John Marshall on Classic Firearms:
T he heritage of the Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 Special revolver goes back to the 19th century – 1899 to be precise. Over the years it became the world’s most popular revolver, with over six million made and sold. It was first known as the Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector Model of 1899. Of course, it would not be named
only remedy with this arrangement was to keep an empty chamber under the lowered hammer – and this meant that the revolver was now capable of firing only five shots rather than six. In 1902, the .38 Military and Police (2nd Model) was produced, and incorporated some needed changes. The in-
the “Model 10” until 1957, when S&W gave model num- bers to each of its firearms, but the lineage of this gun was con- tinually manufactured through the 20th and 21st centuries. It was initially chambered for the M1892 .38 Long Colt service cartridge with an order
ternal lockwork was simplified and a locking underlug on the barrel engaged the previously unsupported forward part of the ejector rod. This helped to stabilize the cylinder when it was closed into the frame and also helped to protect the ejector rod from inadvertent
S&W Model 10-2 Shipped May 1962
impact and bending. This feature has been used on all S&W hand ejector revolvers since. There still was no internal hammer lock. This characteristic can be tested on any early unloaded S&W revolver by pressing the lowered hammer forward against the cylinder. If it moves forward, the gun has no hammer block and should be considered unsafe unless an empty chamber is
from the U.S. Army and Navy for several thousand revolv- ers. With this official order, the new revolver was quickly renamed as the Military and Police model. The Long Colt cartridge got very little love from the armed services fight - ing in the Philippines as it proved to be relatively ineffec-
tive in battle against the fierce indigenous Moro fighters. Smith & Wesson responded quickly in the first year of its new revolver by introducing a new and more powerful cartridge for it. The .38 S&W Special, also known simply as the .38 Special, was a slightly longer version of the ex- isting service cartridge, packed with a heavier bullet weighing
under the hammer. Most of these earlier M&P revolvers were pur- chased by civilians. My paternal grandfather was among them, and this picture is of his Model 1902 revolver, purchased by him
S&W Model 1899, 1901
in Kentucky around 1904. He was a country store owner then and packed this gun in a shoulder holster as he walked with his daily proceeds to a nearby bank. The Military and Police Model of 1905 4th change was introduced in 1915. It introduced a spring-loaded passive hammer block which was lodged in the sideplate and pushed farther into the sideplate by the hand (the part in the lockwork that rises to rotate the cylinder). This
158 grains. The powder charge was also changed from 18 to 21 grains. The newer guns were stamped on the barrel to indicate that the gun would also accept the “service cartridge.” Far be it that Smith & Wesson would mention a cartridge by its official name which would incorporate the word “Colt”! The Model 1899, in its infancy, was not without a cou-
hammer block was in the way of the hammer until the trigger was pulled or the hammer was cocked. This eliminated a major fault in previous revolvers that allowed discharging the gun if it was dropped on the hammer. The service sights were also improved by enlarging them somewhat, making them more quickly vis-
ple of major faults. First, the ejec- tor rod had no forward mount for it under the barrel. The only thing holding the cylinder in place was its rear locking lug. This meant that the ejector rod was just hang- ing out there and was subject to being easily bent, incapacitating the revolver from further use. Although there was a ridge on the
Author’s Grandfather’s Model 1902 With Shoulder Holster, 1904
underside of the barrel just over the ejector rod to prevent this, there was still some necessary clearance – enough to allow some bending of the rod. Secondly, there was no internal hammer block. The hammer, when at rest, was held away from the cartridge’s primer only by a very weak leaf spring. If the gun was dropped on its hammer with a cartridge lined up with the barrel, it could fire the gun. The
ible when the gun was deployed. The M&P revolver was widely issued during the first world war to help augment the standard semiautomatic Model 1911 .45 ACP pistols. M&P revolvers made during the pre-war era were par- ticularly noted for quality. I am including two here that I prize because each was made in 1939 (my birth year). Both are in excellent condition. The top one is a 6-inch barreled
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