An Old "Vanilla" Snub...

Stephen A. Camp · 04-15-2004, 10:54 PM

Hello. This revolver elicits nowhere near the interest as does the Model 27, the Model 58, or 625. It is a plain-jane Model 10 2" made in '66. I've been looking for a Model 10 snub for quite a while. I guess they remind me of my early years in police work when these things, round & square butt, were on most CID officer's hips.

I'd looked at a couple of them (somewhat hard to find in my neck of the woods), but the prices were too high for the condition of the gun.

A fellow in one of my CHL classes mentioned he'd be getting one, but it would have the square butt rather than the round butt I preferred. I started to pass, but decided I'd look at the gun.

A week or so later, he said he had the gun and I went by his house with the agreed price and looked at the gun. There were a couple of small blemishes on the gun, but it had been fired very, very little...if any. What sold it was the action; it was not light and it is not the smoothest I've seen, but the timing was better than expected; it locked up completely before the hammer fell on the slowest DA pull even with a finger slightly retarding the cylinder movement.
With the trigger all the way rearward, there is zero movement in the cylinder on 5 of 6 chambers and on the 6th, it is minimal. I did not mind that the hammer had been bobbed.

I forked over $200 and am well satisfied with the trade. The seller advised that he didn't think that the grips were the ones that came on the gun, but when I got it home, they have the same serial number as the revolver. Cleaning 40 years of dried oil out of it helped the action and the thing's a pleasure to shoot.

At the range, I made sure that the fixed sights were "on". They were or the revolver would have been sold or traded.
It's a pleasure to shoot.

For all "practical" purposes, this revolver makes no sense with the plethora of J-frame .357's & .38's available, but it is extremely easy to shoot and I simply like it.

I refinished the grips and have had a peach of a time simply shooting the old thing at the range. It and my Model 58 were made nearly at the same time. I wonder if they have any stories to tell?

Having about 400 rnds through the gun, I now trust it and while not my first choice for a handgun of this size/weight, I would not be afraid to use it in a serious situation. Doubt if I ever will; it will probably just be there for fun and recreation.

After all, my Commander carries just as easily.

Best.

azguy · 04-28-2004, 01:19 AM

Sweet littel gun. I love revolvers. Easy to use, easy to shoot, easy to clean.

Stephen A. Camp · 04-28-2004, 01:23 AM

Hello. Yup! Me, too. I most often shoot automatics, but I've never seen the revolver/auto thing as being "either/or." I like 'em both.

Best.

jerry · 04-28-2004, 07:09 AM

makes me miss my 85CH

Bookman · 04-28-2004, 10:35 AM

Nice gun. From the picture it appears to be an older "pinned barrel" model. $200 seems a reasonable price.

2" K-frame .38's are like cassette tapes and motorcycles over 750 cc's - they don't make a lot of sense but folks still like 'em.

I've seen a number of these Model 10s before, but not with a bobbed hammer like yours. Did it come that way from the factory?

04-15-2004, 10:54 PM	#1
Stephen A. Camp Guest Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 229	An Old "Vanilla" Snub... Hello. This revolver elicits nowhere near the interest as does the Model 27, the Model 58, or 625. It is a plain-jane Model 10 2" made in '66. I've been looking for a Model 10 snub for quite a while. I guess they remind me of my early years in police work when these things, round & square butt, were on most CID officer's hips. I'd looked at a couple of them (somewhat hard to find in my neck of the woods), but the prices were too high for the condition of the gun. A fellow in one of my CHL classes mentioned he'd be getting one, but it would have the square butt rather than the round butt I preferred. I started to pass, but decided I'd look at the gun. A week or so later, he said he had the gun and I went by his house with the agreed price and looked at the gun. There were a couple of small blemishes on the gun, but it had been fired very, very little...if any. What sold it was the action; it was not light and it is not the smoothest I've seen, but the timing was better than expected; it locked up completely before the hammer fell on the slowest DA pull even with a finger slightly retarding the cylinder movement. With the trigger all the way rearward, there is zero movement in the cylinder on 5 of 6 chambers and on the 6th, it is minimal. I did not mind that the hammer had been bobbed. I forked over $200 and am well satisfied with the trade. The seller advised that he didn't think that the grips were the ones that came on the gun, but when I got it home, they have the same serial number as the revolver. Cleaning 40 years of dried oil out of it helped the action and the thing's a pleasure to shoot. At the range, I made sure that the fixed sights were "on". They were or the revolver would have been sold or traded. It's a pleasure to shoot. For all "practical" purposes, this revolver makes no sense with the plethora of J-frame .357's & .38's available, but it is extremely easy to shoot and I simply like it. I refinished the grips and have had a peach of a time simply shooting the old thing at the range. It and my Model 58 were made nearly at the same time. I wonder if they have any stories to tell? Having about 400 rnds through the gun, I now trust it and while not my first choice for a handgun of this size/weight, I would not be afraid to use it in a serious situation. Doubt if I ever will; it will probably just be there for fun and recreation. After all, my Commander carries just as easily. Best. __________________ Please visit www.hipowersandhandguns.com.

04-28-2004, 01:23 AM	#3
Stephen A. Camp Guest Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 229	Hello. Yup! Me, too. I most often shoot automatics, but I've never seen the revolver/auto thing as being "either/or." I like 'em both. Best. __________________ Please visit www.hipowersandhandguns.com.

04-28-2004, 07:09 AM	#4
jerry Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 11,223 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 1	makes me miss my 85CH __________________ Joe the plumber is screwed

04-28-2004, 01:19 AM	#2
azguy Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Yuma, AZ Posts: 144	Sweet littel gun. I love revolvers. Easy to use, easy to shoot, easy to clean.

04-28-2004, 10:35 AM	#5
Bookman Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: 10 paces south of Canada Posts: 752	Nice gun. From the picture it appears to be an older "pinned barrel" model. $200 seems a reasonable price. 2" K-frame .38's are like cassette tapes and motorcycles over 750 cc's - they don't make a lot of sense but folks still like 'em. I've seen a number of these Model 10s before, but not with a bobbed hammer like yours. Did it come that way from the factory?