Nickle Plated Model 10

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ThomasT

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My mother worked for the Tarrant county jail for around 18 years and carried a Smith & Wesson model 10-8. She is now 83 and said she doesn't want it anymore and told me to take it home with me. So I did. At first I thought it was stainless steel but then I realized it was a nickle plated gun. I also got the remainder of the ammo she had and found that she had 18 Nyclad, 7 Glaser Safety Slugs and 2 Silver tips mixed in. Gotta love a free gun.:thumbup:

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How doggone cool is that?!?

My suggestion, don't shoot the ammo for its legacy value and try to git yer mitts on her badge for a shadow box one day. How about a duty holster too?

I wonder, did she buy it new? Might even be worth popping a hundred bucks for a S&W letter on it.


Todd.
 
How doggone cool is that?!?

My suggestion, don't shoot the ammo for its legacy value and try to git yer mitts on her badge for a shadow box one day. How about a duty holster too?

I wonder, did she buy it new? Might even be worth popping a hundred bucks for a S&W letter on it.

Thanks Todd. I don't plan on shooting the ammo. I will hold on to that. No she didn't buy it new, my uncle the cop did. And it has a little history to it.

My cousin wanted a gun and my uncle who was on the Ft Worth PD could buy guns cheap from the police supply house. So he bought this gun for him and of course was reimbursed for the gun. Well my idiot cousin ended up getting in to drugs and got busted. He used this gun to threaten a guy who was going to testify against him. Well guns and my cousin didn't scare this guy so he called the cops and my cousin was arrested for that too. He spent several years in prison for that stunt.

When the cops recovered the gun they called my uncle and told him they had it in the property room. He got the gun back and either gave it or sold it to my mother when she was hired by the Sheriffs Department and that is the story on the gun.
 
Thanks Todd. I don't plan on shooting the ammo. I will hold on to that. No she didn't buy it new, my uncle the cop did. And it has a little history to it.
Then I think I'd definitely pop for the S&W letter if you are financially able. Probably won't add a hundred bucks to the gun but would legitimize the nickel and show the LE destination for your Uncle's purchase.


Todd
 
Very nice family history, congrats.

Yeah I think every family has a story like that. Unfortunately that is not the only idiot cousin I have. They come on both sides of the family.:( Thankfully I was always too scared to stray outside of the law.

Forgot to add that I do have her duty belt, holster and handcuff case with S&W handcuffs. There is no doubt the gun was originally nickle plated.
 
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Ratshooter

Definitely can't go wrong with a free gun! Maybe try using some Flitz on it to clean up that nickel plating and get it looking nice again.
 
I never knew there WERE any nickled M-10s. It is seriously cool.

What's the chances that's factory ?

There is at least one almost NIB model 10 on GB right now that is nickle plated. And the price isn't too high last time I checked. So they made them and I have no doubts this gun came from the factory that way.

Great looking M10. It will soon become your favorite. I know mine did.

I have a model 65 and I do like it. It shoots right to the sights with 158gr ammo. So I'm familiar with this version of the K-Frame gun.

When I got the gun home it was grungy and dirty. So I sprayed it with Walmarts answer to WD-40 and let it set a few minutes then started wiping it off. At this point it hadn't dawned on me this was a nickle plated gun. It thought it was shiney stainless steel. Then the light went on that if it were SS it would be a model 64 and not a 10-8. So I cleaned the barrel and chambers with Hoppes but was careful not to get anymore on the nickle than I had to. I will use something different from here on out so I don't damage the nickle finish.

Definitely can't go wrong with a free gun! Maybe try using some Flitz on it to clean up that nickel plating and get it looking nice again.

Yep free is good. I like free.:D Thanks for the tip about Flitz. It does have some scratches on the side plate and under the latch and I doubt those will polish out or if I would even try that hard to polish it.
 
Ratshooter

The nice thing I found with Flitz is that it does a great job of cleaning up the dirt, oil, powder residue and tarnish on a nickel plated gun. It also leaves a protective coating on the gun to protect the finish and keep it looking good for quite some time.
 
The nice thing I found with Flitz is that it does a great job of cleaning up the dirt, oil, powder residue and tarnish on a nickel plated gun. It also leaves a protective coating on the gun to protect the finish and keep it looking good for quite some time.

Thanks Bannock. Where do you buy Flitz? I have never bought it before. I am guessing a gun store or supply place like Brownells?
 
Flitz is the best, but Mothers Mag Polish is a close second. I've seen a lot of nickel Model 10's but I think this is the first one with the heavy barrel. I'd sit down and spend some time bringing that nickel to life along with adding some nice magna grips. That would be a beautiful gun when finished.
 
Ratshooter

I have found Flitz at most local gun shops, big box stores, and online. A good size tube of it will last you a long time as you only use a little tab of it and work it over the surface very gently with a cotton cloth.
 
Eddietruett

I have found Flitz to be great on nickel or chrome plated guns while I like Mother's Mag Polish (paste formula), as it seems to be more effective on metal surfaces, like stainless and brass.
 
Kudos, cant go wrong with an M10, and a nickel, pinned, heavy-barrel to boot!

Its apparent she took good care of it. Most nickel LEO guns Ive seen are rode hard and look it.......

Keep in mind before the Model 60 came out in 1965 there were no stainless steel guns. LEOs bought nickel plated guns to minimize maintenance or for gun bling. Everyone was using Hoppes to clean their guns not knowing it was damaging the finish.

Skeeter Skelton relates a story about someone who had asked an old time LEO for advice on what handgun to get for SD. His response was, "Get the biggest gun you can find and nickel plate it so you'll be sure they see it".
 
I never knew there WERE any nickled M-10s. It is seriously cool.

What's the chances that's factory ?

The city of Richmond, (Va.) police carried nickle Model 10's for years. Most of them were the standard tapered barrel. I believe they were transitioning to the Model 64, when the switch to semi's started.

A little Flitz will make the old girl pop. I apply it with just my fingertip most of the time, working gently. Let it dry, then buff it off with a soft cloth...old T-shirt is about perfect. I then will apply a coat or two of Renaissance Wax applied/buffed the same way. I get both Flitz and Renaissance Wax from Amazon. A little goes a long way, so you don't need a big container of the stuff.
 
I'll vouch again for Flitz and an old tshirt to clean it up. A small jar from Walmart will last a lifetime provided it doesn't get lost in your workshop.

I'd do my best to avoid using hoppes on it. It will take off that nice nickle plating in short order.
 
I never knew there WERE any nickled M-10s. It is seriously cool.

What's the chances that's factory ?
Quite good. Before stainless came out, nickel plating was what S&W did for corrosion resistance. Many of their revolvers were available nickeled.
 
I agree with using Flitz to clean a nickel gun. Best stuff ever.

+1 to amd. Rather than getting a factory letter I would spend the money on a set of diamond target grips.
 
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