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S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 3-Screw PINNED Barrel SWING-OUT Cylinder Hand Ejectors WITH Model Numbers


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Old 05-05-2018, 11:22 AM
Bladeswitcher Bladeswitcher is offline
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What is it about Model 10 revolvers?  
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I own a small pawnshop and sell guns so I spend a lot of time talking to people about guns. One thing that has always struck me is how much people are attached to Model 10 Smith & Wesson revolvers. Seems like whenever I have a conversation with people about S&W wheel guns, they bring up the Model 10. Now, I'm not talking about serious/knowledgeable collectors. I'm talking just Joe Blow, Bubba-class gun shoppers. Often it's not a Model 10 they own personally (but sometimes so) but usually a Model 10 their father, uncle, brother, brother-in-law or some guy at work owns. Or maybe it's the S&W revolver they say they are determined to own some day. In any case, I hear them talk about the Model 10 in reverent tones, as if it was some sort of Holy Grail gun.

Rarely do I hear the casual gun conversationalist speak in such admiration of a Model 15, , 17, 18, 19, 67, 66 etc. It's almost always a fixed sight gun like a 10 or maybe 64. I might occasionally wax poetic about a Model 36 but that's about the extent of it. Nine times out of 10, a Model 10 is their archetype of a S&W revolver. (BTW, a corollary to this phenomenon is the new gun shopper whose image of a S&W revolver is a J frame.)

What's the deal? How come so few people pontificate about adjustable sight guns?

Is it just that the fixed sight guns are more common so that a person with limited exposure to revolvers is more likely to have encountered a Model 10. Or is it related to sentimentality about a relative with law enforcement experience and that was their duty gun.

Or is there something about fixed sight guns that they know that I'm not getting?

(BTW, I own a couple of Model 10s, as well as a 64 and 65 so I have experience with these guns. I just generally prefer the adjustable sight guns.)

Why is the Model 10 the first thing that so many people think of when the topic of S&W revolvers comes up?
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Old 05-05-2018, 11:32 AM
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I think the primary answer is ubiquity. The M&P was virtually omnipresent for decades, especially in law enforcement. In that sense it is iconic, so practically everyone is conscious of it. Also, nostalgia plays a role, I'm sure.
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Old 05-05-2018, 12:02 PM
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Best/simplest/most likely correct response is because S&W made MILLIONS of them---and pretty much anybody who's likely to remember a gun they may have seen has seen one. I can pretty much guarandamntee anyone of my advanced age has seen one or more stuffed into the holster of a police officer----before the scourge of autoloaders fell upon the land---back in "the good old days". And then too, what's to talk about autoloaders----if you've seen one, you've seen them all----except for those now available in various pastel shades.

And so few people pontificate about adjustable sight guns simply because they're as dumb as a rock when it comes to guns. Those on the other side of the aisle tend to talk/associate only with their peers who already know about/appreciate adjustable sights (and even know how to use them) so there's no need to talk about them.

Now, if you want to get a REAL education about people (with guns) and what they know/don't know about guns let me suggest you visit a public range. Stay well back from the firing line (preferably clad in body armor), and just watch. On the other hand, don't---because the experience will have you immediately seeking psychiatric help to overcome the stark terror which overwhelms you at the mere sight of a person with a gun---especially those you might well encounter at a concealed carry class---those known as the "spray and pray" crowd.

I could go on---and on---and on, but I shall take pity on those who have been there and done that.

Ralph Tremaine

To go on a bit more, I imagine a "Model 10", by whatever more appropriate name might be used, has become a fairly rare sight these days. It follows that folks will want to talk about unusual things. Go to pretty much ANY gun store these days, and look at the handguns. That which will be seen are row after row of seemingly identical guns------generally more or less square in shape---and with no soul. Those few with some pleasing shapes (and curves) will be found way down at the far end---where the lighting is rather poor.

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Old 05-05-2018, 01:58 PM
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I don't know why but I love model 10's. They are cheap, what the cops carried when I was a kid (nostalgia), and they are the jeep of the revolver world. Not the prettiest but beautiful in its own way and does everything you could ask it to do...I seem to be accumulating them
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Old 05-05-2018, 02:00 PM
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they are the jeep of the revolver world. Not the prettiest but beautiful in its own way and does everything you could ask it to do...
What's not pretty about a Jeep?

I own four of them. (Well, one is my wife's.)
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Old 05-05-2018, 02:21 PM
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I carried one in the Air Force for years, a three-striper with 5 bullets, the Russkies had no idea who they were messing with..
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Old 05-05-2018, 02:25 PM
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What's not pretty about a Jeep?

