I purchased this model 10 from the NYPD Equipment Section around November 1972. Although I had been appointed to the force in October 1969 I did not attend the Police Academy until then due to my serving as a deep undercover office in police intelligence.



Many thousands of rounds have gone through this handgun. It is superbly accurate (shoots to point of aim, which, in a fixed sight sidearm, is a beautiful thing) and, if forced to give up all my handguns but one, this is the handgun I’d hang on to.

A couple of things about her:

I had Tritium sights put in sometime around the late 1970, early 1980s for an article I wrote for Combat Handguns. The company that did the work was located somewhere near the Tappenzee bridge in Westchester County. I had a sweet deal with that magazine. As I lived on ten acres of land with my own range I was able to test assorted handguns very easily. Worked out for both them and me. Got to shoot lots of different firearms during that period. :-)

The model 10’s trigger and hammer had been buffed smooth by department gunsmiths. That made the hammer far less destructive to clothing, while the trigger was (and is) a joy to stroke.





The pressed in piece on the recoil plate is another story.



Normally there is a hole drilled there for the cylinder pin to mate up with. While assigned to the Firearms & Tactics Section as a sergeant I was doing some shooting and noticed she was spitting lead badly. Took her in to the department gunsmiths. These guys really knew how to do magic with service revolvers. Anyway, they couldn’t get the weapon to time up properly. No matter with them changing out hands of various widths and doing whatever they could do to the revolver the range rod would always “tick” going into the cylinder’s chambers. Someone finally looked and saw that the hole in the recoil plate for the cylinder pin was egg shaped! After many, many thousands of rounds I’d worn the girl out.

There was a S&W representative at the range that day, so he took the gun back with him to S&W. When I got it back they had replaced the barrel (the old one was bulged), the cylinder (a little bulged as well. I guess a few of my handloads might have been a tad warm….) and put in that press fit piece with its new clean round hole for the cylinder pin. She was also reblued.

For the record, the guts of the gun were never worked on for the purposes of polishing the action’s parts. Department gunsmiths didn’t even like to do “action” jobs on revolvers that didn’t have at least 1,000 rounds through them. As it was explained to me, polishing the inners of a handgun is simply removing metal. Until you know where the metal parts are rubbing there is no way to be certain you’re simply not adding years of wear needlessly to the handgun by doing a premature polishing job. Although she is smooth as butter it’s all due to many, many rounds going through her. In addition, all springs are full strength. This was (and is) a working tool. I carried her for twenty years in the NYPD and I needed to know that when the hammer fell there’d be a bang.


Rich

it is nice to see the one you would keep mine would be my 629 5.5"

Nice gun and a good story too. Wish I had kept my Model 10 and the 2 66's I had been issued (by me, as I was the armorer and one of two range officers).

Great piece and history! Nothing says S&W like a M&P!

Neat gun ... and an even neater story, Rich. I can see why you'd want to hold onto that one. Thanks for the post & pics,

Jerry

Rich, thanks for sharing the story and pics of your service revolver.

I love to see pics of guns that show honest use...........they are more interesting (to me) than the safe queens.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

It's amazing that S&W and the NYPD would put that much time and effort into this revolver, rather than just replacing it. Especially since it needed a new barrel and cylinder, and the frame itself needed work!

They were sure serious about keeping them running back then.

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You're shy a few manners.

Jack:

Having them replace the entire revolver back then never even occurred to me. Before a revolver would be replaced with a new gun it would have to be completely unserviceable (as in blown up with a reload unserviceable). Understand, the armory (where the gunsmiths did their work) had bins of literally hundreds of barrels, cylinders, grips, plus bit and pieces for an assortment of S&W, Colts, Rugers, Dan Wessons and God knows what other manufacturers wares.

At the Outdoor Range, the day would start with generally several hundred officers coming in for qualification. Their handguns (service and off-duty) would receive a function and safety check by the police firearms instructors. Any handgun found wanting would be brought to the armory by their owners for repair/service. A loaner revolver would be given them for the day.

During the day, should a handgun “go down” on the range, it would also be brought to the gunsmith for repair.

During the "cycle" 30,000 officers would show up for normal qualification plus several thousand more for specialized training (Emergency Service personnel for requalification in the Ithaca 37, Remington 660, S&W 76 sub gun, Ruger Mini-14 along with the Detectives shotgun course, the undercover qualification course plus a few others I don't recall at the moment). My job at the time (served as a sgt and later a lt) was in running the Police Firearms Instructors School when that was given, and my normal job was overseeing the Heavy Weapons Training program (all that stuff I had just mentioned), plus Research & Testing (sort of a catch all for whatever had to be done).

