What exactly is so great about the Model 58?

[pantannojack]

Missing Persons

I do miss my 58 Nickel. I got it a GS for 310$. I did not know what it was, but it was big and beautiful; Like a mod 10 on steroids. I mentioned it was nickel and had a diagonal scratch on the cylinder, i guess nickel is soft. It had service stocks that were cracked in the screw holding area from someone over torquing the screw. I did not shoot it well one handed because service stocks just don't fill my hand in the right places. I had to send it to S&W for repair because one of the locating pins within the extractor star area was gone, rendering it late on timing. S&W did a nice job for only 85$ and fast return. I named it "The Companion" after a Star Trek episode. It went with me everywhere, my Companion, for self defense on the road and elsewhere, until one day a friend suggested: "...if you light up that 41 in the cab of your truck, It will be the last thing you ever hear." If I had know about Tyler T-Grips, I may still have it today, but by and by I sold it to a dealer for 275$. That's the was things go sometimes.

 

[moralem]

Very nice! Any idea what the "LDC" stands for?

I have no idea....when I acquired it the seller said it was for Louisiana Department of Corrections. But it remains a mystery to me.

 

[Chukar60]

"If you have to ask, you wont understand" hear that about a lot of guns.
As far as the 58 is concerned, I owned a very nice one. Shot a little under a box of shells through it and was less than impressed with it.
I am just not a big fan of the 41. I know it has lots of fans here on the forum and I am glad they like the cartridge. It just did little for me and in that 58 with the original stocks it was not a lot of fun to shoot.

 

[El_Phantasmo]

I bought mine from my uncle for the simple reason that it was something weird and interesting that I'd never heard of at the time.

I like odd things!




Mine is stamped "SAPD" also.

 

[The_Truth]

I've always wanted a 41 magnum. I love fixed sight guns, especially police service revolvers. I wish there was a 3" fixed sight round butt 41 magnum, I'd be all over it. I guess that's why I've never owned one. They never made them in my favorite configuration.

Or am I ignorant?

 

[Mershon8]

I picked up a model 57 S prefix a few weeks ago, I happen to really like the 41 magnum, plenty of ammo online, I also reload so no problem, I can reload hot, or light target rounds.
The fact that I snagged this beauty at a great price is probably due to the fact that it's not a 44 magnum.

 

[crsides]

I've always wanted a 41 magnum. I love fixed sight guns, especially police service revolvers. I wish there was a 3" fixed sight round butt 41 magnum, I'd be all over it. I guess that's why I've never owned one. They never made them in my favorite configuration.

Or am I ignorant?

Not ignorant, just late. Buy you a 58 and wait until Smith brings out the 3" fixed sight you want. I bet you keep the 58, but if not, you will probably make money on it.

 

[crsides]

Yeah, the .41 Magnum Smith revolvers are not that old - I can remember when they first came out. On the other hand, maybe that means that I'm old...

From the very start, in spite of the usual hype from the gun press about how wonderful the newly introduced .41 Mag was, I was totally unimpressed. My first lack of excitement holds true today, and in spite of collecting quite a few Smiths, I still have never acquired a .41.

There is NOTHING a .41 Magnum can do that a .44 Magnum cannot do better.

The .44 Magnum can also accommodate .44 Specials - way easier on the hand for practice or fun.

.44 Magnum and .44 Special ammo is widely available, as are bullets for reloading. Absolutely NOT for the .41.

So at the risk of annoying the .41 aficionados (who are certainly entitled to their opinions), I still am firm with my first opinion - who needs it?

My love for the .44s, both Special and Magnum, continues unabated.

John

John, buy yourself and model 58 and be done with it.

 

[Lilly]

Try it you will then see the light.....58 and 57.

Excellent. The 58 in a 3 "

I have a 657 in 3.0 inch RB, with beautiful Cocobolo grips. I bought it new in the mid 80s, at an unbelievable price.

