Smith & Wesson 586 6" Reviews

It took a bit of effort and patience to correct most of the defects I've encountered but, with the assistance of PA's excellent Customer Service department and some smithing and fabrication on my part (needed correct a defective rear sight), I'm very happy with this revolver. Tom Gaylord reviewed the S&W 586 revolver on his blog four times (in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2012). I think even Tom has forgotten how many times he's reviewed and liked it. In his 2006 review Tom said, "The S&W 586 and 686 revolvers made by Umarex are the best CO2 revolvers that have ever been made bar none!" When Umarex puts one together right, my experiences support that opinion and I'm very pleased that I finally decided to buy this German-made airgun after placing it on my wish list many years ago. After PA put it on sale a few months ago and also fearing that it would finally be discontinued soon (long rumored to be likely, due to high manufacturing costs), it looks like I made the right decision just in time.

I experienced several Umarex manufacturing and assembly defects in both the original unit shipped and its replacement. Umarex dropped the ball on quality with both of the guns, which is surprising and disappointing--especially considering that the S&W 586 is a product from the Umarex German manufacturing line. My first 586 box lacked the two extra different width front sights. Even worse, the gun consumed high levels of CO2, yielding only 34 shots at most. Finally, the double action trigger was rough with a catchy spot. Thankfully, PA exchanged my first gun for one with the correct set of front sights, an excellent trigger (lacking even the commonly reported small amount of creep in single action mode) and normal CO2 consumption (50 very accurate and consistent shots and 64 total shots maximum per CO2 Powerlet vs. about 30 good shots with the first gun), but my replacement 586 had issues too.

The windage adjustment screw circlip groove on my 2nd gun was incorrectly cut so the tiny circlip screwed off the threads during adjustment. Then it and the even smaller detent plunger were lost when the sight fell apart. I made a new detent plunger and I found tiny circlips at Napa Auto Parts to secure it. I was able to turn the windage adjustment screw in my lathe and correct the circlip groove and also 3D print a tiny custom spacer to remove all backlash and preclude another rear sight failure. My 2nd gun's right side plate finish is also defective (too light to match the rest of the gun) so I'm trying to get a warranty side plate form Umarex. Otherwise, it's now perfect but it's also a discontinued model and I don't wish to risk a factory return and a new set of problems!

When you first pick up the gun you know that it is a quality product. It is the same weight as the real thing. Even the trigger pull is the same in both double action and single action. Practicing with this is as close as you can get without firing the real thing. It came with a nice fitted carry case and two pellet cylinders. The cylinders are made of heavy steel and are thick. I also ordered the extra three pack of cylinders. I get fifty shots out of a CO2 cartridge. The accuracy is excellent. I get half inch groups at 7.5 yards.

The only thing that I was a little disappointed about was the blueing. It looks like the blueing had runs in it on one side of the frame. The other side is fine. I expected a little better from a German made pistol.

The accuracy of this pistol is really very good. Also it's adjustable for not only windage, but also for elevation - not all pellet guns are.

I would like to be able to buy more "wheel" mags for this gun, but they evidently aren't available. It comes with two, but we shoot in a competition and more mags would be a lot better. Any progress on that front Pyramyd Air?

Buy one quickly, if they still have them. I know they've been on sale and it really is a good pistol.

I like almost everything about this revolver. The weight, feel, trigger, sights, accuracy are all excellent. The operation both single and double action are very realistic and the ease of loading with extra rotary mags is a breeze. I bought a 3 pack of extra mags and they work fine with R10 7.0g pellets. I can get 60 shots out of a CO2 cylinder so I load all 5 mags and shoot 50 rounds and then change cylinders and reload the mags.

You have to remove a screw on the right side of the grip and take the grip off to change the CO2 cartridge. Kind of a pain but no big deal.

This is a well made very realistic and fine shooting revolver much like my S&W firearm revolvers. Very fun to shoot and a good training tool for new or young shooters .

I received my 586 12/2/2020. I was impressed with the look and finish. I have small hands so the grips are a bit big for me but the easy trigger pull in single action and double action made it easy for me to handle. It was easy to load the pellets and I liked how you put in the CO2 cartridge. I emptied one CO2 cartridge to sight it in and was very impressed with the accuracy, 1 and a half inch groups off flat rest at 10 yards with an occasional flyer. I shot the cheap Daisy wadcutters. I also tried Qiang Yuan training pellets they also shot 1 and a half inch groups.

