Ode to the S&W Model 10/

[Drm50]

I’ve had a good many m10s. I’ve even bought them new. The K frame S&W is most trouble free revolver I know of. They also have more than adequate accuracy for the job they were intended for.
I only have one 4” with Hong Kong Police stamped in back strap. Looks like new and shoots 158gr like it’s suppose to. I have a couple 15s and 14s. I can shoot a K38 much better because of weight and longer sight radius. The sight picture on adjustables has always been sharper even when I was young. The Colt sight is only thing I liked about Colts. Colt made its reputation with SAs and will give them Brownings auto pistols too, S&W has been the leader in DAs for a good while.

[Petrol & Powder]

Lloyd, I believe you misinterpreted my "weld the sight" remark. That wasn't meant to be taken literally; that was a humorous comment referring to the fact that once they center the group they never adjusted the sight again.

I don't know if most good shooters would, "hands down agree with you" or not because neither one of us has met all of the shooters in the world.

I don't have a hundred different loads but I do have thousands of cartridges. In fact, I try to keep the number of different loads to a minimum; that may play a role in why you and I have differing opinions about adjustable sights.
My S&W Model 14 has adjustable sights and I can't remember the last time I adjusted them. It was probably shortly after I acquired the gun. Only one load is shot in that gun, so there is no reason to adjust the sights.

[Petrol & Powder]

Drm50, I have one of those former Royal Hong Kong Police model 10's (10-7) and it is a great gun. My example had a fair amount of holster wear but appeared to have been shot very little. The bluing on the recoil shield was perfect and there was no turn line.
Of course I corrected that lack of use problem !

[Lloyd Smale]

Lloyd, I believe you misinterpreted my "weld the sight" remark. That wasn't meant to be taken literally; that was a humorous comment referring to the fact that once they center the group they never adjusted the sight again.

I don't know if most good shooters would, "hands down agree with you" or not because neither one of us has met all of the shooters in the world.

I don't have a hundred different loads but I do have thousands of cartridges. In fact, I try to keep the number of different loads to a minimum; that may play a role in why you and I have differing opinions about adjustable sights.
My S&W Model 14 has adjustable sights and I can't remember the last time I adjusted them. It was probably shortly after I acquired the gun. Only one load is shot in that gun, so there is no reason to adjust the sights.

no i certainly havent met them all but do personaly know some of the big people in the handgun world and do know some that prefer fixed sights. One of them an african hunter who culled elephants and did it with a 475 for a while and he liked a fixed sighted gun for reliability. Like i said i actually had two fixed sighted 500s and a number of other single action fixed sighted guns and even a handful of fixed sighted da guns. I guess to some are happy if they can hit a coffee can at 15 yards everytime with there gun and thats about all the load development they do and just about any revolver thats even crudely sighted in will take care of that kind of work with about any load. My brother in law is one of them. I gave him a 64 that i got cheap. He happily blasts away with any left over ammo i give him. More conserned id think in making noise then actually hitting things. But hes happy so who am i to judge. Heck we all know the guy who bought a new gun and a box of ammo and still has half that box 5 years down the line. He doesnt give a rip about switching loads. Heck the guy i do crop damage shooting with uses his 2506 for the most part and ive seen him one day using 100 grain reloads and the next day using 120 factory ammo without even considering sighting in his gun. He limits his shots to 250 yards and I rarely see him miss or wound deer. Sorry but that would make me loose sleep. Im way to excessive compulsive for that. Heck i load 40 rounds of ammo for my crop damage guns and the next year if i need more and use the same load loaded on the same equiptment I HAVE to check my zero. Heck if im using the same ammo and the guns been sitting a year im checking my zero.

