What is the attraction to a N Frame 10mm?

[adams484]

N frame are hand cannons usually...

As an instructor in my LEO days told us: "Your pistol is your uh-oh gun, if you're getting into a fight bring a long gun." Always seemed like pretty good advice in the field as well

I Couldn't agree with you more. I had a model 29 in 44 mag. I liked it a lot and shot well with it. But it felt like a hand cannon. It just seems that in a purpose driven world it would be wiser if you needed that kind of muzzle energy it would be better to just bring a long gun and the 10mm doesn't even provide that much muzzle energy. We have all seen these big brute N frames with scopes for hunting and all but it just didn't seem like the ideal tact for the purpose to me. But that's just my thinking and I guess I am sometimes a bit too pragmatic.

 

[lora]

What's the attraction? 10mm allows .40s&w so USPSA limited shooters can shoot revolver and make major with the same ammo and reloading setup, while still having a 10mm for hogs in the field, the 357/38 N-frame is the leader for ICORE limited and open Division with 8rd capacity and ability ability to handle 38 short colt or 38 super with minor changes.

 

[feets]

You can run a 155 gr bullet out of a 10 mm faster than you can run a 158 gr bullet out of a 357.
A 200 gr bullet out of a 10 mm will lose about 200 fps to a full house 41 Magnum.

Toss in the easy to run moon clips and I think the 10 mm is a solid player. Not too much and not too little.

Now you've got me wanting to go find one for can chasing.

 

[rwsmith]

It's not my preference......

....but somebody likes it! If you build it they will come.

 

[bmcgilvray]

Hey, if Colt won't build the Python ... in .41 Long Colt no less, I'd take a "lockless" Smith & Wesson with .41 Long Colt roll marked on its barrel. That's way more twisted than the 10mm in an N-Frame.

 

[DR505]

I only have one revolver chambered in 10mm:

 

[Jaymo]

I'd buy an N frame in .22 LR, if it held 18 rounds.
The only 610 I ever shot had been worked over by the PC, and was on e seriously sweet shooter.

 

[John wilson]

It's art baby! All art.

 

[jaymoore]

...I had a model 29 in 44 mag. I liked it a lot and shot well with it. But it felt like a hand cannon. It just seems that in a purpose driven world it would be wiser if you needed that kind of muzzle energy it would be better to just bring a long gun and the 10mm doesn't even provide that much muzzle energy. We have all seen these big brute N frames with scopes for hunting and all but it just didn't seem like the ideal tact for the purpose to me. But that's just my thinking and I guess I am sometimes a bit too pragmatic.

You hunt backwoods Alabama and don't see the utility of a hunting handgun? I've harvested deer from 10 feet to over 60 yards with a .44 Mag. Some of those deer couldn't have been gotten any other way. The ten foot shot was with the revolver held almost all the way upside down over my shoulder as the critter snuck up on me whilst I reclined against a tree. I do tend to hunt with the heavier models which are very un''handcannon"-like recoilwise, but it's primarily because of the steadier hold they afford. It seems I like variants that some senior members find "ridiculous".


Ridiculous? The deer don't seem to scoff! A 10mm would do about as well, I think.

As for a 10mm, if one comes along at the right price I'll get one, if only because it's the only production N-frame caliber I don't have.

The high prices could mean the speculators have jumped in, hoping to make a profit, or there's a utility to the caliber that satifisies the buyers no other way, or the collectors are looking to fill holes in their stash. Or any combination of the three.

I reckon S&W could do a run if things slow down a bit, so thinking there'll never be any more seems unlikely. They've done .41 Mags recently so why not some more 10s?

An L-frame 10mm does seem unlikely!

But the .40 S&W 646 IS kinda cool:

 

[6covered]

The 10 is a hoot to shoot. From mild to wild if you reload. I'd love an N frame if I could find an affordable one.

 

[Redhawk500]

I see the advantage of a 10mm auto in an N frame as two fold: the ability to use full power 200 grain at 1200 fps loads without the wear and tear and recoil they cause in automatics and use of full moon clips for reliable ejecton and speedy reloads. The post that pointed out the less than 200 fp difference in muzzle velocity seems reasonable. My 6 inch S&W 57 using 175 grain Silvertip ammo is only 90 some fps faster than my Glock model 20 with the same factory Silvertip 175 grain bullet. As an asside I will point out the .45 ACP revolver gives the greatest increase in performance over an automatic. 200 grain bullets at over 1180 fps using Blue Dot at 21000 psi are excellent whitetail and field carry loads, loaded only in full moon clips or auto rim brass so as not to beat up my 1911s.

 

[wxl]

The 10mm is a great cartridge and I prefer it over my 357s. I DO HAVE a 610 (and a Ruger Buckeye 10mm/38-40 cylinders) and 2 S&W semis and 3 1911s in 10mm and a Glock 29 & 20. Oh, and 357s, 40 S&Ws and 44 mag and 454 Casull and 9mms and 380s and 22s and...

Is it not great you have choices?

 

[Bohonkie]

I have a 610, 6.5" and really like the revolver; extremely accurate. I also like L frames and the 10mm might be a good one (if it was more popular). I would like to see S&W revive the I frame, possibly in a .32 H&R mag, but that ain't gonna happen. But I also really like N frames, regardless of the caliber. I am amused at your statement that N frames should be reserved for high-powered cartridges such as the .44 and the .45.... The .45 ACP or Colt's is High-powered and the 10mm is not?
I agree that the 10mm won't do anything the .44 mag cannot and if I owned just one or the other, the .44 would be the one. But - and here comes a shocker - I own more than one gun.
N frames are great. Another shocker - I sometimes also fire .38 Specials in my model 27.
The bottom line is actually a question: Have you ever fired a 610?
Thanks -

 

[Inspector-Callahan]

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.

Shawn,

Will you PLEASE stop talking about all this stuff that has to do with "common sense!" My ears are starting to bleed!

IC

 

[Inspector-Callahan]

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.

Practicality aside (speedloaders, competition, I like the size of an N-Frame), the really short answer supporting some of the prices on 610's is the collectibility factor. It's different and you don't see them too often.

Besides that, it's the preferred caliber of TED NUGENT and Sonny Crockett!

IC

IC

 

[jaymoore]

... I DO HAVE a 610 (and a Ruger Buckeye 10mm/38-40 cylinders)...

Is it not great you have choices?

Choices!

I'd pay fairly stupid money for a 10mm/38-40 convertible S&W!

Do it up as one of the "retro" models with the skinny barrel...
(And wooden grips, but with a laser built in as a nod to the 10mm's "modern-ness". )


For some reason there's lots of 38-40 ammo and brass left over from the '92 Winchester sold years ago.