I like the idea of taking it to a gunsmith. I was thinking of it as a gun that happens to be old, not as an antique or collectible.
What you have there is a C-series K frame. The C- prefix was added to the serial numbers or the M&P model in 1948 at the start of the third million to be manufactured and ran into the late 1960s. If you open the cylinder and there is a MOD 10 stamp on the frame, the gun is from 1957 or later. Your gun isn’t as old as family lore indicates. It is, to all intents and purposes, a modern gun. Unless it has been abused, it should be safe to fire with any standard pressure .38 special ammo. The gun is still in manufacture as the S&W Model 10. The new ones are a bit different due to changes in manufacturing techniques, but it is still basically the same gun.
Thanks a ton for that info! I wasn’t having a lot of luck finding anything. I’m not too surprised that the gun isn’t as old as we thought. I know how those things go. Some other relative probably had a 100 year old gun and that story got transferred to the revolver or something. I’ll still take it in and get it checked out.
I think you have a S&W Model 10 - aka a K-frame, dating from 1948 to 1952, based on a serial number search. I’m not a S&W expert, but I do own several S&W revolvers (much newer than yours).
You might want to visit the S&W forum at Smith & Wesson Forum . Go ahead and join the forum and ask questions there. The people there are very knowledgeable and helpful.
Otherwise, take it to a couple of gun stores and see what you can find out. Go at less busy times - not on Saturday, and not during or just before hunting season. But I’ll warn you that many people who work at gun stores are not all that knowledgeable about all types of guns, especially older ones.
Of all the handguns I own, I use my snubnose revolver much less often than the others. It is really difficult to aim, due to the very minimal sights and short sight radius (length between front and rear sights). A .38 special is a stout round in such a small, light gun. Not painful by any means, but a sharp, quick recoil.
But enjoy the discovery process and shooting the revolver. And after you take a firearms course, and talk to other shooters, you will soon get the bug to buy more handguns. FWIW, I always recommend starting with .22LR for new shooters. They have virtually no recoil, and ammo is cheap. There are lots of .22LR revolvers, pistols and rifles to choose from.
Lots of great advice here; thanks to everyone who replied. I’m already enjoying the discovery process! I’m anxious to try it out but I’m going to do it right- no matter how tempted I am to just take it out in the desert and fire a few rounds. I want to develop the good habits mentioned above.
NEVER point a gun at anyone! ALL guns are ALWAYS LOADED! (Assume so.)
Take a concealed gun permit class - don’t need to get permit, just take class to learn safe handling of handguns and gun safety.
Note how the instructors make DARN sure any guns they handle are not loaded - and will double check they are not loaded. After doing this they STILL DO NOT POINT THE GUN AT ANYONE. And if handing the gun to another instructor, that instructor will proceed to check the gun too (to be sure it is not loaded - even though he just saw the other guy check it!)
Family lore on guns is seldom reliable enough to be of any use, no matter whose family we are talking about. Ages are frequently overestimated. Military guns have hero stories attached to them. Provenance is unknown.
Most guns, especially handguns, have about the same backstory. Somebody bought it from a gun store or general goods store with the idea of using it for self-protection. Then it sat in a drawer or closet almost all the time for the next umpteen years. It changes hands several times within the family as people age and die. Who originally bought it and why gets blurry. Stories grow.
My brother and I each have handguns that our father used during his career in LE. Dad was very well known in LE-circles statewide and did encounter some remarkably bad people over the 50 years he spent “on the job.” One thing he never did do, though, was fire a gun in the line of duty. I have no doubt that as these two guns get handed down through my brother’s family and mine, that both guns will accrue increasingly melodramatic stories. I like to think that the snubbie (manufactured in the mid-1970s) I have will eventually be claimed as the gun that great-great-grandpa the Effa-Bee-Eye agent (he was a local cop then a county sheriff) used to kill John Dillinger in WWII.
Fantastic! It’s old but not that old; my bet is that the person before your grandfather got it late in life. I’m guessing 1950ish. Normal factory .38 spls will be fine but as others have said, avoid +P and some of the heavier hunting loads. I would say (assuming timing and everything are OK) that normal factory reloads or lead round nosed loads should be fine. She is a real sweety.
I shoot a lot of old ammo. Unless its reloaded and reloaded poorly (over-charged) nothing much bad can happen. The usual “fails” are the case splits - in which case you have a shell that can’t be used (reloaded) again. Sometimes the primer will fail and there is no bang - eject the round and throw it into the dud can most ranges have. Worse case is the primer works and the powder fails – you have to have someone who knows what they are doing remove the bullet from the barrel – maybe. Maybe you can just push it through yourself.
Old shells can have some value but the value more often is in the box.
Related to the above, revolvers are very safe compared to semi-auto pistols. You can swing the cylinder out to see if it’s loaded. When the cylinder is out, it cannot be fired. So, when someone hands you a revolver, or you pick one up, you swing the cylinder out to make sure it’s unloaded. Or if you are shooting and you want to take a break, swing the cylinder out. Very simple and intuitive operation compared to pistols. I think it’s best for new shooters to start with revolvers, but that’s just an opinion.
Now, a double-action revolver (like you have) can be fired two ways: 1) cock the hammer (which revolves the cylinder to the next chamber) and pull the trigger; or 2) pull the trigger through a long pull that cocks the hammer, revolves the cylinder and then fires. The trigger pull is much shorter and lighter when doing (1) vs. (2).
Looks like the usual aluminum case cheapie ammo – shoot it up if you want.
What Pup says. And a PS – for Model 10 freaks like me (I have several different varieties) you have a real sweetheart. If you ever do part with it don’t let it go cheap. Someone may show you the more usual example
and use that as a way to talk you down. Don’t let them. Assuming there is nothing serious wrong and its an average shooter I would go something between $250 and $300 and pay the transfer fee from my end. And to be frank, depending on some variables I can’t confirm from the images alone, you could be looking at $750 or more. Yeah - the blueing is worn but if its tight that really doesn’t detract for a serious freak like me.
(The 4 inch tapered barrels are what get the really huge $k or more prices)
I don’t own one at present, but I consider the Model 10 to be the most refined mid-size revolver. For a cartridge in the .38 Special category, it is the perfect size and weight. No useless metal at all. In its own way, it is as perfectly designed and crafted as a a sword made by a master smith.
The ammo is CCI Blazer aluminum cased. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done.
As others have mentioned it is a modern gun, not one that was made using manufacturing that might be lower quality. Modern standard pressure ammo is fine. I have a Model 10 (blued, 6"). 10-7 as I recall. Pretty good gun.