Blue Duck357
New member
Mike your one of the most knowledgeable and valuable members on this board. Don't allow a stupid corporate decision to turn you into little more than a troll.
Thinking of buying a S&W Model 10
- Thread starter GGlock
- Start date
Blue Duck357
New member
And were all well aware of his opinions of it which I will not argue against in the least.
BUT seeking out every post anyone has in relation to S/W handguns on any subject to turn it into the same arguement over and over and over...is getting a bit tiresome.
BUT seeking out every post anyone has in relation to S/W handguns on any subject to turn it into the same arguement over and over and over...is getting a bit tiresome.
I can see a Model 10 might fill a niche similar to that filled by a K-22, if you're thinking of a plinker/fun/range gun. The target-loaded .38 spl. is astonishingly accurate (the fixed sights may be a bit of an issue, but if you're just there for fun and not competition - who cares?) and easy and cheap to handload. Besides, the .38 Spl. is powerful enough to use for your home defense needs if necessary.
Like Mike, I wouldn't buy a new one from the company. But, like Frenchy, something of this decision has to do with the sweeter quality of some of the oldies, not to mention the better deals they can present. There are plenty of lovely old Model 10s out there, and some of them are priced right. (Atticus, my friend, get yourself back to that store and see if he'll take $175!)
I was at a gun show this weekend in Albuquerque, and one of the two guns that spoke to me the most was a gorgeous Model 10 spikenose (the other was a terrific old Belgian Browning pocket .380, 99% with box and papers for $375). No box on the Smith, 95-98% condition. Guy wanted $275. Now, I think that price was fairly out of line, especially for a gun show (don't know whether I'm getting conservative in my old age or whether folks just want too much for their stuff), but the revolver was a lovely thing to behold and I was glad to point it out to the neighbor kid I'd brought along to the show.
Sheesh. Now that I can afford the whiz-bang wünderguns I always drooled over, I'm getting hung up on the .38 Special revolvers. First I buy a Police Positive Special, now this falling in love with a model 10, about as plain Jane a gun as there ever was. I am getting conservative in my old age! I'm glad to see I have company: there's something about a well-executed, classic, simple and effective design in a caliber that's well-executed, classic, simple and effective as well.
BTW, I think Laz elegantly expressed my exact feelings about the thin-barrels v. the heavy barrels and frame-mounted v. hammer-mounted pins on the model 10s . . . well said, Laz!
Like Mike, I wouldn't buy a new one from the company. But, like Frenchy, something of this decision has to do with the sweeter quality of some of the oldies, not to mention the better deals they can present. There are plenty of lovely old Model 10s out there, and some of them are priced right. (Atticus, my friend, get yourself back to that store and see if he'll take $175!)
I was at a gun show this weekend in Albuquerque, and one of the two guns that spoke to me the most was a gorgeous Model 10 spikenose (the other was a terrific old Belgian Browning pocket .380, 99% with box and papers for $375). No box on the Smith, 95-98% condition. Guy wanted $275. Now, I think that price was fairly out of line, especially for a gun show (don't know whether I'm getting conservative in my old age or whether folks just want too much for their stuff), but the revolver was a lovely thing to behold and I was glad to point it out to the neighbor kid I'd brought along to the show.
Sheesh. Now that I can afford the whiz-bang wünderguns I always drooled over, I'm getting hung up on the .38 Special revolvers. First I buy a Police Positive Special, now this falling in love with a model 10, about as plain Jane a gun as there ever was. I am getting conservative in my old age! I'm glad to see I have company: there's something about a well-executed, classic, simple and effective design in a caliber that's well-executed, classic, simple and effective as well.
BTW, I think Laz elegantly expressed my exact feelings about the thin-barrels v. the heavy barrels and frame-mounted v. hammer-mounted pins on the model 10s . . . well said, Laz!
One of the most exciting aspects of being a gun-owner and collector is to prowl around gun shows and various shops looking for older firearms. Like Mike Irwin, CR Sam, and a few others, I prefer well-maintained older firearms because they seem to be better built and have an aura of an age when personal ability counted for more than exotic add-on gadgets.
I plan on making a two-hour trip this Saturday to a gun shop north of Boston which has some Danish .30-06 available. They also have a great selection of used firearms...maybe I'll get lucky and find something worth bringing home.
I plan on making a two-hour trip this Saturday to a gun shop north of Boston which has some Danish .30-06 available. They also have a great selection of used firearms...maybe I'll get lucky and find something worth bringing home.
There are a lot of used Model 10s out there. I see them all the time. And they are usually cheap. I have two and will probably end up buying a third. I got one of the police trade ins with a matte finish and the 4" heavy barrel. Then I bought a regular blue 4" heavy barrel. And I am assuming that I will end up with the pencil barreled version eventually. The police trade in, does not shoot to point of aim for me, so I never shoot it. I haven't fired the other one yet, and I am obviously hopeing that this one does shoot where I look. I guess this is all a good excuse to buy a Model 15.
IIRC Eric the Ammoman ( http://www.ammoman.com ) has a thin barrel M-10 for sale for...$175? The pic dosen't show the finish very well, but it might be worth looking into.
http://www.ammoman.com/GUNS/33/1.jpg
http://www.ammoman.com/GUNS/33/1.jpg
Radicalcleric
New member
Most .38 service revolvers were regulated for the 158 grain police load at around 850 FPS +/-. If you are shooting left or right it might be your grip. The way you hold the gun can effect the point of impact. I tended to shoot right until someone pointed this out to me and I worked on perfecting my grip on the gun. Now I keep them pretty much up and down on the target rather than side to side.
