I was talking with some friends about the S&W Model 10

[JimT]

It got me to dig out my Model 10 and do some shooting with it. The Model 10's are normally such amazingly fine shooting guns that it's hard to ignore them. This one is no different. It was a Police gun before I got it. I bought it as an unbarreled import. Originally a 2" gun I fitted a 4" heavy barrel to it.

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The ammo I was shooting today was the 160 gr. Lyman FN cast bullet over 4.0 gr. of 231.

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The first 6 shots ... offhand @ 10 yards.

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Best group of the day

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You will note that I did not post the worst or the average groups.

The S&W Model 10 is just a really easy gun to shoot well.
A CLASSIC!

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[jeepnik]

My first centerfire Revolver was a used, very, Model 10 4" pencil barrel. I got it from a relative that had worked as a security guard while she was in college. Actually used wasn't correct, neglected is more like it. I think it had got rained on and left in a leather holster. But stripping it down to the frame (an education in itself) cleaning, polishing and some cold blue solved it's issues.

Many years later that same cousin decided she really should have a handgun. I gave it back to her and taught her how to properly care for it. We've been to the range a few times.. And I'm happy to say it looks just like when I returned it to her.

You could do a heck of a lot worse, and not any better with anything else, than with a model 10 on your nightstand.

[buckeyeshooter]

A true classic. The most popular double action ever made I would guess. Love to shoot them.

[GunnyMack]

I've got a PPC barrel floating around here for a mod 10, now if I could just find a donor to put it on.
Funny thing is I remember getting a model 10 and the PPC barrel but I have no idea where the revolver went... must have traded it off.

[gcs]

My first experience with that model was my first qualification, we had no guns of our own so the armorer grabbed a box of turned in police revolvers and started going through them giving them the shake test and handing out the ones that shook less, lol
I took that clunker and proceeded to shoot a perfect score on the police qualification course...

For the longest time turned in police revolvers were dirt cheap as depts switched to the Glocks....wish I could find one now....

[Walt]

I have a heavy barrel model 10 that I've only rarely shot. It is probably a police trade-in and the blue is worn mostly where a right-hander's trigger finger would rub against the frame. I have never shot it on paper but that sounds like an inviting thing to do.

[JimT]

A true classic. The most popular double action ever made I would guess. Love to shoot them.

Over 6 million made by S&W ... copied by many companies including
Garate Anitua &Cia, Eibar, Spain made copies of the Model 10 in .32-20 from
1930 through 1936.
Trocaola Aranzabal y Cia, Eibar, Spain made copies of the Model 10 in .38
Special in the period between both world wars.
Gabilondo, Eibar, Spain made copies of the Model 10 between 1955 and 1970
in calibers .22 LR, .32 S&W, .32 WCF, and .38 Special. It is said that a few were
also chambered in .357 Magnum.
Copies of Smith & Wesson Model 10 are produced in Israel by Israel Military
Industries (IMI), called Revolver IMI 9mm. It is chambered in the 9x21 mm.
Copies of the Model 10 are made in Brazil by Taurus, called the Model 82.

There may be others also. I have not done a lot of research to find out.

[flightsimmer]

My father-in-law worked as a security guard in his retirement years and when he passed away I ended up with his blued 4-in Smith & Wesson model 10 thin barrel revolver.
I took it to the range to try it out and I don't remember what the yardage was but when I went and picked up the Target all the shots were touching and right on point of aim so naturally I kept it, still do have it.

[marlinman93]

I can find no faults in a S&W Model 10! About as close to perfection as any revolver could be, and one of my favorite S&W handguns.

[Bill in Oregon]

Jim, that very configuration -- the 10 with four-inch HB, is about my favorite Smith. I agree, this revolver simply wants to shoot.
Brian's recent post reminded me of RIA's very basic, fixed-sight 4-inch .38, although it runs like a Colt and not a Smith. Very affordable, as in $249 MSRP. It might make a very creditable stand-in for the Model 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QQAH4n0_5g&t=1s

[JimT]

Texas Gun Trader's has some "reasonably" priced Model 10's advertised. These days $500 for a decent Model 10 is a good price.

https://texasguntrader.com/index.php?a= ... tance%5D=0

[Scott Tschirhart]

I like the 4 inch heavy barrel Model 10s and 13s.

