Here is my new to me 1971 Model 10-6 that I picked up last Friday from a local pawn shop. I paid what seems to be a fair price at a little over $300. It has a fair amount of holster wear on the ends of the barrel, but very little rust. I had come to the conclusion that I wanted to get a medium frame revolver for my wife and kids to use for HD. The 12g pump I picked up for HD probably was not the best plan. While the shotgun is no problem for me, at 5'2" and 98lbs, it was not the best choice for my wife to try and handle. The new plan was to try and get a .357 and train with .38. I had decided that I did not want a snub or a 6 inch gun, so that pretty much left me looking for a 4" blued gun. I had a 6" 686 in the mid 80's that I had foolishly sold years ago. I paid $289 for that gun new. After getting tired of months of chasing online deals and auctions I came across this Model 10 and fell in love with the trigger. I almost bought a Taurus 66 last week, but the deal fell through at the last minute. I'm actually glad at this point as I really wanted a S&W but was having a hard time finding something for less that $500. I did take a long look at a Dan Wesson Model 15 with the 4" barrel, but it was priced too far over market for my taste. I actually made the smart move to take my youngest daughter (12) with me this time to buy the gun and they had a blued 4" Ruger Security Six in 357 that I had her try on for size. While weight was not a problem she could not reach the trigger completely. So that N frame I was looking at online was definitely out of the question While I hated to give up the extra oomph of the .357 I think the Model 10 was the right choice at this point.
I took it home and ran a couple of patches through the barrel and headed out to the range with the only .38 Academy had in stock. Lawman 158g +P. Not my first choice for plinking, but I really wanted to take the gun for spin. A box later and my elbow was stinging. Definitely need to look into softer grips and non +P before the wife shoots it. While the DA trigger was really nice at the shop, after only 20-30 rounds it started to get a bit sticky on a couple of chambers, but cleared right up as soon as I cleaned the gun again that night. After heading to the range the next day with a box of Winchester 130gr non +P ammo it started it again after about a half box. I finally realized that the barrel/cylinder gap is mighty tight and the cylinder starts to drag on the barrel after a few rounds. I guess the answer for now is to just clean the face of the cylinder when it starts to get sticky, but I would like to try and remedy that at some point. The SA trigger is REALLY light and the DA is very smooth with just a hint of a hitch at the end as the cylinder lock drops back in place letting me know that the trigger is about to release.
My only other issue with the gun seems to be the extractor rod will work loose. After the first trip to the range I gave the gun a good thorough cleaning and suddenly I could not open the cylinder. I thought it was the extractor hanging up on the frame, but it turned out to be the extractor rod had come unscrewed a couple of turns and was hanging up on the locking pin. Now I know why it looks like someone had use a pair of Vise-Grips on the extractor rod, because they probably had! I will be replacing the extractor rod in hopes that the issue is with the thread on the rod. That and a drop of Loctite
I took it home and ran a couple of patches through the barrel and headed out to the range with the only .38 Academy had in stock. Lawman 158g +P. Not my first choice for plinking, but I really wanted to take the gun for spin. A box later and my elbow was stinging. Definitely need to look into softer grips and non +P before the wife shoots it. While the DA trigger was really nice at the shop, after only 20-30 rounds it started to get a bit sticky on a couple of chambers, but cleared right up as soon as I cleaned the gun again that night. After heading to the range the next day with a box of Winchester 130gr non +P ammo it started it again after about a half box. I finally realized that the barrel/cylinder gap is mighty tight and the cylinder starts to drag on the barrel after a few rounds. I guess the answer for now is to just clean the face of the cylinder when it starts to get sticky, but I would like to try and remedy that at some point. The SA trigger is REALLY light and the DA is very smooth with just a hint of a hitch at the end as the cylinder lock drops back in place letting me know that the trigger is about to release.
My only other issue with the gun seems to be the extractor rod will work loose. After the first trip to the range I gave the gun a good thorough cleaning and suddenly I could not open the cylinder. I thought it was the extractor hanging up on the frame, but it turned out to be the extractor rod had come unscrewed a couple of turns and was hanging up on the locking pin. Now I know why it looks like someone had use a pair of Vise-Grips on the extractor rod, because they probably had! I will be replacing the extractor rod in hopes that the issue is with the thread on the rod. That and a drop of Loctite