What is the improvement that the heavy barrel has over the standard barrel ?

Balance, weight, feel in the hands. I prefer the weight of the heavy barrel to the pencil barrel.

__________________
otis

Weight forward and stability over a standard barrel, if your a bulls-eye shooter. (appearance for some )That's about it.

__________________
John

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.

__________________
Formerly Model520Fan

I feel the heavy barrel gets me back to the POA quicker (or doesn't stray as far). 10-5 at 7 yards and the 10-6 at 8 yards.

Attached Images

	IMG_2202 (Large).jpg (74.9 KB, 83 views)
	3rd six rounds, 8 yards (Large).jpg (92.2 KB, 82 views)

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

I was told once that the 4" HB was intended to give the balance of a 6" and the hosterability of a 4".

I have both, the heavy barrel is a sweet shooter, the slim barrel carries like it is not there.

__________________
Life NRA, Life TSRA, C&R FFL

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'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.

The heavy barrel was better for hitting crooks over the head.
Hey, don't judge.

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 ).

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.

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 .

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.

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.

The heavy barrel has too much weight forward for me. So the only Model 10 I have kept is this one 10-5. Nice balance and great shooter, tuned up by a Smith and Wesson armorer when he visited the big LGS I frequent.

Attached Images

10-5.jpg (116.7 KB, 108 views)

I prefer the heavy barrel. I agree it balances like a 6" gun in a 4" barrel. Mine is an old Model 101, S&W forgot the dash when stamping it. It should be stamped 10-1:

__________________
My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

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...

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.

__________________
John

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.

No need for a black jack with the heavier barrel.

Looks, balance. I like the looks and balance of the 4" tapered barrel mod
10s and own several. The heavy barrel mod just looks bulky and ugly to
me. And like some others I don't like front heavy pistols. It's just a matter
of preference and it's good to have a choice.

From the various opinions offered, I'd hazard a guess that both seem to have followers. The only model 10's I ever had were 10-6 (heavy barrel). The first, issued in 1971, used, required me to put on a grip device to group. Afterwards I had silver dollar groups (10 dimes in the 10x ring).

It was stolen while either being taken to or at the hospital following an unfortunate, for me, incident.

Subsequently, I was issued another (1975). I had to put a set of larger grips and dry fired it a bazillion times using spent shells. It gave incredibly small groups. I used once or twice in the line of duty with excellent results (for me!). I bought it from the department when we transitioned to the model 5903 (another sweet shooter) and still have it. It was kept by my mother and then daughter and eventually came back to me, much worse for the wear.

I had it restored and it now looks factory new and so I'm reluctant to shoot it and spoil its pristine looks (no dished letters or numbers).

THUS, I now own yet a third 10-6 and it, too, is a sweet shooter.

I expect this will be my last one.

No experience whatsoever with a 10-5, but would find it difficult to see how it could shoot any better. Maybe as well, but not better.

I own the Model 10 (ND), 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-5 (4 and 5" barrels), 10-6, 10-7, 10-8 and 10-10. I have yet to shoot the Model 10 no dash (2" barrel), the 10-4 and the 10-10. All of the others are terrific shooters. I prefer the heavy barrel models but I enjoy shooting all of them.

Still looking to acquire the Model 10-1.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

Is there no 10-9?

Thank you.

Back in the 60s Chic Gaylord, of holster fame, claimed S&W created the HB to fight a rumor that the earlier slim barrels were made out of inferior metal and had "problems." Speculation at the pre-internet time, was some Victory conversions from .38/200 to .38 Special led to the rumors.
Geoff
Who notes he is a very highly experienced methane production specialist.

yes there is one but I keep getting outbid.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

I think they are up to a 10-14 now but I am stopping at the 10-10.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

Good Luck!

The question that comes up in my mind is:
If there really is no difference other than individual preference, they are just options of equal value, then why didn't S&W offer the same options for the Model 13? Same question, Model 58.

__________________
You're shy a few manners.

My thought on that is I understand the Model 13 derived from the Model 10-6 which was a heavy barrel. Maybe it didn't make sense to them to derive a gun from the 10-6 to shoot the .357 and then offer a taper barrel for the derivative.

I know nothing of the Model 58 so have no thought on that.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

Probably better than a plastic pistol for that task.

Best,
Rick

That makes sense. Also, IIRC the M10-6 .357 was created per request of the NYPD. They no doubt specified a heavy barrel.

Still, if S&W thought the standard barrel was just as good and lighter on the hip to boot, surely they would have seen a sales opportunity in producing an M10-5 .357 and later on a light barrel variation of the M13.