Im not happy with a 38 that wont shoot right to point of aim and if it shoots a group bigger then 2 inch with its best load its down the road. With those 500s i had the ability to at least shoot one with a heavy load and the other one with a much more sane load. But even then i made GOOD use of the drift adjustable front sight because switching just the bullet design with the same weight and using the same powder and primer can have groups move 3 inches easily. I dont even mind knowing i have to hold my front blade a bit high or deeper in the notch but i wont hunt with a gun that i have to use Kentucky windage and the smaller the game and caliber the more important that is to me. Why would i have to settle when the exact same gun is made with a very high quality adjustable sight. But thats just me. Obviously different strokes for different folks applys here. Let me ask this. Would you buy a fixed sighted bolt action 3006 and file the sights and use Kentucky windage hunt big game? Or are you like me and spend most times as much or more on a scope then i paid for the rifle? heck ive done and old model single six custom 41mag that Gallagher cut for a smith adjustable sight and he did a bearcat for me in 32 mag that he did the same for. Any six or five gun ive had custom made that was an adjustable sighted gun got upgraded to bowen rear and post fronts and most of my vaqueros were cut for drift adj. flat bladed front sights. Its one of the most important upgrades to me on a custom gun. Case hardening and engraving and fancy grips look cool but sights are the heart of your gun.

[Petrol & Powder]

Lloyd, I'm going to give you the last word.

[fatelk]

I just worked some overtime, and have been thinking about buying a gun. It's a foolish thought really, because I have too many already (no, I really do), but I can't shake it.

I keep looking at these little SCCY 9mm pistols. I have far nicer pistols, but it just seems that for $180 it would be something fun to shoot at the range.

The reason I'm posting this in this thread, though, is because the other option going through my mind is the Model 10 that a local FFL has for $230. It's the Spanish police trade-ins that I mentioned in an earlier post, and I already have two. The ones he has left are mechanically excellent+, but cosmetically not pretty. The grips are rough and the bluing on the barrels has turned brown, not rusty really but pretty close.

What do you all think? If logic and reason prevail, I'll buy neither. Both is not an option. If emotional "retail therapy" prevails because of a really rough week, then I may end up with one or the other.

[Texas by God]

Fatelk, for me- I'd get the m10 now and the more available 9mm later. The SCCY has good ratings but the m10s are getting rarer daily. Just my thoughts is all....

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I keep looking at these little SCCY 9mm pistols.
It's the Spanish police trade-ins that I mentioned in an earlier

I've been looking at them also. Seem like a really great deal, and they now come in a couple of variations. They seem to be selling very well, and I've heard nothing bad about them.

About the Spanish police trade-ins, that's a fascinating nugget of information and history if it is true. Spanish gunmakers Astra and Llama both made revolvers that sold widely to police agencies in South America, and one would think that they would have used their domestic production. I do recall reading that some of these Model 10 imports came from France. The only revolver maker they have that I'm aware of is Manurhin, and their stuff tended to be kind of expensive. I'm not certain if they make revolvers anymore.

[Scott.M]

most of the SHOOTERs I know shoot the snot out of there guns and half the fun is searching for that right bullet and load. I too used to love the fix sighted guns. Especially the vaqueros. So much so i had two 500 linebaughs built on them and a 45 colt. That said every one of those 3 had custom drift adjustable flat blade front sight. Today my eyes are tired and nothing is as good as a square notch adjustable rear and a flat blade front narrow enough to let me see light on both sides when lined up with the rear. I guess i dont understand the weld the sight thing. Just as likely to bend a front blade if not more so if you dropped your gun then a good rear ajustable sight. Look at something like a clark ppc gun. They not only have adjustable sights to experiement with to find a good load but have sights set up so you can quickly change from 10 to 15 to 20 yards during the shoot. Dont see to many fixed sighted round front blade handguns in the hands of comp shooters or even hunters. I think MOST GOOD SHOOTERS would hands down agree with what i said. Even in the later days of police revolvers it was rare to see a fixed sighted service gun. Most used a 19. A good indication is that you an still buy a 19 but its pretty tough to find a fixed sighted DA revolver unless it is a snubby. Nostalgia is a good thing. Im old school myself but not to the point that its the main determination as to what i buy. Practicality rules there. A 10 wont do one thing that a 15 wont do better. Now if you ask me what the best darned 6 gun ever made was and it would be a tough choice but in the end id have to say a 15 would win. It sure is the finest 38 special that was ever produced. A 10 wouldnt even make it into my top 20 list. Not that its not a good gun. Its just that im not the type to go to the store and buy the exact same box of round nose or wadcutters for my 10 and shoot a box every year. Im the type that 15s have seen probably a 100 different loads and goes to the range with a coffee can full of 38s. Like most GOOD shooters do. I can grab any can of 38s in the loading room and with a couple clicks of the sights be dead on for the day.

