I carry a Smith model 10 snub for defense.

[entropy]

I actually was issued a Model 10 (Square butt) 2" snub while in the Army and Reserves. I only qualified once with it on initial issue in Army , but later in reserves at Hunter Liggett had to qualify once a year and they cobbled up a revplver class with me and half a dozen ranger scout types : they rode 650 Kawasakis that were attatched to the skid on a helicopters and for some reason had 4" Ruger Security Sixes . I held my own against them with the 2" Model 10 marked US Property and carried in the issued Bucheimer 500 Shoulder rig . I reluctanly recently parted with the New in box sentimental replacement I owned 35 years as when I started carrying it I soon got tired of the 2+ pound loaded weight of it. If I want to carry a 28 .oz gun it would be a Hi Cap .45 acp of the same general package size of an M-10. An old M-10 -2 to about a 10-5 are my favorites

CID or just MP? I spent a bit of time at Hungry Lizard, as it was Ft. Ord's 'backyard getaway'. Boy, what fun it was....

 

[bannockburn]

meatballs

Whatever works for you makes your Model 10 a suitable choice for concealed carry. I myself like to go even smaller with a Model 649 or a Model 638 in a DeSantis SOF-TUCK holster.

 

[CajunBass]

No one has ever bothered to give me any advice about guns...red headed women...now I got plenty of advice about them...but if they ever do, I will give them the same reply I did in reference to the redheads..."Thank you for your advice."

 

[kevincallahan]

Carried a model 10 nickel 2 inch for a off duty weapon from 1981 thru 1992. Still own it and while it no longer is as easy to carry as I once remember, it is still on my q card and I would think it would be a fine personal defense weapon

 

[BSA1]

Look, I feel just fine carrying my .38, and I know how to use it. So..... I'm gonna keep on carrying it. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Thoughts?

I started out carrying the S&W K-Frame revolver and carried one off and on for many years. Somewhere along the line I sold all of my 3" and 4" K-frames.

Then not to long ago I picked up a Police trade-in Model 10-6 with 4" barrel for $200.00. It has a lot of holster wear on the finish and needed to make a trip back to the factory for repair after the cylinder started binding up which cost me another $100.00. Gun came back with a factory new trigger pull (internal parts look new). It was like shaking hands with a old friend. I really like the 4" K-Frame and for $300.00 I have a revolver that will last another lifetime.

Simple to operate, reliable with good quality ammunition, high quality from when S&W took pride in arming America's Law Enforcement Officers with the best revolver made.

BUT....

Times have changed and not for the better. Workplace violence and terrorism anywhere in America is now a fact of life. The Model 10 stays in the safe and a Beretta 92FS makes the trips out of the house with me. Perhaps the oddest thing is this Model 10 is also one of the last handguns (maybe the last???) I will part with.

So my choices are not your choices.

 

[gotboostvr]

My first dedicated carry gun was a 2" RB M64-2 I bought used a decade ago.

Fake stag magnas and a T-grip with a speed loader somewhere.

That gun did get traded off for a hunting pistol, so instead I carry one of my 2 M19-5's with factory magnas and T-grips with a speed loader somewhere.

I still use that same Bianchi OWB holster I carried that M64 in. I just prefer the nicer sights. A little extra power with occasional use of 357's is always handy as well.

I'm a firm believer the 35 cal K frames are great carry guns.

 

[Danoobie]

I don't feel "under-gunned" with a revolver. 38 Special is a meaty round, in my book.

 

[RPZ]

My favorite is a 3" K frame. I like 2" and up as well.

To me, the attributes of short barreled small to medium frame revolvers is that they can be extremely fast into action at contact distance, with one hand. No need to think about "which auto am I carrying" - DA/SA or 1911 type safety, no safety. Pull point shoot. Last but not least, at contact distance you can shove the barrel right into a badguy and shoot; all that expanding gas behind the bullet might have an significant additional effect on the term temporary/permanent would cavity.

 

[eastbank]

short 686 .375 mag, it came with the wood grips on it but i put UM,s boot grips for carrying. eastbank.

 

[RPZ]

short 686 .375 mag, it came with the wood grips on it but i put UM,s boot grips for carrying. eastbank.

Nice. And I have those same Pachmayrs on a 3" Stainless 65 LS .357.

 

[muzzleblast...]

If you are competent with your .38 Special wheelgun and confident in its capabilities, there is no need to change.

 

[SwampWolf]

I sometimes carry the light-weight version of the Model 10, the Model 12 snub nose. Too, I sometimes tote concealed a Colt Cobra. Both of these .38 Special revolvers are relatively light, compact and carry six rounds. I like the idea of having 20% more ammunition on board when compared to five-shot revolvers when self-defense is the reason for EDC.

 

[megatronrules]

I carry a revolver everyday as my CCW. A Kimber K6S loaded with 357 125gr. Golden sabers and a K6 specific speed loader loaded with the same.

I love this gun and I shoot it extremely well. I don't feel under gunned at all. Twelve rounds of 357 magnum hollow points is nothing to sneeze at.

For us normal CCW guys a revolver and a blackjack will handle 99% of problems. I prefer revolvers to semi autos. I own semi autos of course as well. But to me a revolver has a soul and it's classy,if that doesn't sound weird I mean. Their old school cool.

I'd rather face an assailant with a 15 round semi auto with minimal skills than one with a revolver who knows how to use it.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

I don't understand the focus on whether we 'feel' under-gunned. What matters is whether we need it, and if that moment comes, whether we are under-gunned.