Maybe make it a little quieter.

I've been shooting air gun for a long time and have many PCPs, CO2s and multi pump. One thing that I always do for a new gun is clean the barrel before I shoot it the first time. This one hand very little gunk and grime in it. I was very pleased. This is also my first experience with an Umarex air gun.

This is a quiet, accurate gun, and is reliable as long as the shooter is careful to properly seat the pellets and the CO2 cartridge. I would recommend the gun to anyone who enjoys the feel of a revolver, and wants to target practice at home.

The gun comes with an extra front sight, but it would have been nice if one of them had a white or red insert. My older eyes need contrast, so I painted one front sight orange.

I bought the gun for indoor practice in my garage, and it works very well for this purpose. I shoot almost exclusively double action, and the trigger pull is very light, which I greatly enjoy, but it is a significantly different feel from the trigger pull on all but one of my Smith and Wesson revolvers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the trigger pull is very similar to that of my revolver equipped with an Apex trigger kit.

As usual, prompt service and delivery. Gun behaves well and responds to orders obediently, as advertised. Excellent quality for the price point. Good starting point for an old beginner like me.

A less generic grip would be a nice touch or the option of adding a custom one like wood. Details can add a lot.

So far, these guys have shown they know their stuff. Between the videos and chat options you can always learn before you buy. So take advantage of that. Or you can call and talk to someone in the know.

Build quality, this revolver has a similar feel to what you get with a fine firearm. I like the 10 shot magazine that swings out and is easily removed for loading. I don't get the new air gun trend using separate cartridges you have to eject, find where they fell, pick up, load, then load into the chamber. I get the replica thing but I can get my fill of that with an actual firearm. Nice trigger pull double and single action. Good sights and the extra front sight post widths came in handy as I needed the narrow one. I don't know what the grips are made of but they feel like the rubber grips that come on some SW revolvers, nice. Great plastic case with accessories. This gun costs double what some other Air revolvers cost but its worth the extra money.

I would love to have a version of this revolver in .22 caliber. My large hands and big fingers make handling tiny .177 caliber pellets in any Air Gun a bit difficult.

My gun came with the rear sight not sitting perfectly parallel with the top frame area of the gun. I removed the front screw holding the sight in place lifted the sight in and out of its retention grove and reinstalled it, this fixed the problem.

Looks, accuracy, quality!

Grip needs to fit back in place tighter after co2 replacement.

I bought this & two other pistols for fun in the shop with the guys on Saturday night. This gun is everyones favorite ! Very accurate. & just for the record we through the gamo away.

I bought one of these a few years ago and liked it, but did not seem to shoot it that much, so I sold it. I recently bought another one because I had a desire for a repeating pistol. I must have been in an air gun slump when I sold it. It is a very nice pistol, especially for sessions in my garage range. I like that it has a lever action CO2 cartridge system instead of just a screw-in. I like 10 shots per mag, and the solid feel of the pistol.

Maybe less warning and trademark on the frame and barrel but they are really not too bad, and are probably required by the lawyers.

Use wadcutters or shallow domed pellets. It is of course more accurate using single action.

Bought 5 years ago. After 120 CO2's (0 duds) and 6000 rounds I thought it time to review this outstanding pistol. Trouble free, great balance, and accurate. I still love firing this pistol.

Not much. Maybe an optic option for front sights, but they aren't marketing these for 70 year old eyes like mine.

Getting a good 50 shots out of a CO2 so have 5 magazines handy. Seems to like RWS Meisterkugeln 7gr. pistol the best.

Beautiful, solid quality. Feels great to hold and shoot. Need two hands as it is heavy!

None

I get about 60 rounds out of a single CO2 cartridge. Super accurate at 30 feet.

TRIGGER IS VERY GOOD IN SINGLE ACTION AND ADJUSTABLE SIGHTS ARE A PLUS. i DO SHOOT DOUBLE ACTION AT KNOCKDOWN TARGETS APPOX 7 YDS AND ACCURACY IS VERY GOOD. HAVING 10 ROUNDS IS A PLUS. 50 ROUNDS IS MAX FOR 10 YDS BUT AT SHORTER RANGES 60 IS OK. THIS IS NOT A BULLSEYE SHOOTER AND I DON'T SHOOT JUST TO PUNCH HOLES IN PAPER. IT IS A LOT OF FUN SHOOTING WIFFLE BALLS, PING PONG BALLS AND OTHER NON PAPER TARGETS. ONE YEAR OLD AND HAVE OVER 5,000 ROUNDS WITH NO PROBLEMS OF ANY TYPE. GREAT GUN FOR A PLINKER !!!