I own four of them. (Well, one is my wife's.)
Oh I love them too. Ask my wallet. I'm currently down to one project / money pit jeep...
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Old 05-05-2018, 03:06 PM
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Out of all the guns I own or have owned my altime favorite is a 3” model 10-5 ex Victoria Australia police gun. It just balances perfectly for me and POI = POA


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Old 05-05-2018, 03:35 PM
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I'm currently down to one project / money pit jeep...
I get that. Two of mine are "project Jeeps." One is a 1979 CJ-7; the other is a 1999 XJ.

Here is the one I drive all the time.
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Old 05-05-2018, 03:52 PM
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"What is it about S&W Model 10 revolvers?"

If you have to ask, there ain't no use tryin' to explain.
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Old 05-05-2018, 03:59 PM
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...I think it's safe to say the M&P revolver was the foundation that Smith and Wesson's business was built on...and the model 10s are the latest generations of that foundation...
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Old 05-05-2018, 04:07 PM
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Most of us carried a Model 10 in the early part of our careers and I purchased my Model 10 snub from the department when we transitioned to the stainless models. Those guns rode in police holsters through all kinds of weather and saved us when we really needed them.
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Old 05-05-2018, 05:30 PM
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I walked into a pawn shop this week to find two stainless steel .357 snub noses in the display case. Both laying with the latch down on the shelf, so they looked alike laying there.

One had a blue price tag - $799. The other had a white price tag - $400.
Both had Goodyear grips and they looked like twins. When I asked the counterman told me that the white tag was an "old used gun" and the blue tag was a brand new from the factory gun.....ok, wow.

I asked to see the "old used gun" and I had to make a face like I was handling somebody elses dirty drawers. "Used huh?" I'm shaking my head and asking how they can charge $400 for a used gun when I can buy a brand new factory gun just like it.

The counterman looked at me and said "Yeah, it doesn't seem right, how about $350?"......and I bought a 60-9 for only $350 bucks. The heck of it is, I would not have given him $350 for the new one laying right next to it.

When I was in the Police Academy they handed me a brand new model 10. I couldn't tell you what dash number it was. It was just a tool to me and I had to carry it all of the time because I couldn't afford to buy myself a snub nose......Now, I find myself looking for a Model 10 but this time it will be a snub nose....Just an old gun, not a new one. lol
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Old 05-05-2018, 05:48 PM
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I've got an old police trade in model 64 and for some reason it gets the most range time.
It's pleasant and fun to shoot. accurate as all get out with cast bullet loads. Recoil is not too heavy. The gun is just the right size for target / tin can shooting . I don't have to chase empty cases all over the range. The grip fits, a sweet trigger pull is easy to accomplish . Factory ammo is plentiful if you don't reload. Power from light Target HBWC to heavier +P JHP ...the ammo covers a wide range of use.
There is just something ...the sum of all it's parts that equals near perfection. Like the 1911...it simply works.
Everyone should have the pleasure of owning a S&W model 10/64 and a Colt 1911 at least once in their life.
If all you have ever experienced is a 9mm Polymer WonderGlock , I feel sorry for you.
Gary

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Old 05-05-2018, 06:02 PM
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Smith got it right with the model 10. Fits most people's hands, accurate, reliable and easy to shoot. There's a reason Smith made so many of them. They just work and were perfect for the job they were designed for.
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Old 05-05-2018, 06:08 PM
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If I didn't favor, I mean really favor, the
Model 15 Combat Masterpiece or just
couldn't get one or two or........


.....then it'd be the Model 10, mostly in
standard barrel but I wouldn't turn my
nose up at a heavy barrel either. Just
like the Model 15, I favor the 4-inch
and maybe a 2-inch Model 10s.

Call it old age but now in the Twilight Zone
they are what I like best and shoot most
often even though I can still handle very
well a .357 or a 9 mm auto.
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Old 05-05-2018, 07:03 PM
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I think that Jack summed it all up in post 2. S&W has made over 7,000,000 of the model 10 and its predecessors. Practically every law enforcement agency in the world has used the S&W M&P or Model 10 at one time or another. Besides that, they are just cool looking.
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Old 05-05-2018, 07:47 PM
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The first revolver I ever saw up close was a Model 10. I was on the school patrol and the police sergeant who coordinated the program let us look at his duty gun. After carefully unloading it, he let us look, but not touch (I know, probably not politically correct today, but those were simpler times). He did let us hold one of the cartridges. I remember everything about that experience. The gun was shiny and seemed HUGE, and he held it almost reverently. I can still hear the “snick” of the cylinder snapping into the frame. The bullet was heavier than I expected and the case was nickel plated. He carried his six spares in loops on his belt, because that’s what they did back then. I was mesmerized. Dang, now I have to go dig out an old M&P, close my eyes and carefully snap the cylinder closed a couple times. Thanks for the memories Sergeant Pinnell. Rest In Peace. Good shootin’,
Doug
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Old 05-05-2018, 09:15 PM
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The sweetest handgun, revolver or automatic, I've ever owned was a four-inch 15-3, bought unfired in an estate consignment. So I'm not exactly "dumb as a rock" about adjustable sight guns.

