Re-imported S&W 10-5

Last year I posted about a Rock Island M200 that I bought, and how for such an inexpensive revolver, I like it a lot.

Well today I found what I had really wanted, an old S&W 10-5 from the mid '70s, for only $30 more than I paid for the Rock Island. The grips are rough and the finish is spotty, but mechanically it feels great. The bore looks perfect and the trigger is, well, a S&W (perfect). It has little bit of endshake but not bad, and timing is great. As much as I like the little Rock Island revolver, this beat up old police trade-in S&W is in a whole different class.

One question I had was that this S&W is a Century gun. It had a small importer stamp on the butt identifying it as such, and some kind of department stamp on the frame in front of the trigger guard: "JF 60". Based on this, I assume it's an old foreign police gun that's been re-imported. Anyone have any idea where it might have come from? I remember reading some years back that a bunch of them came back from Hong Kong, but that was quite a while back.

Is it chambered in .38 S & W? Or in .38 Special?

Hong Kong I think tended to stay with the .38-200 / or .38 S&W Chambering at any rate, for use with the .38 Webley / Eley legacy tradition of former UK Colonies.

Usually the K Frame S & Ws of recent era when chambered for the .38 S&W, would be a "Model 11" I think, rather than a Model 10.

I believe Hong Kong later used Model 10s in .38 Special. Apart from markings and an obviously added lanyard swivel my former Customs and Excise weapon is a garden variety Model 10. I have seen photos of RHKP Smith and Wessons which appeared identical. In the recent civil disturbances in Hong Kong news footage occasionally caught police using what appeared to be Smith and Wessons

I am not sure on this next, but some of these weapons may have come back to S&W and been resold, in which case they would not have come through Century Arms. I am thinking anything imported by Century Arms is marked as such, and I have not seen them being modest in the application of such markings. If it is important enough, one can pay Smith and Wesson for a factory letter indicating where the weapon was shipped when new.

To add further confusion, I believe a number of .38 Special Model 10s have come back to the US from Australian police agencies.

I think I read recently that some of them had been imported from France.

The one I picked up a year or so ago came back from Canada. Montreal I believe.

Interesting, thanks guys. It's definitely .38 Special, and definitely a Century gun. Fortunately the Century stamp is tiny. It's on the bottom of the frame by the serial number- a very small "C.A.I. Georgia, VT. MADE IN U.S.A." It's so small that I need reading glasses to see it, and I've only recently needed reading glasses for anything, usually only things like instructions on pill bottles.

I swung by the range and tried it out this afternoon. I tacked a piece of paper up at about 30 feet, and drew a quick bullseye on it with a pen. I then proceeded to put 12 rounds into a silver-dollar sized group, dead center bullseye.

I'm curious about where it's been for the last 45 years, but either way I think it's a keeper. $230 seemed like a pretty good price, nowadays.

Attachment 256869

230 is an outstanding price. You have a wonderful six shooter.

Excellent price. I've paid well over $300 for nice specimens.

For anyone interested, I googled the part number on the box and came up with a bunch of places that have them right now, from $200 and up. Judging by the one I got, it's a heck of a deal. I wish I could afford to buy several.

I don't know anything about this place, just an example: https://www.kcfirearms.com/products/...7450073272-387

Nice knockabout .38..........

Now I have a decision to make. It looks like I can get another one, same condition and price. I have a lot of old surplus guns that I've bought in pairs. Hmm, a great price on a neat old gun is worth buying one, so maybe worth buying two...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by fatelk

For anyone interested, I googled the part number on the box and came up with a bunch of places that have them right now, from $200 and up. Judging by the one I got, it's a heck of a deal. I wish I could afford to buy several.

I don't know anything about this place, just an example: https://www.kcfirearms.com/products/...7450073272-387

---

Well I'll find out soon enough as I just ordered one from them (I knew I should have skipped this thread). For a hair over $200.00 I couldn't pass it up.

Quote:

---

(I knew I should have skipped this thread)

---

Sorry about that. :)

I was showing it to a friend yesterday, and he just looked down his nose at it. Clearly not everyone appreciates old-school revolvers. You'd think it was a clunky old '83 Chevy or something.

Yeah, no place for a picatinny rail and red dot scope...

An 83 Chevy or a solid model 10. either One will get it done........

I've done some light research but unable to answer these questions.

How old are these revolvers?

Can you use a C&R FFL to purchase a qualifying pistol. (over fifty years old)

762

I have two model 10 revolvers that were re-imports. One was easy to identify because it has the lanyard ring on the butt and "RHKP" (Royal Hong Kong Police) heavily stamped on the back strap. That one is a 10-7.
The other one is a 10-5 and it's a bit of mystery where it went before coming home. That 10-5 was absolutely pristine inside and out with one exception, it had a huge barrel to cylinder gap. It looked like it was un-fired or maybe fired very little. My guess is it failed some inspection (probably due to that B/C gap) and was placed on a rack for 40+ years. I had the barrel set back to correct that one flaw.

$230 for a functional model 10 is a good deal ! You really can't go wrong.
I've noticed a lot of re-imports of Model 10's in the last few years. I suspect there was some foreign agency that sold off their reserve armory after storing those revolvers for years. I've heard speculation ranging from France to Canada and a few other countries as well.

Everyone should own a 4" Model 10, it's an iconic American gun.

