Was carrying it back to the bedroom, didn't have a firm grip and down it went onto a vinyl floor.

I can see a spot on the cylinder latch side grip where it damaged the checkering. Don't know if that or the cylinder took the brunt of the hit.

The finish is OK and it seems to function fine.

What sort of damage should I look for with a possible hard strike on the cylinder in the direction it closes?

Well, it ain't good to drop a weapon however, I'd be surprised if there is more than cosmetic damage. Model 10's are "working" weapons. Joe

__________________
Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

If it "functions fine" , it is not damaged. Buy yourself a gun-rug and thank your lucky stars.

Have plenty of gun rugs. I have it out as the "house gun" because I'm taking on a trip with me over the weekend. I'll slip it in a rug when I take it off the nightstand in the morning.

Visiting my former home of AL and possibly working in some range time since a friend of mine texted earlier this week he's bought a .38 of some sort.

Just annoyed I was careless when readjusting my grip.

be glad you didn't drop it on concrete or ceramic tile.
i can see you rubbing the spot, trying to make it good again.
how do i know?

Sorry you had the accident. It could happen to anybody. Probably doesn't make you feel any better but I bet it won't happen again any time soon.

I had my dad's 36 no dash get tangled in a seatbelt and yanked out of its holster, ending up skidding on asphalt! Luckily it was asphalt and not concrete. Suffered a couple of scratches and that was it. Luck has a lot to do with the outcome of revolver meets floor/pavement!

Glad your DOH!!! moment worked out OK.

Glad you and your gun survived the incident. I have dropped my duck gun in the bottom of a swamp a few times, but it's not quite the same.

I have a friend who saved for 5 years to buy a Krieghoff O/U Sporting Clays gun. The very first time he brought it out to the club, as he started down a full flight of concrete stairs, he dropped it at the top and it bounced all the way down. Good news is that Krieghoff repaired the gun to look new again, but that is something I would not want to have happen to me.

I feel for you. I am one of those guys who can take a 95% piece to the range and bring back a 90% handgun. Sometimes I lose 5% just by looking at an old S&W...Willyboy

I frequently carry a Model 36 no-dash. I once dropped it on concrete in a parking garage. There was no functional damage, but it scratched one of the grip panels, and made a deep scratch near the front of the barrel. I stripped the grips with acetone, sanded out the scratches, and refinished them with Tru Oil. Used a whetstone and a Dremel felt polishing wheel/jewelers rouge to smooth out the scratch on the barrel, then applied some cold blue. Now you can't tell it was damaged. S&W makes tough revolvers, and cosmetic damage is usually easy to fix.

I dropped a pristine commercial Browning High Power out of an Uncle Mikes shoulder holster as I bent over to pick up the paper on our front porch. Learned a couple of valuable lessons - one, don't use cheap holsters & two, always check from time to time on how secure the holster holds the gun. Unfortunately, it dropped on the rear of the slide resulting in a very obvious ding & displacement of metal that might or might not polish out. I left it there to remind me of the lesson. The ding is on the side of the slide at a point where there is a lot of metal underneath, so function wasn't compromised. At least now I don't worry about wear to the rest of the finish & loss of value from use. John

Just check the timing and if all is well, continue on as a learning experience. Everyone has one. My 4506 fell out of a Galco shoulder holster once and hit the deck (concrete). I now use vertical shoulder hosters (jacket permitting) and one or two "carry" guns are not abused, but they have a scratch (or two) on them. Although people piss on Glocks, I use them too. If they fall....so what. My metal-framed guns are in premium holsters though. That is something to think about. I'm not saying Glaco holsters are not premium, but the horizontal carry and just one thumb snap, did it for me.....that one time.
TAKJR

Images of the old pre-10?

I expect that just about anyone who Carries or who has Guns, sooner or later happens to drop one. I know I have! ( once, anyway...)

Thank goodness it usually is just that, and not an ND sort of thing.

Forgive me father for I have sinned. Wiped off a brand NIB colt python from early 70's and on the way to the safe. The doors were both open and as I approached the safe, I started the Python juggling act. It was like a bloopers fly ball to centerfield. Literally threw the thing INTO MY GUN SAFE. Crushed the diamonds on the right grip, gouged the stock on a nice Rem 121, and an unfired Marlin pre-safety golden 39. The 39 cleaned up well, the Rem had to be refinished, and bless its heart, the diamonds on the python grip popped out with an iron and a little steam. You might try it on your pre 10 grip.

Heat an iron, place a drop of water on the damaged area, cover with a damp wash cloth, and iron away. check your work often.
Let us know how it turns out.

Charlie

I have noted something that I don't know if it was doing before the fall or not:

If I push forward on the cylinder release and let go the bolt doesn't return so the action will cycle. I have to open the cylinder and close it then everything is normal.