But if I were compelled to spend what little is left of my life with one handgun to use for everything--home defense, self defense, potting small game, etc.--it would be a four-inch Model 10 or 64.

Practicality is what it's about for me.

Everything I need and nothing I don't. No worries about damaging or breaking an adjustable rear sight. Huge variety of ammunition to use. Easy to shoot with arthritic hands, and no worries about limp-wristing. I can no longer shoot magnum ammo, but can shoot .38 Special all day.

I'm also very broke in old age, and 10's and 64's are affordable and rarely need repair. They are just fine, practical working guns.

Having said all that, I should add that right now my only revolver is my J-frame EDC, and I recently sold my last K-frame, a 10-5, to a friend who needed a house gun for protection. But I hope to remedy the Model 10 drought soon.
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Old 05-05-2018, 09:41 PM
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What’s not to love about a 10? Or a 64?



Especially snubby sized!
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:02 PM
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Wonderful trigger.
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:19 PM
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Bladeswitcher, since you’re on Shotgun Workd a lot, think of the Model 10 as the Wingmaster of the handgun world. Millions of them around, simple to operate, effective, not finicky about ammo and will shoot a large variety of loads. Everything you need and nothing you don’t.

I have two Model 10-8s. One is a 4” nickel plated, ex LE, and had the action worked over by a good gunsmith. I don’t like nickel plated handguns, but I keep this one because of the superb action. The other is a 4” ex-Victoria PD revolver that is very finish challenged. But it’s the best mix of size, weight, and power to carry on my hip out to the barn and around the homestead. There is no chance of the rear sight getting bumped around while doing chores. Just simple and effective. Like Wingmasters, Model 10s were built to be used.
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:39 PM
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Originally Posted by JP@AK View Post
I think the primary answer is ubiquity. The M&P was virtually omnipresent for decades, especially in law enforcement. In that sense it is iconic, so practically everyone is conscious of it...
I think this is the key.

Beyond any particular practical or emotional factors, the Military & Police model in its various iterations is the longest continuously produced revolver in the world, from 1899 to the present, as it is still currently catalogued.

None of the various changes that we as aficionados get hung up on, from the various changes to the wartime versions to screw counts to model numbers with dash evolutions, have the least effect on the actual users and the fact that it is still the same gun as in 1899.

People might have noticed the heavy barrel’s introduction in 1959, but elsewise? Forget it. Put some Pachmayrs on a first-year Model of 1905 from 1905 and stick it in the holster of a 1980s New York cop, you think anyone would have noticed?

The only revolver that might give the M&P a run for the money as far as longevity is concerned is the Russian Nagant M 1895, which at least according to wiki was in service as a duty weapon in Russia until 2006. But of course it hadn’t been produced for several decades by then, unlike the M&P.
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:53 PM
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Seems like some folks interpreted my post to suggest that I didn't appreciate Model 10 revolvers. Others apparently think I need to be educated about the allure of K-frame revolvers in general. Neither is the case. I just marvel at the fact that it's nearly ALWAYS the Model 10 people talk about. I can't remember anyone ever telling me how much they loved their Model 15. A few may have mentioned a Model 19 but it's pretty rare. I guess as someone said, they're ubiquitous.
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Old 05-05-2018, 11:58 PM
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I can't remember anyone ever telling me how much they loved their Model 15. A few may have mentioned a Model 19 but it's pretty rare. I guess as someone said, they're ubiquitous.
If I had to give up all but one, I'd keep my dad's Combat Masterpiece .38. It was built around the time my mom became pregnant with me. Not only does it mean the world to me, it is a joy to behold and delightful to shoot.
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Old 05-06-2018, 12:34 AM
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S&W Model 10 was good enough for military and police all over the planet to use. They balance very nicely; have great trigger pulls - both double and single action; don't need adjustable sights for close work (Who aims in a gun fight?). No magazines to insert or safeties to remember to turn off. I have 5 of them; one in each bedroom in the house!!
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Old 05-06-2018, 09:36 AM
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I can't remember anyone ever telling me how much they loved their Model 15.
You're not paying attention to the revolver
sites and threads on the S&W Forum.
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Old 05-06-2018, 09:47 AM
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Here's a couple nice looking "Jeeps"




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Old 05-06-2018, 10:45 AM
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Here's a couple nice looking "Jeeps"
Well, I guess the Liberty is a Jeep . . .