Models 10, 64, and 65 have been coming in large numbers from foreign and domestic turn in's. Great time to be in the market for classic S&W revolvers that will put to shame most new guns if you don't mind a little surface wear. On the stainless models that's not even an issue.

No MIM parts, hammer mounted firing pins, no external lock, no two piece barrels, inexpensive. A plethora of factory and aftermarket grips. What's not to like? I bought a 64 followed by a 65 within the last year. 64 is redundant, will probably sell.

Well kcfirearms decided to cancel my order stating that they do not ship to Hawaii. Like Fatelk I googled the part number (HG2422) and found another source which cost $3.00 more.

Keeping my fingers crossed...

Thank you. I've been looking (casually) for one. Just ordered one. I'm trusting their description. As long as it shoots I'm fine. $224.42 including shipping and credit card fee. Best price I've seen and this one has a tapered barrel, all the decent ones on gunbroker are heavy barrels.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Petrol & Powder

I have two model 10 revolvers that were re-imports. One was easy to identify because it has the lanyard ring on the butt and "RHKP" (Royal Hong Kong Police) heavily stamped on the back strap. That one is a 10-7.
The other one is a 10-5 and it's a bit of mystery where it went before coming home. That 10-5 was absolutely pristine inside and out with one exception, it had a huge barrel to cylinder gap. It looked like it was un-fired or maybe fired very little...

---

I recall reading somewhere on the internet (which means it must be true) that the Hong Kong police issued sidearms each shift, and it was common for the same weapons to be used by multiple shifts, leaving the balance with very little wear.

It has been my experience that even police surplus Model 10s which appear to have been through the wars were apparently not fired that often, and typically have mint bores and tight lockup.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by El Bibliotecario

I recall reading somewhere on the internet (which means it must be true) that the Hong Kong police issued sidearms each shift, and it was common for the same weapons to be used by multiple shifts, leaving the balance with very little wear.

It has been my experience that even police surplus Model 10s which appear to have been through the wars were apparently not fired that often, and typically have mint bores and tight lockup.

---

I don't know where that 10-5 had spent its life but it wasn't in a holster.
The 10-7 was clearly a former Royal Hong Kong Police gun and it had a little rougher life, but not too bad. Internally it was in excellent condition.

I agree that a lot of the police trade in S&W revolvers are often in very good shape even if the finish looks a bit rough.
On another note, I once went though an entire rack of Remington 870 shotguns that were surplus from a police department. None of them looked good externally but I found one out of about 20 that was perfect internally. The stock looked like it had been chewed on by some animal but the action was like new. The bluing wasn't even worn off the action bars or the cuts inside the receiver.

I know some of those old police turn ins were pretty good revolvers. I have a 10-9 from RHKP. It was like it just came out of the box. And a decent shooter. I think for $230 I'd have to give one of the new imports a try if I didn't already have a few model 10s.

A couple years ago I bought a Beretta 92s Italian police turn-in, for $199 from Numrich.

The one I got was mechanically perfect, barely fired if at all, and almost pristine on the outside (other than some scratches on one of the grips). I suspect it spent most of its life sitting in a drawer, because when I tried it out it was shooting way high. The only thing I could think to do was to build up the front sight with epoxy until it shot to point of aim. I shaped the epoxy with a file and colored it until it looked right, and it’s a great shooter.

I am going to order one for the wife. she has been wanting a wheel gun. I have a bucket of brass and a few molds.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by El Bibliotecario

It has been my experience that even police surplus Model 10s which appear to have been through the wars were apparently not fired that often, and typically have mint bores and tight lockup.

---

I was a LEO for 40 years. Most of my brother and sister officers only fired their weapons twice a year. Once to practice on their own time at a private range a few days before re-qualification, and then at re-qualification.

Most weren't great shots and sweated re-qual.

So lots of holster wear, but not much action wear.

I probably shouldn't have, but I went back and bought another one. I got to choose between several, and chose the best, I think. I'll have to see how it shoots. Shouldn't spend the money, but it seemed to good to pass up.

If I was in the market for a 4" K-frame in 38 Special, I would be all over that deal.

I ordered one from an alternate source since my original order was cancelled. I ordered it on the 18th and my dealer got it on the 21st. Besides some holster wear the gun is tight and internally pristine. I already have a drawer full of grips and holsters for K frames so I am thinking of hard chroming it...just because.

Picked it up today. A little beat up with slight holster wear, but, the action is tight and the bore is pristine.Attachment 258315Attachment 258316

All in all a good deal for the price.

My son bought a Hong Kong PD M10 a couple years ago at estate auction. Gun is mint, it does have extra markings that were had stamped. Boy just bought it for house gun.

If Century brought it in, call or email them as they will have it on record and can tell you where it came from. You also might try the SW Forum. A few there are historians and have access to their records. Could probably tell you where it was sold to

Great price on that revolver.

Have a 10-3 - 1961 vintage - year before I was born. Sold off a LEO turn in 65 for it. I much prefer blued guns. Mine is a 4" bull bbl. I love it! And I have seen where some of the 10s are coming back in. Only thing I can tell you for sure, didn't go thru UK or they would have proof stamped the snot out of it! Iirc, I think I saw where some were coming back from France, as mentioned above. But not sure. Regardless, it is an inexpensive Smith that is awesome!

I'm still pretty happy with mine; shot a couple hundred rounds through each of them so far. They're just plain-Jane old police guns, nothing special, but for the money hard to beat.

Attachment 258331