What is the attraction to a N Frame 10mm?

[smithman]

What I do not get is the folks paying huge money to have the opportunity to own a N frame revolver chambered in one of the weakest calibers it can be had in. It just seems odd.

I think the .357 N frame is just about as odd a choice for actual carry and field use in current times. The K frame is too small, the N frame is too big and the L frame is just right for .357. I also suspect the L frame is just about right for a 10mm too.

This is why if one is buying an N frame, it just seems to make sense to buy one with the most horsepower that can be wedged into the frame. Why do they even bother making anything less than .44 Magnum or .45 in a N frame revolver? I think even a .41 magnum would fit in a modernized L frame.

All that reasoning aside, why do guys clamber to buy a mid-sized 10mm cartridge wedged into a full-size gun? What's the motivation? I cannot see what a 10mm does that a .44 cannot.

I know folks just like some things. Heck, even I like the 10mm in a 15 round Glock. If that is the motivation, that is fair enough.

 

[Cal44]

I guess people just like having something not everyone else has.

I would buy a S&W revolver in 9mm if I could.

A J frame 9mm would be great. But it couldn't do anything my M60 can't do with 38+p or 357.

As for 357 magnum, you do get 8 shots with an N frame which is nice.

 

[DR505]

I like 10mm as a cartridge mainly because I have a couple of thousand factory rounds laying around. I like N frames because I have large hands and K/L frame grip size is small. I also think .41 mag belongs in an N frame because it shoots so well in them. The .44 is really only a .429, so not a huge difference. I won't pay the asking price of a 610 though.

 

[Iggy]

"A Place in the Choir" - YouTube


10mm is a pretty versatile round in a small package.
I have put down antelope, cattle, and horses with it.

Don't underestimate the round. It will do a pretty fine job in a big old revolver.

 

[clang444]

.45 ACP is not the most powerful cartridge around, but it makes a damn fine N-frame revolver. 625s, 25s, 26s and 1917s (model 22s) are some of my favorite revolvers.

I've also got a 610-nothing. It's a great gun to shoot both 10mm and .40S&W out of. You also do not have to pick up the brass for reloading. I probably would not want to carry it all day, but that is true for many large frame all steel revolvers.

 

[Lou_NC]

I absolutely agree about not paying "huge" money for a 610. I did not, and would not pay today's prices. (But then again, I wouldn't pay $1200 for a .22 K-frame revolver that was made before WW2). I say "to each his own".

One motivator for owning a 610 is that it will shoot moon-clipped .40 S&W as well as 10mm, similar to the way a .357 magnum will also shoot .38 spl. I can bring home buckets of once-fired .40 S&W brass after my club's monthly USPSA matches. At today's prices, brass availability can be a motivator.

Another motivator for folks to own guns like the 610 is that they're just not that common. Some folks who've been shooting for "a few decades" just like to own "something different". Who knows, they may already own a stable full of N-frames in .44 mag and .45ACP, and just want another N-frame variant simply because it's "different".

Bottom line is that the 610 is probably not many shooters' "first" revolver. But, it certainly could be!

Lou

 

[ISCS Yoda]

I dunno. I hear ya and I admit my L frames in .357 do a great job but my Model 27 in that caliber is just awesome to shoot and I collect the .38/.357 caliber, I don't need a .45. I wouldn't mind a Model 25 in .45 Colt, just because....but that's a whole nuthuh smoke!! I like having a couple dozen .38/.357 revolvers around. Okay, I don't have 24. Yet. I'm getting close though!

***GRJ***

 

[shawn mccarver]

Personally, I am not sure of the attraction of a 10mm N frame.

I doubt a 41 Magnum would fit comfortably in the L frame, especially given the tendencies of some reloaders. If it did, and it should be easy to figure given the dimensions of the L frame cylinder and the dimensions of the cartridge, I would imagine it might only be safe for the "police load" and perhaps not the high power load. Obviously, that would never do, as sooner or later, someone is going to blow one up.

That said, if people like it, and S&W makes money building a run of them, then good all the way around. There is plenty of room in the tent even for folks who may fancy a type of gun or caliber that is not my favorite. The more people we have with guns, the less likely politicians will inconvenience us as they will realize that people who vote now have a vested interest in the subject.

My only issue is production line capacity. When USRA went out of business a few years ago, the last Winchester Model 70s from the old company were in the strange short magnum calibers. You could not find a standard .30-06 to save your life. At the SHOT Show that year, a Winchester (gun) employee told me that he wished he could have had a truck load of Model 70 Featherlights in .30-06. They were wasting production time and energy on products that did not sell, and went under doing it.

Same for S&W. I wish they would stop wasting time on silly models like "Nightguards" and these unfortunate Performance Center slab sided barrel abominations and get back to basics. We need 1911s with vents in the slide about as much as a hole in the head. Same for Model 41s with hollow square rectangular front sights. And seemingly endless nonsense.

At least for now, while basic bread and butter revolvers are impossible to find, how about just ramp up the production on the bread and butter revolvers.

 

[bishopm14]

I like anything in 10mm. A 610-3 was my first Smith revolver. Several years later, now that I have various Smiths in .357 and .41 Mag, it is nicely bracketed and has no unique capability power wise in my collection.
And, it is my least reliable revolver. A screwdriver should go wherever it does, to check the strain screw and rear sight screws. Even with an Apex extended firing pin, ignition has not been revolver reliable in my book. The gun is an ongoing, six year project so far it seems. One day, I might get it right.

 

[BigBill]

I don't want a 10mm in an n frame. I did look at a pistol in 10mm. I'm still not sure.