But I really do like that 6" Model 10 revolver!
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Old 05-06-2018, 11:34 AM
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Top one looks more like a rohm 😂
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Old 05-06-2018, 11:37 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
It's pleasant and fun to shoot. accurate as all get out with cast bullet loads. Recoil is not too heavy. The gun is just the right size for target / tin can shooting . I don't have to chase empty cases all over the range. The grip fits, a sweet trigger pull is easy to accomplish . Factory ammo is plentiful if you don't reload. Power from light Target HBWC to heavier +P JHP ...the ammo covers a wide range of use . . .
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Originally Posted by Road Rat View Post
They balance very nicely; have great trigger pulls - both double and single action . . . No magazines to insert or safeties to remember to turn off . . .
All of this applies to any K-frame S&W revolver, not just the 10/64.

Last edited by Bladeswitcher; 05-06-2018 at 11:40 AM. Reason: Added another/similar relevant quote
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Old 05-06-2018, 12:28 PM
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Default Except for Cowboy guns.......

When a lot of us hear 'gun', we picture a model 10 or a Colt Detective. It was a standard beginning in about 1900

There were variations on the the theme, barrels, sights, grips, etc. but the model 10 was the basis.

Though it was displaced as the standard starting in the 1980s, it's still an icon and many people still know it.

All that aside, the model 10 quickly became a gun that needed no improvements. It was something that was actually perfected a long time ago. Changes were minor and later more as cost cutting rather than needed modifications.
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Old 05-06-2018, 12:51 PM
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What is it about the model 10? If you have to ask you'll just never understand.
For those of us that carried one as a condition of employment understand the love affair. They have been through the dark alley with us and never told anyone how scared we really were. You gotta love'em.
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Old 05-06-2018, 02:40 PM
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I recently sold back a Model 10 back to the person I purchased from, after about 8 years. It was my first S&W revolver too. Every time I saw him he would ask if I still had it and I would say yes. Finally over coffee last month with a third party, the subject of guns was brought up and the 10 mentioned, and the the question asked, and answered with a yes. He then began telling the third party about how he sold it to me and I could hear the regret in his voice, though it had never been mentioned. He was not that kind of guy to hang a regret on someone else.
I just looked at him and said, would you want it back. I have never seen that kind of instant joy on a face and with his resounding yes, we made things right. I may come across another sometime, but I know he is really happy and I'll just hold my Model 15 a little closer now, after all, its kind of like having the son of 10.
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Old 05-06-2018, 03:42 PM
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What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers?  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JP@AK View Post
What's not pretty about a Jeep?

I own four of them. (Well, one is my wife's.)
Me too - actually I own 5, but one is my son's daily driver and another one is just a hulk that is headed for the scrapper once I've recovered enough from surgery to haul it away.

I don't have a M10 though - that's one gap in my little accumulation that I still need to fill.

I have a 13, a 15, a 19, and even a 67, but no fixed sight k-frame 38 special - and for the record I love them all.

But I've still got no M10 - guess I'm gonnna have to rectify that....

Last edited by BC38; 05-06-2018 at 03:51 PM.
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Old 05-06-2018, 05:25 PM
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I feel that the main reason for the Model 10's ongoing popularity is that, quite simply, it comes as close as any gun ever has to being the "ideal" handgun. Not too big to carry or conceal comfortably; not too small to shoot accurately. Powerful enough to fulfill any reasonable task; gentle enough that almost anyone can handle the recoil. Simple and safe to operate, and about as reliable as any mechanical device could hope to be.

Now, pretty much the same can be said for any other K-frame -- but, for instance, add the versatility of adjustable sights and the simplicity/reliability goes down just a small notch; make it a .357, and the number of folks who can shoot it accurately shrinks.

