Did S&W make a 3" Model 10-8 with matte blue (possibly bead blast blue) and round butt in the 1980s? If so, what can you tell me about it? I saw a picture of one and it looks sharp, just trying to determine whether it is factory finish.

I think this was still in the polished blue era, but it may be a factory or aftermarket matte refinish.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

If there was a matte blue finish round butt 3 inch heavy barrel 10-8 I haven't seen one. I bought the only 10-8 round butt 3 inch heavy barrel I remember seeing and it is bright blue. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457


Edit: Just checked the 4th Edition of the Standard Catalog, page 206 says "Model 10-8, 3" HB, RB, Matte Blue Finish, Short extractor, s/n ALC5652 Special order" so S&W apparently made at least one.

Attached Images

	10-8 3 inch.jpg (75.3 KB, 205 views)
	10-8.jpg (81.4 KB, 112 views)

I saw one in my LGS, and according to the catalog they were made for one of the State police agencies in Australia. Of course, by the time I looked that up it was gone.

I thought the Australian set up was for Victoria, believe it was a square butt. Could be wrong.

There's a 3 inch with matte finish listed on GB. That's what prompted this thread. Sort of curious about it


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Any import stamps or proof marks on it?

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

I'm just writing to say, wow, that's the kind of Model 10 that would really grab me.

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Now go make God proud...

Did they give the product code for that gun?

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

I'll check to see if anything shows up in photos. Seller's right, the product code 100131 is not listed, at least not in the SCSW.




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Following up on Post #5, here is my 10-7 3" square butt. Somebody suggested that this was an extra from the Australia run that never shipped over. Of course, I have no proof of that. It's possible but don't whether tip comes from reliable source.






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The product code for a standard 3-inch M10-8 was 100121. The seller could be correct, but it's possible he misread it.

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There's a photo of the box/ label in the GB ad. It's an active listing.


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S/N is ALC550x. Date code on the box is.....

November 18, 1985.

Which it in the normal range for that prefix. The finish is definitely a flat matte. Entirely uniform, no brush marks or grain is visible. I don't think it's the "satin blue" that S&W offered that was just slightly less bright than the normal polished blue.

Very cool. Thanks for bring it to the forum's attention. Mystery guns and never seen before product codes are always great threads; and just our posting about it established some provenance for future research. Anyone that search 100131 going forward will find this thread. I'll even upload a picture to the forum's archive so it's permanent. The GB pics will be wiped in a few months, after it closes.

Attached Images

1985 M10-8 3-inch RB 100131.jpg (283.2 KB, 617 views)

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Well done Kernel. Good idea.

Found this thread below. It appears to include a picture of a similarly finished Model 10-8 3" with observations about 3" generally.

Informal Case Study on the 3” barrel M&P/ Model 10 variants…


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That's a good thread, and it does look like our mystery gun in there.

Including the product code in the thread can be important. Otherwise, you're looking for a needle in a haystack. There's probably 2,000 threads on this forum mentioning Model 10's. Some in great detail. However, only ONE mentions the 100131 (this one), an easily searchable term.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

The GB auction seems to have blown up a bit....3 minutes or so left. Wonder if it was somebody who learned about the revolver from this thread. Ha.

EDIT: Sold for $880.

Neat gun, are you sure that is a M10-8?

With the standard 3" barrel profile as yours has, those should be one of the standard barrel engineering numbers, like -2, -4, -5, -7 or -9.

If it's really marked as a -8, it would be a factory error, which we've seen before.

Just curious.

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.............SmithNut

Thanks for your post. I will pull it out to confirm when I get home from the office.

EDIT: I have not been able to get home to pull it out of the safe; however, you had me wondering if the mistake was on my end. I had posted the gun in a local North Carolina forum within hours of picking it up from the FFL. I reviewed that post which describes it as a 10-7. So, I assume that is more accurate as the revolver was probably sitting right in front of me.

It appears that you are correct and the error is on my end. My 3 inch SB is a Model 10-7. Good eye. That is what I get for posting from memory.


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A pic of the one in the above referenced thread.......

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.............SmithNut

What the label looks like......

Attached Images

1985 M10-8 3-inch RB 100131 label.jpg (119.6 KB, 454 views)

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

I am now in possession of said gun.. It's funny I was looking for a thread like this before I bought it but I didn't realize this was here until today.... Here is a comparison Picture next to a factory finished 19-7 K comp. absolutely gorgeous. My FFL (and everyone else in my LGS) really, REALLY like this finish, but none of them were sure if it was after market either. The biggest difference I see from that and the dark matte finish on my 19-7 is that the barrel will shine up well on the 19-7. I can't get much shine out of whatever finish is on the 10-8. Just looking at the frame of the gun though, I can't see a difference. I'll have to inquire more from S&W as soon as I can and let everybody know what they tell can tell me. P.S. The Matte finish and the Product code that was driving me MAD were the key selling points of this gun for me.

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17500314_1515164965225902_831760994_o.jpg (180.3 KB, 23 views)

Well, glad to find out where it landed. Sort of bummed that it wasn't in my safe....but glad it is here with a forum member. Nice and unusual revolver.

One thing I've noticed about this mystery gun (in relation to the gun pictured here) They seem to have slight wear in the same places (I.E Light scratches on Ejector Rod, AND slight reddish discoloration where the cylinder rotates out) Not sure if it means much. Mine is obviously a darker finish than this, but still very similar.

The reason the markings are the same is that your gun is the one I show in the picture above (all posts about your gun are referring to the exact same gun). As part of my downsizing efforts, it was auctioned by Lee (handejector) last year. Somewhere along the line, whoever bought it has turned it again. Too bad, it is a very scarce gun.

Question - in your post above you mention that it will not shine up - I have to ask how you are trying to shine it? Your pic above shows a tube of Flitz, I certainly hope you are not taking Flitz to the blue finish.... IMO It would be a bummer to modify that finish due to the scarceness. Truth is, I never lettered it, but I have total confidence that it is a factory finish and totally legit due to the previous owner, I purchased it out of his estate after he passed away.

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.............SmithNut

"As part of my downsizing efforts, it was auctioned by Lee (handejector) last year."
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I hope you sold that model 10 with the underlug that I've lusted after for so many moons, so I can let it go. I may not remember my name, but I never forget a gun.

Yes, it's gone, unfortunately. I miss them all, but that one was very cool and special.

Here's a pic to torment you further..

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.............SmithNut

The Australian Victoria State police model 10's were 4" barreled variants as were the models used by New South Wales....

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"Non sibi, sed patriae"

The finish is fine. I just needed a quick way to compare it to the 19-7 finish which DOES shine... anyway. How would you recommend keeping the gun clean / stored properly?

As far as cleaning, maybe wipe down gently with a microfiber cloth sprayed with CLP (BreakFree) or something similar. That's it. Would wipe it and then hit it with a dryer part of the rag so as not to leave it wet.

**I have to say, I cringed a bit when it read like you were trying to polish the gun.

Ryan


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haha. I understand now. Thanks for the advice though. I mean the irregular finish is why I bought it. Plan to keep it for a long long time.