Interesting place to work.

Rich

Model 10 is a great item. Model 10 snub is one of my favorites, if not my favorite S&W. I just bought a mint round butte to go with my mint square butte. Great revolvers.

nice pics thanks for sharing the history on it i have one in 10-8 bought second hand has some normal holster ware other than that it is smooth and shoots poa i like it a lot better than the 9 mm auto i got rid of i think these old workhorses will be here a while again thanks sharing and keep them in the x ring

Classic gun, great story. I remember that magazine from when I was a kid...thanks for the memories!

Very nice. She's held up well for all the years of service.

These Smiths just grow on you. I have a model 19 about the same age that I bought out of our armory that would be the last to go. (I didn't even carry her but she's still my favorite.)

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Romans 13:3 & 4

Just curious about what happened to all the revolvers turned in with the layoffs of July 75? Did they go back to the original PO's they were issued to when re-hired?

Nice gun, thanks for posting a great story also!

Not sure. Probably some variation of having them turned in to the dept, some were held for the laid off members until rehiring, some destroyed if they never came back.

I was laid off for three or four days myself. Two or three days after I was laid off received a call from the dept demanding I turn in my handguns. Was rehired a day or so later.

Got myself a handgun permit right after that (living in Orange Country NY at the time).

Rich

Thanks for the memories Lt. (Rich). I still have my issued Model 10 pencil barrel, round butt and it is still a joy to shoot. I still remember the Qualification drills too but not too many public ranges will let me shoot them.

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Age. Fac ut Gaudeaum

Great story, Lt. Here's my 10-8, rebuilt by the LAPD Armorers some years back I was working Firearms & Tactics (Academy) and had them fit a 3" barrel (we had tons of Smith parts, too). Harry Davis, one of the best S&W Armorers to ever pick up a hammer (!), converted it to DAO, tuned the action and polished the trigger, like yours. I carried it in DeSantis or Bianchi holsters as my off-duty gun long after we changed over to 9mms. Love the M10.
Bob

I have an old work horse like yours. Lots of miles but puts em right on the money.
DW

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"NUTS"

That is so cool. I love a gun with history.

I worked a couple years with the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department back in the mid-80's.

We were issued the "pencil-barrel" Model 10. I was too unaware of the model details at the time to be able to say what "dash" variant it was.

I had to turn-in my Model 10 when I separated from the department. Wish I could find serial number D279229 somewhere, someday. In the meantime, I did find a spitting-image Model 10-7 that shows the sort of wear my issue-revolver would likely have if I had stayed with the department. Even has the same Pachmyr "Gripper" grip that I added to my department revolver.

I have a Model 10 marked "MPDC", a little older than the one you were issued, but very similar to the one in your photograph. Nice action, though the blue shows typical holster wear.

What ammo was issued and how much would an officer shoot in a year for qualifications? The cylinder is still tight. I've used in to introduce several woman and youth to centerfire handguns.

Thanks, Rich. I really enjoy accounts of arms that have given such faithful service and remain ready. I also appreciate the nostalgia of your post. Last year I horse traded a really nice nickled Model 15-3 snubbie for a cherry 4" Model 10-5. I'm sure the snubbie was worth more than the 10. That wasn't the point. My dad (deceased for more than 20 years now) had purchased a brand new model 10 (probably a 10-5) for my grandfather when I was a kid. I can still see him opening the box and unwrapping that shiny new gift.

After my grandfather died, another of his son-in-laws (who didn't know the origin of the gun) took it with him to his home across the country. Dad was too much a gentleman to protest, but he felt badly about the incident for the rest of his life. I always wanted one just like it, and gladly exchanged one k frame for another.

I've spent some time shooting the 10-5 and am stunned by how perfectly the gun is regulated. I'm not sure how the good folks at Smith pull this off, but it speaks to production pride that translates easily to ownership pride. Gotta love those k frame .38s! And while I'm more likely to carry a P series Sig, I'm enough of a dinosaur to believe the .38 spl., properly loaded, offers adequate personal protection.

PC

WW or R-P 158 grain Round Nose followed by 158 grain Lead Hollow Points. 100 rounds for qualification.

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Age. Fac ut Gaudeaum