First Revolver - How did I do?

Congrats.

So long as it's mechanically in good shape and shoots well, you got a good deal.

looks great to me and a great price, how does it shoot? 38sp are very good round for SD and targets as well as plinking. easy to reload also!
you did very well!!

Bull

You done good.

You did well! The Model 10 and its .38 special cartridge are classics. Congratulations!

As I understand it not all 10-6s were made in 357 Magnum, most were in 38 Special. Definitely make sure it is in 357 Magnum before shooting magnums through it. If it is a magnum then use the heavier weight bullets in it as I have heard that the lighter weight bullets have been known to cause forcing cone cracking.

Even with the (relatively mild) finish issues, for a '68, and with those grips, $225 was a steal !! (assuming it locks up tight and is otherwise mechanically solid). It's getting harder and harder to get into a classic,vintage Smith for this kinda money,these days.

Smith 10 for a nice price!! put some Hogue or Pachmayer grips on

You did great on price, and you have an excellent working gun.

Get a set of grips that fit your hand well, and plenty of 158 grain ammo. Also get a set of snap caps, and dry fire as carefully as you can. When you can drop the hammer without the gun moving at all, you're more than half way home.

When you start to get good you can lay a quarter across the top of the barrel and dry fire without knocking it off. When you get very good you can stand a nickel on edge and do it. Seriously. When you can do that double action, you won't be missing much at the range.

Take the snap caps when you go shooting and load two, along with four live rounds. Look away, give the cylinder a little spin, stop it, and then close the action. You'll have four bangs and two unexpected clicks. If the gun moves during the clicks (and it probably will!) you'll see that you're anticipating the recoil, and you'll be able to fix it. This is probably the single best way for a beginning handgunner to get good, quickly.

You may already know, but just a reminder to gently move the cylinder in and out when loading. Never snap it shut, or allow it to close while the cylinder is spinning.

Great choice at a great price!

You got a good deal. Congrats! Wear gives character, and it's nice that you appreciate that. And you had plenty left over in your budget for grips, ammo, etc. Nice score.

i would of had a hard time not going ahead like you did and purchaseing that.

200 buks for a nice smith is always a steal!

i would guess most shops around here would ask 250 to 300 buks generally. just because of the smith name.

Yep, great deal! And I'd bet it's a po-po trade in. I have one just like it, got it from Bud's a few years ago, paid $300 for mine. At the time, they had a bunch, square butt and round, heavy barrels and regulars. For $200, you did well!

And those look like original S&W grips to me, but what do I know.....

Good Pick

You did well, both gun and price. I have a S&W 10-6 by my bedside.

A gun thatll eat plus-p rounds forever for 200 bucks? you did very well.

Looks like factory target stocks to me.
"as issued" should be wearing magnas.
I would imagine it to be a common mod, seeing how I just ordered a set of worn factory targets to go on a magna gripped 681-3 yesterday!

You got a great handgun at a great price - congratulations!

Do not worry about things like the grips detracting from the value. There are countless S&W Heavy Barrel .38spl. revolvers out there - it has no 'collector' value. It is what it is: an honest working firearm that will shoot just about as well as anything you can find.

eocoolj, there were some 10-6s that were made in 357 Magnum for I believe the New York State Police. This gun later became the model 13. I understand these 10-6s are quite desirable. I have only heard of 2 or 3 in private hands, I'm sure there are more, many more.
BTW from the trimmed left grip panel I would say that someone altered it for use with speed loaders.

Very nice revolver at a very good price. I'd say you done yourself proud.

eocoolj said:

I took it to the range on saturday to put a box of ammo through it and it shoots beautifully, both single and double action. I was really surprised how easy it was to keep on target in DA. Very soft recoil with FMJ plinking ammo. I'm really happy with it.

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Smiths, especially ones well cared for and gently worn in, are incredibly smooth in double action. And this is coming from a Ruger and Dan Wesson fan.

$200? I think that is a SMOKIN' deal.

(warning: Unsolicited advice ahead) Now, take the rest of your budget and buy a reloading setup so you can feed that thing for lots of practice. Shop around with the $300 and you can get the gear ($200 or so) and enough bullets, primers and powder (the other $100) to reload those 50 cases 10 or 15 times. After that, you are shooting a LOT less expensively than with store-bought ammo.

Congratulations.

Lost Sheep

If it checks out alright mechanically and you're okay with its overall condition, then I think for $200 you bought yourself a very nice revolver.