m58 S&W

[gaijin]

militarymoron's thread on his Taylor & Co SAA got me thinking about "classic" revolvers. More accurately perhaps- Classic Fighting revolvers.

Certainly S&W's m10, the ORIGINAL M&P comes to mind.
I've always had a soft spot for 4" "N" frames. The triggers aren't as good as an old "K" frame, but they can be slicked up pretty nice and remain reliable- in terms of ignition.

The m58 has always been a favorite; N frame, 4", fixed sight, no ejector rod shroud, .41 magnum.
Originally designed as a "Police Magnum" it sorta' missed the mark, thanks to the ammo company's (Remington). You had a choice of a 210 gr. SWC @ 1K FPS+- that leaded like a bitch, or a 210 gr. JSP that was an over penetrating monster (for LE work) and recoil that few could master.

I have a few m58's.
My favorite is a pawn shop find; roached out, bent ejector rod, excessive barrel/cylinder gap/endshake and rust pitted- I picked it up 15 years ago reasonable.
I reolaced ejector rod, shimmed cylinder yoke, removed serrations from trigger, did a double action "trigger job" and sent out for bead blast and Melonite finish.
I found an old set of Sambar Stag grips (OK, stocks) and fit them to the frame.
A favored load is; a 250 gr. gas checked/cast/WFN (Wide Flat Nose) with a moderate load of AA#9- to 1100 FPS is reasonably controllable, a penetration monster (I'm unconcerned with "over" penetration at the ranch) and shoots 1.5" @ 25 yds. (A 210 gr. XTP at 1150 FPS shoots well too.)
The 250 gr. WFNGC does a fine job on hogs and shoots close enough to the sights for anything except Bullseye competition.

[newyork]

Freaking fantastic

[Krazykarl]

I was fortunate to inherit my Dad's SW 57. I have found the 41 magnum more than adequate for my needs. I really enjoy the clean looking lines of that m58 that you have shared with us.

[SeriousStudent]

Neat find, and good work on the cleanup. I love the stocks.

I bet it would be a lot of fun to take that thing deer hunting.

[gaijin]

Thank you gents.
And yes, it goes deer hunting with me- easily carried and the Melonite finish stands up to rough use well.

[Krazykarl]

Just curious what primers you use with your handloads. I see various recipes with large pistol and others with magnum primers using h110 and 210gr bullets.

[Don Robison]

Love my M58. I also love what you did with yours.

[gaijin]

H110/Win 296 do need a magnum primer.
I prefer Federal or CCI as they’ve been most accurate for me.
The m58 load, using AA9 does not require a magnum primer- per AA load manual, but I use Federal magnum primers as I get much smaller ES with them.

[Krazykarl]

Thanks for your advice on the primers. It is timely as I have 200 pieces of brass to process and reload this month.

[LockenLoad]

superb