I've written about it before but it is a favorite ...

I know that this is the day and age of the tactical cast from polymer autoloading handgun. However there are still some of us old farts around that prefer the sixgun for most everything. And while I have some autoloaders, they are made of metal not some type of plastic. But even so, my preference is the revolver. And while I choose the single action sixgun first of all, the double action is my next choice. (and often my first choice) And of the double actions, the S&W Model 10 is at the top. I don't think it has ever been beaten. The Smith & Wesson Model 10 has been in production since 1899. More than 6,000,000 have been produced over the years, making it the most produced handgun of the 20th century. And they have been around for so many years and fought in so many wars that pretty much all the "bugs have been worked out of them.

I was working for the Dept. of Correction in 1980 when I bought this gun through the Department. It was our issue gun. We were issued Remington 125 gr. JHP ammunition. I only know of one inmate being shot with this ammo while I worked there. The inmate was in lockdown and had climbed out of his workout/exercise area into the next one and was trying to kill that inmate. The CSO shot about 25 yards through 2 chain-link fences and put the aggressor down with a shot into the left buttock and out the right one. None lethal, it put an instant stop to the fight.

My wife and I were shooting in Combat Matches in those days and she used the Model 10 all the years she competed. She won her share of matches shooting against ladies mostly armed with auto-loaders. She was not as fast as some of them but she rarely missed and in those matches misses counted heavily against you.

The stocks on this pistol are original Bear Hug by Deacon Deason. Deacon was a good friend and a great grip-maker. The only modifications I did to the sixgun was to chamfer the chambers to help with speed-loading and to remove the grooves on the trigger, polishing the face of the trigger smooth. The grooved trigger made your finger sore when firing a lot of ammo during a match. The double action letoff is smooth and easy to use. The single action letoff is what every other revolver wishes it could do. It's easy to shoot these guns accurately.

It's true that the .38 Special isn't a Magnum. And I do not try to make it one. You don't need Magnum velocities to get the job done. The nice thing about the .38 Special is it's easy to reload, easy to shoot and plenty accurate. Practice handloads can be made for about the cost of a box of .22 Long Rifle ammo. Practicing with the Model 10 is pretty easy on the pocket book.