A Gun a Week: Smith & Wesson M586-1, S&W .357 Magnum

My Smith & Wesson, Model 586-1 in S&W .357 Magnum.

You saw the movie Quigley Down Under right? Remember when, after (*SPOILER*) he shot the bad guy down, he said something along the lines of, "I said I ain't never had much use for a pistol. Didn't say I didn't know how to use one." Well that's kinda how I feel about handguns, and thus, I don't own but a handful. They serve a purpose and people do hunt with them, but I'm a rifleman through and through. Like Jack O'Connor wrote in his manifesto The Rifle Book, "I like a handgun. I hold a shotgun in high regard; but rifles--well, I love the darned things." But this revolver is different for me, and so far it only serves one purpose.

This is a Smith & Wesson Model 586-1 in Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum. After 30 years or so of U.S. servicemen and cops carrying and shooting the S&W .38 Special, the .357 Magnum came out in 1935 and blew the little .38 S&W Special away. The more powerful cartridge found it's way to police everywhere and was chambered almost always in revolvers. It wasn't until the 1980s that the old wheelgun, and thus the .35 caliber cartridge, was being left behind for modern, semi-automatic pistols that the police started to carry. Revolvers are heavy hunks of steel and limited to only six shots for the most part. Yes different models can hold more...or less, but the 586 holds six.

Holds six, but I set up an extra little .38 S&W Special for comparison.

I've owned a few other revolvers, and two other .38s and .357s, but this one, this 586, is probably the last one I'll have. Revolvers are just too heavy for my tastes. Carry one around for hours at a time, either for personal protection or hunting, and you'll see what I mean. It isn't long until your pants are sliding down your leg and your hip gets tired. All that suffereing for just six shots? No thanks. For stashing in a lock box under the bed for security is a fine way to use one. If nothing else, revolvers are pretty darn reliable. Pull the trigger and as long as the ammunition is fine, it'll go bang.

But the weight is not even the real reason I won't hunt with it. Several years ago I got a phone call to help put down a deer that had, of course, been struck by a car. My customer knew I always had a gun in the truck and his wife needed the help. At this point in my life, I owned a solid, but humble Ruger GP-100 in .357 S&W Magnum. And since it was for self preservation, it was stoked with some high powered self-defense loads, Remington's Golden Sabre line of ammunition.

As I arrived on scene I saw the young buck struggling to make an escape which he would never be able to do being as crippled as he was by the collision with the minivan. Confident in my pistol, I stepped up close to him and drew onto the low spot on his broadside where we all know the heart and lungs are. I pulled the trigger and suddenly, someone drove two knitting needles deep into each of my eyes until they reached the center of my brain! My ears instantly went numb, but the inside of my head screamed in pain for them.

To make matters worse, the bullet through the deer's heart and lungs only seemed to scare him into more thrashing and more trying to scurry or run on a badly broken pelvis. He wobbled but instantly I recognized I should have just made a head shot and so I aimed and fired again. And again, the pain the blast gave me was intense. And even then, the buck kept trying to crawl! Near panic, I took another shot and finally put him out of his misery even though I'm sure I had added to his suffering by not taking the head shot first. He was dead, but I was left with a ringing that lasted for three days! Three days of Brrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing in both ears.

Why are revolvers so loud? Three reasons: 1. Shorter barrels than rifles puts
the shooter closer to the bang. 2. This sliver of light here called the cylinder gap
lets propellant gas escape from the cylinder as the bullet passes into the barrel. And
3. It's a MAGNUM--more powder in the case means more KaBOOM!

I had never shot a revolver without ear muffs, ever. I had always shot at a range where hearing protection was required. It's not like on TV when cops shoot it out with the bad guys and then chit chat about the goings on of the day--especially if they'd been inside a building. No, they'd be rubbing their heads for about twenty minutes in real life. And that's why I don't hunt with a handgun...well, often. Couple the cacophony with the heft and forget it. It'd be handy I guess for up close and personal hunting, but I can see myself trying to stuff ear plugs in my ears before taking a shot at some monster buck and watching him bolt at all my movement. Wearing earplugs for a whole hunt would be very uncomfortable and you'd miss alot of sounds doing so.

Easy. Revolvers are easy and that's what makes them so popular...and boring.

No, the reason I have this gun, its purpose, is to remind me of who owned it before me. The guy who let it get those little rust spots while it was stuffed under a salesman's car seat. The guy who must've dropped it on its rear sight once. His name was Bill Maron and when he realized he wasn't going to beat his cancer, he started selling things to make it easier for his wife to settle his estate once he was gone. I bought his Gun.

Naturally, the gun'll shoot! It's a Smith & Wesson! This company has got it right, has had it right, and will keep making handguns that are worth keeping (I don't have that Ruger GP100 anymore by the way). And since it's chambered in .357 Magnum, I can also shoot the weaker, shorter granddad .38 Special--in spite of the "name", the .38 bullet diameter is the same as the .357...I know, go figure. The less powerful cartridges make shooting the heavy handgun downright enjoyable and fun, perfect for plinking and clod busting. Shoot a full metal jacket .38 with a low, setting sun behind you, and you can see the bullet streak off as it reflects sunlight off the flat base. That's sweetness--nature's tracer bullet.

The short .38 Special on the left, and .357 Magnum on the right. Both
can be fired from the same pistol!

Anyway, what you've read about revolvers is mostly true. They are simple to operate, simple to load, accurate, and reliable to boredom levels. I will say, you do get what you pay for. You can find a Smith & Wesson on the used market for a decent price if you research (troll) gun auction sights and the like. As I wrote, I bought this one from a friend I wanted to remember. And when I hold this gun, when I shoot it, clean it, or reload ammo for it...I think, "Damn! Bill shoulda just willed it to me! $400? Ouch!"

Here's a helpful tip: If someone pulls a revolver on you, scope out the cylinder
and see if it's even loaded! With full power loads, you can see the ends of the
cartridges. Ha ha, just kidding...RUN, DUMMY!