All in all, the Model 10 represents a very satisfactory and happy medium.
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Old 05-06-2018, 05:59 PM
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The model 10 has its lineage back to 1899. It is the grand-pa of all swing-out cylinder hand ejectors. All other iconic S&W DA revolvers have evolved from this incarnation.
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Old 05-06-2018, 06:40 PM
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Actually, I much prefer adjustable sighted revolvers. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good fixed sighted gun.
Aside from all its other virtues already listed, when compared to other guns in today's market, a good, used Model 10 can be bought dirt cheap. I have bought a couple of them, which I had no need of at all, simply because the price was right. I've even given a few away to friends and family in need of a good house gun.
I'd have to check to be sure, but I think right now I have about seven of them.
Just a few months ago, I ran across an ad for this one, contacted the seller and didn't even argue the price. To me, this is the perfect carry revolver.

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Old 05-06-2018, 06:48 PM
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What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers? What is it about Model 10 revolvers?  
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A three inch model 10? Is that a special run or was it modified. Nice model10 in any case.
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Old 05-06-2018, 06:56 PM
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The ONLY firearm in the running with the S&W .38 s&w special handejector of 1899/ Military and Police/ Victory/ Model 10/ Model 64 is the S&W .32 handejector model of 1896. JMO.

(Tapered barrels never make your holster look fat.)
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Old 05-06-2018, 07:28 PM
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Why the model 10?

When S&W decided to go with a model numbering system in the 1950's, they chose to start with the number 10. Then they had to assign existing models to this format and chose to start first with the Military & Police. I think this gives a little insight on how important the gun was for S&W.

It's simple, reliable, durable, accurate, easy to shoot, inexpensive, and readily available. These attributes led the Model 10 to become very common as the first or perhaps only firearm owned by the ordinary citizen. For countless young/new shooters and police cadets, it was the first gun he ever shot, maybe even the first gun he handled in person.

Why were their so many M&Ps/Model 10s made? Because there was/is a demand for them. The market for them is still strong after all these years, with used police trade Model 10's going for as much as a brand new J frame airweight or M&P Shield. It's a sure sign that the Model 10 will be around for a long time to come.
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Old 05-06-2018, 07:49 PM
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rifmon: 3" has been a standard barrel length for the Model 10 since the 1980s. Its just that S&W never made many of them. They are hard to come by and could be classed as scarce, but not rare. Mine is a 10-8 made in 1982. As far as I know, its just a standard production model.
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Old 05-06-2018, 08:10 PM
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Only have 1 10 at this time. As usual, things are subject to change. Bob
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Old 05-06-2018, 08:16 PM
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It's one of those 'hub' guns that the others evolved off of.
If you have a model 10, and that's all you have, you're doing ok.

Last edited by Jessie; 05-06-2018 at 08:18 PM.
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Old 05-07-2018, 09:58 AM
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I'd bet it's due to mostly ignorance of S&W model numbers. The average person above 35 years old has seen many K frames on TV or in police holsters back in the day, and ascribes the only model # they think they know to all blued K frames.
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Old 05-07-2018, 10:36 AM
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Well, I have a few as well, and a bunch of revolvers that are direct descendants of the Model 10, or the M&P. They are everything that the above posters say they are. Wonderful guns.

Here are a couple of my plain Jane heavy barrels:



Here is my old snubby:



Best Regards, Les
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Old 05-10-2018, 05:30 PM
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I'm always watching for a decent M10 snubby.
I like yours Les.
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Old 05-10-2018, 09:46 PM
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When I was young and foolish I thought S&W revolvers had to have adjustable sights.

Now significantly older and wiser (one guy's opinion) I love M&Ps with 5" and 2" barrels. Here are a few...
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File Type: jpg S-serial 38 M&P, Dec '46.jpg (84.0 KB, 17 views)
File Type: jpg .38 M&P Mar '48 R.jpg (63.7 KB, 17 views)
File Type: jpg S&W M&P .38S&W, sn C3500XX, 1956.jpg (59.5 KB, 16 views)
File Type: jpg Model 10, ca. 1977.jpg (85.2 KB, 16 views)
File Type: jpg Model 10-5 L.jpg (67.5 KB, 18 views)
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Old 05-10-2018, 10:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dscampbell View Post
Out of all the guns I own or have owned my altime favorite is a 3” model 10-5 ex Victoria Australia police gun. It just balances perfectly for me and POI = POA . . .
I too have a favorite veteran 3" Model 10-5 that I always thought was an ex Victoria Australia police gun . . . but when I recently lettered it, turned out to have shipped to the Government of Jamaica. It was one of 50 in the shipment but it's the first one I've ever heard of. Any others out there?

Russ
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File Type: jpg IMG_5957.jpg (81.0 KB, 24 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_5958.jpg (87.3 KB, 23 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_5961.jpg (104.5 KB, 22 views)
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Old 05-11-2018, 01:19 AM
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Default What is it about Model 10 revolvers?

My 4" Model 10-9.

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