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Smith Wesson Military Police model 10

30K views 46 replies 13 participants last post by  will5a1 
#1 ·
Purchased a nice five inch Military and Police. It was claimed to me that based on S/N the gun was manufactured in the twenties. Know this is not correct as gun has ramp rather than round front sight. Much to my surprise gun does not show code but only S/N 2025. Can you help me to find correct year of manufacture?
 
#29 ·
mendiepe

well i was gonna say,,,,,,, im no expert but........

full metal jacket seems to be whats available at the store, .30 per shot for the winchester stuff. i do know a guy who reloads so im going to start saving brass and investigate what my price difference would be. s&w will give an exact date for a fee (30.00) and from what ive read on here it could take a while so i was hoping for a ball park figure. clyde estimated 1920s or 1930s. thats way older than i thought. not that i think hes wrong. i just thought maybe 30 yrs at the most (but i have no reason). the s/n is 5XXXXX.

the +p question was just for general knowledge. i intend on shooting the model 10 at the range only with the kids. my go to gun at the house would be a 12 gage. although we live in "mayberry" so that has never come into play.

thanks for the info
 
#30 ·
I've found the Winchester 130 gr. white box to be pretty tame. I think you'll be all right with it, but if you blow up your gun, you'll note I didn't guarantee it.

I've shot it in some of my .38's and .357's and it's reasonably accurate, though not a real tack driver. I bought it for the price rather than stellar accuracy. My pre-Model 14 Smith likes it real well, as did my Model 14, and a Ruger GP 100.
 
#31 ·
thats what i bought, winchester 130 gr, white box of 100. i doesnt say wad cutter although it has a tapered and then flat tip on it.

the gun itself looks to be in pretty good condition. i cant imagine it failing or exploding. were the 38s of yester year even whimpier than the modern ones ? or were the loads of way back then way lighter ? i thought it would handle any standard 38 round with ease.
 
#33 ·
well i just finished cleaning it. this model 10 preformed perfectly. my son and i took it out today and shot off 50 rounds. my boy is 12 yrs old and he fired it one handed most of the time. he wasnt very accurate being his first time. i was out of practice but did ok i guess. its been 5 years since i sold my last hand gun.

this ones pretty nice. (looks indentical to the bottom one of the three shown above) i got it for 180 bucks off a guy who knows his stuff i think. i know there has to be alot of these. i could really shoot the heck out of it unless its worth using sparingly.
 
#34 · (Edited)
If it is marked "Model 10" it is post-war. If it doesn't have a model number (be on the frame and visible when the cylinder is opened), then pre-war gun. I was presuming (dangerous sport that) it was a pre-Model 10 and hence pre-war Military & Police - which reached 1 million about the time hostilities commenced for the USA.

The white box 130 grain FMJ Winchester ammo is a standard pressure load and ANY S&W revolver chambered in 38 Special will be safe as long as it is in good order.
 
#37 · (Edited)
If it is marked "Model 10" it is post-war. If it doesn't have a model number (be on the frame and visible when the cylinder is opened), then pre-war gun. I was presuming (dangerous sport that) it was a pre-Model 10 and hence pre-war Military & Police - which reached 1 million about the time hostilities commenced for the USA.
incorrect, the model #s came 1957 and after, before 1957 the numbers visible when the cylinder is opened are just for assembly purposes at the factory. I have a 1948 M&P .38 (dated by Mr. Jinks at S&W) and the #s on the frame are not the ser #. Also my ser # is S9785XX so S1000000 was mid to late 1948

 
#35 ·
thanks clyde and to all

it doesnt say model 10 anywhere. s/n 522XXX indicates pre ww2 from what ive read. also it was heat treated judging by the number and what ive read. 5" thin barrel. it has four screws on the side of the frame. one screw where the trigger guard meets the frame. one screw on the front of the grip where the metal is in the middle. smith & wesson on one side of the barrel. s&w 38 special ctg on the other side. some (3) patent numbers on top (newest dec of 24 i think,its not infront of me) and the smith and wesson spingfield mass usa. made in usa on the frame and the s&w stamp with trade mark over and under it. the serial number matches the bottom of grip and under side of barrel. the number 2021 when you open the cylinder. i havent seen many of these wich could indicate a sheltered life {haha}. clyde, what do you mean by~ "(dangerous sport that)" ? are certain ones (mine) rare in any way? if not between me and my two sons it will become very well used in a short period of time. its extremely fun to fire it. my kid was pleasantly suprised by the low recoil and for me ive just been away from handguns for too long i guess.
 
#36 ·
a friend of mine (with a reloader) is suggesting 110 grain jhp for home defense. again i keep this locked and unloaded. i dont even think the police draw there guns around here. from a accuracy standpoint could they be better? (see clydes post above on the 130 gr. fmj) i didnt shoot real good last night but it may be lack of practice..
 
#38 ·
Savoia:

Based on other known ship dates for serial numbers in your revolver's range 1926 would be a best guess for a ship date from the factory, as noted in a number of the replies to the OP of this thread when it started only a factory letter will give an exact ship date.

Your revolver was regulated at the factory to shoot 158gr LRN to point of aim; the lead 158gr SWC, especially the plus P variant HP variant, has proven itself over the years a effective SD load. It should also shoot to point of aim, that has been my experience.

Plus P may or may not wear out your gun quicker than standard pressure loads, but it is more expensive and you may want to train/target shoot with the cheaper WW whitebox FMJ you already have. There is no magic bullet - shoot placement is much more important, IMHO.

Enjoy your revolver.
 
#39 ·
I agree with the 158 gr. sight regulation, but the only way to tell if that's what shoots in your gun for you is to shoot different loads. After all, you may be like me and have "weird" eyes and not hold the gun or use the same sight picture as everyone else.

I personally wouldn't shoot a lot of plus P in it. If I used it, I'd see how it shot and if good, I'd try to find a practice load to shoot to the same point with standard pressure. For one of my J frames that's the 125 gr. Plus P Rem. Golden Saber and a handload with a 158 gr. lead bullet.

Good luck with finding what works and keep up the practice.
 
#41 ·
thank you all for the information. ive had a couple pistols and some long guns in the past, but never such a old gun as this that raised questions. i didnt mean to beat it (the subject of my gun) to death. i just considered it a good find and didnt know much about it. this forum is a good resource...thanks again
 
#43 ·
update ~

my family including myself are lovin' this gun. we have been using it for target and its been fun. we have been using the winchester fmj's and it is very easy to be accurate with little practice. i did get some winchester 110 grain silver tip hollow points. i was going to test them for expansion. any suggestions on how ? water jugs or ?? ive never done it before but we watched some tests on youtube and the kids want to have an experiment of our own.

thanks
 
#45 ·
After closely examining CW's excellent blowups, it looks as if the original front sight was modified to "ramp" style as the thickness is considerably less than that of a modern Model 10. Look closely at the picture where the gun is propped up by the pencil.

Also, it is definitely a five screw.
 
#47 ·
Rick57,

C1 - C223998 = 1948-1951 according to the SCSW. Your revolver would be a pre-Model 10 Military and Police, and not a Victory, if it checks out mechanically it should be safe to shoot with standard factory ammunition or equivalent handloads, +P will probably wear it out quicker (how quick is a matter of dispute).
 
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