A Factory Nickel Smith & Wesson Model 10-8

Last year after my father died, my brother and I split up his gun collection. Among the large number of Smith & Wesson double actions was this factory nickel Model 10-8, chambered in .38 Special, of course.

Over on AmericanFightingRevolver.com, "Bryan with a Y" did a video covering the 10-8 variant of the Military & Police and noted it as being one of his favorites, for several reasons. Based on my sample of one he's absolutely right.

The action on this revolver is exceptionally smooth. Dad wasn't one to tinker. His idea of a trigger job on a K-Frame was putting 1,000 rounds through it double action. I don't think he fired this one all that much, though because it was very clean when I got it. In his later years he got less meticulous with cleaning, and this one was pretty much spotless.

As indicated by the "TWC (redacted number)" stamped on the left side of the frame, the gun formerly belonged to The Wackenhutt Corporation, a provider of security services. It appears to have spent most of its time in the armory.

When I got it the gun wore a set of S&W Magnas and I shot it like that for awhile. However, even when fitted with a grip adapter I find the old Uncle Mike's Combat grips more comfortable for long shooting sessions.

When looking at the back of the cylinder you can see that although the gun is nickeled, the ejector star and ratchet are blued. There is an "N" stamped between the top two charge holes, indicating that it came from the factory in nickel.

S&W matted the top of the frame and barrel but for improved visibility I painted the front sight using a white base coat topped with 2 or 3 coats of lime green nail polish. I blacked out the rear sight with a Sharpie marker to reduce glare.

Yesterday I got together with a friend to shoot on his property and put 100 rounds through the Model 10-8. From 10 yards in rapid double action it was easy to blow out the black on a B-8 repair center target.

The loads were a Speer 148 grain BBWC over 2.9 grains of Accurate No.2 in W-W wadcutter brass, and Servicio Aventuras primers. This is a very pleasant load to shoot in a K-Frame, and cleaner burning than the equivalent when loaded with Bullseye.

Highway Patrolman Range Report

Last night I got to shoot the Model 28-2 Highway Patrolman with the new grips. This setup is a keeper for me. I ran 130 rounds through it. The first 80 were 148 grain wadcutters on top of 3.8 grains of Autocomp, while the last 50 were 160 grain semiwadcutters cast from a Lee mold on top of 3.8 grains of HP-38.

This combination of Magnas and a grip adaptor allows me to get a better hold on the big N-Frame than the Herrett's Shooting Star stocks did.

Look at those recessed charge holes. N-Frame magnum goodness!

The Highway Patrolman Gets New Grips

S&W introduced the Highway Patrolman in the 1950s as a less expensive version of the .357 Magnum, AKA pre-Model 27. Instead of a high polish blue and checkered top strap and barrel rib, it had a more utilitarian blueing job and the top was bead blasted to reduce glare. However, the revolver's innards were the same as the more expensive .357 Magnums/Model 27s.

When S&W started assigning its revolvers model numbers in 1957 the Highway Patrolman became the Model 28, although they were still stamped "HIGHWAY PATROLMAN" on the right side of the barrel. They were offered with your choice of a 4" or 6" barrel. All were chambered for .357 Magnum.

The Highway Patrolman became popular with various law enforcement agencies and civilians, and remained in production until 1986.

Back in the 1990s when old Smith & Wesson revolvers were cheap, I traded into this 4" Model 28-2, made in the early 1970s. It's what is called a "pinned and recessed" S&W. You can see the pin going through the frame and barrel threads. The cylinder is recessed so that the cartridge rims are flush with the back face. Only rimfires and magnums were recessed. S&W discontinued pinning the barrels and recessing the rims in centerfires in 1981, to save production costs.

I think I have less than $300 into this Model 28 considering the value of my trade, an Astra A-75 9mm. It came fitted with some hideous aftermarket plastic grips with finger grooves. Luckily, my dad had a 6" Model 28 on which he'd installed a set of Hogue rubber grips in place of the Herrett's Shooting Stars his revolver came with. He gave the Herrett's to me and the plastic grips went into the trash. Here's what it's looked like up until yesterday:

(This is one of my favorite gun pictures. I really got the lighting right.)