But I shoot better with a little heavier gun. SAPD marked 681.

A fixed sight service revolver is still the top of the heap as far as I am concerned. I guarantee that the flier in this group is not the gun but my fault.

[2ndovc]

Grew up shooting .38s and .45s. I put a lot of rounds through my dads Officers Model Match.

This Royal Hong Kong Police surplus .38 Spl has become my all time favorite Model 10. At 15 yds or so I can make a nice little 6 shot cluster.
I have the original grips, but the T Grip and stags were looking for a home.

jb

[JimT]

Grew up shooting .38s and .45s. I put a lot of rounds through my dads Officers Model Match.

This Royal Hong Kong Police surplus .38 Spl has become my all time favorite Model 10. At 15 yds or so I can make a nice little 6 shot cluster.
I have the original grips, but the T Grip and stags were looking for a home.

jb

Nice ... I like the feel of the T Grip also.

We have a couple other Model 10's. The heavy barrel one is what I was issued back in 1980. I bought it from the department. Added the Bear Hug grips by Deacon Deason (now gone these many years) ... loved his grips.

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[Walt]

Some of my K frames:

mdls 10, 14, 15, 17, 64, 66.

[horsesoldier03]

Scott, I think S&W definitely improved the M19 when they came out with the fixed sight L frames. If I didnt have one of those, I think the M19 would be my preference.

[Grizz]

I like the 4 inch heavy barrel Model 10s and 13s.

But I shoot better with a little heavier gun. SAPD marked 681.

A fixed sight service revolver is still the top of the heap as far as I am concerned.

Nice one. I have the same grips on my 66. It has the best SA trigger i've ever shot . . .

[JOG]

The Smith model 10 are great shooters for sure! For some reason I traded my 1967 !0-5 about a year ago.
I did get in return a 1964 Smith model 19-1 with a 4-inch barrel. I put a vintage Tyler T grip adaptor on it.
One hell of a shooter! Not a month later a 1978 Smith 19-4 snubby walk into my gun shop.
And just like that, I have two great K frame S&W revolvers. Although I still think about that 10-5 I let go!
They sure don't make them like that anymore!
Johnny

[Scott Tschirhart]

I think the Model 10 is the sweet spot for the .38 Special cartridge. Small enough for comfortable carry and big enough to shoot well. The triggers on the older guns are particularly easy to work with.

[Sarge]

I think the Model 10 is the sweet spot for the .38 Special cartridge. Small enough for comfortable carry and big enough to shoot well. The triggers on the older guns are particularly easy to work with.

Agreed. The 4 inch Model 10 is perfect package for the 38 Special. I happen to like the S&W with a 4" skinny barrel, but that is personal preference. There are a lot of good men who got to live out their lives because of these little guns, and a lot of bad ones who were permanently reformed as a side benefit.

[samsi]

I showed up at our local range one time with a pencil barrel Model 10 and coffee can of reloads. The RO spotted it and ambled over. He turned out to be a retired Deputy Sheriff, and of course his first duty gun was a Model 10. We agreed that if you couldn't have a good time with a 10 and a can of ammo you probably don't know much about shooting.

[JimT]

I showed up at our local range one time with a pencil barrel Model 10 and coffee can of reloads. The RO spotted it and ambled over. He turned out to be a retired Deputy Sheriff, and of course his first duty gun was a Model 10. We agreed that if you couldn't have a good time with a 10 and a can of ammo you probably don't know much about shooting.

EXACTLY!

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[marlinman93]

I think the Model 10 is the sweet spot for the .38 Special cartridge. Small enough for comfortable carry and big enough to shoot well. The triggers on the older guns are particularly easy to work with.

