Hi yall,
I have a 10-5 mad in 1969 with a heavy barrel.
I have recently been told it had to have been rebarreled as 10-5 all have pencile barrels. The finish shows some holster wear and I cannot tell if it has been rebarreled. Did S&W make any 10-5 with a heavy barrel? Here are some pics.
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That's incorrect, the heavy barrel was introduced as an option beginning with the 10-1.

I bet the only way to find out if it was so equipped with the heavy barrel is to get it lettered.

SCSW - 3rd. Ed. - page 174:
"Model 10-1 (1959) Introduction of 4" heavy Barrel"
Hope this helps.
teesur.

Thanks. I think it is original.

Generally speaking, the Model 10-5 and 10-6 were made at the same time (1962 through 1977) and the 10-5 had the standard barrel while the 10-6 had the heavy barrel. It is also important to keep in mind that the "rules" were not always followed. In looking at the frame where the barrel attaches, this frame appears to have the contour for a heavy barrel. The standard barrel is more rounded in this area.
I agree the only way to know for sure, however, is to get a factory letter.

Hope this helps.

Steve

You're right; a 10-5 DOES have a standard tapered barrel. The contemporaneous 10-6 is the one with the heavy barrel. However, that is not absolute proof that the gun has been rebarreled, since there are occasionally mismarks and other little things that happen at S&W. The closest that you're likely to get to "proof" would be a letter, if you think that it's worth what you'd have to pay for it ($50). Possibly a gunsmith might have an opinion on whether or not he could detect whether the barrel has been replaced.

I would check further. I'm nowhere near and expert, but I seem to remember from another thread that the 10-5 had the pencil barrel and the 10-6 had the heavy barrel. I have one of each and they follow that pattern. Looking at the SCSW, they list both the 10-5 and 10-6 as being introduced in 1962 with the 10-6 noted as "Trigger guard screw eliminated on heavy barrel model". That same note is next to the 10-4, introduced also in 1962 with "tapered" replacing "heavy". The 10-5 note is "Sight width changed from 1/10" to 1/8" on tapered barrel models".

Similarly, the 10-7 is noted as "Gas ring change from yoke to cylinder on tapered barrel"., with "tapered" being replaced by "heavy".

From all of that, it seems that there the heavy and tapered (or pencil) barrel models numbers were different.

As I read the note about the 10-1, it seems that the 10 was the model number given to the M&P when model numbers replaced names in 1957 and that the 10-1 introduced the heavy barrel variation.

My information also comes from the SCSW 3rd edition, page 174.

Of course someone who actually knows what they are talking about will come along and tell me I'm full of cow pies.

Instead of being re-barreled it could simply be mis-stamped. I understand that this has happened a "few" times with other models.

my dad owns a M-10-5 from 1971 and it has a tapered barrel.

I have a 10-5 that my dad purchased new and it has a 4 inch heavy barrel. I'm not sure of the date he bought it, and unfortunately I don't have the box. SN C-9132XX

Put in a Woops Factor for S&W...there are more than a few of the 10-5's with HB's...

MFR's have been known to "misplace" a box of frames and find them a few years later...
then simply assemble them with current components and ship 'em out like normal...
note that S&W frame numbers were shipped out of sequence a LOT...that's why there are no Specific Dates, just general guesses...

Say a guy stacks a bunch of 10-5 frame boxes next to his station on Friday, and at the end of the day has one box left...
so Monday, he calls in sick, the cover guy picks up the one box and puts it under the workbench or replaces it in the wrong place...
a couple years later, someone finds the box of frames and asks the boss what to do with it,
or just decides "Hey, we're doing 10-6's, which aren't any different except the barrel..."
Humans are humans


How else can one explain a NIB 1960 Marlin 99-G with a gold trigger & walnut stock that neither should have been on it??
Someone on the line runs out of a part, then grabs something that'll fit instead of stopping the line...
maybe on a Friday close to quitting time someone took a shortcut...or had one left over & didn't wanna take it back to the shelves...
ya never know

In my opinion, this one was likely just stamped wrong at the factory. The frame contour is for a heavy barrel. The frames for the tapered barrel and heavy barrel are different. This frame has the correct contour for the heavy barrel.

Hope this helps,

Steve