used .38 advice

V

Vladimir_Berkov

New member
I was browsing around the local gunstore today when I came across a used S&W model 10 .38 with the heavy barrel. It seems to be in very good condition, with mainly holster wear and a good bore. I am going back on Tuesday to do a more complete inspection.

First off, how much side-to-side wiggle is acceptable in a revolver. With the hammer down, I could move it side to side noticeably. Also, how much is this gun worth? It is marked as $209, although I might knock $10-20 off that price depending on my regotiating skills.

Finally, I am new to revolvers (this will be my first.) I read March's post and that helped me a lot. But I can't figure out if this particular gun would stand up to modern +P loads or not.
 
A little bit of "rotational wiggle" (at full lockup) is normal, at least in an S&W. Front/back wiggle is less desirable.

Remember, this is at "full lockup", hammer having been lowered after a trigger pull and the trigger still pulled back from that stroke. You're not checking these properly until you do that.

So how much rotational wiggle can you accept? In my opinion, rather than sweat a measurement, do the "cylinder bore by cylinder bore timing/alignment test" - if the cylinder bores are landing right behind the barrel OK on every check, without you touching the cylinder directly, then it's fine.

In case anybody is just tuning in, the "how to check a revolver thread" is permanently linked in the blue-backgrgound table of my website - scroll down a bit, it's the "misc text" table.

Jim March
Equal Rights for CCW Home Page
http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw
 
Jim covered it re rotational and longitudinal movement.

Re lateral movement. Cocked or uncocked. With LIGHT pressure, there should be little or no movement of the cylinder. Heavy pressure will flex the ejector rod and doesn't count. (unless you bend the rod)

When doin the side to side check, make sure you are using purely side to side pressure and not also rotating it a little.

From your description, sounds like excess wear. Front latch, rear latch, internal in cylinder......or any combination.

Sam
 
All S&W M10 heavey barrles are +P rated

I had a thread about this very subject. I e-mailes S&W & asked if they were rated for +P ammo they said yes. Then I e-mailed them again & asked if every M10 heavy barrel from the first 1 they made to present was +P rated they said yes. So it looks like all S&W M10s are +P rated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top