FOR MY TYPE OF SHOOTING I WOULDN'T CHANGE ANYTHING

GUN COMES WITH 3 FRONT SIGHTS. I USED A DREMMEL TOOL AND MADE A SMALL CHANNEL IN ONE OF THEM AND GLUED A FIBER OPTIC TUBE ON TOP. THEN TOOK BLACK PAINT AND PAINTED APPOX 1/4 INCH OF THE TOP OF THE END OF THE TUBE SO THE HALO EFFECT WAS GONE AND IT IMPROVED THE SIGHT PICTURE. BUY THE 3PACK OF EXTRA MAGS, THEY COME IN HANDY

It looks like and feels like the real thing. Trigger pull in single action is not bad, and double action is surprisingly good. You can even stage the trigger.

Better accuracy would be nice, but this is not a target gun.

If you have never owned a CO2 gun the owners manual could be better. You get about 40 shots from a cylinder. Be aware the gun has a propensity to jam. (Pellet between barrel and clip) UMEREX suggests not using crossman CO2 cartridges.

Weight feel and trigger pull just like the real S&W .357 Revolver. This is without a doubt one of the finest pellet replica pistols for this particular gun anywhere. Everything on this gun is absolutely accurate to the real steel.I'm very proud I purchased this Pellet Revolver no doubt! I bought this gun from pyramid air about 6months ago and very happy I did.I am confident this pistol was worth every penny spent.

I wouldn't change a thing as far as I'm concerned.

As an owner of the actual .357 S&W 686, I find this pistol (the S&W 586) to have the feel, looks and weight as the actual S&W. If the S&W 686 pellet pistol was offered with a blued finish I would have selected that model only because that is the real model that I own. I find no difference with the .177 version vs the .357 in weight, feel and appearance. Accuracy was very good but I am still experimenting with the different pellets.

I would like to see the front sights to include a white post because as you get older the black blends in too well with the rear sight. Older shooters know what I am talking about and the younger shooters will find out eventually.

Don't try to squeeze the last few shots or they will jam between the cylinder and the barrel. I know this as a fact. Keep a cleaning rod nearby to dislodge it if it happens. It's not a problem to correct. I average a solid 45 to 50 shots per co2 cartridge but I do like some double action shooting. Overall it is an excellent pistol.

Nice gun, good feel good quality, for the money, if you like revolvers this is for you

Would love optional sights like fiber optic, but all good

Not much shoot time so don't let my accuracy rating hurt your buying decision, seems good, but not too many pellets tried yet

Very well made, exceptional accuracy, good shot to shot consistency W.R.T. velocity (at least till you're at the tail end of a co2 powerlet). Nice to have 10 rounds in the rotary magazine. Most Co2 pellet pistols have 6 or 8. Comes with a nice case. Although I have installed a low profile panoramic sight (walther multireticle), there is enough room in the case so that I could still fit the gun in with minimal modification to the foam. The gun really comes to life IMO with this sort of sight. Since the sight radius is a little on the short side, It's very challenging to realize the pinpoint accuracy of which the pistol is capable using the stock open sights (Though they are adjustable and fairly good) with the dot sight, the issue of accuracy damaging sight misalignment is gone, and you will see those pellets go right where the dot says they will. I find that the pistol will hit anything I can see at 25 yards with this arrangement. It's quite satisfying. CO2 usage is very efficient.

I would like the feel in double action mode to be just a little bit smoother. It wouldn't need to be much smoother to make it perfect to my tastes, but I suspect it would take significant engineering to go from pretty darn smooth to perfectly smooth, thus raising the price. So, take this comment in the context of "If I could make them do whatever I want and not pay any more money " It really is a fine pellet gun I wouldn't want to dissuade anyone from buying this over such a minor and subjective issue. Also , I wish they'd bring back the 8" version! I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Its just a little on the loud side, probably due to the minute cylinder gap intrinsic to this type of pistol. Still, it's not unreasonable, I'd say its pretty average for CO2 repeating pistols (which are mostly, in fact, revolvers of some form. Though sometimes the cylinder and/or hammer are hidden to create the illusion of some other type of pistol) So, it's much louder than a spring piston , a bit louder than a pump up pneumatic , and much quieter than an un-shrouded PCP pistol. I find that this pistol works best in single action mode. Although the double action feel is quite good in the realm of air guns, I would say that it has a little "rough spot" somewhere in the middle of the cylinder advancement phase that is not as smooth as what you'd expect from a real fire arm of good quality such as a Ruger or a Smith. This is really nit picking though. It is very well made, and double action shooting is entirely viable.

