Smith and Wesson Model 10- the gun that finally came to be

Allow me to start with an apology- both for the lack of content as of late and quality (or lack there of) of the photos in this post. Between moving, working, and being looted- My life is pretty disjointed right now. I don't know if my camera is packed up or stolen, and I was forced to use a borrowed camera (of modest quality) to take the pictures for this post.

deep and brooding artistic photo

Long ago, I tried to buy a smith and wesson model 10 with no success. The promised gun, which was supposed to arrive in March 2009 never materialized. Money was refunded, and I put it out of mind.

However I have always browsed the old Model 10s when in shops, waiting for an opportunity to purchase one if a good price came along.

Just 2 days ago, the opportunity finally came into being. After taking a friend to the pistol permit office to pick up his application, I suggested we stop by a shop on the way which I had never visited called Johnson's Country Store. The shop is only a few miles from the permit office in Niagara County; and is a nice little shop that has guns, archery equipment, outdoor apparel, and sundries.

The store has a fantastic collection of used revolvers, ranging from old H&R 900 22lr revolvers, to  target smith and wesson m15s (I think- didn't see that one out of the case), to a number of model 10s and other treasures of shooty goodness.

This model 10-5 caught my eye. Condition was aesthetically good and mechanically excellent with a cylinder gap that is the tightest I have seen on any  revolver I own. I would grade the bluing in the high 80s, if one cares about such things.

Being new to the shop, I prepared to haggle with some reservation. The staff was cordial, but I had no rapport with them- and didn't expect much in the way of a discount.

The gun was marked for 219+tax. I tested the water:

Me: Do you have any room to haggle on this?

The clerk: Yea- I can do 199+ tax, cash or credit.

I thought for a moment to see if I could get 199 OTD, but that seemed a bit much. 215 dollars later and the bill of sale was finalized. I consider the extra 16 dollars not only fair for a smith in this condition in my market, but hopefully a good start on building a strong relationship for future deals.

Though difficult to make out- the gun is a 10-5 with a pinned pencil barrel (non-recessed chambers) with what I think are factory target grips. No marring of any screw heads nor significant turn lines are present. The gun is of the fixed sight variety, and has a pleasingly visible front sight of adequate thickness.

The double action on the gun is smooth, and I do believe I prefer it to my Colt Official Police  - however I plan to do an in depth side-by-side comparison at some point in the future to truly decide which of these two fantastic old 38s will win my favor :-D

sights

The gun carries well, is light in the hand, and quick to point (as all quality 4inch 38 specials are in this frame size- in my not so humble opinion).  The later model 10s can allegedly handle 38 special +P with no ill effects (or so I am told by the interwebz) we shall see if prolonged use has any negative consequences to this gun.




I have not yet had a chance to fire this gun- but I should (hopefully) very soon. I have been playing phone tag with the insurance company about my claim (I recommend renters insurance highly- it covers vandalism in your vehicle as well), and am moving this week. Things should settle down thereafter before the new school year- and a range day would be a nice change of pace.

barrel profile- above

It is hard to ascertain the value of a gun before firing it- but barring any catastrophic issues- 215 bucks for a solid shooting 38 k-frame is a price I am more than happy to pay. The Johnson's staff was good and their used gun prices seemed very reasonable. I did not get a look at the prices they had on the new stuff.

ready to rock n' roll

I will say I thought their ammo prices were the high side of fair, but still not gouging. I will definitely recommend them over buffalo gun center- whom I have come to dislike more and more as time goes by. I am at the point now where I will not purchase anything from them (I bought one gun there- and have purchased some accessories / ammo). That is a topic for another post though.

I have said it before, and I will say it again; a quality 4 inch 38 special or 357 magnum wheel gun is a versatile and pleasurable addition to any gun owner's collection. With prices slowly climbing up as the days where these guns occupied duty holsters the country over grow more and more distant, now is not a bad time to pick up a nice shooter. All-in-all, I am very pleased with this deal so far.