PART -I: They don't make them like this any more ....

.... So recently I got to know from my brother in law the names of the guns that my father in law used to have back in the days.. We narrowed it down to the make and model as much as my BIL could remember. One of the guns that he remembered vividly was a SW model 38 special with a 4 in barrel. He couldn't tell me if it was an M&P model or a model 10 variant. But he was able to describe what he calls a skinny barrel (that's the pencil barrel), a smalle grip than today's L frames and that it was blued and had a blade front sight.. We estimated that it had to be a model 10 variant given the period of ownership. My FIL passed back in 1986. So I was on the hunt to get a model 10 and finally found this nice gun that was shipped to the MI FFL from Minnesota. It was in a much better shape than I expected.. The blueing is very deep, and the wheel is tight with no play and the timing is 100% correct. As I cleaned the gun (really it was clean but I wanted to examine it closely and make sure it is lubed properly) I was amazed by the workmanship quality of such a time piece of the history.

I have two other revolvers a mid 1980s SW 686 4in and a 2016 SW 686 pro series that I like and they are nicely built, But this model 10-5 is something else, it is from an era of SW perfection. Evrything about it says it was handcrafted by experienced gunsmiths.. I am really glad I made the decision to buy it and keep it in the family as a memory of my FIL...

Here are some pictures..

https://i.imgur.com/6AneMB2.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/cqVUaL1.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/LnidQmu.jpg?2

https://i.imgur.com/wOK8FzG.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/VlK5X7T.jpg?1

Great looking gun!

Thanks for sharing this. I have a soft spot in my heart for S&W revolvers.

A beautiful gun. May you and your family enjoy it for many years to come.

the quality of those older S&W revolvers are the reason that S&W grew to be the company they are today, IMO
Note the checkering on the hammer horn & the cylinder latch..& as you mentioned,
the quality of the metal finishing & bluing is beyond any finish you will find on a modern handgun.

Congrats on finding one you like.
Wish I'd saved a few from back in the day, when they were easy to find.

Thanks all for the warm comments.. Heading to the range today to try it out.. First time experience with fixed sights on a revolver.. This will be a test of workmanship on how the barrel was aligned with the frame. My only options if it prints differently on paper is to compensate with the sight picture.. Well, we'll see today.

Nice find Bro.

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Originally Posted by JimSig

Thanks all for the warm comments.. Heading to the range today to try it out.. First time experience with fixed sights on a revolver.. This will be a test of workmanship on how the barrel was aligned with the frame. My only options if it prints differently on paper is to compensate with the sight picture.. Well, we'll see today.

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Yes sir this is a beautiful revolver. Early Model 10's are things of beauty. What vintage is it, looks like the heavier barrel. You can tune the performance if you handload. My 1961 model 10 shoots to point of aim with 158gr SWC over 2.8gr of Bullseye or 148gr HBWC over same BE load. I find Winchester White Box 150gr RN shoots pretty close too. To get POA you should avoid+P rounds in my experience. I expect if you go 130gr RN, you will see it shoot high from POA. Nice thing about a revolver, the time to reload will let the barrel cool and keep your POA during a session.

That really is a beautiful gun. It's always nice to hear about these firearms with a family history, though I'm a little jealous since gun ownership skipped a generation in my family so by the time I was an adult all my grandparents were dead or senile and their guns long gone.

Sadly I think my kinda story is more and more common these days so it's wonderful to see times when it isn't the case.

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Originally Posted by hendo

Nice find Bro.

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Thanks brother .. looking forward to seeing you soon.