Carrying a SAA revolver

[JimT]

The single action sixgun is my favorite carry gun. When we lived in Arizona I carried my 7 1/2" Ruger .45 Colt a lot as well as my 7 1/2" 454 Freedom Arms. My favorite carry gun was my 4 3/4" .45 Colt. It rode well when in the saddle.

These days I carry the old model flattop .357 quite a bit, though around the home place it is usually the Ruger Shopkeeper Bearcat.

And lately, I have been carrying the Model 10 S&W. I have autoloaders but a good sixgun fits me better and I just enjoy them more.

Darn it Jim. I haven't carried a Model 10 in months. Guess what I'll have on tomorrow.

I carried mine yesterday and it's on my desk this morning.
I got started with the Model 10 in 1980. It was the issue gun then. We have always had at least a couple since then. My carry gun is the one I bought from J&G Sales without a barrel back during the Covid panic.

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It turned out pretty well and shoots just fine if the nut on the grip does his part.

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[Scott Tschirhart]

But Jim!!!

There are so many “better” options out there!!!

[JimT]

Favorite Single Action Carry

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Around the home place

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or

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[JimT]

But Jim!!!

There are so many “better” options out there!!!

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I have to admit that there are some who have more capacity. But, I have never had a "stovepipe" or a "malfunction to misfeed, jam or fail to extract" with the Model 10 or the Single Action for that matter.

Edit: And for "CONTACT" shots it won't go out of battery!

[Ray]

The only caveat to carrying an ultra-reliable smith & wesson revolver or spanish or brasilian near clone or a budget near-copy made in connecticut is that they will jam. The ejector rod(s) can and will loosen thread-wise and jam the cylinder closed.

Ayoob wrote of this some 40+ years ago in an article interviewing the legendary Jim Cirillo (unsure of proper surname spelling). The famous lawman said that the repeated k-frame open cylinder checking that an onlooker might see cops do or as portrayed on the telly is not to see if the piece is loaded but is to insure the ejector rod is tight.

In my youth i thought this was absurd but then shortly into my fifth decade I bought a circa 1973 nypd marked 2" model 10 from kittery and the first cylinder-full tried down where the cellar meets the utility crawlspace that allows a down into the earth safe backstop, I could not immediately open the cylinder. I soon figured out how to open it and quickly kenned the cause but the problem is real and is just another reason to have another roscoe or gat about yourself. This might not have ever happened to anyone here......it never happened to me before either.....

[Ray]

The only caveat to carrying an ultra-reliable smith & wesson revolver or spanish or brasilian near clone or a budget near-copy made in connecticut is that they will jam. The ejector rod(s) can and will loosen thread-wise and jam the cylinder closed.

Ayoob wrote of this some 40+ years ago in an article interviewing the legendary Jim Cirillo (unsure of proper surname spelling). The famous lawman said that the repeated k-frame open cylinder checking that an onlooker might see cops do or as portrayed on the telly is not to see if the piece is loaded but is to insure the ejector rod is tight.

In my youth i thought this was absurd but then shortly into my fifth decade I bought a circa 1973 nypd marked 2" model 10 from kittery and the first cylinder-full tried down where the cellar meets the utility crawlspace that allows a down into the earth safe backstop, I could not immediately open the cylinder. I soon figured out how to open it and quickly kenned the cause but the problem is real and is just another reason to have another roscoe or gat about yourself. This might not have ever happened to anyone here......it never happened to me before either.....

The confounded, so-called auto-correct/auto-spell changed g a t to g a y the first try.

[Walt]

Smith and Wesson changed the ejector rod threads from right hand to left hand in 1961 with the standard weight barrel model 10-2 and with the heavy barrel model 10-3 the same year so the isssue of the cylinder locking up was eliminated.

[JimT]

Smith and Wesson changed the ejector rod threads from right hand to left hand in 1961 with the standard weight barrel model 10-2 and with the heavy barrel model 10-3 the same year so the issue of the cylinder locking up was eliminated.

YEP. Here are the Model 10 changes that I have read about .. I have not checked in the last 10 years or so.

