I am looking at a used Model 10-6 that has a 4" heavy barell. As a LE officer in the 1970's-80's we always carried Model 10's with the 4" tapered barell.

What would be advantages of heavy barell over tapered ? Less recoil due to more weight, better balance, more accurate, longer life, etc.?

I always like the look of the tapered barell.

Opinions vary widely. I don't think there's any difference in performance between the two. I prefer the standard (what you're calling tapered) barrel.

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

The original tapered barrel looks classy and shoot well......Mine does......To me the fat barrel detracts from the gun....To me the ugliest revolver Smith ever made was the 581 series.....But I digress.......

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S&W Accumulator

Have both and shot both. the 10-5 seems a bit more balanced and the 10-6 a bit barrel heavy. Both are great shooters.. Buy them both and find out for your self...Its a win win

I like the standard (tapered barrel), but the extra weight and mass of the heavy barrel help with muzzle flip and second shot follow-up. It also just looks more intimidating (not an insignificant factor in law enforcement). The barrel also takes longer to heat up if you're shooting a lot of rounds in a couple minutes (but once it's hot -- it takes longer to cool off).

That said, the standard barrel is a whole lot lighter and I find the front sight easier to acquire on bring up (it's a lot taller on the tapered barrel).

Heavy barrel for me. The tapered barrel looks wrong to me.

Model 10s with 4" or 5" tapered barrels are my favorites.
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The heavy barrel dampens a lot of wobble shooting unsupported as well as dampening recoil with +p loads.

Tapered, cuzz you can't get this with a heavy barrel.

I have a blued 10-5 standard barrel, a factory nickel 10-5 standard barrel and a blued 10-6 which are heavy barreled revolvers. Bliss is variation even if it is a small assortment.

All of mine have 4" barrels. It is probably a coincidence but my two 10-5's seem to have the best trigger pull in both single and double action. I do like the heft of the heavy barrel and the trigger is just slightly less wonderful.

Really not enough energy or bullet weight coming out of a .38 Special to have to worry about muzzle flip. My understanding was this was to help female officers back in the day in qualifying.

This seems very unlikely considering the timeframe. The heavy barrel began replacing the standard barrel on a large scale with police departments, e.g. NYPD, in the early 1960s with the Model 10-6. This was a time when the number of regular female patrol officers qualifying with standard-size service guns rather than special "female sized" sidearms (I seem to recall for NYPD that was a 3-inch Model 36) was neglegible to non-existent.

Regardless of looks, the heavy barrel gun is easier for most people to shoot well. The standard barrel revolver seems quite muzzle light in comparison because it is.

In the hands of a pro, however, this means little. There should be no difference in accuracy between the two.

I have a four-inch 10-5 that I prefer to a heavy-barreled revolver. To me it seems to balance and point better.

I also like the graceful retro look of the standard barrel, but that's a secondary consideration.

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Oh well, what the hell.

My guess is that you will be happiest with a duplicate of your service revolver because that's what's nostalgic for you. The weight difference is only a couple ounces which does not make a whole lot of difference any way. There is no hurry to buy the one that is offered to you today. Considering that there are millions of Model 10s it is very likely that you will find exactly what you decide on fairly quickly.

Thanks all for your responses. Yes I am partial to Model 10's due to that's what I carried and trained with 40 years ago. Passed on a nickel Model 10-5 4" standard barell in excellent condition at a gun show recently due to price and now regret it. Thought about it for 30 minutes and went back to the vendor table and it was gone! (I have a Model 15 and a model 64 2" barell but would like to add a Model 10.)

If you see it and want it, buy if you can!

First image is of a 10-7 (tapered) at 7 yards

Second image is of a 10-8 (heavy) at 7 yards

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	10-8 with 158gr (1).jpg (32.8 KB, 255 views)

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

First image is of a 10-7 (tapered) at 7 yards

Second image is of a 10-8 (heavy) at 7 yards

both were 4" barrels. 10-7 used 130 gr, 10-8 used 158 gr

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Practice makes perfect! I'm thinking that stray shot on the first target is operator error. At 7 yards all the shots should be touching, regardless of barrel type.

I'm with shouldazagged. The Heavy Barrel does "point", significantly, for me, much better and I would expect for most shooters. At least in a combat situation it would be perhaps a little better for a sidearm to have a more natural "pointer." Also, more weight does improve follow up shots if needed. I like them both but I would use a heavy barrel for a combat situation. The standard barrel is a lighter holster gun, but not by much. Either one will be suitable however for any matter they would be called to perform.

It was my first shot. At 70 I get a little twitchy with my first shot. I need a point of reference.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

I would have to say I prefer the tapered barrel, but only by a small margin. My preference is probably caused by having had a 10-5 4" since I was 18, which I have fired thousands of rounds thru. I have also fired many 10-6's, and would feel very comfortable with either.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

I agree with Muss Muggins in Post 2. I prefer standard barrel for weight savings. Some say "pointability" is enhanced with the heavier barrel, but I use the sights, and if the target is so close that sights are not needed, then I don't need the extra weight out front to tell me where it is pointed.

I couldn't decide which was best, so I have one of each.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I think you may have misread my post. I prefer the balance and pointing characteristics of the standard barrel. I don't dislike the heavy barrel, just prefer the standard. I sure wouldn't turn down the gift of a 10-6.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Well, if a resisting suspect were to accidentally bump their head on the gun, a heavy barrel would be a better choice.

I'd heard a story, many years ago, that NYPD cops discovered the skinny barrel fit in the key way of a manhole cover to retrieve dumped dope and guns. Leading to guns that were a little out of true at qualification time.

