HisStigness
Member
The other day, while browsing the internet, I came across something that I didn't expect to catch my eye. Let me start off by saying that I have a love for semi automatic pistols. The firing, extracting, ejecting, feeding, and firing sequence of a well tuned pistol, for me, is my idea of mechanical heaven; poetry in motion if you will. I consider revolvers to, for all intents and purposes, have been technologically superceded by semi automatics. The combination of magazine capacity, ease of follow up shots, and ergonomics makes the revolver obsolete. I already have a Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 casull, just for the sheer power of it. So that's got the revolver category covered for me, right? But catch my eye the Smith and Wesson model 10 did. Something about the looks harken back to a time when men were men, police carried six shooters, and everyone had a mustache. So before you could put a dime in a payphone and say "hello operator," my payment was processed and the S&W Model 10-8 would soon arrive at my FFL dealer.
I picked the gun up today, and wasn't met with anything unexpected. This is the third police trade in I've ordered from Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore. As usual, it arrived in a cardboard box, with the gun wrapped in bubble wrap to keep it from thumping around in the box. What I wasn't expecting was the lack of magazines in the box. The glock I ordered came with 1, the SIG came with 3, but this gun came with none! It looks like SOS has joined the multitude of other retailers that flip magazines for profit. Now I'm probably going to have to order one from them for a hefty price, because I've heard original Smith mags are extremely hard to come by (see pic below).
As usual I was very pleased with SOS. They had the gun to the dealer in a week or a little less. They rated the guns as good condition, and I think they were on the money with that as well. The nickel plating looks in good condition overall, and I haven't spotted any rust (internal or external). I paid $350 for it (plus transfer fee) which may be a little bit high, but I'm okay with it. I don't see these guns locally and I think the nickel plating, no internal lock, and police issuance add to the value of it (intrinsic if nothing else).
I also like the fact that the M10 is a 19th century design that still has a place in the firearms world today.
I am not a very good photographer, but I did my best with the pictures. I tried to highlight some of the wear that the gun shows. The muzzle has some markings on it (presumably from being drawn?) and the grips are warn smooth in spots from riding in a holster. Being limited in my revolver knowledge of revolvers, I don't know how "tight" the indexing/lockup is supposed to be (input appreciated). The cylinder can wiggle a very small amount if I turn it with my fingers. The one thing I don't like about it are the grips. I'm going to replace them with some factory S&W square butt wood grips. Will K frame grips fit? Is the model 10 considered a K frame?
Thanks for reading.
I picked the gun up today, and wasn't met with anything unexpected. This is the third police trade in I've ordered from Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore. As usual, it arrived in a cardboard box, with the gun wrapped in bubble wrap to keep it from thumping around in the box. What I wasn't expecting was the lack of magazines in the box. The glock I ordered came with 1, the SIG came with 3, but this gun came with none! It looks like SOS has joined the multitude of other retailers that flip magazines for profit. Now I'm probably going to have to order one from them for a hefty price, because I've heard original Smith mags are extremely hard to come by (see pic below).
As usual I was very pleased with SOS. They had the gun to the dealer in a week or a little less. They rated the guns as good condition, and I think they were on the money with that as well. The nickel plating looks in good condition overall, and I haven't spotted any rust (internal or external). I paid $350 for it (plus transfer fee) which may be a little bit high, but I'm okay with it. I don't see these guns locally and I think the nickel plating, no internal lock, and police issuance add to the value of it (intrinsic if nothing else).
I also like the fact that the M10 is a 19th century design that still has a place in the firearms world today.
I am not a very good photographer, but I did my best with the pictures. I tried to highlight some of the wear that the gun shows. The muzzle has some markings on it (presumably from being drawn?) and the grips are warn smooth in spots from riding in a holster. Being limited in my revolver knowledge of revolvers, I don't know how "tight" the indexing/lockup is supposed to be (input appreciated). The cylinder can wiggle a very small amount if I turn it with my fingers. The one thing I don't like about it are the grips. I'm going to replace them with some factory S&W square butt wood grips. Will K frame grips fit? Is the model 10 considered a K frame?
Thanks for reading.