10-1 1959 Heavy barrel introduced
10-2 1961 Change extractor rod thread for standard barrel
10-3 1961 Change extractor rod thread for heavy barrel, change front sight width from 1/10" to 1/8"
10-4 1962 Eliminate trigger-guard screw on standard barrel frame
10-5 1962 Change sight width from 1/10" to 1/8" on standard barrel
10-6 1962 Eliminate trigger-guard screw on heavy-barrel frame
10-7 1977 Change gas ring from yoke to cylinder for standard barrel
10-8 1977 Change gas ring from yoke to cylinder for heavy barrel
10-9 1988 Replace yoke retention system, radius stud package, floating hand hammer nose bushing for standard barrel
10-10 1988 Replace yoke retention system, radius stud package, floating hand hammer nose bushing for heavy barrel
10-11 1997 MIM hammer/trigger and floating firing pin for standard barrel and
heavy barrel Model M10 Park police model.
10-12 1997 MIM hammer/trigger + floating firing pin for heavy barrel
10-13 2002 Limited production 1899 commemorative edition
10-14 2002 Internal lock added
10-14 2010 Discontinued
10-14 2012 Reintroduced as part of the Classic Line

[Ray]

Smith and Wesson changed the ejector rod threads from right hand to left hand in 1961 with the standard weight barrel model 10-2 and with the heavy barrel model 10-3 the same year so the isssue of the cylinder locking up was eliminated.

I guess my example from '73/'74 did not get the message that the ejector rod/cylinder issue had been eliminated.....

[AJMD429]

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Yeah, I have actually had both single action and double action revolvers lock up. It's pretty darn rare, but it certainly can happen.

Probably about the only thing more reliable than a crowbar or a baseball bat would be a break open single shot shotgun, but I'm sure even those sometimes fail to fire.

[Ray]

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Yeah, I have actually had both single action and double action revolvers lock up. It's pretty darn rare, but it certainly can happen.

Probably about the only thing more reliable than a crowbar or a baseball bat would be a break open single shot shotgun, but I'm sure even those sometimes fail to fire.

I know new model rugers....without the half-cock.....the loading gate opening loosens the cylinder are prone to not firing at all if the cylinder pin is not just in the right position depth-wise. There are some pietta and uberti models that use the cylinder pin as a trigger/hammer safety of sorts. The pin has to be exactly in the correct position for the firing pin to hit the primer.

[Walt]

On transfer bar Rugers, if the base pin isn't in the proper position, the transfer bar rises as the hammer is pulled back and jams against the firing pin. The base pin in its proper position holds the transfer bar away from the firing pin. It is possible but certainly not recommended to point the gun upward while bringing the hammer back so that gravity drops the transfer bar away from the firing pin which can then be fired.

[Scott Tschirhart]

From the most recent Gunsite letter.

[JimT]

Thank you Scott. That reflects what Elmer (and others) wrote years ago.

[Lastmohecken]

From the most recent Gunsite letter.

I guess I have kind of been a disciple of Jeff Cooper for over 50 years. Generally, I always carry a Lightweight Commander in a Milt Sparks Summer Special, and shoot with the Weaver stance. I have pretty much handled a 1911 everyday for 45 years, at least. Cooper's right, in the fact that whatever kind of gun you choose, long gun or handgun, if you live with that thing, on a daily basis, it will become an extension of your body.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Thank you Scott. That reflects what Elmer (and others) wrote years ago.

Jim, how many young men have we counseled about this over the years? I’ll bet we can’t count.

I’m alive today only because of the time I spent in the Arizona desert with Bruce Nelson. I certainly didn’t learn to handle a gun in the police academy.

[JimT]

Thank you Scott. That reflects what Elmer (and others) wrote years ago.

Jim, how many young men have we counseled about this over the years? I’ll bet we can’t count.

I’m alive today only because of the time I spent in the Arizona desert with Bruce Nelson. I certainly didn’t learn to handle a gun in the police academy.

I certainly don't remember.
It's been more than 40 years since I went through academy, but I remember more lectures and things about law than I do about guns. I had no problem with qualification on rifle, pistol and shotgun. We had some who qualified by the instructor punching holes in their target with a pencil. I always hoped they were put in positions where they had to use a radio or phone and did not get out of the office.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Might be that we were hunters first.

[LeverGunner]

I have had, on two separate occasions and guns, Ruger New Models that locked up due to a binding hammer plunger. Now... that isn't to say it's a common problem, but, that if you mess primarily with a particular model, you learn all its quirks.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I have had, on two separate occasions and guns, Ruger New Models that locked up due to a binding hammer plunger. Now... that isn't to say it's a common problem, but, that if you mess primarily with a particular model, you learn all its quirks.

That’s exactly what happened to my Bowen SBH. It was the first time I’ve ever seen that happen, but I have spares now!

[piller]

Murphy's Law is still on the books, and it can be enforced at random times. Jams and malfunctions can occur.

Murphy was an evil wizard.