Same idea for the M58, especially since one of the major complaints about it was its weight.

__________________
You're shy a few manners.

Now come on Jack. You know the answer to your own question.
The mod 10 is a .38 spl and the 13 and 58 are magnums. The
heavy barrel reduces muzzle flip and perceived recoil. And you
know how so many tender handed folks, including cops, just
hate recoil don't you

An old photo, made to illustrate differences on some forum post years ago, of my old favorite Model 10 Heavy Barrel (10-6) with a standard barrel Model 10-5.



It'd probably hurt the feelings of my Model 10 Heavy Barrel if it ever gets on the Forum and reads this, but the standard barrel looks better and has better handling characteristics (points better) in my opinion, without any down side of increased recoil. I'd have probably gone with the standard barrel years ago if I'd known then what I know now. It's just that the Model 10 Heavy Barrel is my very first handgun. I've had it 44 years now and it's as familiar to me as a worn pair of blue jeans. I still tote it and use it. I'm gonna sentimentally "dance with what brung me" until either it wears out or I do. It ain't lookin' good for my chances of lasting longest either.

I've been thinking about this thread.

Mention is made of the Model 10 Heavy Barrel being better suited for thwacking bad guys' heads.

Is that really a suitable use for the revolver, any revolver. The armored motor guard from whom I purchased my Model 10 Heavy Barrel made this claim to me. At 18 I was all impressed with this claim and have heard it repeated many times since. I've grown very skeptical of this as a general practice since.

Now desperate times call for desperate measures, but it wouldn't take all that much to get barrel alignment all out of whack. Are there really that many instances of bringing recalcitrant miscreants to heel through the judicious use of the handgun as a club or a sap?

How well could a K-Frame revolver, or any revolver for that matter, stand up to such treatment?

I believe Massadd Ayoob once said he thought the pencil barrel with a taller and more visible front sight was faster and easier to see when in a hurry.

I recall examining a 2 1/2" model 19 which a plainclothesman had whacked a BG over the noggin with hard enough to bend the barrel just enough to change the impact of bullets fired from the gun. Not enough that you could actually see any bend with the naked eye, but enough to move the point of impact!!

Best Regards, Les

__________________
SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I really prefer the tapered barrels.

Model 10-9, 4" Blue

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

__________________
Dave Brown
SWCA #3279

Only thing to do in this situation is to find another BG and whack him over the head with the other side of the barrel just enough to change back the impact of bullets fired from the gun.

Right?

Seriously ...

Wouldn't it be the barrel's shank end which would be strained in the event of a heavy blow?

I thought metal butt caps were fitted to stocks to make the revolver a more effective contact weapon and possibly make it less likely the revolver would be damaged.

__________________
You're shy a few manners.

The NYPD never issued .357 Magnum revolvers. The 10-6 was created at the request of the NY State Police. It was such a hit that the Model 13 was born for civilians to purchase.

I have a really nice 10-5. Just don't shoot it as well as a heavy barrel. Hickock45 has a video on the Model 10. One of them with only a tapered barrel, and a follow-up with the tapered barrel and an heavy barrel. He shot the heavy barrel better and said the sights are easier to pick up on the heavy barrel for him.

In today's world whacking a perp over the head with a heavy barreled
revolver would probably cost a cop his job

There was no real advantage to the heavy barrel. Balance is pretty much up to the individual shooters taste and that was what changed. PPC shooters used heavy bull barreled revolvers and the market was pushed in that direction making the heavy barrels more popular.

I have both and prefer the lighter barrels more. In fact the lighter the barrel the more I like it.

For some strange reason I'm drawn to the pencil barrel. Can't explain why, guess it's the same reason I'm attracted to anything that says Smith & Wesson. I also have a strange attraction to three inch barrels.

__________________
Dave

After 44 replies, I am shocked, shocked (old movie fans, you know the line) that no one has mentioned the quote from our esteemed Forum leader regarding the Hand Ejector:

"My personal description for more than 30 years:
'The finest machine ever devised by man for slinging a bullet with 'one' (my emphasis) hand'."

Personal/modern preferences aside, back in the day of one-handed single action target shooting and law enforcement training, my guess is the 4" tapered barrel was thought to have ideal balance. More muzzle heaviness is better for two-handed, rapid double action shooting and recovery time, for most.

Here's looking at you, tapered barrel.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I defer to someone who knew a lot more about it than I do. Jim Cirillo.
My 10-6 HB on the right & 10-5 on the left.

Attached Images

SAM_0351.jpg (55.5 KB, 22 views)

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

Purely preference. I'm in the HB camp.