What is the improvement that the heavy barrel has over the standard barrel ?
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S&W M10 Standard Verus Heavy Barrel
- Thread starter jimmyj
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otis24
Member
Balance, weight, feel in the hands. I prefer the weight of the heavy barrel to the pencil barrel.
OLDSTER
Member
Weight forward and stability over a standard barrel, if your a bulls-eye shooter. (appearance for some )That's about it. 
Not an improvement. Some like one, some like the other. Had a 4" 547 once (HB), not sure which Pachmayr grips. Very comfortable and stable on paper targets. Other than that, I strongly prefer a 10-5. No doubt in my mind that I can change targets faster and shoot faster with a pencil barrel, but it calls for a little attention to sight picture.
Obviously, YMMV.
Obviously, YMMV.
Targets Guy
US Veteran
In a 4-inch K-frame, I have owned both but only the heavy barrels are keepers for me. They feel right, they shoot like a house afire and to look at, I find them far more attractive.
I don't just "like the heavy barrel a little better", it's like night and day, I totally love the 4-inch heavy barrel and I have no desire whatsoever to have another tapered barrel 4-inch K-frame.
I don't just "like the heavy barrel a little better", it's like night and day, I totally love the 4-inch heavy barrel and I have no desire whatsoever to have another tapered barrel 4-inch K-frame.
bmcgilvray
SWCA Member
I'm joined-at-the-hip to a Model 10 Heavy Barrel I put to regular use here and have for decades. It feels so familiar. That said, I think the standard barrel balances slightly better. I'm not a fan of front heavy pistols.
Four-inch standard barrel Model 10s are kept here. Shooting both side-by-side I cannot tell a dime's difference in recoil absorption or recovery time, even if the heaviest +P loads are used.
Four-inch standard barrel Model 10s are kept here. Shooting both side-by-side I cannot tell a dime's difference in recoil absorption or recovery time, even if the heaviest +P loads are used.
The heavy barrel was better for hitting crooks over the head.
Hey, don't judge.
Hey, don't judge.
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I don’t believe the heavy barrel was viewed as an improvement as such, but as an option. The fact that S&W continued to offer parallel models with both barrel types for decades (like 10-5 and 10-6 together, then 10-7 and 10-8, etc.) indicates that any blanket pronouncement as to better or worse is misplaced. It’s more a matter of preference.
With the HB model, as a cop you are lugging a somewhat heavier gun around all day (I think 3 or 4 oz?). The standard 158-grain lead loads that were regular issue to most police through the 1970s at least were reasonably comfortable to shoot from J-frame snubbies, so really a non-event in 4” K-frames; you didn’t need a heavy barrel to tame any recoil. Like bmcgilvray, I don’t remember ever noticing any perceptible better controllability with the HB.
But police departments likely found the heavier barrel with the lower-profile sight more robust in extended daily service and volume shooting (regardless of head-thumping potential
).rockquarry
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Heavy-barreled guns, whether rifle or handgun, are more forgiving of shooter skill deficiency and it's no different with the Model 10. Most people will shoot a heavy-barrel Model 10 better than they will shoot the same gun with a lighter barrel.
There is some difference in recoil and shot-to-shot recovery time involved here as well in comparing the heavy vs. light barrel, something that matters to a less skillful shooter but is of little or no consequence to a proficient one.
There is some difference in recoil and shot-to-shot recovery time involved here as well in comparing the heavy vs. light barrel, something that matters to a less skillful shooter but is of little or no consequence to a proficient one.
Biggfoot44
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Or on the flipside , carrying a gun with the balance of a 6 inch, but only taking up the space of a 4 inch .
I can feel a difference in muzzle flip between a HB and a taper , but the taper is still perfectly manageable .
I can feel a difference in muzzle flip between a HB and a taper , but the taper is still perfectly manageable .
Biggfoot44
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When swivel holsters were common in LE issue/ usage 6in duty revolvers were common , with nearly 50/ 50 split depending on regional trends . Near the end of the Revolver Era , when " Safety " holsters quickly became de rigour , it pretty much forced the switch to mostly 4in duty guns .
A 6 in carried in somthing like the Bianchi 5BH had similar comfort driving a vehicle as a 4in in a Border Patrol holster.
A 6 in carried in somthing like the Bianchi 5BH had similar comfort driving a vehicle as a 4in in a Border Patrol holster.
Arquebus357
Member
The heavy barrel looks more up to date to me. The pencil barrel looks "turn of the century". (not the last one, the one before that)
I have both.
I have both.
smithman 10
US Veteran
robvious
Member
I grew up shooting my father's 19 & 66 4 inch guns, so a standard or pencil barrel "feels" wrong to me... I agree the HB is an option not an improvement... but I am glad it is there... really like my 10-6 nickel "pimp" gun... some previous owner rubbed gold leaf on some of the small stuff... but it has one smooth DA trigger...
OLDSTER
Member
Like many here, I own numerous handguns with both standard and heavy barrels. But I would have to say that the two I own with, what I perceive to be, the best balance in hand are these two.
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Eye of the beholder time -
To my eye the heavy barrel looks like a small cannon. Ugh. The tapered barrel points more naturally too.
Tapered is the "proper" barrel , in my opinion.
BTW OLDSTER - I shoot steel plate competition with a longer MKI "heavy tapered" barrel - swings target to target beautifully.
To my eye the heavy barrel looks like a small cannon. Ugh. The tapered barrel points more naturally too.
Tapered is the "proper" barrel , in my opinion.
BTW OLDSTER - I shoot steel plate competition with a longer MKI "heavy tapered" barrel - swings target to target beautifully.