The Herrett's are nice but a little big for my hands and the thumb rest on the left (a mirror of what's shown above) tended to dig into my palm when shooting. (I'm left handed.) So, about a week and a half ago I ordered a set of Magnas from World Wide Grips in Thailand. They are made from Thai rosewood. I also ordered a grip adapter from BK Grips. So, now it looks like this:

The new grips are well made and fit pretty well.

Incidentally, the reason that I didn't buy genuine S&W Magnas is that they have gone up in price as least as much as the guns. A set in excellent condition would go for well over $100. I paid $54.16 shipped from Thailand for these. If I was able to find actual S&W grips for a comparable price they'd be pretty ratty looking.

Tonight I ran 130 rounds of .38 Special handloads through it. The first 80 were 148 grain wadcutters on top of 3.8 grains of Winchester Autocomp. The last 50 were 160 grain semiwadcutters cast in a Lee TL358-158 mold. The wadcutter load is very mild while the SWC load should give about 800 - 850 FPS from the 4" barrel.

This setup is a keeper for me. I'll definitely be shooting it more. I'm able to better hold the gun and recoil control with these loads is fine. I need to run some .38 +Ps* through it but I am very pleased with the Magna/grip adapter combination.

*I find .357 Magnum recoil and muzzle blast to be obnoxious, even from an N-Frame. Anything that I might need to shoot with a handgun can be handled by .38 Specials loaded to +P or .38/44 levels. The Model 28 is ideal for these loads.

New Stocks for a S&W Model 10-5

Continuing a theme from previous posts, today I installed these Uncle Mike's rubber Combat Grips on a pencil barreled S&W Model 10-5 .38 Special revolver. The piece previously had a set of Pachmayr Gripper Pros on it. The new grips fit my hand better.

Uncle Mike's no longer makes these grips, which for awhile came standard on several Smith & Wesson revolvers. I found this set on eBay.

Yeah, pretty as a mud fence, but comfy.

New Stocks for my S&W Model 18-3

I recently posted about putting new target stocks on my S&W Model 15-3 Combat Masterpiece .38. I also have an example of the Model 15's understudy, the Model 18, chambered for .22 Long Rifle.

For years, I've had a set of Uncle Mike's Boot Grips on the Model 18. They are functional but not aesthetically pleasing. About a week and a half ago I found that Herrett's Stocks had some smooth Honduran rosewood target stocks for sale on their eBay store, so I ordered a set.

What an improvement.

They look about a million times better than black rubber and fit my hands well. I took the gun to the range last night and it was a joy to shoot with them.

New Stocks for my S&W Model 15-3 Combat Masterpiecet

One of the perks of having a father who is a S&W revolver aficionado but prefers Hogue grips, and who lives around the corner, is that he has a drawer full of OEM S&W revolver stocks. I was at my folks’ tonight for dinner and grabbed a set of K-Frame target stocks with the speedloader cut.

They show a good bit of finish wear but structurally they are solid. I previously had a set of Pachmayr Gripper Pro rubber stocks on the gun. Even with the exposed backstrap they were a little large for my small hands. The wood grips fit me better.

Before asking Dad if he had any of these gathering dust I looked on eBay and holy crap. Grips in this condition would probably bring over $100. NIB examples are closer to $180 now.

This Model 15 was the first good centerfire handgun I ever bought, and will be the last to go. It’s what I learned to be a competent pistol shot with. About 25 years ago I was at the range with Walt Rauch and he put a cylinder through it. As he handed the gun back to me he said, “Yup, the K-Frame is G-d’s gift to handgunners.”

Shooting the Smith & Wesson No. 1 1/2 Revoler

Yesterday I put together some black powder .32 S&W handloads using the following components:

• Remington brass,
• CCI No.500 small pistol primers,
• Lead bullets cast in an original 19th Century Ideal mold/loading tool (shown in the video),
• The bullets were lubricated with a 50/50 mix of beeswax and mutton tallow.
• 0.3cc (approximately 4.8 to 5 grains) of Olde Eynsford FFFg black powder.

Goex developed Olde Eynsford to compete with Swiss black powder. OE burns more cleanly than regular Goex and is more energetic. Swiss is still a higher grade powder, but OE is a definite improvement over regular Goex.

