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A friends mom has a S&W 357 magnum, 5”, model 986 and she asked me what it is worth

I shot it today - very clean gun

Any ideas of the real value?

That model seems to sell around 1000 brand new. They are going for more on gun broker. I hope this helps!

Thanks
I think i saw the 9mm version is selling new for $1000+, but couldn’t find a reference for the .357 5inch

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought all 986’s are 9mm.

cmgee67 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:20 am Correct me if I am wrong but I thought all 986’s are 9mm.

Are you sure it is not the 686? Maybe she looked at the number wrong.

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:47 am [quote=cmgee67 post_id=<a href="tel:1297965">1297965</a> time=<a href="tel:1604841655">1604841655</a> user_id=19249]
Correct me if I am wrong but I thought all 986’s are 9mm.

Are you sure it is not the 686? Maybe she looked at the number wrong.
[/quote]

Positive
I had the gun in my hands and read the model myself (and I reread it as I also thought 686)

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:47 am

cmgee67 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:20 am Correct me if I am wrong but I thought all 986’s are 9mm.

Are you sure it is not the 686? Maybe she looked at the number wrong.

Positive
I had to gun in my hand, and read it myself

I had to re-read it as I also thought it should have been 686

It’s an older gun, where my friends mother took it in trade for a small loan back in the 70s, so that might make a difference to your comment about being a 9 mm, may be back in the 70s (or before) the larger caliber was common in the 986

Teamless wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 3:56 pm

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:47 am

cmgee67 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:20 am Correct me if I am wrong but I thought all 986’s are 9mm.

Are you sure it is not the 686? Maybe she looked at the number wrong.

Positive
I had to gun in my hand, and read it myself

I had to re-read it as I also thought it should have been 686

It’s an older gun, where my friends mother took it in trade for a small loan back in the 70s, so that might make a difference to your comment about being a 9 mm, may be back in the 70s (or before) the larger caliber was common in the 986

You may have something rare in that case. I would think the value is higher. I have a 686 made for 38 special and 38 +P. I don't see that very often either. If you send off to Smith they will send you the documented history of that particular firearm. Date made, dealer sold to...etc. Might help tyhe value if it is rare breed. I have googled it several ways and nothing shows up. Interesting find!

I've been collecting S&W firearms for almost 40 years. This one seems odd as S&W has no record of a 986 in their production catalog in 357. The L frame didn't even exist until 1980, so an L frame in any caliber prior to 1980 is dubious at best.

Maybe you have a customized revolver of recent manufacture? A pic of the yoke, barrel and/or side plate would go a long way in determining it's value, but with what has been shared you are describing something that doesn't exist according to S&W... and if you demonstrate that then you need to go to the S&W forum because someone will likely be waiting with cash in hand for such an item.

A couple of places to confirm what you have:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearm-history-request
http://smith-wessonforum.com/

Thanks
I will send off to SW and see what the say

And I’ll triple check the gun when I can get a chance to head their way again

Looks like it’s time for a glasses upgrade

The model is 586...

Teamless wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 7:19 pm Looks like it’s time for a glasses upgrade

The model is 586...

I am actually disappointed! I was hoping for some kind of rare Smith and Wesson. Funny thing is, I was waiting to be sure what you had, but was thinking about making an offer on it. Oh well. Mystery solved.

What dash number is it? You can see that on the inside of the crane near the serial number.

Since you didn’t mention it, I’m wondering if it’s a no dash.

SQLGeek wrote: ↑Tue Nov 10, 2020 2:28 am What dash number is it? You can see that on the inside of the crane near the serial number.

Since you didn’t mention it, I’m wondering if it’s a no dash.

No dash

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 7:45 pm

Teamless wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 7:19 pm Looks like it’s time for a glasses upgrade

The model is 586...

I am actually disappointed! I was hoping for some kind of rare Smith and Wesson. Funny thing is, I was waiting to be sure what you had, but was thinking about making an offer on it. Oh well. Mystery solved.

I was hoping it was some unique weapon also -

The owner is not planning to sell it anyway - but I really enjoyed shooting it - it is very smooth, all stainless and even with .357 magnums running through it, almost no kick at all
Really nice shooting gun!