The looks, the feel, that the cylinders are real metal, the adjustable sights, and accessories that allow a pistol scope or red dot to be used.

The method of piercing the co2 cylinder. If you don't get it to lock on the first try, it will empty the cylinder. Rear sight is ok, the front should have a gold or silver highlight on the top.

Lots of users have sung the praises of this gun so I will not belabor you with that. It is nice, but it is not a powerful pistol. In my opinion it should be a .22, the .17 just doesn't have enough power to shoot anything but paper, but,that's just my opinion. It will work nicely indoors but doesn't have much range outdoors, especially if there is any wind. A Crosman 2300T is more powerful and way more accurate ( yes, I realize it is a single shot and a target gun, but it costs about the same and does a way better job at putting the pellet where you want it.) That is not my opinion, that is a fact easy to prove. All things considered, this is a very nice piece fun to shoot fun to show. If you have the disposable income to use I would say, buy it. If you want to shoot something outside get the 2300T also.

This Smith & Wesson 586 6-inch pellet revolver is an excellent airgun. When I first started buying and shooting pellet and BB pistols, I never thought I would buy such a high priced pistol, but this purchase was well worth the price. With the exception of the rubber grips, this gun is all metal and has a good weight and feel when gripped. The accuracy is very good. After sighting in, the shots were consistently hitting on target on 2 inch shot spots from 15 feet away using single action with a double handed grip in a standing position in my basement range. The smallest grouping was 7/8 x 1/2 inch using RWS domed pellets. The largest grouping was 1 1/2 x 1 inch each using R10, H&N Field Target Trophy, and JSB domed. In a seated, bench rested position, single action shots were consistently hitting on the 2 inch shot spots with groupings ranging from a low of 7/8 x 1/2 using RWS domed pellets to a high of 1 1/4 x 1 inch each using R10, H&N Sport, H&N Match Pistol, JSB Match wad, H&N Baracuda, and Crosman domed. The double action trigger is smooth and not too heavy. I found my initial double action shots were pulling to the right, but they appeared to be centering on-target more as I shot more magazines in double action. I think this gun can produce smaller, more accurate groupings in the hands of a more experienced and skilled shooter. I have only been shooting airguns for a little over a year now and do not have any formal training shooting any kind of gun.

I wouldn't change anything with the exception of putting white dots on the front and rear sights. A greater total shot count would be desirable, but not at the expense of power and accuracy. Currently using either Crosman or Umarex CO2, I can get only about 50 - 55 shots. I usually stop now after 50 shots because those last five shots have a significantly increased risk of jamming part way out of the magazine.

I tested this gun with these pellets: Crosman Premier Super Match wadcutter, Crosman Premier Super Point, Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum domed, RWS Superdome, RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol, RWS Meisterkugeln Rifle, RWS R10 Match, RWS Hobby, RWS Superpoint Extra, H&N Sport, H&N Baracuda, H&N Field Target Trophy, H&N Match Pistol, H&N Spitzkugel, H&N Finale Match Pistol, JSB Match Diabolo wadcutter, and JSB Exact Diabolo domed. I have successfully used most of these pellets with all of my CO2 pistols. Four of these pellets I haven't yet tested on the other pistols. For the first time I have found a pellet that just does not work well at all. Umarex and others warn against using pointed pellets because of the possibility that the pointed pellet may be too long to fit in the magazine. The Crosman Premier Super Point is still short enough for the S&W 586 magazine, but the diameter of the pellets is such that they fit much too snugly. Even with a fresh CO2, there is too great a chance of the Crosman Premier Super Point jamming part way out of the magazine and part way into the barrel. When this happens, the only way to unjam the gun is to remove the barrel, then remove the magazine, then remove the protruding Crosman pointed pellet. Overall, this gun performs very well with all of the other pellets I tested.