S&W Model 10?

An S&W Model 10/M&P is on my list of guns I will get "Someday". I regard them more as a "having" gun than a "using", a fixed sighted revolver can often be difficult to find the Right Load for, correcting windage problems can be difficult.
 
Model 10's are nice guns...I have a Victory model that's been in my family since the late 1940's ...bought new at that time by an uncle...that carried it as a Sheriff Deputy in Montana for a long time. "Victory" models in my area ...are pretty easy to find in decent condition for $ 125 - $ 300 / depending on how much of the original finish is still on them.

All the finish is gone on mine - but every month at my local gun shows I see at least 4 or 5 for sale. Here is mine...and the holster my uncle carried it in / for 30+ yrs as a sheriff's deputy in Montana...


http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=82016&d=1339792974

...but it still shoots great / and I'm happy to have it as part of my collection. They aren't worth a lot of money these days...but its a gun I'll keep and pass down to one of the boys someday...
 
Thanks

Again thanks for all the help, been looking around and haven't found anything that I've fallen in love with. Went to my local gun shop and they didn't have a single one (they deal mostly in shotguns anyway) so I'm still looking. I think I've been turned off of the victory models as a shooter because they seem to be hard to find in good condition and when you do they seem to be pretty pricey. I think I may just try to find some old military grips to put on a newer model just to fool myself. Been looking online and a lot people on here mention Bud's but I'm definitely leery buying on line without actually seeing its condition, especially a police trade in.
 
i bought one of the police trade ins from buds, its a great gun. the finish was maybe 75% and the grips were fairly beat up (it was carried everyday by an officer, what can you expect?) but mechanically, it is like new. lock up is tight on all chambers, barrel-to-cylinder alignment in full lockup is great, and the action is buttery smooth. couldnt be happier with it
 
Keep looking for a good Model 10. The good news is that they aren't expensive so if you buy one and find a better one, it's not much more out of pocket to have a pair!

If you're just looking for a plain shooter, any of the guns made from the 1930's to today will work with standard .38 Special ammo. However, for a defensive gun, look for one marked as a Model 10, up to the time S&W added the lock. These later guns will be able to handle .38 +P ammo.

If possible in your area, don't forget to canvass pawn shops for good deals. Someone may pawn an old .38 they didn't need for the cash. Sometimes these are nearly-new "nightstand" guns that never left the drawer for 30 years.

My favorite is the one below. It's a 5-inch "Pencil Barrel" circa 1970. This one I found in a local shop. All original and like-new with the original box.

M10M_1372.jpg



For your edification... M&P/Model 10s with serial numbers...

With no prefix: Prior to 1942
"C" prefix - post war 1950's
"D" prefix - 1950's to late 1960's
"K" Prefix - Late 1960's to 1995 (Includes "K" with a leading digit 3Kxxxx)
Three letter prefix - Post 1996

(this is from memory, but sufficient to help you judge the age)
 
Try checking with him...the thread is over three years old and maybe he's done with it and wants to sell it. :D

(But then again maybe he follows Cheapshooter's rule of never sell anything-I try to follow it.)
 
Though I intend to get a Model 10 "Someday"-or a pre-war 5 screw M&P, I recommend either an M-15 or M-19, lets you fire 38 Specials and 357s, adjustable sights allow for more precise aiming. S&W grips do not fit me. though YMMV.
 
The model 15 is a 38 special only revolver. Maybe you were thinking models 13 and 19? Although the model 13 had fixed sights like the model 10.
 
A Model 13 or it's stainless cousin the Model 65 are .357 Magnum. These are no-frills like the Model 10 and as reliable as an anvil.

The Model 15 is the Model 10 "all dressed up" and is one finely balanced revolver with the 4" barrel. The stainless version Model 67 is just as nice.

 
There were a limited number of model 10s made by S&W in the 60s before the model 13 in 357. I believe these were special ordered by the NYPD IIRC. These are in a specific SN range and marked model 10, and 357 mag. I'm not sure which dash (-) this would have been as I don't have my book with me. The model 13 is the M&P K frame 357 in blue or nickel while the 65 is its SS cousin.
Click to expand...
The dash number on these models is 10-6. S&W did convert this 10-6s that were sent back but there are some 10-6 chamber in 357 still on the market. I have been trying to find one for years. The model 13-1 is very close to the 10-6 357.
Howard
 
The 10-6 in .357 was made for the New York State Police, not the New York Police Department. They qualified with .357 ammo so the guns got beat up. They switched to the 681 L frame, but their investigators still carried the Model 65 K frame in 3"
 
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