In the doghouse again... Model 10 heavy 4”

[WestKentucky]

Decision made on what direction I’m going to go with this gun. It’s going to be weird, and I probably won’t like it, so it will probably be redone...but...

At the time that the 10-6 was manufactured (1962 to 1977) the USA among other nations were in a clusterf...war in Vietnam. I know many men who served this nation in that era. My plan is to strip the finish off of this old gal, mirror polish it with Flitz, then give it my best attempt at a tiger stripe bluing job where I create darker shapes by using multiple layers of bluing. I’m not sure if I can do a wax-resist type system on it to give it definition, but I will give it my best shot. If that fails, it’s already mirrored and gets a few more layers of bluing. I might go ahead and try the wax resist setup just out of curiosity.

 

[Waveski]

Perhaps I am dense , but I do not understand the tiger stripe / Vietnam association. Help me out , please.
Also , by what means do you intend to "strip the finish off" ?

 

[bannockburn]

Waveski

Perhaps I am dense , but I do not understand the tiger stripe / Vietnam association. Help me out , please.

The Tiger Stripe referred to was the camouflage pattern used by some Special Forces units in the ARVN and U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

 

[Waveski]

Ah , Thank you.

 

[Rob1035]

Love the M10! I too have an ugly duckling, mine is a 10-5, and is my best shooter. Most people at the range, including the counter monkeys, tend to scoff when I take it out of the range bag. Then they ask to handle it, feel the balance, smoothness, etc, and I usually get an "oh....". Then they dry fire, and I get a "OH!"

Wish I'd bought more when no one wanted them and $250 was pretty much average, although honestly, even at ~$500, the k-frame is still a great choice.

 

[WestKentucky]

Vinegar will remove bluing and will get me more or less down to a blank slate on finish. That will let me do as I wish to have dark/light areas.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Pretty crappy way to do it, and don’t suggest it, but I took empty cases sat primer up, sat a small split shot fishing weight in the pocket and put a torch on the case heads to soften the lead, then whacked it gently with a hammer which flattened out the lead and seemed to have extruded a small piece into the case. I can now pound away on soft lead. I need to buy some real snap caps someday.

Howdy

Part of the purpose of a snap cap is to cushion the firing pin, bringing it to a fairly gentle stop. As they say, it ain't the fall that hurts, it's the sudden stop at the end. If a hammer is allowed to fall all the way, stopping hard against the frame, the tip of the firing pin wants to keep going. Sometimes it does, with the tip breaking off at the narrowest part. The problem with the soft lead weight, or spent primers, is after a few hits, the lead/spent primer will take on the shape of the firing pin. At that point, there is no longer any cushioning taking place, the hammer is slamming to a stop against the frame, and there is nothing to cushion the tip of the firing pin.

A better idea is to cut up the eraser off the end of a pencil and stuff the rubber into the primer pocket of a spent round. The rubber will continue to give when struck by the firing pin, providing some measure of cushioning to protect the firing pin. Eventually the rubber will wear out or crumble, and no longer protect the firing pin. Even better is to buy snap caps. They are worth the investment. I recommend the ones from A-Zoom.

 

[WestKentucky]

Finally got the old gun to the range today. Not bad for the first time out. Range was 10 yards stepped off. Center target was the first and last cylinder, shot double action. Lower left was the first single action cylinder then I went around clockwise, all corners shot single action. Not shabby at all, especially for mixed, unknown loads that were loose in my ammo storage bin. I have to get used to the trigger.

 

[Hondo 60]

Well, you know what they say...
It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission.

As long as there's food on the table & a roof over your head ...

PS - nice shootin' Tex

 

[kBob]

I am suddenly reminded of being an employee of Well's Fargo's Pony Express courier service in the mid 1970's. Florida at that time wanted all varieties of "rent a cops" armed with .38 Special revolvers firing 158 grain RNL (ONLY) and Wells Fargo did just that. Model 10 HBs were what my station had. Unfortunately very shortly after I took on the longest most rural route they decided to make us an "Unarmed Courier Service" they also moved us from the same uniform the armored service used ( looked very 1970's cop like and featured our Wells Fargo Agent badge) to a two tone brown thing with cloth patches.One guy called it the Lawn Service uniform. Carrying anything became a firing offense. Let me rephrase that......getting caught by the Station Master carrying anything was a firing offense.

That gun might have been one of "our" guns as they got worn in a leather holster in Florida weather and hung in the locker in the holster and cleaned when ever the station maintenance guy got a round to it. Some were already starting to look like that.

I thought the Model 10 was a great choice for folks that only did annual training of half a day. Just point and shoot. No safeties to deal with. The HB models made excellent bludgeons! Also if the Agent DID know how to shoot the Model 10s were just fine given the State's ammo limitation.

-kBob