S&W 610 - opinions please

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CLASSIC12

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Since I have now 2 Colt Delta Elite, a G20 and a formerly NIB 1006

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I really need a S&W 610 revolver. In fact I’ve been wanting one for a long time but they seem to be quite rare here in Switzerland [emoji1237]

I just got a call from a gentleman who contacted me 1 1/2 years ago. He had one for sale then, but it was heavily customised for IPSC, quick release, different sights, dozens of moon clips, case etc, and it was expensive at 2 grands so I politely declined.

He was kind enough to me call today to advise me that an LGS has four for sale. I thought that was a great gesture.

The shop is closed on Mondays but the guns are on their website

The shop advertises them as 640 with 4 and 6 inch barrels. The longer one comes with two grips it seems

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At first I thought I would prefer the 6 inch over the 4 inch. Then I looked a bit closer again and it seems to me that the short one is not a 4 but it is a 5 inch, from the proportions.

Price is $ 1000 for the shorter one and $ 1050 for the longer one, which may be a 6.5 inch. And I think that’s quite reasonable, plus if I don’t snatch one of those, god knows how many years again before I see another one for sale.

It seems they don’t really know their stuff (the daughter of the original owner recently took over) but if they have the right gun at the right price, I could not care less.

So, opinions on the barrel lengths ? Is the square target grip on a round butt frame a specially made grip ?

And I know that S&W recently released the 610 again, but I’m not sure they’re imported here, and sorry I’m not buying a gun with a lock, I am not a kid.
 
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Walk in the door with her when she unlocks Tuesday morning and stake your claim on the 5" no-dash. They are the second scarcest production line 610 and more importantly, they are the most desirable 610. Even though I do not need another 610 if it landed on the local gun store' shelf priced US $1,000 I'd put it on lay-a-way in a heart beat.

If Swiss law allows two and it won't strain your budget consider also buying the 6 1/2". If the revolver with the square butt Target Stocks is the same gun then, unless a filler was added, there is an open gap near the bottom of the back strap. The cartridge stamp on the barrel shows in the picture that is known to be a 610 but there is no roll stamp visible on the barrel of the square butt gun. I question if they are the same gun.
 
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Shorter barrel definitely!!! At that price I'd buy both if you can or if just a little short on $ see if they will give you a deal for both....

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
The Model 610 is back in current production with Smith & Wesson offering a 4" and a 6 1/2"

MSRP is $987 and I have seen them for sale at shows in the mid $800s.

So prices have been tumbling on the 610s here in America since the older ones were carrying HUGE premiums while the revolver was out of production

I have a few, the 6 1/2" is fantastic and I do prefer it over the 5".

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Since the rounds chamber on the moon clip in a Model 610 revolver instead of on the case mouth like in an auto loader, the 610 is capable of firing both the 10MM Auto cartridge and the 40 Smith & Wesson cartridge. No modifications are necessary

Folks here in America kind of like that, especially when the shelves at the ammo stores start looking bare during a crisis

Myself, I like more velocity, so my 310 and my 610s have all had their chambers lengthened to accommodate the 10 MM Magnum

10mm_mag_comparrison.jpg


The 10MM Magnum gains about 200-400FPS over the 10MM Auto depending on the projectile weight.


The current 4" Model 610 is actually 4.2" so it can be imported to Canada

There are still lots of older 610s out there in both the 3" and 5" versions . Since those barrel lengths are not currently in production, the prices are still up in the collector's level

610-RS.jpg
 
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S&W 610 - opinions please

k22fan said:
Walk in the door with her when she unlocks Tuesday morning and stake your claim on the 5" no-dash. They are the second scarcest production line 610 and more importantly, they are the most desirable 610. Even though I do not need another 610 if it landed on the local gun store' shelf priced US $1,000 I'd put it on lay-a-way in a heart beat.

If Swiss law allows two and it won't strain your budget consider also buying the 6 1/2". If the revolver with the square butt Target Stocks is the same gun then, unless a filler was added, there is an open gap near the bottom of the back strap. The cartridge stamp on the barrel shows in the picture that is known to be a 610 but there is no roll stamp visible on the barrel of the square butt gun. I question if they are the same gun.
Click to expand...


Every shop here but food and drugs is closed due to Covid-19 so I can’t walk in, I’ll have to deal with emails, phone and pictures, which I have already asked for by email.

Good eye and you might be right, they show 4 610, but with the same pictures so I thought it was just a double upload.

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The square butt also has the 10 mm roll mark, but it’s a bit faint

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And the two pictures of the 5’’ seem to show different grips

I’ve edited the first post with all four pictures

Did S&W produce them with both round and square butts ?

Here’s the link of the guns in question

Revolver – Seite 3 – Waffen Ingold AG
 
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The no-dash was only made with 5" and 6 1/2" barrels. A reasonable argument can be made that the extra weight out front and longer sight radius make the 6 1/2" the better target gun but 5 inchers are so hard to find.

All no-dash 610s were round butt.
 
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The 5". I had two of that first run of 610s back in the day, about '91 IIRC. Couple of the finest S&Ws I ever owned. They were definitely the most accurate 10MMs I ever owned. Even the 5" is muzzle heavy. I sold both before they became collectible, undoubtedly to finance some now long forgotten shiny object.
 
The prices you have mentioned for the 610 no-dash revolvers are reasonable. The 5-inch no-dash model 610 is by far the most desirable of all barrel lengths that have been offered over the years.

The variety of 10mm factory ammo loads in the USA has never been better, as there has been a resurgence of interest in this calliber the last couple of years. Consequently, I would discourage any thought to "modify" a 610 to accommodate a "so called" 10mm magnum cartridge, unless you don't care about devaluing a Model 610. I am sure username "colt saa" will disagree with me, but my opinion is strongly against any such modification.

