Driftwood Johnson
Member
I believe some of the paper work that
comes with Model 10s is headlined:
".38 Military & Police Revolver
Model No. 10"
I think one may call a Model 10 an
M&P if desired. And some refer
to "pre-Model 10" to designate
a pre-1957 manufacture.
Similarly, a .38 Combat Masterpiece
was designated a Model 15 but it
is still a Combat Masterpiece. And
a Model 67 which didn't exist until
1972 is also known as a Combat
Masterpiece.
Howdy
All of that is true. I have advertising circulars sent to dealers well after 1957 that list the revolver in question as ".38 Military and Police" and in smaller type "Model No. 10".
My point is that it was not until 1957 that S&W began stamping MOD 10 on the frame under the yoke. So the Model 10 could not exist until S&W began marking them that way. in 1957 S&W began marking all their revolvers this way, resulting in the various Model Numbers that are still used today.
Regarding Pre-Model 10: The most authoritative book I like to refer to in these matters is the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson by Supica and Nahas. According to SCSW, the only revolver that can truly be called a Pre-Model 10 is the 38 Military and Police (Postwar) which was made from 1946 until 1957 when the model numbering system was initiated. A collector friend of mine likes to say there is no such thing as a Pre- Model 10, it is either a 38 M&P or it is a Model 10. Period. I could get really fussy and start calling out names such as 38 Military and Police, Model of 1905, 4th Change, which a great majority of these were. Made from 1915 until 1942 there were 758,296 of these made. But I am not quite that fussy. With me it is either a 38 M&P or a Model 10.
You may of course choose to refer to these revolvers any way you wish.