S&W 610

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Y-T71

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I'm a big fan of the 10mm cartridge but, I'm tired of losing my precious brass across state lines (my 1006 really throws the brass!)

Yesterday, I stopped by my LGS and they had a new 4" 610-3.

I checked it out pretty thoroughly and it seemed to be put together as well as the Smiths of old.

Only "problem" I had was the $1089 price tag.

It's starting to look like that might actually be a good "deal"

Thoughts? Encouragement? DIScouragement?
 
I had a 6" 610 that was very accurate. I liked using the full and half moon clips for reloading. It was also nice to be able to shoot 40 S&W loads when you wanted a plinking round. I am sorry I sold it, but was offered a price that I couldn't refuse and I was wanting to thin the herd some and could use the $.
 
Fyrstyk said:
I had a 6" 610 that was very accurate. I liked using the full and half moon clips for reloading. It was also nice to be able to shoot 40 S&W loads when you wanted a plinking round. I am sorry I sold it, but was offered a price that I couldn't refuse and I was wanting to thin the herd some and could use the $.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply.

I guess I don't "need" another handgun but this (and the Ruger GP-100) have both been in my mind.

I don't like losing my brass but i really like the 10mm cartridge and figure these revolvers were about as strong as I would want for experimenting.

I've also convinced myself over the years that the lock, MIM parts, the lack of the firing pin on the hammer were signs of an "inferior" product but, this revolver really did exude quality.

Of course I won't know until I fire one but I'm afraid my self imposed discrimination against those features may have been misplace.
 
That's true.

I'm pretty much set for brass; have 500 Starline already loaded with Power Pistol/180 gr XTP's loaded and found another box of 500 of new virgin Starline that I didn’t know I had, plus 400 Winchester brass, powder, primers and bullets.

I don't know what it is about the brass, I just hate losing it!

I appreciate you being the 'voice of reason' though :D
 
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Fyrstyk said:
I had a 6" 610 that was very accurate. I liked using the full and half moon clips for reloading. It was also nice to be able to shoot 40 S&W loads when you wanted a plinking round. I am sorry I sold it, but was offered a price that I couldn't refuse and I was wanting to thin the herd some and could use the $.
Click to expand...

That's a great point about the 610 being able to handle .40S&W also.

I had 3 .40 cal pistols over the years and, while I no longer have the pistols, I do have an enormous amount of brass leftover.

I had been considering another .40 cal pistol just to use up my components but this revolver would easily pull double duty in that regard

(Am I doing a good job of talking myself into the 610?:D)
 
Fyrstyk said:
I had a 6" 610 that was very accurate. I liked using the full and half moon clips for reloading. It was also nice to be able to shoot 40 S&W loads when you wanted a plinking round. I am sorry I sold it, but was offered a price that I couldn't refuse and I was wanting to thin the herd some and could use the $.
Click to expand...

Can you speak to any advantages of the 6½" over the 4"?

I have 2 .44mag 629's, both 6" (Ohio is a 5" minimum for hunting) but deep down I always wanted a 4".

The brief time I spent with the 4" in the shop really "turned me on", it just felt "right".

I wouldn't use this revolver to hunt (like I said, I alread have a couple of suitable revolvers for that) but would like to use it for experimenting the potential of the 10mm (not that my 1006 is a slouch in the strength dept)

Would I really be losing that much by going with the 4"?
 
The BMT stuff works great too….

I cannot speak to the 10/40, but different makers of 45ACP brass behave differently in the moonclips. You want the round to be ‘loose’ and have some play. Rigid will bind when loading into a cylinder. I bought (somewhere) a stand alone aluminum cylinder that replicates the S&W cylinder. That way you can test the loaded moonclip without putting them into your pistol. You can do the same with your pistol, but a lot of people get ‘queasy’ loading and unloading (yes, I know a revolver is different :thumbup:).
 
Y-T71 said:
Thoughts? Encouragement? DIScouragement?
Click to expand...
My 610 is quickly becoming among my favorite revolvers.

Nothing new to add to the other comments – clips aren’t necessary with the 10 mm rounds; spent brass comes out easily enough with gravity and a little shaking.

.40 SW is fun to shoot and a little more economical.

A longer barrel generally handles recoil better.

I can highly recommend the 610.
 
Y-T71 said:
Can you speak to any advantages of the 6½" over the 4"?

