RaleighReloader
Well-Known Member
Recently Classic Firearms (https://classicfirearms.com) has been advertising old police trade-in Smith & Wesson Model 10-7's and 10-8's in the $250-ish range. I needed another revolver like I needed a hole in my head, but $250 is dirt cheap for a Smiff and I have a soft spot for those bull-barrels. So I picked one up, expecting that it would be a loaner range gun when I take a newbie out to the range. Here's what I got:
The gun came with an odd cosmoline-ish coating that was mixed with some oil, so I started by completely disassembling the gun and soaking everything (sans grips) in Hoppe's Number 9. The bluing has an odd case-hardening luster to it that may have come from the packing grease, but that's fine ... it's got honest wear and wears its work clothes nicely.
I took it out to the range today, and WOW. This may be the best revolver I've ever shot. The DA trigger is in Colt Python territory, it's so smooth and well timed. The timing and lockup was perfect, so no adjustments were needed there.
The grips have obviously seen a lot of wear, but I didn't have the heart to swap them out.
Smith & Wesson says that the gun was shipped from the factory in 1984, so it's probably just pre-MIM. This is consistent with what I saw during disassembly; everything seems to be made out of good old fashioned tool steel, and it's solid as a rock.
This gun will never win awards for being a safe princess, but at the range it was tack-driver accurate, even with cheap ammo. And because it's seen plenty of action, I'm not worried about it picking up a bit more wear along the way.
For $250 and a good cleaning, this gun is impossible to beat. Of course, the next gun in the pile could be a complete piece of junk, but if the other Model 10's are half as good as this one, they'd still be well worth the money.
Mike
(PS - no, I'm not being paid or influenced to write this post. It's just a glowing review for a fantastic bargain.)
The gun came with an odd cosmoline-ish coating that was mixed with some oil, so I started by completely disassembling the gun and soaking everything (sans grips) in Hoppe's Number 9. The bluing has an odd case-hardening luster to it that may have come from the packing grease, but that's fine ... it's got honest wear and wears its work clothes nicely.
I took it out to the range today, and WOW. This may be the best revolver I've ever shot. The DA trigger is in Colt Python territory, it's so smooth and well timed. The timing and lockup was perfect, so no adjustments were needed there.
The grips have obviously seen a lot of wear, but I didn't have the heart to swap them out.
Smith & Wesson says that the gun was shipped from the factory in 1984, so it's probably just pre-MIM. This is consistent with what I saw during disassembly; everything seems to be made out of good old fashioned tool steel, and it's solid as a rock.
This gun will never win awards for being a safe princess, but at the range it was tack-driver accurate, even with cheap ammo. And because it's seen plenty of action, I'm not worried about it picking up a bit more wear along the way.
For $250 and a good cleaning, this gun is impossible to beat. Of course, the next gun in the pile could be a complete piece of junk, but if the other Model 10's are half as good as this one, they'd still be well worth the money.
Mike
(PS - no, I'm not being paid or influenced to write this post. It's just a glowing review for a fantastic bargain.)