There was a time when I was a much younger, and I was falling under the spell of Jeff Cooper, and the IPSC crowd, when I didn't care for the Model 10. It was sort of quaint and old fashioned. It looked like something a cop named "O'Riley would carry, while wearing one of those long double brested overcoats. Fixed sights? A 4" barrel? Blue steel? Those skinny grips? Who wanted one of THOSE. Maybe some storekeeper in Missouri, but not somebody who knew anything about guns.
Ok. I was young AND stupid.
Now that I'm quaint and old fashioned myself, I can appreciate the Model 10 for what it is. Maybe the most battle tested revolver, if not handgun ever. And a delight to shoot at the range or knocking around the woods. The classic simplicity has an elegance of it's own.
I've got two of them now. A 10-5 with a 5" barrel, and a 10-7 with a 4". The 10-7 had some very small spots of rust on the right side, and the cylinder. So small I didn't even notice them until I took the pictures. Under the flash and the macro setting they jumped out.
With a little elbow grease and some Flitz, it's pretty much gone now.
