Do ANY police departments today still issue the .38 Spl. Model 10?

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Doug.38PR

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Is the Model 10, the one currently in production with the heavy barrel, rubber grips, internal firing pin and offensive lock; is it being issued by any police or sheriff department anywhere in the united states?

I've heard it said that police department's in Mexico still issue them.
 
I don't honestly know of any US LE agency that ISSUES any revolvers
anymore period. Some security gaurd co.s still issue revolvers. The state corrections system here only recently quite issuing 38 revolvers loaded with RNL and 30-30s. Many agencies still allow revolver carry but they are privately owned. I have seen several K frame magnums, a Colt Trooper, and two S&W N frames in LE use in my area. I still carry a wheelgun sometimes and always have a j frame snub for a backup. I do have a M10 and have thought about carrying it just because they are such a nice/light/accurate weapon.
Would be fine for off duty.

Most officers now tend to believe the revolver just doesn't
hold enough ammo to be offensive against today's brand of
turds, but cops have been facing full auto with revolvers
for years. Honestly, I doubt I will carry my wheelgun much
longer even though I really like it and am good enough
with it. 6 in the gun, 12 on the belt, and boxes in the car
is not all that much or fast. Revolvers are just so classic and reliable
though.

The 1986 Miami shootout spelled the end for wheelguns and 9mm
though. Those agents had a few 9mms but mostly revolvers with few speedloaders and boxes of ammo. A revolver loaded with Win SuperX 158 +P LSWCHP ended the fight, but most of those agents had revovlers up against a Mini 14/other long guns. It was interesting though that the revolver shooters aimed while the auto users sprayed and prayed. You cant spray and pray with a wheelgun or you will be in serious trouble.

I do think that Mexico and some foreign countries still issue
the M10 and probably with RNL ammo too.
 
I was issued a Model 10 4" Heavy Barrel in July,1964 when joined my Dept. This was a fine,no frills weapon. In 1966 the Dept. went to the Model 15. I regret that I did not purchase my issue Mod.10.
 
I do prisoner transports for my local sheriff's department all over the state of Oklahoma. There is a privately owned group of prisons here in Oklahoma named CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) and their perimeter and transport staff are still issued model 10s.
 
BreakerDan said:
I don't honestly know of any US LE agency that ISSUES any revolvers
anymore period. Some security gaurd co.s still issue revolvers. The state corrections system here only recently quite issuing 38 revolvers loaded with RNL and 30-30s. Many agencies still allow revolver carry but they are privately owned. I have seen several K frame magnums, a Colt Trooper, and two S&W N frames in LE use in my area. I still carry a wheelgun sometimes and always have a j frame snub for a backup. I do have a M10 and have thought about carrying it just because they are such a nice/light/accurate weapon.
Would be fine for off duty.

Most officers now tend to believe the revolver just doesn't
hold enough ammo to be offensive against today's brand of
turds, but cops have been facing full auto with revolvers
for years. Honestly, I doubt I will carry my wheelgun much
longer even though I really like it and am good enough
with it. 6 in the gun, 12 on the belt, and boxes in the car
is not all that much or fast. Revolvers are just so classic and reliable
though.

The 1986 Miami shootout spelled the end for wheelguns and 9mm
though. Those agents had a few 9mms but mostly revolvers with few speedloaders and boxes of ammo. A revolver loaded with Win SuperX 158 +P LSWCHP ended the fight, but most of those agents had revovlers up against a Mini 14/other long guns. It was interesting though that the revolver shooters aimed while the auto users sprayed and prayed. You cant spray and pray with a wheelgun or you will be in serious trouble.

I do think that Mexico and some foreign countries still issue
the M10 and probably with RNL ammo too.
Click to expand...

The problem in the Miami-Dade shootout was not that they used revolvers, but that they took handguns into a heavy artillary fight. It's shot placement that counts in the first place, in the second place, as you noted, policemen have faced killers even more deadly and heavily armed than those two guys such as Bonnie & Clyde, John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Machinegun Kelly, Prettyboy Floyd (who were armed with even more effective weapons like the BAR or the 50 round Thompson). When police went after these guys, they used their .38s to shoot their way to their Thompsons, .30-30s, Shotguns or BARs and engaged with longguns if they didn't already have their longguns out and ready. (I.E. Texas Ranger Frank Hamer and his Louisiana possee made swiss cheese out of Bonnie & Clyde with BARs or Colt Monitors. Also, the FBI didn't go after Ma Barker and her boys with .38 Official Police revolvers alone they took Thompsons, shotguns, BARs)

I don't personally believe the gunfight would have turned out any different (maybe worse) if they had all been armed with .40 S&W high capacity automatics. It's shot placement that counts, not how many you have.
 
