OLDSTER
Member
You guys are all killing me here !! Beautiful stuff!!
My 586 project is finally done! **WARNING - S&W Purists may want to skip this**
- Thread starter Hillbilly77
- Start date
GyMac
US Veteran
I think your gun is beautiful and am glad that you are happy with it. But I had one with the patridge front sight and have always regretted selling it.
Thanks for not having them install the Lock
Hillbilly77, I'm not seeing the 6" with patridge sight around here. My old 6" had the ramp sight, and I think I would have retained your sight as it was. Just one opinion, but your "new" gun looks great. I've thought about sending a couple guns back to S&W for refinishing, and your piece makes me want to do it all the more. I have read that they no longer mark refinished guns. Is yours marked?
What a beautiful job! Looks like the one that got stolen from me years ago. One I really wish I had back.
Well done!
Doc
Well done!
Doc
Beautiful gun. I picked up a 586 and a 19 a couple years ago. Kept the 19 as I was looking for something lighter to carry around the woods. Wish now I'd kept the 586. I did something similar with a 66-2. Had it all scratched up with engraving, replaced the grips with some Skeeter Skelton grips from Blu Magnum and had an action job done outside of S&W by Denny Reickhard. I wound up with much the same thing you did - a gun I'm proud of that I love to shoot. I think we Americans sometimes get too hung up on "factory original". The Brits thought nothing of sending the old Holland & Holland or Purdy back for re-blacking (as they call it). Wish I could find a nice Purdy in a closet that somebody had ruined by having it factory re-blued or the stock altered to fit the son after he inherited it.
I'm 72 years old and I doubt if my sons will bad mouth me after I'm gone for not keeping my M-66 stock.
I'm 72 years old and I doubt if my sons will bad mouth me after I'm gone for not keeping my M-66 stock.
My thoughts exactly, just didn't have the nerve to say it. Seems it could've been kept as is (was) and spent the money on a four inch. Anyway, very nice.
Great project result. Inspiring matter of fact.
Would you mind a PM with a question or 2?
Would you mind a PM with a question or 2?
I'm with you Hillbilly77, while I have a Stainless 686 thatI love to shoot, give me blue with wood grips anyday!
Bill
Bill
OP
Hillbilly77
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I'm not sure what you mean "marked". Is there a stamp or something? Where would I look for this mark if it existed?
A smashing success. hmmmm now I'm thinkin' S&W may get some work from me on a .41
Hillbilly77, years ago S&W would stamp a star next to the serial number on the butt to indicate major work they performed, often a refinish. The would also stamp a date on the left grip frame to indicate when it was done such as 11.37 indicating November of 1937. Also to be found were such things as the letters RN enclosed in a box on the grip frame which would indicate Refinish Nickel. Other markings were also stamped indicated such things as changed barrels.
BigMike76
Member
Looks pretty sweet!
DFrame
Member
Congratulations. Now stick on a set of Ahrends and it'll be perfect!
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Hillbilly77
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I finally got a minute to pull the grips off my gun.
Here are some pics of the markings. I don't know if they are all from when the gun was built or if some are new.
The marks in the second photo are tough to make out, but appear to be 3, C9, C20, A19.
There are no marks on the butt other than the serial number.
You know, as long as you're throwing money away to change from one factory configuration to another factory configuration, you might as well have gone ahead and had the rear sight channel welded up and made a Model 581 out of it. Throwing away money was the point of this exercise, right? 
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Hillbilly77
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Throwing away money was the point of this exercise, right?
Nope. The point was to rescue a damaged, abused, unloved Smith & Wesson. It was the decent thing to do.
Anybody that cared wouldn't have let it get to the shape it was in when I bought it. This was trip #2 back to the factory for repairs.
I knew I'd never get back the money I'd already put into it, so I figured while I was at it, I would just have it built the way I wanted.
Pick on me all you want, but I deserve a medal for resurrecting an unloved Smith.
I finally got a minute to pull the grips off my gun.
Here are some pics of the markings. I don't know if they are all from when the gun was built or if some are new.
The marks in the second photo are tough to make out, but appear to be 3, C9, C20, A19.
There are no marks on the butt other than the serial number.
Those marks are appear to all be inspector or fitters marks original to the gun when it was produced.
S&W would put a 3 or 4 digit stamping on the left side of the grip frame to show the date the gun was refininished. I have a M36 that has a stamping of 11 76 (Nov 1976.
Ahh, I see the pics you posted before I had a chance to answer the question. Looks like the date stamp is not there. Thanks.
