Could someone give me some info on a S&W Model 58

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

My Model 58's

As the Department rangemaster and Weapons Instructor my department gave me a pair of new ones to test and have the officers try.

After having only one of them tested the Dept decided to let each officer decide what they wanted at their own expense. So I bought both of them and one is still brand new. They are pictured on another thread so I cannot post them again.

It is in the thread "Smith Revives the Model 58"

 

[tech]

mete, thats pretty cool never heard that. Kinda like a .41 special?


Mike

 

[grendelbane]

IMHO the model 58 is the finest combat wheelgun ever made!

Too bad no one makes fine combat ammunition for it. Hunters are well served by the .41 loads available today. For SD, I think something else is in order. I have loaded the 200 grain Remington JHP's from Midway to around 1000fps. This gives mild recoil, and all the accuracy any one could ever want. However, the jacket is a little too tough to give reliable expansion at that low a velocity.

An 190 grain bullet would match the .45 230 grain bullet for sectional density. Load it just barely north of 1000 fps, with a thin, serrated or scalloped jacket, and a honking big hollow point. This would be a perfect match for the perfect wheelgun.

 

[thatguy]

N 235,000 was made about 1974. I always thought the 58 was of limited usefulness. It's big, heavy, factory ammo is very pricey, and the fixed sights are a problem on a sporting gun. I bought one in 1989 for $189 mostly as a curiosity. I haven't shot it much because I always had more enjoyable guns to use for plinking and such. I wish I had a hundred of them so I could sell them at current prices. Apparently a lot of people have decided they really want one. I can't see paying $500-600 for one but that seems to be what they bringing. Go figure. One thing I really don't understand is why S&W doesn't start making these old revolvers that command such high prices. I bet they could easily sell a couple thousand each if they made a 3.5 inch 27 and a 58 again. They would have to be like the older ones, though.

 

[grendelbane]

It's big, heavy, factory ammo is very pricey, and the fixed sights are a problem on a sporting gun.

Yes, its big. N-frames are big. It has to be big, because it fires 6 big cartridges. It is not heavy when compared to other big revolvers. The weight is necessary to manage recoil.

Factory ammunition is indeed pricey. Not noticeably pricier than any other big-bore revolver cartridges, however. There is a conspicuous lack of selection of loadings for which this revolver was intended. Hand loading reduces both of these problems.

The fixed sights are not a problem, they are a blessing. Mine shoots to point of aim at 25 yards. I don't have to worry about them getting knocked around or broken. Tritium sights were not available when the model 58 was introduced.

Indeed, the model 58 is not a sporting gun. It is a service gun. It is what I want when I don't want to give the opposition a sporting chance. If I want to play a sport, I will choose another model.

FWIW, I agree with you about current prices being high, and S&W not taking advantage of that. A model 658 would be great! I purchased mine for about what you gave for yours. It is definitely not for sale.

 

[thatguy]

Yes, I realize that the 58 is an N frame and that it shoots a big cartridge. That's why it was never terribly popular with the cops. Romantic notions to the contrary N frame Smiths were never popular service pistols for the exact reason I mentioned, the weight. They were carried for many years because that's what was available. Note that as soon as the K frame magnum was introduced sales of the N frames to cops fell to nearly ziltch. Plus, magnum calibers larger than .357 were mostly considered too powerful or too violent on recoil for police use. Also, with so many women (with small hands) joining the force starting in the 1970s trying to push an N frame revolver was suicidal for sales. Besides, the hi-cap semi-autos were putting all wheelguns out of business for police use by this time, anyway.

I agree that fixed sights are great for a service pistol, but it does mean that the gun will likely shoot to point of aim with only one load (if you're lucky, I have seen some that wouldn't hit true with any load tried). But the vast majority of these old 58s are no longer used as service pistols. They are now owned by people using them for sport and recreational shooting and as I said, at this point the fixed sights become something of a bother unless you find the one load that works and can live with just that one load.

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

58 Owners Excellent Customers

Smith 58 owners are excellent customers for my Fitz gun fighter grips that help shooters to really control the pistol recoil and many have also My Ca- Saeco 4 cavity 220 grain molds and create accurate defensive loads while on their hunt where the combination is used for deer in the lower 48 and for moose and bear which is winter food in Alaska.

By loading your own ammo to the point of aim to the distance desired, the fixed sights are no problem at all on the targets desired and the 58 can handle some rough and tumble without damage to delicate paper punching target sights on the trail for dinner and I love my personal 2 pairs.

Fitz