I own a 610 no-dash and find modern factory defensive ammo to have more than enough power for the caliber.
 
rbmac52 said:
The variety of 10mm factory ammo loads in the USA has never been better, as there has been a resurgence of interest in this calliber the last couple of years. Consequently, I would discourage any thought to "modify" a 610 to accommodate a "so called" 10mm magnum cartridge, unless you don't care about devaluing a Model 610. I am sure username "colt saa" will disagree with me, but my opinion is strongly against any such modification.

I own a 610 no-dash and find modern factory defensive ammo to have more than enough power for the caliber.
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I do not disagree with you, except for using the phrase " "so called" 10mm magnum cartridge. " It is a Magnum Cartridge

There is no reason to belittle the cartridge just because you personally do not like it. We have many 10MM Magnum shooters here on the Forum

And trying to scare folks that are reading this thread that guns modified like this are devalued, shame.

As I said, I do not disagree with you. People should do with their guns to please themselves, and not to please others

I have no problem that you are happy to settle for what is available off the shelf.
 
S&W Model 610s

I have a 5" 610 bought in the very early 1990s. A friend has one of the 6 1/2" versions which he uses to shoot deer.

I used my 5" in USPSA matches for a while. Bottom line for me was the gun is too heavy and The charge holes are too small vs. 625s. The 625 was a much better competitive weapon because 45ACP ammo with 230gr FMJs can make major power factor and be low recoil.

Just my 2c worth YMMV
 
I don’t really need two, but since they’re rare enough, and under pressure from the forum, I made an offer for both, some $ 250 below.

I was ready to negotiate and preparing mentally for a good fight, but the LGS gave me a very dry and Germanic “the price is fixed”.

Oh well, I’ll take just one then, BFN 1053 in 5”

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Now to see if the bureau of arms is working and delivering permits.
 
The price was 950 CHF. Does that mean Confoederation Helvetica Francs?

The only Swiss products I buy are pocket knives, cheese, and chocolate, and all are excellent! But of course, are priced here in US money.

You tried to haggle price with the dealer. Many here do that. Is it a common practice in Europe?

Why would anyone want a 10mm revolver? Why not a .41 or .44 Magnum? Is it just to use speedloaders, mostly in shooting games? The only "real world" people who use 10mm may be those scientists supplied with Glock 10's by the Danish government, who work in Greenland, as a defense against polar bears. One scientist had to shoot a bear, but used his S&W .44 Magnum.

Is 10mm ammo common in Switzerland?
 
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I have the recently reissued 610 in 4 inch. I like shooting it as it runs nicely with both 40 & 10mm. Unless you travel with harness and horses, even it is heavy for a carry gun.

I do some handgun hunting but use a scoped 44 magnum. I don't see an advantage to the 10mm for that. I have an open mind on it though.
 
Texas Star;140719907 Why would anyone want a 10mm revolver? [/QUOTE said:
Good question.
A revolver doesn't eject brass 15 ft. off into the bush or grass where you can't find them. 10 mm is not a common brass to pick up off the range so I care about finding the empties.
OTOH, I can buy a lot of brass for the cost of a 10 revolver. So it's unlikely I'd spring for one.
Click to expand...
 
S&W 610 - opinions please

Texas Star said:
The price was 950 CHF. Does that mean Confoederation Helvetica Francs?

The only Swiss products I buy are pocket knives, cheese, and chocolate, and all are excellent! But of course, are priced here in US money.

You tried to haggle price with the dealer. Many here do that. Is it a common practice in Europe?

Why would anyone want a 10mm revolver? Why not a .41 or .44 Magnum? Is it just to use speedloaders, mostly in shooting games? The only "real world" people who use 10mm may be those scientists supplied with Glock 10's by the Danish government, who work in Greenland, as a defense against polar bears. One scientist had to shoot a bear, but used his S&W .44 Magnum.

Is 10mm ammo common in Switzerland?
Click to expand...


Spot on for CHF

Well as I said I already have several guns in ten, really like the caliber. It’s fairly easy to find, although not a great variety of makers, we don’t have the small boutique ammo manufacturers like you do in the US. But I reload it also.

There are several revolvers chambered for pistol cartridges like the 625 in .45 ACP, or some chambered for 9 mm.

I already have several .44, and .41 Mag ammo is quite difficult to find here.

When it comes to used guns I tend to negotiate especially if I buy more than one gun, unless the price is already very good. My regular LGS now often offers me a nice discount without me even asking him.
 
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When I wander through one of the local stores I wonder if I need an 8 mm Nambu pistol to fit their Hensley and Gibbs gang mold. It is such a fine mold. It's been there so long that I bet they'd negotiate on the price. Using TexasStar's logic I'm sure I do not need a Nambu, but do I? Life would not be near as much fun if all our toys had to be justified on purely practical grounds.

Getting back to the topic, the revolver that I fired the most in local timed matches was my 3 7/8" 610 dash what ever. Beyond doubt it is faster to reload a 625. The reason is two fold. Round nose .45 bullets are very common. Round nose .400" bullets are uncommon. Combine a round nose with chamfered chambers and the thin walls between .45 chambers and with a slight spin you can toss moon clips into S&W .45 ACP cylinders with the gun in your peripheral vision. With 610s you have to look at the bullet noses' alignment with the chambers and manually rotate the moon clip a little. The trade offs are that .40 S&W is only second behind 9mm as the least expensive factory centerfire revolver cartridge and with a 610 you'll be the only one at the match with the coolest gun. Standard .40 S&W cartridges smack down the steel targets faster than most of the .45 reloads that .45 ACP shooters actually use.
 
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