Last edited:
I read a post on here somewhere that several depts still have Model 10s in inventory, but that it's not their issue weapon. I believe NY was one?
 
It was written in the NY Times in December 2004 that about 5% of NYPD officers (2000 of 30000) still carried the model 64 NY-1, which is a DAO stainless heavy barrel model 10. They were no longer being issued to new officers, but those who had them could still carry them until retirement. Wonder how many are still in service 5 years later? This is the link I found to this article, apparently the NYT doesn't have it available any more.

Interesting NY Times article on NYPD revolvers. - imfdb.org
 
BreakerDan said:
I don't honestly know of any US LE agency that ISSUES any revolvers
anymore period. Some security gaurd co.s still issue revolvers. The state corrections system here only recently quite issuing 38 revolvers loaded with RNL and 30-30s. Many agencies still allow revolver carry but they are privately owned. I have seen several K frame magnums, a Colt Trooper, and two S&W N frames in LE use in my area. I still carry a wheelgun sometimes and always have a j frame snub for a backup. I do have a M10 and have thought about carrying it just because they are such a nice/light/accurate weapon.
Would be fine for off duty.

Most officers now tend to believe the revolver just doesn't
hold enough ammo to be offensive against today's brand of
turds, but cops have been facing full auto with revolvers
for years. Honestly, I doubt I will carry my wheelgun much
longer even though I really like it and am good enough
with it. 6 in the gun, 12 on the belt, and boxes in the car
is not all that much or fast. Revolvers are just so classic and reliable
though.

The 1986 Miami shootout spelled the end for wheelguns and 9mm
though. Those agents had a few 9mms but mostly revolvers with few speedloaders and boxes of ammo. A revolver loaded with Win SuperX 158 +P LSWCHP ended the fight, but most of those agents had revovlers up against a Mini 14/other long guns. It was interesting though that the revolver shooters aimed while the auto users sprayed and prayed. You cant spray and pray with a wheelgun or you will be in serious trouble.

I do think that Mexico and some foreign countries still issue
the M10 and probably with RNL ammo too.
Click to expand...

The last that I checked, Mexico IS a foreign country. It just doesn't seem so, because half of their people live here now. :mad:

Oh, well: we sort of need their restaurants...I guess.

Seriously, I think that Brazilian police use a lot of Smith and Taurus .38's. This is partly because the govt. there distrusts people with powerful autos, even cops. And I think that a lot of those cop guns are privately owned. For one thing, that saves the agency the cost of providing guns. Economic issue.

T-Star
 
Last edited:
I've seen model 10s and 586/686s worn by more than one in "a near-by county" (in WA). The cop I spoke to said "unofficial" policy (which is why I'm not identifying the LE agency) was that if they owned them, they could wear them. Since the county's official arm is an older 9mm, which apparently isn't trusted, the trusty revolver is still preferred.

Keep in mind, this is a county in which there is only one incorporated "city" and lots more trees than teeth......
 
To this day the Lehigh County Sheriff's Dept. here in PA still issues the stainless version (Model 64 or 65?) of the Model 10. They are pre-lock and pre-MIM and made right. I guess they keep recycling them when the deupties retire or die. The deputies continue to scream bloody murder about having to use the "obsolete revolver" while I would be happy to trade in my department issued Sig 229 for an old Model 10. As far as I'm concerned, if you can hit what you're shooting at, six rounds of proper .38 Special are better than any semiauto out there.

Dave Sinko
 
I remember a few years ago the Library of Congress Police Department Officer's Union was trying to get autos, as they were still issued and mandated to carry revolvers.
 
When I visited the Smithsonian Museums in DC two years ago all the federal security officers were carrying Taurus fixed sight revolvers with factory rubber grips.
 
I was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in Mar and April 2009 and the all local cops had Model 10's and a few had AK's. I also saw two US Property marked Colt 45's.
Chop
 
If I'm not mistaken (which has been known to happen :D), the Federal Protective Service still issues revolvers. I was in a Federal building in Boston a couple of weeks ago for an interview and the FPS officers on the door were all wearing revolvers. I think I saw three Rugers (GP100) and two SW Model 10/64. The FPS is charged with guarding Federal Buildings and Courthouses. The Federal Building in Honolulu, HI (I was living out there till last year) is protected by FPS armed with revolvers. I'm not sure what round they are issued, though I believe based on conversations with a couple of the guards that they use the "FBI load."
Doug
 
The answer to your question is 99.9% NO. Plastic auto's have taken command of most LEO issue sidearms, for several reasons. I was issued the M10 in 1972. Then the 80's arrived and the 5906 was our standard sidearm. I doubt any of today's young breed of officers have touched a revolver.
 
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