Finally got a 10mm a few weeks ago. Initially I was hoping to find a 5" bbl. but decided I liked the look of the 4-1/4" bbl. & the bobbed hammer, so I was happy when I found this 1076. It's in very good shape, in & out, & came with original grips on & with (3) magazines, but no original box/papers. The magazine disconnect feature is functional. It already has been back to S&W for the recall apparently as it has the new side plate/spring & has the two punch marks under the decocker lever. The SA trigger pull measured 6-1/2 lbs. From some posts I've seen here with other 1076 SN#s, I believe this was made in late 1990 or early 1991.
Originally it had a fixed rear sight but a previous owner added a LPA-TPU adjustable rear sight. Fortunately they retained the original Novak sight, which was included in the gun's box. The regulation of this sight was of concern to me before I bought it. The seller hadn't shot it in some time & thought he remembered the POA & POI were good with the ammo he used. Before my first trip to the firing range with it I centered the sight's vertical adjustment within it's range to have a known starting point.
Disassembled the gun & it didn't take much to clean it up but I did notice one thing I wasn't sure of:
- The firing pin block disconnect lever (no sear disconnect lever on this model) does not have a spring in the frame's hole that the lever passes thru, like all my other 3rd Gens. have, that provides upward pressure on it. It lays just below the frame surface, not sprung up. It does raise up when you pull the trigger, as it should. I couldn't find a model specific parts diagram & in the pictures I've seen it's hard to tell if there should be a spring in it or not (see my pic below), but I'm thinking not? Also, where the firing pin disconnect lever pivots on it's shaft it's free to move/wobble back & forth, horizontally. It almost seems like it should have a spacer or something there to keep it steady? Can someone tell me if theirs is the same or if I'm missing anything?
I put some Hogue grips on, replaced the recoil spring (17#, then 20#), firing pin spring (xp), mainspring (20#) & mag springs (+10%) with Wolff springs, to have a fresh starting point. Loaded up an assortment of bullets/powder loads & headed to the range. The first few shots were a little low & after a few more groups I only had to go 3-4 clicks up to get the POI where I wanted, so that was a relief to know the LPA worked with the stock front sight well. Went thru almost 100 rounds & no problems. Shot another 125 rounds the other day, again no problems.
At 41 oz. it's not particularly heavy but I thought the recoil was very manageable (I think my 1911 Govt. with 45 Super loads is harsher) & easy to shoot well. I was very happy with the various starting recipes but was most surprised that the loads with Alliant 2400 did so well in the auto. (When I tried 2400 in some 45 Super loads it was disappointing, which was my only other auto use for 2400, besides it's ubiquitous magnum revolver use, so I stuck with Power Pistol for it.)
Thankfully, another good acquisition.
.
1076 left side
(-07a)
.
1076 right side
(-08a)
.
1076 front view
(-09a)
.
1076 top view horizontal
(-10a)
.
1076 top view vertical
(-12a)
.
1076 rear view
(-11a)
.
1076 disassembled
(-03a)
.
1076 firing pin disconnect lever
(-06a)
.
Taking it for a test drive.
.
1076 muzzle blast
(-01a)
.
1076 target, The First Fifty Shots
(-14a)
.
Originally it had a fixed rear sight but a previous owner added a LPA-TPU adjustable rear sight. Fortunately they retained the original Novak sight, which was included in the gun's box. The regulation of this sight was of concern to me before I bought it. The seller hadn't shot it in some time & thought he remembered the POA & POI were good with the ammo he used. Before my first trip to the firing range with it I centered the sight's vertical adjustment within it's range to have a known starting point.
Disassembled the gun & it didn't take much to clean it up but I did notice one thing I wasn't sure of:
- The firing pin block disconnect lever (no sear disconnect lever on this model) does not have a spring in the frame's hole that the lever passes thru, like all my other 3rd Gens. have, that provides upward pressure on it. It lays just below the frame surface, not sprung up. It does raise up when you pull the trigger, as it should. I couldn't find a model specific parts diagram & in the pictures I've seen it's hard to tell if there should be a spring in it or not (see my pic below), but I'm thinking not? Also, where the firing pin disconnect lever pivots on it's shaft it's free to move/wobble back & forth, horizontally. It almost seems like it should have a spacer or something there to keep it steady? Can someone tell me if theirs is the same or if I'm missing anything?
I put some Hogue grips on, replaced the recoil spring (17#, then 20#), firing pin spring (xp), mainspring (20#) & mag springs (+10%) with Wolff springs, to have a fresh starting point. Loaded up an assortment of bullets/powder loads & headed to the range. The first few shots were a little low & after a few more groups I only had to go 3-4 clicks up to get the POI where I wanted, so that was a relief to know the LPA worked with the stock front sight well. Went thru almost 100 rounds & no problems. Shot another 125 rounds the other day, again no problems.
At 41 oz. it's not particularly heavy but I thought the recoil was very manageable (I think my 1911 Govt. with 45 Super loads is harsher) & easy to shoot well. I was very happy with the various starting recipes but was most surprised that the loads with Alliant 2400 did so well in the auto. (When I tried 2400 in some 45 Super loads it was disappointing, which was my only other auto use for 2400, besides it's ubiquitous magnum revolver use, so I stuck with Power Pistol for it.)
Thankfully, another good acquisition.
.
1076 left side
(-07a)
.
1076 right side
(-08a)
.
1076 front view
(-09a)
.
1076 top view horizontal
(-10a)
.
1076 top view vertical
(-12a)
.
1076 rear view
(-11a)
.
1076 disassembled
(-03a)
.
1076 firing pin disconnect lever
(-06a)
.
Taking it for a test drive.
.
1076 muzzle blast
(-01a)
.
1076 target, The First Fifty Shots
(-14a)
.
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