Posted: 10/14/2004 12:40:49 AM EDT
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I've got a few questions about S&W 10mm for anyone who might know. I am an avid 10mm shooter, and know little about the S&W as far as their history of quality and reliability goes. Right know I have a 1006 and a 1076 and am wonder how well they can be expected to hold up. I've had an early 10mm Colt Delta that eventually shot itself apart, and a Glock 20 and 29 (I still own them). The long and the short is what kind of life can I expect out of my S&W? |
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Changing the recoil spring every 1000 rds or so will greatly help the gun last. Avoiding +P ammo will also help. You should be able to hand that gun down to your grand-kids with a bit of care & cleaning. The Delta's have indeed a bad rep for longevity, IIRC. Could be their recoil springs were too weak for the job, I'm not certain. |
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Correct that both the S&W and the Glock were designed around the full bore 10mm round. The only 10mm I have ever owned that I regret selling was a 1076...very nice gun and a damned fine shooter. I know two old Bureau guys who still carry their 1076s...or did the last time I saw them a couple years ago...in preference to anything else, but if they have not retired by now they may have been forced to get rid of them I suppose. The FBI did a contract for something like a million or more rounds of 10mm with Federal when they adopted the caliber, so I imagine there are still some 10mms floating around there somewhere. If I found a good price on a like new 1076 I would grab it in a second and be happy to have it. As for durability, that I cannot say, but I can tell you I probably put 3000+ rounds of mostly full loaded WW Silvertip through my 1076 with nary a problem and it was still tight and accurate when some other little slut gun turned my head and I got rid of it. 
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| My now closed local indoor range had a Colt Delta Elite for rent, it crack the slide behind the ejection port after 2,500 rounds of factory 10mm PMC ammo and was replaced. The frame cracked around the slide stop hole at 5,000 and the gun was retired(thrown into the junk heap of worn guns). |
I have heard of other Delta Elite's doing this, even with less rounds. Then you go and see the high prices for these things online and at shows. Are they just collecting them while they shoot Glocks and Smiths? |
I have a Delta Gold Cup that I bought many years ago. I still shoot the thing for laughs and giggles, but not with full-power factory 10mm ammo. It's way too valuable as a collector's item, but I shoot downloaded, 10mm ammo that duplicates the velocity of a 45ACP round. |
 Mine has >10,000 full power loads (some of them in the "hey watch this shit" category), has been pretty much neglected as far as cleaning & oiling go. No loss of accuracy that I can see yet. It was never a candidate for Camp Perry, anyways. 3"-4" at 50 yards, I supppose? Nothing amazing, but no slouch either. Absolutely phenominal reliability. I went 9 years w/o a single malf. None. Ever. 0. I tried going slow & heavy(800fps 200gr), slow & light (850fps, 155gr), heavy & fast (1200fps, 200gr), light & fast (135gr, 1550fps). No problems. Then I tried using Lee's tumble lube bullet mould (yeah, I cast).. ruined up my perfect record. Anyway, my Smith 10 is just a little slut. Loves the abuse and is always ready to go. |
I'm in that group as well. I'll buy another in a heartbeat if the gun, me, and enough money happen to be in the same place at the same time. Usually the money part is the missing link nowdays  |
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10 millie nuts unite. 2-1076, 1006 and a 1086 for me, oh and a 610. These are my pistols of choice. working on getting a Glock 29 for a carry gun. I have abused my 1006. about 5000 rounds through it. Lite loads that doesn't take the slide out of battery to hot loads 200gr. FMJ Hornady chronoed ar 1211 fps. My favorite load is seirra or nosler 135 at 1500 fps. which gives like 500 ft.lbs. of energy. These are some my loaded win. 175 ST. The first one on the left was loaded to 700fps. middle was loaded to 1000fps. and the last was loaded 1300fps. You can tell the difference in expansion as the fps go up. I used wet newspaper(soaking in a bucket all night) in blocks about a 15 inches thick. and tied together. Did I say I love the 10mm.   |
| Fuck the S&W, BUY A GLOCK!!!!!!!!! Glock is the only 10mm handgun on the market that has a good service life with regular firing. The F.B.I. tried 10mm's in the 1911 frame, guns tore themselves apart hense the development of .40S&W. Do your research on 10mm's and there is plenty of it on the web, you come back to Glock. |
I spoke with the factory reps of both S&W and Glock, and those autos were engineered and designed from the ground up to handle the more powerful 10mm Auto round. The Colt 1911 10mm Autos was just a plain old converted 1911 45ACP without any additional engineering for aditional strenght, and so it really couldn't handle the magnum pressures of the 10mm Auto cartidge. But then thank Colt for being the first to legitimize the floundering wildcat 10mm at the time. The only gun to chamber the cartridge was the Dornus & Dixon Bren Ten, and they were having financial problems at that time. |
Kentucky State Police used a Smith 1076 with good success for 13 years ('91-'04). I have one that has been 100% reliable. Edit: I notice you said "on the market." The 1076 is no longer on the market, which is one reason the State Police quit issuing them, but nevertheless, it was a reliable gun when it was made. |