"New" .357 Model 10

[GerSan69]

I just can't leave well enough alone. I've been planning a makeover for my Model 10-10, repatriated from Australia's Victoria Police Armory a few years back. I finally came across a 3" S&W barrel on Ebay a couple months ago for $55, which looked factory-fresh when it arrived. So last week I took it all to the gunsmith up in Apache Junction. He quoted me a price, I agreed and away we go.
I missed a couple calls from him earlier this week and finally got back to him today. "I ran into a little problem. This barrel says .38 Special, but it's cut for a .357." Say what?
"But I have an idea. I have a .357 cylinder here in my parts, and it looks like it fits. I don't know how deep you want to get into this, but I can probably make this work." What's "deep"? "Oh, how's $150 out the door?"
Uh, you ain't started yet?? Let's do it!!
He called me about an hour or so later to tell me it was done. A little adjustment filing on the frame lug and 25-thousandths off the ejector rod and it fit like a charm. "Locks up like a bank vault" and testing with both .38 and .357 ammunition had excellent results.
Bottom line, I have a .357 Model 10 for under $500, everything included, even the original gun.
I'm not a .357 shooter, so it's more the uniqueness of the configuration and the fun factor of how parts from Ebay and the gunsmith's parts box came together with very little fitting to produce even better than I wanted. Couple photos to follow....
Oh, almost forgot: recessed cylinder!

 

[AlHunt]

"I ran into a little problem. This barrel says .38 Special, but it's cut for a .357." Say what?

First things first, nice looking gun and a lot of fun. But ...

Why does the barrel care if the 38 caliber bullet came from a longer or shorter case? I don't understand "cut for a .357". Wouldn't it be the same barrel?

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

The Ausie revolvers are usually chambered for the 38 S&W cartridge (At least the WWII S&Ws) which used a slightly larger bullet than the 38 Special. Something like .36 caliber. Was that reason for the call? Given the low pressure of the 38 S&W and its use of mostly cast bullets, you would have been OK using the .36" diameter bullets in the .357" barrel. I'm not sure why that was an issue for you gunsmith and the need for a new cylinder.

Many older Colt revolvers had bores of .355" give or take and they handled .357 38 Special and magnum loads just fine.

Now that you have a 357 Magnum cylinder installed, I would only shoot 38 Specials in the revolver. The old WWII revolvers and even the later Model 10s were never made to handle the pressures generated by a magnum and you may very well stretch out the frame with repeated use.

By the way, I've always thought that the 3" barrel was just about ideal for a 38 Special K Frame. Have you checked the zero yet with the new barrel. Hope it shoots well for you.

 

[reccpd101]

I believe the forcing cone is different.

 

[murphydog]

I believe the forcing cone is different.

Correct, K frame .38 Special cylinders are shorter than those for .357, so the forcing cone length with a .357 cylinder has to be shorter than with a .38.

Your gunsmith having a .357 cylinder handy and knowing how to make everything work makes you a lucky guy. Enjoy!

 

[dusty3030]

The Ausie revolvers are usually chambered for the 38 S&W cartridge which used a slightly larger bullet than the 38 Special. Something like .36 caliber. That was probably the reason for the call, although given the low pressure of the 38 S&W and its use of mostly cast bullets, you would have been OK using the .36" diameter bullets in the .357" 38 Special barrel.

Many older Colt revolvers had bores of .355" give or take and they handled .357 38 Special and magnum loads just fine.

Now that you have a 357 Magnum cylinder installed, I would only shoot 38 Specials in the revolver. The old WWII revolvers were never made to handle the pressures generated by a magnum and you may very well stretch out the frame with repeated use.

Nothing you have written here has anything at all to do with the original poster's gun. The gun in discussion is a 10-10. Originally a .38 special and on a later modern K frame.

 

[AlHunt]

Correct, K frame .38 Special cylinders are shorter than those for .357, so the forcing cone length with a .357 cylinder has to be shorter than with a .38.