Anyway, I got to shoot the old Smith & Wesson today. It was flawless for 49 rounds (somehow I managed to lose one of my once-fired cases before reloading them). Afterwards, we put 50 rounds of Remington .32 S&W loads through my Ruger Single Six Vaquero and saved the brass so I can reload it for use in the Smith.

Recoil in the old gun was very mild even though it's so small it's a little difficult to get a good grip. The sights are an afterthought, so it required extra effort to shoot well. (That's why we shot at only five yards.)

Here's a short video:

While this is not going to be a high round count gun, I will shoot it again. It was a lot of fun and I wish a modern replica was available.

We also put a few magazines through my Beretta Model 81, for a .32-a-palooza day.

A Brace of .32s

Nowadays, .32 caliber handguns are not super popular with American gun owners. When choosing a small bore, most will just get a .22. And when looking for a centerfire, .380s, 9mm, and larger are much more popular. This has become even more true with the advent of ultra compact .380s like the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard and Ruger LCP, and very small 9mms like the S&W Shield.

However, in the late 19th Century small .32 caliber revolvers were very popular. When Smith & Wesson wanted to come up with a larger gun than the Number 1 in .22 Short, they introduced the Number 2 Old Army in .32 rimfire.

In 1878 Smith & Wesson introduced the Number 1 1/2 Third Issue in .32 S&W, their first centerfire cartridge. With an 85 grain lead bullet at about 700 FPS it's hardly a barn burned by today's standards, but in the pre-antibiotic days, getting shot with anything was extremely dangerous, which made it a good deterrent due to the likelihood of infection. In fact, when Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley, he used an Iver Johnson .32 S&W revolver. McKinley died eight days later.

A few weeks ago I sold one of my AR-15s so I had some fun money burning a hole in my pocket. In perusing Simpson Ltd.'s website, I came across a very nice looking early production S&W 1 1/2 in .32 S&W. I called them up on Saturday and yesterday the Fedex truck dropped this off with me:

Here it is next to an iPhone 6S Plus for scale.

Mechanically, it's perfect. There is no end shake, the timing is spot on, and it locks up tightly. There is a little pitting in the bore. I was able to remove the grips screw but the panels seem to be stuck on the gun. I need to figure out what I can use to soak in to loosen them but at the same time won't damage them. Also, the hammer screw wouldn't turn so I have some penetrating oil sitting on it. I'd like to get the grips and side plate off to inspect and photograph the inside.

I don't expect the pitting to hurt accuracy because my 51 year old eyes can't see the vestigial sights anyway. I plan to get ahold of some .32 S&W ammo loaded with black powder and try it out at halitosis range.

The other .32 I picked up yesterday is more modern. Recently, a bunch of surplus Beretta Model 81 Cheetahs came into the country. A story I read online is that they came from the Italian prison system, which is plausible since European law enforcement agencies liked .32 ACP (AKA 7.65mm Browning in Europe) for much of the 20th Century.

I had been holding off on ordering on the 81s but yesterday my local shop posted on Facebook that they'd received in a few in very clean condition. So, after dinner I ran over there, traded in a Stoeger Coach Gun that had been gathering dust, and tossed in another $40.

It was indeed very clean. It's been shot but well maintained. It has an "AF" date code stamped on the right side, which indicates that it was built in 1980.

That is a full sized Benchmade Griptilian knife in the picture with the pistol. It's large for a .32 auto so I expect it to be very pleasant to shoot.

I had thought it might be a good gun for my wife but as a straight blowback retracting the slide requires quite a bit of effort, and there's not a lot to hold onto.

Along with the Beretta I picked up two boxes of Aguila 71 grain FMJ .32 ACP ammo. I hope to shoot it this weekend, and I plan to get some European-spec ammo, which tends to be loaded hotter than American ammo in this caliber.

Range reports to follow.

Shooting a Smith & Wesson Model 2

In this video, I shoot a Smith & Wesson Model 2 revolver, made in the 1870s. It is chambered for the .38 S&W round, not to be confused with .38 S&W Special. The ammo was from Buffalo Arms and was loaded with black powder.

Shooting it well was very difficult, because the sights are terrible. Still, it was really fun to play with this bit of history.

The revolver belongs to my father, who got it from Simpson, Ltd.