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Stainless may be painless when it comes to harsh weather, but blue’s the one that’s true for many, and I always thought there was room in the S&W world for both. During the model’s life, there were various sight options, hammer and trigger widths and continuing manufacturing changes, which included the round-butt grip frame and MIM parts.įrankly, I was surprised to see the Model 586 go. The most common Model 586 had a 4-inch barrel, but it could also be found with 6- and 8.37-inch barrels, and in a 2.5-inch barrel for overseas contracts. Subsequently, S&W dropped the blued model in favor of the stainless Model 686 equivalent as part of a general trend toward stainless revolvers. And for decades, knowledgeable S&W-owners had been spoiled with the level of tuning that could be achieved with their S&W revolvers-the L-Frame had that same potential while costing much less than a Python.ĭuring its run from 1980 to 1999, the six-shot Model 586 was offered in several variations and more than a few commemorative versions.
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The L-Frame also had the same square-butt grip frame size as the K, and since the K in its many variations was a majority stockholder in police leather from coast to coast, there was already a wide selection of grip types and sizes available for the Model 586. Many of us felt the L-Frame was the ideal size, with greater durability than the K-Frame but less of the N-Frame’s end-of-the-shift aching back. The Model 586’s frame split the difference between the K-Frame and the heavier and bulkier N-Frame. 357 Magnum recoil and even though the rib on top wasn’t ventilated, it still gave the Model 586 plenty of looks to turn heads. It balanced well the familiar profile (slightly enlarged here and there) was retained the highly regarded, fully adjustable, micrometer-click-adjustable rear sight was carried over the additional weight out front helped noticeably with the. The impression I got from that Model 586 and others I’ve owned since is that the original, blued, 4-inch L-Frame is one of Smith & Wesson’s finest guns of all time. The idea interested me immensely, but before I could go forward with such a project, Smith & Wesson dropped the bomb.Ī new frame size? A fully underlugged barrel? Built to hold up to the hotter magnum loads we were using just before the dawn of the autopistol? I obtained a 4-inch sample of the new Model 586 Distinguished Combat Magnum the following year, and it was definitely worth it. The results were called by such names as “Smolts” and “Cugers,” and for a while they were popular.Įven with the cost of a new Colt barrel and the gunsmithing involved, it was still cheaper than buying a new Python for those who were strapped financially, such as myself, a young cop. The idea was to achieve Python-like accuracy with a full-underlug, vented-barrel profile without having to spend Python prices. Back in late 1980, I heard about a PPC gunsmith in California who was grafting Colt Python barrels onto Smith & Wesson and Ruger revolvers for the dedicated revolver competition crowd.