Sending in my 586

[pmbiker]

I purchased a very good condition 586 a few months ago, in the dead of winter. It is a no-dash and has not had the upgrade done to the firing pin bushing. I wasn't going to send it back, figured if it was this old and had no problems it should be fine, right. I just had to take it to the range and shoot a few.

This gun has obviously had an action job done, too good it seems as it was not reliable with Winchester or Magtech factory loads. A Marlin 1894c fired all the rounds the 586 failed to light. Could this be a Federal primer only gun?

I've heard that if a gun is sent in for service they won't let it leave with say a 2lb single action pull. Considering I need the recalled modification and would be getting a free ride back to S&W, I included a note saying that the gun had issues firing factory ammo when I sent it in.

I'm kinda wondering what they'll do to it. My guess was beyond the firing pin bushing mod I could expect new factory ignition parts and springs to cancel the light trigger job. What parts do they put in the old guns? Still any CCH hammers and triggers lying about? The parts in the gun had been polished out with the action job so I'm hoping for new CCH parts.

 

[Sverre]

PMBiker,

All five of my 586's and 686's were returned to Springfield for the FP and bushing "M" modification. In all five revolvers the factory REMOVED the trigger overtravel mechanism entirely, and did NOT return them. On my 4-position AFS 686 they also removed my custom Wolff spring, and replaced it with a standard factory lawyer-proofed mainspring. A minor irritation, to say the least, but I would have preferred they left these in, as these are range, not duty, weapons.

If you send yours in, SPECIFY that you do not want them to monkey with these items. But first call the service center, and talk it over with the rep. Other Forum members reported their L- frames were returned with the overtravel components intact, so there seems to be some inconsistency in their overhaul procedures from fitter to fitter. The phone call is free.

Cheers,

Sverre

 

[pmbiker]

In this case I actually want them to replace the parts with new factory parts. I like my slippery action and light trigger pulls but not going bang is a big problem. The polished parts as they are now look fine but the gun would look more proper with CCH parts.

 

[Vartex]

Will the hammer on your 586 "push off"? Have you checked that the strain screw is tight. The soft hammer strike "should not" be symtomatic of a proper trigger job. A soft hammer strike sounds like a main spring issue more than a trigger return spring issue.

It has been my expierence that customized parts are left in the gun (if requested) when sent to S&W for a recall repair like the firing pin bushing.

Hope it all works out.

 

[Gunhacker]

I was told by a customer service person once in no uncertain terms that they will swap out any non standard part that gives the gun an "out of spec" trigger pull, due to liability litigation concerns.

I was told that for them to let it leave the factory that way after being returned for repair, is considered tantamount to it being a matter of negligence or a tacit approval of the modification, either way S&W would be on the hook for any resulting lawsuit due to a mishap.

I forgot to ask whether or not a written waiver/release of liability sent with the gun would enable them to keep the "out of spec" parts installed... since had an extra Wolff spring kit, I figured if it comes back stock I'll just swap out the stock springs again. Well, it did come back stock, so I did the swap again.

The Ruger service department won't even accept a gun that's been modified in that manner.

Vartex is correct, a light hammer strike is most likely traced back to either the strain screw being backed out by someone not in the know trying to lighten the pull, or the mainspring has been swapped with a reduced power spring that's too light.

BTW... I recommend getting Jerry Miculek's DVD on S&W trigger jobs, I learned that there are many things that can be done to improve trigger feel without swapping in lighter springs.

 

[scott625b]

The solution may be simple, take out the parts you want to keep and replace them when the gun comes back from the factory. This way you will have 2 sets of parts, the ones you like and the ones the factory likes.

 

[pmbiker]

Well, I got it back today and was a bit surprised. First off was the exactly two week turn-around, not bad S&W. Second was the work done. The original issue was that the gun had not had the firing pin bushing modification done and I specifically stated that in the note I left inside the box. Also on that note I mentioned that the gun was unreliable with factory ammo.

The work order says they repaired the yoke and adjusted the mainspring weight but no mention of the firing pin bushing mod. Also my obviously worked-over hammer and trigger are still there. In addition to it not being mentioned on the WO, there is no "M" stamp anywhere to be found. Did they really fix up my gun while missing the main reason for it's return? Should I call to have it make the round trip again or just go with it?

Whatever they did to the yoke, there is NO endshake and nearly no rotational run-out when in full lock-up. When I sent it in it had a slight bit of endshake and more run-out than I liked.