The heavy barrel wouldn't fit in the key way.

I hope the story is true. Just, because.

To my eye, the 4in standard barrel is one of the most graceful handguns extant. That said, a 3" heavy barrel has a perfectly balanced look of its own.

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Registration? NEVER!

Aloha,

I have both.

I prefer shooting the heavy barrels because of the weight.

The standard barrels are more pleasing to look at.

But, I'll buy either one when offered.

Simply by the laws of physics, the HB will have less muzzle flip. The signignce of that is subjective.

The balance is *different*. Whether preferable or not will be subjective

To throw out some comparison:

HB with +P roughly similar to flip of std bbl with 158 std vel.

4In HB roughly similar to balance of 6in std bbl.

To Me ; I slightly prefer HB. But to choose between several 4in guns, the smoothness of DA trigger would far outweigh any consideration of bbl profile.

I'm a fan of the Md 10 too! I especially like the 4 and 5 inch variants with standard barrel and OEM service magnas. To me, they have a simple, timeless look that is just classic "cop gun", with excellent performance too! This one has a nickel finish and a 5 inch barrel that was made for the Detroit Police.

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I'm gonna grow fins.

I know of what you speak. I'm not that far behind you. Nevertheless at that distance, both revolvers shoot equally well out of your hand.

I have a soft place in my heart for the standard, tapered barrel model 10. It goes way back to RVN. When we were at a SF camp for the day and got weathered in (helicopter crew), one of the SF guys asked us if we could shoot our sidearms. He placed some empty M-79 cases on a log several feet away (I'm remembering that it was 25 feet or so). We started shooting our model 10's and I just couldn't miss (hey, at least that's what my memory is telling me). When I got transferred to another unit, I was issued a brand new model 10 in the box. A few years ago I bought one that looks a lot like it, and it shoots as well as the first one.

shouldazagged,
Yup. I did misread your post.... Still, I think both standard and heavy are wonderful, solid, and highly serviceable for almost any need as has been noted. Good thread!

And both have been of great service for many years. A couple of examples, well-worn warhorses the way I like them:

NYPD Pre-Model 10 from 1959
NYPD Model 10-6 from 1968

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Another (no longer PC) advantage of the heavy barrel--better for smacking a miscreant upside the head. Less risk of a bent barrel.

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Registration? NEVER!

My first handgun was a Model 10-6 that I got in 1975 and I shot, and still shoot the hooey out of it. After many years of happy association with the Model 10 Heavy Barrel, I acquired a 4-inch Model 10-5. I've now owned examples of both barrel styles for many years.

Between the two, I've continued to use the Heavy Barrel the most by far. When I do dust off the tapered barrel Model 10-5 I cannot tell any difference in pointability or recoil dampening. I actually appreciate the balance and the classic looks of the tapered barrel Model 10 which is the better looking of the two. I'm just so familiar with the Model 10 Heavy Barrel that I'm gonna "dance with who brung me."

Wouldn't there really be no difference in durability between the tapered barrel and the heavy barrel for use in whacking miscreants up 'side the head? Seems like the problem would arise with the barrel/frame line-up. A healthy "thwack" could knock either barrel awry.

The standard barrel is svelte, graceful and artistic.

The heavy barrel looks like a piece of pipe stuck on the end of the frame.

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John 3:16 .

Never liked the standard barrel look. Always looked like a twig sticking out of a cup. Especially the long barreled ones

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

That "piece of pipe" was actually the original style. The cylindrical barrel root on the Model 1899 just wasn't as fat as the HB on the Model 10 .

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Absalom, Nice to see that I am not the only one who likes the old Pachmayr grip adaptor!

Yeah, but Absalom, the Model 1899 has a comparatively dainty and elegant "piece of pipe." Much as I love my old Model 10 Heavy Barrel, it looks a bit like old ironmongery by comparison.

These adapters apparently were wildly popular especially with police officers from the 1940s to the 1960s (after which one encounters more polymer replacement grips). Both these NYPD guns came with the adapters installed; the 1959 has a Pachmayr-made, but S&W-branded one, the 1968 has a Mershon. I have four more ex-police revolvers from that period, S&W and Colt, that I acquired with adapters installed.

Wow! Those are very nice. Great piece of collecting also, I might add! I have an old set of "Mershon" full size rubber Grips for a Colt MK III, before Pachmayr bought Mershon. I remember that Smith and Wesson had been allowed to use the Smith and Wesson brand on the Pachmayr grip adapter for a while. I have been able to buy a few of the Pachmayr grip adapters on eBay recently to put on some older model 10, 15 and some Colt Official Police models. They look right! Thanks for the follow up!

They, standard barrel, are too dang sexy to not like. That said, I understand some guys are chubby chasers, and that's ok too.

I suggest pick the one you like the looks of. Nothing more. Don't try and justify the pencil or the bull bbl based on some non-factor like "less muzzle flip" or any other concept. Efficient practice for about an hour will bring your ability to shoot small groups on one as well as the other.

Simply ask yourself if you'd rather be seen in public with a Manley man bull bbl or a whimpy girlie pencil bbl...


Sgt Lumpy

If you're happy being 2 inches short...

Lets get this mule back onto the row it needs to plow. Here is part of my harem.

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Another vote for the heavy barrel. It may be an optical illusion but i get a better sight picture with the heavy barrel than with the tapered barrel.


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Wheel guns are real guns too.

You can pencil me in for the tapered look of a standard barrel. The fat ones look to be for doing a Wyatt Earp over the head of some poor miscreant.

John