Plain-Jane Model 10 beaters for $300??

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When did that happen and where will it stop? Inflation on old-style revolvers - 10's,15's, 19's, anything J- or K-frame, it seems. - has gotten kind of insane. I picked up a real good condition Dick Special for under $250 but can't find a scratched-up Model 10 for under $300? I sold my refinished Model 36 for $450 - paid under $250 for it in 2003 - and the other fella acted like he got the bargain of the century.

Is it just my part of Florida or is this happening all over? I know Colt's tend to be cheaper here than most places but that's a regional taste thing. Maybe I need to get out more?
 
Sportsman's Warehouse had a few import overseas LE Model 10's for $279 last month. They wouldn't be the pride of your collection, but were functional and serviceable.
I checked online since you mentioned it. The nearest Sportsman's Warehouse to me is North Charleston, SC, about 270 miles each way, and they are out of stock.
Those must have flown long ago. Closest store to me with ANY Model 10's in stock is Laramie, WY (about a 35-hour drive, each way) and all they have are HH-Model 10's for $750. :(

Thanks for trying. I was shown a couple this past weekend at a store. One had a pencil barrel and the other a heavy barrel. I could get my choice for 3-bills. Looked like old LEO turn-ins. At least this time it's not just us down here in the South with everything getting pricey.
 
C'mon man, inflation is good. Stuff you bought a long time ago is worth 3X what you paid. Your money though is worth 1/10th what it bought at that time. 40 years ago there was a gun show at the Tupperware building over in Kissimmee Fl. There was a guy who used to bring dozens of used Model 10's on pieces of tie wire. $99, take your pick, discounts if you bought 3 and bigger if you bought the "string." That ain't happening ever again (That part of Tupperware is a public school now). $300 is a day's pay for a lot of folks just like $99 was a day's pay in the early 80's. Joe
 
It's mostly inflation and a slowly dwindling supply. I don't think that the demand for the old revolvers has really gone up all that much. They don't make them anymore and with each passing year more and more are taken out of circulation as people buy them, put them in a drawer and forget about them.

Everything costs more now but we also make more too.
 
Ahhh, the glory days of yore… how we miss them!



It seems like the only real bargains for an older S&W revolver today are found at yard/estate sales, from family hand-downs or by sheer luck. :(

Stay safe.
 
I think deals are out there if you are patient and look. In December 2020, I bought a model 15-3 with 6" model 14 barrel on it for $330. I later found an original 2" barrel for it for $25 and my gunsmith installed it for $40 or $50 bucks. It's a great gun.

In 2021, I bought a round butt, heavy barrel 10-8 on Gunbroker for around $280. Shipping, tax and FFL was about $40-50 total. That brought it up to about $320-$330. It is at the same gunsmith getting a barrel-ectomy to 3", slabsided, parkerized and a dovetail front sight. About a month ago, I bought a heavy barrel, round butt model 64-5 on Gunbroker for $325 plus the shipping and fees.

Last week, I saw a local pawnshop had a 4" tapered barrel model 10-5 for $399 and it looked clean. I imagine in a month it could be had for $350.
 
I think they were a bit undervalued for the last decades as police forces surplused them out. At any given time there were model 10s on the market for not too much. Now the supply has dried up and at the same time it’s easier to get pumped up about these (or any formerly common surplus gun) by watching folks on YouTube praise them to high heaven as great shooters, great value, etc.

All it takes is looking at S&W or Ruger’s website and seeing the MSRP on a new one… then suddenly that model 10 for 200 (or even 500) looks like a great deal.

I bought a 10-6 with some wear and scratches for $227 on Gunbroker in 2019 and felt like I got a great deal. I’d expect the same gun to sell for closer to $375 now, and a mint one would be $500.
 