Odds are that you won't need it, and you can't control the circumstances if you do. Might you wish you had more than a six-shot snubnose (If you ever actually need it)?

Sure.

But there's no guarantee that you'll ever have 'enough gun' or ammo, so in the meantime carry whatever you're most skilled with.

 

[bannockburn]

SwampWolf

I sometimes carry the light-weight version of the Model 10, the Model 12 snub nose.

Been looking for one of these for years. Like the lighter weight of the aluminum alloy frame.

 

[gotboostvr]

The reason I chose a snub RB K frame for carry, is that they're as small as I can go and still shoot well.

There's "enough" grip size, and they get that great smooth trigger the K's and bigger are known for.

The extra round is a bit of a bonus for me.

 

[BSA1]

"I don't understand the focus on whether we 'feel' under-gunned. What matters is whether we need it, and if that moment comes, whether we are under-gunned.

Odds are that you won't need it, and you can't control the circumstances if you do. Might you wish you had more than a six-shot snubnose (If you ever actually need it)?]"

Up until a little more than a year ago I was comfortable carrying a J-Frame 5 shot .38 Special revolver. My SIG P239 was my primary conceal carry but I switched back and forth with it and the little J-Frame.

Then we had a mass shooting not far from where I live and a nut job a week or two later not far in the other direction that was pointing a rifle as passing cars on the highway. In both cases the police had to kill the attackers. Along with Gay Night Club and a standoff in Walmart by the couple that shot two LEO's in a restaurant made me revaluate the use of suppressive fire by a citizen until the police arrived and get organized. As Kansas allows open carry I made the Beretta 92FS my primary edc. I carry it the same way year round with a covering garment when it is cold.

"But there's no guarantee that you'll ever have 'enough gun' or ammo, so in the meantime carry whatever you're most skilled with."

Most trainers and professionals will agree a handgun is a usually poor choice in gunfight. But since our society (and laws) looks down on the carry of long guns it is the weapon we have to deal with the problem.

 

[Jenrick]

No one in the history of a gunfight has every wished for less ammo, less training, or less time. There are however a whole lot of people who wished they'd brought a gun in the first place. Any gun is better then no gun. If you are going to carry your 5 shot snubby versus leave your G43 on the night stand, then by all means carry the snubby. While it might not be ideal for a planned gun fight, that's kinda the point of CCW is that it's a "just in case." If you determine that your locale and lifestyle might be more likely to involve gun play then it would probably be wise to select something that would work better for a gun fight, that doesn't really apply to most of us though. I carry everything from my 4" M15 through a full size 1911 in 45, on to my USP in 9mm with 19 rounds in it. Mainly as the mood strikes me, or which holster will feel comfortable that day, sometimes it is a tactical decision. If you feel comfortable with what you've got, and you actually CARRY the gun then it's all good.

-Jenrick

 

[Gordon]

 

[Rexster]

I would not feel under-gunned with an S&W Model 10 snub-gun, during personal time. (I work patrol, for a big-city PD.) I would probably want to have a secondary weapon, "just in case," but that is true when carrying a G19, too; continuity of fire is just one reason for a second weapon, and not the most important, IMHO. (Among other reasons, a balanced load is better for my aging back, and I am functionally ambidextrous, so toting two weapons just feels "right.") As recently as 2006, I was still primarily carrying SP101 snub-guns during personal time. When I retire, as soon as late this year, and am again a private citizen, I will no longer have to use an autoloading "primary duty pistol" at work, and may well revert to revolvers as normal daily-carry weapons.

To be clear, I am not trying to persuade anyone to carry a second firearm. This is a personal decision, and a topic better-suited to Strategies and Tactics section of the forum.

I have a set of super-nice BluMagnum K/L-Frame round-to-square-butt conversion grips, that I bought several years ago, awaiting the perfect host, and a well-preserved, pre-keyhole snub-gun would be a leading contender. This would be a nice retirement gift for myself.

 

[Jim NE]

I sometimes think that psychologists should come up with an "under-gunned syndrome", where people think that sturdy and powerful guns like the model 10 aren't enough to protect ourselves with. I carry guns other than my model 10's, but I know that they're very capable.

 

[SwampWolf]

SwampWolf

Been looking for one of these for years. Like the lighter weight of the aluminum alloy frame.

Though it's not common to find a Model 12 in these parts, it's not rare either. I generally see a couple or three at the gun shows I attend. I prefer the round butt over the square butt and one has to be careful that there's no crack near the crane joint, a tell-tale sign that someone was using a lot of +P ammunition in the gun. In 2013, I paid $400.00 for my Model 12 in excellent condition (no box or papers) at the Ohio Gun Collector Association gun show in July of that year.

Good luck in your search for an almost ideal EDC revolver (ideal might be the original Colt Cobra)!

 

[RPZ]

Perhaps a more accurate accessment of revolvers is rather than worry about being undergunned, is to worry about being outshot.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Love those M10 snubs, great choice IMHO. An Armscor M206 provides similar performance at a lower cost, but with less quality.

 

[Elkins45]

I sometimes carry the light-weight version of the Model 10, the Model 12 snub nose. Too, I sometimes tote concealed a Colt Cobra. Both of these .38 Special revolvers are relatively light, compact and carry six rounds. I like the idea of having 20% more ammunition on board when compared to five-shot revolvers when self-defense is the reason for EDC.

I would love to have a model 12 but the only one I've seen for sale around here cost more than any two of my other handguns combined.

I would take a working K frame over a jammed compact auto anyday...but I will confess Imhave been carrying a compact auto for pocket carry these days.