I'm not one that feels the need to shoot 456 different weight bullets in a gun. I know a few GOOD shooters that have no problems with fixed sight guns. Of course they aren't prone to blame the gun for poor shooting.

[fatelk]

I took you all's advice-$230

[Scott.M]

I took you all's advice-$230

Perfect! Enjoy, they are fine, regardless of the 'one trick pony' comments.

Unless you're prone to carry a small screwdriver everywhere with you and adjust sights been reloads, or bad guys, you'll be good.

[EMC45]

I took you all's advice-$230

Load it with a 148-160gr. bullet and you're golden. It should shoot better than you're able.

[PhatForrest]

And later I sold it by a dumpster near a Taco Bell to get money to buy 9mm auto pistol. One of the stupidest things I've done in my life, ranking up there with spray-painting my eyes shut.

You sir, should be ashamed of yourself for selling that revolver next to a dumpster like a cheap *****!

Picked up a PD trade in 64 a few years ago for cheap, and it's been one of my favorites ever since.

I keep telling myself I dont need all kinds of 358 molds, but I want to experiment with all manner of 38 special loads. WCs, Keith SWCs, RN, RNFP, it's an addiction that rivals hard drugs, except I'm not pawning my loved one's possessions for lead, YET.

[Jtarm]

Damn, now I have to go buy a Model 10, even though I already own 7 K-frames, including 2 M-64s.

I once had a sweet 1953 M&P 5”, diamond magna stocks.

Still kicking myself letting that one go. It was fun to shoot.

My EDC is a 3” M-64, sometimes a 3” M-65, but every S&W revolver enthusiast should have at least on M-10 or M&P (still irritates me they slapped that name on a plastic bottom-feeder&#129324

[eb in oregon]

Sold it a few years back. Shouldn't have.

[Electrod47]

A Buddy at work in 1985 or so sold me a Model 10 he never fired and had for about a year for 100 bucks. Thought I was doing him a favor. "Soda Straw barrel" "Hog wallow sights" Used to buy a box of reloaded wadcutters from small gun shop in Bullhead City AZ for 6 bucks a box.
The smoothest double action I have ever felt. I could rapid fire 6 rounds in about 1 second into pie plate at 5 paces. Walk shotgun shells around on the ground from the hip at 5 paces. It was amazing. Let it go in a swap and trade fever of my youth. A hundred handguns later, I still remember that one.

[Noveske86]

I was a 18 year cadet in the corrections academy when was handed a well worn model 10 to qualify with. The trigger was so smooth and the sights dead on. I shot the only perfect score of that class. Years go by and we switched the model 10's out for Glock. I pick up two DRC issue model 10's for stupid cheap. I will always have a soft spot for a old worn out 38 special.

[david s]

Around the time of Y2K I picked up a 4" heavy barreled nickeled model 10 as there was suddenly a flood of them on the used market, and a good model 10 could deal with all the hype. It joined a three inch model 65.

[stubshaft]

I managed to pick up a 4" thin barrel police trade in from a foreign country (Malaysia?) for under $200.00. It shoots 158 gr. LRN right to point of aim at 25yds.

[Nazgul]

Probably the single most accurate handgun I own. Simple, honest and shoots everything I load into it well.

Don