I enjoy my n frames in 41mag, 44special and In 44mag. I hope soon to add a 357mag & 45lc to my n frame collection too. It's not the power of the 357mag it's the balance of the heavier frame when we shoot it. I prefer a 357mg redhawk but it's no longer offered. So my choice now I'd the n frame s&w.

I wonder what the ballastics are on the 10mm round. My colt python in 357mg with a 6" barrel with my 140gr reloads I could ping small rocks on the berm at 100yds at will. Let's not forget the 357mg has also killed every north American game too thanks to Elmer Keith. Has the 10mm really done anything like that yet?

My love for the 1911 auto pistol still is the original 45acp. I'll probably never change for now anyway.

 

[Revolver-time]

I have a 610-2 and I really don't know why. I do have a 27 and a 28. The 27s or pre 27 is the granddaddy of the 357 and that is reason enough to own a n-frame in that cal.

 

[bishopm14]

Let's not forget the 357mg has also killed every north American game too thanks to Elmer Keith. Has the 10mm really done anything like that yet?

.

If people choose not to try stupid things with the 10mm, that really shouldn't be held as an indictment of the round.

Regardless of how skilled EK was, taking on all North American game with a .357 is a stunt of epic proportions. Stunts really don't have much of a place in the game woods, and hopefully hunters / shooters today don't feel the need to try to validate a cartridge with the same types of stunts.

 

[Stu1205]

"A Place in the Choir" - YouTube


.

Thanks, Iggy. This says it all.

Stu

 

[colt_saa]

What I do not get is the folks paying huge money to have the opportunity to own a N frame revolver

Overpaying is overpaying. The caliber or frame has nothing to do with it

Myself, I have no idea why anyone would purchase a plastic gun when they could have one made of metal, but I would never start a thread to discus it. Different people like different things

Personally I own 3 S&W revolvers chambered in 10MM Auto. I overpaid for none of them, I always wait for a deal.

All of my 10MM Auto wheel guns have been opened up to accept 10MM Magnum ammunition as well. This allows them to safely chamber and fire 40S&W, 10MM Auto or 10MM Magnum.

10MM revolvers reload quickly with moon clips. And most importantly, I like and enjoy them no matter what anybody thinks about the chambering

 

[finesse_r]

bigbaddaboom!!!!

 

[Nightowl]

They are fun to shoot. Isn't that good enough?

 

[brucev]

Re: OP. As you get older you will find many things that do not make sense. People paying high prices for a revolver or caliber that to you does not make sense is just one of those things.

Personally I adore the .357 Magnum... in K, L and N frames. Others have different opinions. Cool.

If one only were to chamber rounds in the smallest possible frame, we'd never ever have the pleasure of owning and using wonders such as the 17 and 18 as we'd only be limited to J-frames for the .22 LR. And... we'd never have nice little L-frames in .357 Magnum b/c it'd only be chambered in the K-frame, etc., etc.

Currently I own a 625-2 and a 21-4. Both are superlative examples of S&W engineering and production. The 625 is perhaps the single most accurate revolver I've ever owned or fired. The 21-4 is in my opinion the be all to end all of fighting revolvers, i.e., the caliber is simply ideal, the sights and overall configuration of the revolver is unsurpassed. There could not be a finer revolver for SD/HD... unless it were the 625 w/ clipped ammunition. In fact, I'm giving more than just some passing thought to having the 21-4 milled for clips... and a nice trijicon front sight mounted. I think just those two little changes would make a great revolver outstanding in every respect. Of course neither round is the most powerful that can be chambered in the N-frame. So what? If I want a .44 Magnum, I buy a .44 Magnum. But not everyone wants the .44 Magnum. I've had them before. In fact, I've had three. They were O.K. Others will think differently. Cool.

Now... if someone wants a handgun chambered in 10mm, more power to them! It is not my cup of tea. But so what? There are likely people out there who have no understanding why the 21-4 is just about the best SD/HD revolver in existence.

 

[Rock185]

smithman, I had two of the first run of 610s with 5" barrels. I was already shooting and reloading for the 10MM when those were released. I liked the cartridge and it seemed perfectly normal to have a quality revolver in the same caliber. I'd already owned and reloaded for N-Frame .357, .41 and .44 Magnums. Those two 610s were among the most accurate N-Frames of any caliber I ever owned, and definitely the most accurate 10MMs I ever owned. That old Norma 200 grain at 1200+ fps, Cor-Bon 135 grain at 1585 fps, and my similar reloads, were very pleasant to shoot in those 610s. My early 610s were reliable and extracted easily with any ammo I tried, no screwdriver ever required. I also had a Ruger Blackhawk 38-40/10MM Convertible, a couple of model 547 9MMs, and a Ruger SP-101 in 9MM. Although I could get a lot more "horsepower" out of my Freedom Arms revolver shooting .454 Casull, I still enjoy using the extra .45ACP cylinder in the same gun.

I long ago quit worrying about justifying why I buy what I buy in my firearm hobby. I just like what I like...ymmv

Sure wish I'd hung on to at least one of those 610s though. I wouldn't pay some of the prices I see for those now days...

 

[bmcgilvray]

The excellent N-Frame is the perfect home for the 10mm. It's the only size frame for fitting 6 shots with a cartridge of 10mm diameter. The .357 Magnum, if used to its full potential rather than todays "-P" loadings, is best housed in the N-Frame in my view and it's the L-Frame that I see as unappealing and clumsy (mostly because of the full-lugged barrel).

 

[Lou_NC]

........it's the L-Frame that I see as unappealing and clumsy (mostly because of the full-lugged barrel).

Couldn't agree more!

Sometimes I think that a competent gunsmith could make a decent living by milling off K, L, and N frame underlugs. I'd send them a 617, 686, and at least one 625 to work on..........

Lou