Stainless Model 10

[Ben]

I've purchased a Smith and Wesson , 38 Special, Model 64-3 ( Stainless Model 10 ), a very nice revolver.

I was a little skeptical about the fixed sights, but with 3.0 Clays and my Cramer , 154 grs. Keith style bullet sized to .358, it is a shooter and shoots to point of aim.

It seems in this day of " Magnum Mania " that the .38 Special doesn't get much respect anymore, however.....with the right loads, it is a fine round.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/011-18.jpg

Here is a cylinder full fired at 12 yards :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/0012-6.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/008-20.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/007-18.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/001-28.jpg

[ReloaderFred]

That's funny, Ben, since I just sent off a check for a NIB Model 10, 2" revolver. It will fit right in with the rest of my old S&W revolvers. There's just something about the Smith & Wesson revolvers that I can't get away from, even though my handgun collection is about 50-50 pistols and revolvers.

Fred

[9.3X62AL]

Ben, I used an identical example to yours to save my aspirations in a strip mall back-alley in August 1981. Mine wore Pachmayr Presentations.

[gunfan]

There's NOTHING wrong with the .38 Special. I remember during the 1970's when the "wondernine" era began, nearly everyone thought the "old" .38 Special had become "outmoded" That, my friend is pure, ignorant malarkey!

Today's .38 Special is as good (or even better) than it ever was.

Scott

[Char-Gar]

My love affair with the 38 Special is long and deep. My last new 38 Special I bought was a Smith and Wesson 64. I bought it about ten years ago, before they went to all of the locks and that kind of nonsense. It is one of the best made and best shooting handgun I have ever owned. It is fitted with some really nice Herritts wood grips.

[Ben]

I could not agree with all of you more, the .38 Special is a VERY LONG WAY from being obsolete.

When this one ( Mountain Molds, Keith Style ) is added to the " .38 Special Equation ", things get even more interesting :

I do think this one would be a " Real Fightstopper ! "

I can make this one in HP or solid.




http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/010-8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/011-10.jpg

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[Love Life]

The 38 special is one of my favorite all around cartridges. Lyman 358429 over a stiff charge of Unique or 2400 (shot out of a model 28) will take care of 99% of the situations I could need a revolver for around here. That last 1% is covered by the 10mm. My all around plinking loads are 4.4 gr of unique under the 358429 and 5 gr of Unique under the 358477.

[bcp477]

And....interestingly enough, the decline of the 38 Special as a police round (and the guns that fired it) coincided with the advent of "magnum fever"...introduced to popular culture by such events as the "Dirty Harry" movies. Correspondingly, though certainly not entirely because of this, the 38 Special suddenly became "woefully insufficient". So, most police agencies dumped their 38's......for 9mm for crying out loud ! As most of us know, the 9 x 19 round has, at most, a few percentage points of ballistic advantage over the good 'ole 38. Magazine capacity issues certainly played a significant role as well (the switch was to autos, of course). But, very little was REALLY gained by the switch, overall. I would further argue that the switch was as much due to fashion as to true practicality.

Also very interesting is the fact that the FBI was perfectly happy with the 38 Special round....using the so-called FBI load (and they stated exactly that). They did NOT make the change of to the 40 S&W because of a belief that the 38 was inadequate, but rather because of magazine capacity concerns mixed with the fact that S&W and Winchester had cooperated to develop a commercial cartridge that was the embodiment of the downloaded 10mm auto round, with which the FBI had been experimenting anyway. S&W and Winchester then proceeded to push the 40 S&W....HARD.

Now, of course, all the police agencies in the country are flocking to the 40 S&W as if there is no other cartridge that would ever work - as are many civilian shooters. Another case of fad and fashion, I would argue.

The long and short of it is that, the 38 Special is nothing like "obsolete" or "inadequate". Many people have simply chosen to follow the wind....and whichever way it is blowing today.

[9.3X62AL]

Ben, I'd bet some folding money that the HP Keith design shown above would curl over like a pop-rivet. Cut WW metal 1/1 with unalloyed lead--run about 900 FPS--felon repellant of the first order. The goblin would have big holes going in, and Javelina getting slung around the entrance wounds.

[Ben]

Al,

felon repellant of the first order

Ha..........I like that one....I'll have to remember that.

Ben

[sffar]

There's good reason Smith's been making those revolvers for well over a hundred years. I believe it's right up there with the 1911 and SAA as one of the great handguns.
Sam

[Moondawg]

S&W K frame in 38 special is probably one of the sweetest handguns of all time. I have three, plus a couple of J frame Smiths. My main carry gun is a J frame loaded with the FBI load. In winter, when we wear more clothes I carry a 3" Mdl 65. I also have a couple of 581s with fixed sights that shoot to point of aim. All my Smith revolvers have smooth double actions and are a joy to shoot. If you can hit what you are shooting at up to 15-20 yards. the 5 or 6 shooter is adaquate for what most civilians will ever encounter.

[Wayne Dobbs]

I love the 4" K-frame platform the best of ALL service pistols and prove it by having around a dozen of them at any given time. My standard joke is that in Heaven, the Lord's cops carry 4" Model 10s! (and I know that in Heaven there is no need of police, so that's a tongue in cheek statement)

[jrayborn]

That's right because everyone knows that Heaven's streets are guarded by United States Marines :-P

Of course they may use K-frames...

[Rick Hodges]

:kidding:Perhaps "heaven's cops" got sent there because the .38 sp. just wasn't enough?

[dubber123]

Ben, I'd bet some folding money that the HP Keith design shown above would curl over like a pop-rivet. Cut WW metal 1/1 with unalloyed lead--run about 900 FPS--felon repellant of the first order. The goblin would have big holes going in, and Javelina getting slung around the entrance wounds.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh83/dubber123/IMG_3149.jpg

I bet they look just like this.. As Al states, 50% WW, 50% pure lead, air cooled.