 

[Lilly]

I fell in love with the 41 Magnum cartridge back in the mid 1980s. My first one, a 6" Nickel Model 57, was acquired unintentionaly and that was the start of a life long friendship with the cartridge,

At the present time I own and shoot more then 3 dozen examples of firearms chambered in that cartridge

Here is a 10 year old group photo showing about half of my 41 Magnums

I do not now own a Model 58, have never owned one and can not see a reason to own one in the future. The same goes for Rugers chambered in 41 Magnum . . . and yes I have shot them

My collection is not about what will make money, or what is rare, or what has a cult following. My collection is about firearms that catch my eye and speak to me i one way or another . . . no, I do not mean the way Sledge Hammer's 629 talked to him

Here are some of the acquisitions that were made after that group photo

There are others, I just need more time to photograph things

Great collection. I reload for all mine. Plenty of components available.

 

[moralem]

I bought mine from my uncle for the simple reason that it was something weird and interesting that I'd never heard of at the time.

I like odd things!




Mine is stamped "SAPD" also.

Would love to see a picture of yours with the SAPD....San Antonio was one of the few departments to adopt the gun.

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

I've certainly enjoyed my Model 58 and I receive a police pension after carrying it for some time after I upgraded from the 357 Magnum. After getting used to the 41 and finding it a superb cartridge, I bought a 6" Model 57 and found it to be about the best long range revolver cartridge in my arsenal. I routinely load cast 210 SWCs to 900 fps (duplicates the old police load) and it is about all I shoot anymore in the caliber.

My two cents worth and my two 41s.

 

[Jack Flash]

Close but no banana. Remember, never write never and always expect to be proven wrong after writing always. There were small production runs of fixed sight N frame .44 Magnums and some from the Performance Center. I suspect you haven't noticed them because you do not spend much time in the post 1980 revolver sub-forum.

I will remember the bold part.

But PC guns are pretty much custom made, right? I think of them as much the same as having a gunsmith convert one for you.

And the "small production runs" what are those, like Lew Horton orders? Ok, I guess that qualifies, but still awful close to custom ordered. You could say S&W didn't want to do it themselves but were just filling an order for LH.

But I concede, and I will not use the word "always" again!

 

[Kframerbluvr]

I have no idea....when I acquired it the seller said it was for Louisiana Department of Corrections. But it remains a mystery to me.

Or could it be someone's monogram? I would be surprised if any state correctional system bought these considering the price difference between it and a Model 10.
Just wondering....

 

[MakeMyNight]

The 41 Remington is probably My favorite revolver cartridge, though, I don't own a Model 58, but, I may find one eventually.
I do own an 8-3/8" barreled Model 57, also, a Model 657 bbl 6", a Ruger Redhawk 2.75" snubbie, just like the Kodiak 44 model, (it is a beast), but chambered in the 41 Mag cartridge. My first 41 Remington firearm, which I still own is a generation one T/C Contender, with a 10" bull barrel, and of course a bunch of other caliber barrels.
One of My more recent acquisitions, is a blue steel Henry Big Boy, chambered in 41 Remington.
I have no complaints about any of the three original magnum cartridges, 357 Mag, 41Mag, 44 Mag & Spl, as I own firearms arms chambered in all three calibers.
Back in the day, I mostly used My Redhawk 7.5" bbl 44 Mag for big game, because I found the 44 Mag better able to penetrate thick brush, where the White-tail Bucks and Black Bears hang out.

Last I knew, S&W was building Model 58 revolvers again, though, with the disdained lock and sintered metal hammers & triggers.

 

[El_Phantasmo]

Would love to see a picture of yours with the SAPD....San Antonio was one of the few departments to adopt the gun.

It's not a very good pic, but you can see the stamp.

 

[rubiranch]

"What exactly is so great about the Model 58?"

It was made by Smith & Wesson.

 

[fishwishin]

Certainly a lot of love for the 58 around here, especially considering how this topic just kinda fell on us out of nowhere. As much as I have always loved the model I have been hesitant to add another caliber (do not currently have a .41), but I have to admit I really want to get one now!

 

[packrat2]

I count myself lucky to had a chance to buy one {mod.58} and I found loading dies and a bullet mold for sale on a classified ad, at a very good price..

 

[rockquarry]

Like so many other guns, few people had any interest in .41 Magnum revolvers when they were being produced, but they became quite desirable when production stopped.

I don't know what the cartridge offered that the .44 Magnum did not. While it may have been designed for law enforcement use with the lighter loading, law enforcement traditionally has been resistant to a lighter loading of anything when something more powerful is available. I only fired a Model 58 .41 Magnum on one occasion, about 1971. Recoil seemed similar to that of .44 Magnum.