Model 10's were one of the favorite choices for a revolver for bowling pin matches. Some guys wanted more knockdown power, but that caused fatigue to the shooters. The .38 Special could be fired all day accurately and never cause fatigue. Accurate shots knock down bowling pins easily so a lot of matches were won be a .38 Special and a good shooter.
My heavy barreled Bill Davis custom Model 10 has served me extremely well in a lot of matches, and still my favorite shooter. I even used my Model 10 for some bullseye matches occasionally shooting against semiautos and shooting it DA for the rapid fire sequence. The action has been thoroughly smoothed to a buttery DA pull and it wasn't much of a handicap to shoot accurately in DA.

[Ray Newman]

Back when they relatively affordable, I had a S&W M10 "Victory" model. For war time production, it was well fitted, all matching numbers, screws not damaged and a bit of wear in the finish at the muzzle and the cylinder edges. Shot very well @ 15-25 yards with wadcutters and a light powder charge. I think it was one of those 1950's-1960's US surplus firearms that was put away and not shot very much.

[Bill in Oregon]

Ray, your post reminded me that 30 years ago I had a Lend-Lease Victory model with the King's Broad Arrow acceptance mark in .38 S&W -- or .38-200 in British nomenclature. When I finally found a source of proper .360 200-grain RN bullets for it (from the defunct Liberty Bullets in Oregon) it shot quite well. I wonder if my first wife still has it.

[Griff]

My first revolver as a deputy was a mdl 10. I then got the loan of a nickel mdl 19 and carried it for a number of years until the owner wanted it back... didn't need it until she got a new job and needed a .357 revolver. I replaced it with a new mdl 65 about 1986 and carried it with two departments. Even when the patrol division transitioned into semi-autos, I kept the mdl 65... I trusted it a LOT more than even my Combat Commander. Our PPC qualification course yielded 300 points out of 60 shots and it shot 300s with mid-to-upper 30s in X count. We carried 158 JHPs +P ammo for duty use. It still sits in the safe with a cylinder full of those same rounds, ready and capable.

[Scott Tschirhart]

. I trusted it a LOT more than even my Combat Commander. Our PPC qualification course yielded 300 points out of 60 shots and it shot 300s with mid-to-upper 30s in X count. We carried 158 JHPs +P ammo for duty use. It still sits in the safe with a cylinder full of those same rounds, ready and capable.

That’s been somewhat my experience. I’m competent with a variety of different guns. But a K or L frame revolver seems to be the most reliable thing going.

And I KNOW that I can hit with it. That’s comforting.

Kind of like my old SAA in .45 Colt. If I can see it within a reasonable range, I can hit it.

[JMick]

I had one of those Hong Kong police turn ins and it would shoot clover leaf groups as well.
Many a squirrel and rabbits were taken with it.
Usually a 158gr swc. I don't remember the load.

[91B40]

.38 revolver…never a bad choice. Smith Model 10 is the standard. Everything you need and nothing you don’t!

[2ndovc]

I've had my Victory Model for about thirty years. It's in near perfect condition. The lanyard ring is still there, just can't see it in the shadow.
Both were auction finds for about $200 total if I remember right.

jb

[JimT]

I've had my Victory Model for about thirty years. It's in near perfect condition. The lanyard ring is still there, just can't see it in the shadow.
Both were auction finds for about $200 total if I remember right.

jb

Nice! That was a great find!

[Ysabel Kid]

I've always wanted to add one to my collection, but haven't found the right one yet and I'm not in such a hurry that I can't wait. The process has worked well for me for years.

I remember well the days when .38 Special ammunition was the cheapest centerfire ammunition one could find. I'm happy I reload - ammo makers are darn proud of the stuff nowadays!

[Galloway]

I adore my pencil barrel 4'' model 10 which shoots just as good as my k38 i paid big bucks for. Over 6 million made and ive never seen one that didnt hit within and inch of poa. Too bad none of my vaqueros have