586's up for sale lately Whats seems to be the going price?
I have one on hold (4") for $499 98% or better
boxs all the docs no cleaning kit and no M stamp
Is this fair or to high .

Thanks
Mike

 

[carguychris]

Originally posted by MarineAce:
Seems there are a lot of 586's up for sale lately Whats seems to be the going price?
I have one on hold (4") for $499 98% or better
boxs all the docs no cleaning kit and no M stamp
Is this fair or to high .

That seems fair because it's just about exactly what I paid for this one.

It's not a red-hot smoking steal, but it's certainly a very good price IMHO.

I actually wasn't looking for a 586 specifically, I was looking for a 4-6" barrel L frame with adjustable sights. My quest turned up 3-4 well-used ~90% 6" 686s for $525-$575 asking price, some scratched-up 4" LE trade-in 686s with numbers engraved into the sideplates for $425, and two very nice special editions for $600+ (a recent SSR and a 5" partial-underlug with the Hi-Viz front sight). When I stumbled upon this one, I put it on layaway right away.

I've seen 586s go for $350-$400 but they were beaters with no box, docs, or kit. The going rate for 586s seems to be 10%-15% lower than an equivalent 686, but IMHO they are only going to go up and overtake 686s because S&W isn't making 586s anymore.

 

[carguychris]

I really need to figure out how to light my photos better...

 

[xrmattaz]

Originally posted by carguychris:
I really need to figure out how to light my photos better...

Chris, try going outside, 8 or 9 in the morning works for me, take pics in the shade, with the sunlight behind you.

Clarification.....I take pics on the side of the house, so my subject is in the shade, but I have the morning sunlight to brighten things up a bit.