I have 2 .44mag 629's, both 6" (Ohio is a 5" minimum for hunting) but deep down I always wanted a 4".

The brief time I spent with the 4" in the shop really "turned me on", it just felt "right".

I wouldn't use this revolver to hunt (like I said, I alread have a couple of suitable revolvers for that) but would like to use it for experimenting the potential of the 10mm (not that my 1006 is a slouch in the strength dept)

Would I really be losing that much by going with the 4"?
Click to expand...
When I bought my 610, the 6.5" full underlug barrel was the only configuration at the time. I liked the longer sight radius too!.
 
Bought a 6.5 inch 610 in 2007. Shot it a heap in USPSA competition for several years. When I moved on to other revolvers for competition I used my 610 for hunting until I got a M29 configured the same.

Moonclips rule!
 
I've owned a 4" 610 and currently possess a 6.5" version. The guns are fantastic and lots of fun. The ability to handle .40 is a nice bonus, although I have trended away from that ammo generally. The overall capability of 10mm is closer to .357, so it's not like you are ramping up power tremendously. The moon clips make for easier reloading though.
 
The only 10mm handgun that I own is a S&W 610 with a 6.5" barrel. It is a good shooter.

BMT Equipped moon clip tools are the cats meow for loading and unloading moon clips but they are a bit pricey.

I do not shoot much 40 S&W in my 610 as it builds up the carbon ring that prevents chambering the longer 10mm case. Nothing that a good cleaning does not correct but I'd just rather not bother with the issue so I stick to 10mm cases in the revolver.
 
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I would really like to have one, but don't have the money right now. They're usually around $1,000.

I wanted a revolver that could shoot 40 S&W and looked at a lot of them. The S&W 610 was easily the nicest.

If you want a 10mm revolver closer to the $600 range, one of the Italian makers did a bunch of SAA clones in 10mm not long ago. They have 6.5" barrels, IIRC. The Italian clones tend to be nice revolvers.
 
As much as I like my S&W 610, the N-Frame is bigger than needed for 10mm. The GP100/L-frame is really the right size for 10mm Auto unfortunately only Ruger has realized that. I would love to have a 4-in fixed-sight L-frame in 10mm Auto. The big brother to my Model 10.
 
Tallball said:
I would really like to have one, but don't have the money right now. They're usually around $1,000.

I wanted a revolver that could shoot 40 S&W and looked at a lot of them. The S&W 610 was easily the nicest.

If you want a 10mm revolver closer to the $600 range, one of the Italian makers did a bunch of SAA clones in 10mm not long ago. They have 6.5" barrels, IIRC. The Italian clones tend to be nice revolvers.
Click to expand...

Thanks, everyone, for their input.

I left the gun shop the other day thinking $1089 was a little too high.

However, after doing a little more research it looks like that price isn't out of line afterall.

Yeah, they can be found for a little less but I'd have to be in the right place at the right time and I'm seeing quite a few with higher asking prices.

I've been a S&W man at heart ever since I bought my first handgun so was interested in 610 when I got "the urge".

I would certainly be interested in a GP-100 but those are all but impossible to find locally (I don't do online)

I have a couple of Uberti made Smoke Wagons from Taylor's and, they are fantastic revolvers.

The only thing holding me back from one of their offerings is the ports at the muzzle; simply do not like those.
 
mcb said:
As much as I like my S&W 610, the N-Frame is bigger than needed for 10mm. The GP100/L-frame is really the right size for 10mm Auto unfortunately only Ruger has realized that. I would love to have a 4-in fixed-sight L-frame in 10mm Auto. The big brother to my Model 10.
Click to expand...

I wholeheartedly agree, 10mm would be a perfect fit in the L frame.

Odd to me that they've never released one :thumbdown:

I'm not a big guy; 5'11" 170lbs (ok, maybe 180) but I have big hands (I wear LG/XL size gloves) and, the only 2 S&W revolvers I have left are both N frames so that 4" at the shop felt right at home in my hands.
 
Y-T71 said:
I wholeheartedly agree, 10mm would be a perfect fit in the L frame.

Odd to me that they've never released one :thumbdown:

I'm not a big guy; 5'11" 170lbs (ok, maybe 180) but I have big hands (I wear LG/XL size gloves) and, the only 2 S&W revolvers I have left are both N frames so that 4" at the shop felt right at home in my hands.
Click to expand...
The closest S&W came was the 646, an L-frame in 40S&W with a titanium cylinder.
 
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