This is a series I wanted to start and mentioned not long ago that if you you had a “closet queen” it would be neat to take a look at it and shoot it etc. – So here we go!!

Out of the Closet . . . 10-6

Smith and Wesson 10-6

It started life as most did in those days – in a holster with a local PD – carried a lot – shot a  little – was put out to pasture when the high capacity 9mm’s became the cat’s meow – bought more than likely in a bulk or “lot” purchase by a wholesaler – then subsequently finding it’s way to an FFL and to it’s new home .

What a change in lifestyle – carried a little – shot a lot – however . . .

Those nasty little spots of holster wear that the little darling was fretting over , after a while didn’t seem to bother as much anymore.

The spot of bluing that is missing on the end of the barrel  – really did not seem so bad after 20 years or so going between a glove box of a pick up truck and the bottom of a tackle box – and OMG!! – they didn’t even put me in a holster ! – I swear I will never complain about spending all my time just being carried around in a holster all day – Really I promise – not another word!!

It was literally “found” (after being forgotten) on a closet shelf while moving stuff around looking for something else entirely.

Rough or poor condition is being charitable . . .

The Model 10 was brought to me with two issues – Gee ,  this trigger is sure hard to pull and “What’s it worth?”

I will take the trigger issue first – The trigger was so hard to pull because the cylinder was so full of gunk that it would barely turn by hand – it would not spin freely  – disassembled the cylinder completely and started scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing . . . “Bumped” the side plate off after soaking the  screws in Kano Kroil – the inside was clean but dry –  all I did was put a drop of CLP on the pivot points and put it back together.

But does it shoot??

24 rounds S/A slow fire @ 21 feet – the one I circled – I knew that was a lost cause when I let it go -LOL!  Smoooth D/A @ just over 12 lbs and crisp as can be 3 lb 4 oz S/A – real sweet – which brings us to . . .

So , what’s it worth?? – Being brutal about it – If the folks were paying for cleaning and time – they got more in it than the old Smith is worth . Mechanically the gun is sound – cosmetically you have nothing – I gave them three options in no particular order . . .

1. Sell it to one of the Local Gun or Pawn Shops – if they would even give you an offer – remember they would have to turn this over at a profit ( that is the name of the game ) Re bluing is not a viable option – the price of the bluing plus considerable cost for polishing prior to bluing – (shop time = money for labor ) – prices blueing out of the market. Bluing will not hide the dings and scratches. It will only make them more prominent. So they would not want to buy it and put more money in it thereby either reducing their margin to almost nothing or having to price it so high that it simply wouldn’t move off the shelf.

2. Keep it clean and oiled – shoot the snot out of it every chance you get – enjoy it!! Will definitely have to keep up on cleaning simply because there is a lot of bare metal exposed.

3. Parkerized or phosphate finish – Just about as close to a forever finish as you are going to get. Take it to Boses in Emerson – let them go through it and replace any parts that don’t meet factory specs – most obvious is the extractor rod – any internals that need replacing – although it feels and looks pretty good so I don’t think there are any issues – get the parkerize job done for $125 bucks or so – stick a set of new Smith wood grips on it – add a T-grip adapter – looks good – handles good – shoots good – durable finish and minimal maintenance. All in all they end up with somewhere around $200 or so in it and it will last just about forever.

I am partial to model 10’s and made an offer – I will have to see how that goes – if I do acquire the piece everybody can follow along through the refurbishment project , should prove to be fun. – originally published on thebrucesite April 1. 2018

Have Fun – Run the Gun – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!