Your gunsmith having a .357 cylinder handy and knowing how to make everything work makes you a lucky guy. Enjoy!

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Sistema1927]

Nice replication of the FBI Model 13, and at a barn burner price.

 

[GerSan69]

First things first, nice looking gun and a lot of fun. But ...

Why does the barrel care if the 38 caliber bullet came from a longer or shorter case? I don't understand "cut for a .357". Wouldn't it be the same barrel?

Totally agree, Al. It's just weird that it was mis-marked. We were both certain that's the case, because the end of the barrel looked untouched, the threads were perfect with no sign of prior fitting, and there wasn't even the tiniest flaw on it anywhere. IMO a great deal at $55. I'll be keeping that seller in mind for future purchases (and I already have a couple in mind.)

 

[GerSan69]

By the way, I've always thought that the 3" barrel was just about ideal for a 38 Special K Frame. Have you checked the zero yet with the new barrel. Hope it shoots well for you.

As was said this is a modern revolver, not a wartime item. As an armed force, the Australian Police seem to prefer American handguns. (EDIT: Or used to... now they're using Glocks. Thanks for the info, Moo Moo!) This one was part of a group of trade-ins sent back to the States. They are somewhat beaten up, but seldom fired. This one has a superb action and was a tack driver with the 4". I haven't fired it yet, but I plan to in the next day or two. (The 'smith has a bullet trap at his shop for test firing, so while it tested perfect, I still have to see where it hits.)
I'm also a huge 3" fan. This is my 3rd 3" K, including one other barrel swap. Have a few others in other sizes as well.

 

[Moo Moo]

I was an Australian Police Officer (New South Wales Police Force - NSW is the state with the highest population and is north of Victoria) from 1996 to 2018. Up until 1999, I was issued a 3" Model 10 Square Butt, before going over to Glocks. I believe most states were using either Smith & Wesson or Ruger revolvers.

 

[jtcarm]

I was an Australian Police Officer (New South Wales Police Force - NSW is the state with the highest population and is north of Victoria) from 1996 to 2018. Up until 1999, I was issued a 3" Model 10 Square Butt, before going over to Glocks. I believe most states were using either Smith & Wesson or Ruger revolvers.

I've never seen a 3" SB. i wonder if any of those made their way to the U.S.

 

[Jimmyjones]

I've never seen a 3" SB. i wonder if any of those made their way to the U.S.

From time to time.

A Victoria Police trade-in 10-5 SB.

 

[STCM(SW)]

My 10-5 3"

 

[Dieseltech56]

Was your 10-10 a factory round butt? I've been looking for one of those

 

[dscampbell]

my ex Victoria 3" square butt 10-5


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Engine49guy]

....K frame .38 Special cylinders are shorter than those for .357, so the forcing cone length with a .357 cylinder has to be shorter than with a .38...

The exception to this is the model 12 Airweight K frame which uses a non recessed cylinder that is longer at the front ,
Basicly Model 12 cylinders are the same length as non recessed k magnum cylinders introduced in the model 19-5 revision.

 

[GerSan69]

Was your 10-10 a factory round butt? I've been looking for one of those

Yes, it sure was. Slightly interesting that a 4" 10 from the Victoria inventory had a round butt, while the 3" had a square. (IIRC, all of the 3" that Bud's had when I ordered mine were square, while the 4" were a mix of squares and rounds.) Incidentally, this particular model also has grooves on the grip frame, not smooth like others I've seen.

 

[murphydog]

The "serrated tangs" on the fixed sight, RB K frames were seen in the late 1990s, for an unclear duration.

 

[Dieseltech56]

Do you know approx when your 10-10 was made? See in 96 every thing switched over to a round butt and it was a whole year before MIM came and changed the dash variation. These 96 round butt guns are the best candidates for 3 inch barrel swaps. I have a 64-5 round butt I converted to 3 inch 357