If you do need to move the point of impact, a gunsmith can bend the front sight a tad. Also, the groove that serves as rear sight can be filed to change where the gun shoots. I think a number of gunsmiths are now specializing in this work with the rise in popularity of the cowboy matches where precision shooting with fixed-sights is required to win.
If you do need to move the point of impact, a gunsmith can bend the front sight a tad. Also, the groove that serves as rear sight can be filed to change where the gun shoots. I think a number of gunsmiths are now specializing in this work with the rise in popularity of the cowboy matches where precision shooting with fixed-sights is required to win.
One thing I do know, is that it is something I do (my fault, not the gun). Anytime I shoot someone elses gun, or a fixed sight gun, it shoots to the left.
It might be my grip, but my opinion is that it is due to the fact that I am right handed and shoot with my left eye. I have owned at least one handgun since I was 9 years old and have appearently done this, since that time. I never realized it (or gave it any thought) until about 5-6 years ago when I started having vision problems. I went to an eye doctor and he told me that my left eye is much stronger than my right eye, although I have easily passed vision tests with both eyes. My vision problem was caused by my right eye straining to keep up with my left eye or something like that. Since then I have been getting a new glasses perscription every year. I have considered trying to switch to shooting with my right eye. It shouldn't be a real big deal since I did that with rifles all along, but I never really saw the point; although this would be one good reason to do it.
It might be my grip, but my opinion is that it is due to the fact that I am right handed and shoot with my left eye. I have owned at least one handgun since I was 9 years old and have appearently done this, since that time. I never realized it (or gave it any thought) until about 5-6 years ago when I started having vision problems. I went to an eye doctor and he told me that my left eye is much stronger than my right eye, although I have easily passed vision tests with both eyes. My vision problem was caused by my right eye straining to keep up with my left eye or something like that. Since then I have been getting a new glasses perscription every year. I have considered trying to switch to shooting with my right eye. It shouldn't be a real big deal since I did that with rifles all along, but I never really saw the point; although this would be one good reason to do it.
Blue Duck357
New member
Same boat (right handed, left eye dominant), same results.
Paul Fitz Jones
New member
I re-read this thread and had to add that, since getting my CZ 75B a few months ago, my S&W M/P .38 Special 4'' pencil barrel has been a Safe Queen. Today I received a pair of original S&W wooden grips from Gizmo99(thanks, Gizmo99!) I took off the Hogue monogrip, cleaned up the butt area and screwed-on the little original squarebutt grips...a metamorphasis! Suddenly, I was Elliot Ness....I took my .38 to the local outdoor range and got re-enamored with this simple yet elegant blued piece of Americana. Still darn accurate with the milled-in rear notch and hammer mounted firing pin. 1956 was a good year.
Brian Williams
New member
I have a mod13 with 3" barrel basically a 10 with 357 capabilities.
I think these area the best guns around I am looking to sell my mod 66 for a 586 or 19 love the blue on the old S&W's
I think these area the best guns around I am looking to sell my mod 66 for a 586 or 19 love the blue on the old S&W's
The M10 has a solid reputation. If you need plus P capability, get one made after 1957; it will be marked inside the frame (when you swing out the cylinder) with the model no.
The heavy bbl. probably doesn't offer any more support to the extractor rod; it was designed to aid in pointed fire. It does enhance balance for that. I was told this by Bill Jordan, the old Border Patrol shooting ace, who liked heavy barrels, and who had considerable influence on police handgun design in the 1950's and '60's. The standard bbl. looks better and more traditional, but is hard to find in stainless M64 guns, and I prefer stainless, usually.
I do want a four-inch and a five-inch M10 someday when I can find them when I have the money. The RCMP used the five-inch from 1954 until they went to the 9mm in the 1990's, and with lead hollowpoints, it worked well enough in shootings. They didn't want more power when they switched; they wanted more firepower after some of their men "ran dry" in gunfights.
Any major book on handguns should show you what the standard grips supplied with M10's looked like. Hit the library or the bookstore. Sometime in the 1950's they made the Magna grip standard; it comes up fully on the frame. Older grips were shaped like those on the M1917 Army .45. If you don't know IT looks like, you DO need to hit the books!
Lone Star
The heavy bbl. probably doesn't offer any more support to the extractor rod; it was designed to aid in pointed fire. It does enhance balance for that. I was told this by Bill Jordan, the old Border Patrol shooting ace, who liked heavy barrels, and who had considerable influence on police handgun design in the 1950's and '60's. The standard bbl. looks better and more traditional, but is hard to find in stainless M64 guns, and I prefer stainless, usually.
I do want a four-inch and a five-inch M10 someday when I can find them when I have the money. The RCMP used the five-inch from 1954 until they went to the 9mm in the 1990's, and with lead hollowpoints, it worked well enough in shootings. They didn't want more power when they switched; they wanted more firepower after some of their men "ran dry" in gunfights.
Any major book on handguns should show you what the standard grips supplied with M10's looked like. Hit the library or the bookstore. Sometime in the 1950's they made the Magna grip standard; it comes up fully on the frame. Older grips were shaped like those on the M1917 Army .45. If you don't know IT looks like, you DO need to hit the books!
Lone Star