If you want some deflation, look at the value of your stamp collection and coin collection. There might be a few that have continued to go up in value, but I'd bet the overall value has gone down over the last few years.
Sewing machines. My wife has classic Singers - treadle, tailed and hand-crank - which were BIG$$$ about ten years ago during the "survivalist" trend, but now you can't give them away. Not that she bought them as an investment - she was quilting quite a bit for the VFW and WW - but she's also not quilting as much because of arthritic hands. It'd be nice to be able to not lose money on reducing her inventory. You're right about coins - some of her collection is worth more for the metal than collectible value, now. Art, too. We have some oils and water-colors that were pretty pricey twenty years ago but we held out and now they're not worth the shipping to sell them online.

Deflation, stagnation, and inflation. It all comes down to the value of an hour's labor and cost of materials, I suppose. Maybe "Go Brandon" will spark another survivalist trend and some of those old school hobbies will make a comeback...?
 
For firearms, I would also question the future value of original "Old West" firearms. The generation that matured watching westerns everyday won't be in the position to keep driving the values up and up for a great deal longer. Will they become worthless- absolutely not, but interest may be lacking in paying five-figures (or future inflation equivalent) for Sharps, Colt SAAs or Winchester 1873s.
 
The older Smiths have features you won't find on the newer models.

People are willing to pay for such things as pinned barrels, no MIM parts, one piece barrels, and no lock hole.

There is also the perception that the older guns were built better, have better trigger pulls, etc.

I don't know if that's necessarily true re: trigger pulls, but all the older S&W's I've handled have great trigger pulls, and the addition of Wolff springs can sometimes make them even better.

While some of the blued K frame models may have cosmetic issues, those on the stainless versions are fairly easily rectified.

What other high quality revolver can you currently buy for $300? One day you may be saying "Can you believe it, I only paid $300 for this...". lol
 
Inherited this model 10 from my dad. He bought it at an estate sale. The receipt to the original owner is in the box, dated 1973. I wish I had the original grips. View attachment 1033891View attachment 1033892
$95.68 in 1973 dollars is $591.13 in 2021 dollars - and a brand new Model 10 from Sportsman's Warehouse will run you $750. So maybe prices are being effected by more than just inflation?
 
In general, ".38 special only" service size barreled revolvers are in low demand, this has been the case for a long time now. Since newer same size models usually offer the option to use the .357 magnum ammunition, those tend to sell better.
But the oldies are classics that are made well, and they are well worth the value for what they sell for in today's money. If one wants to arm themselves and is on a limited defense budget, this is a fine option.
They make great "first guns".
Millions of these were made.
 
$95.68 in 1973 dollars is $591.13 in 2021 dollars - and a brand new Model 10 from Sportsman's Warehouse will run you $750. So maybe prices are being effected by more than just inflation?

Use an inflation calculator and gun prices are actually about the same as they have always been. In some cases much cheaper. Like the inexpensive plastic stocked bolt actions from Ruger, Savage and others. Every rifle maker has a budget line where you can buy a decent, accurate rifle for $300 or less.

And with all the plastic stocked Glock knock offs you can get an accurate dead nuts reliable pistol for $300. But a real, made from steel revolver is going to be at least $400 and more likely $500 or more bucks. Even Taurus, and I like Taurus guns like the basic model 82 is $400+ dollars now. I used to buy those NIB for under $200. And they were excellent HD guns in 38 Special. A no frills gun just like a model 10 but without the worrisome flat spot on the bottom of the barrel extension. Now they are double the money with a BBQ paint finish. :( They used to have bluing you could see your reflection in.
 
In general, ".38 special only" service size barreled revolvers are in low demand, this has been the case for a long time now. Since newer same size models usually offer the option to use the .357 magnum ammunition, those tend to sell better.

The funny thing is people buy the 357s and rarely ever shoot 357s from them, just 38s because they are easier to shoot and cheaper to buy. And I'm the same way. If I shoot a 357 round from one of my 357 revolvers its usually one of the midrange loads with a 158gr hard cast lead bullet pushed by 6.6grs of Unique to around 1100fps. Just a step up from a hot 38 special. And very pleasant to shoot from the heavy GP-100.
 
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