| FIRING LINE REPORT | BY J. SCOTT RUPP
ONCE LEFT FOR DEAD, THE 10MM AUTO
cartridge is going gangbusters today.
The resurgence started in the 1911
platform, and the round is now moving
into striker-fired guns. But wheelgun-
ners aren’t being left behind, thanks to
Smith & Wesson’s Model 610.
Built on the legendary N frame, the
Model 610 I received for testing has
a 6.5-inch barrel; a four-inch version
is offered as well. The barrel is a one-
piece affair and sports a full underlug.
The rear sight is fully adjustable and
has a white outline on the rear notch.
The front is a ramped blade, plain
black, that’s pinned to the barrel, and
the flat barrel top is grooved to reduce
glare. The barrel, frame and fluted
cylinder are stainless steel.
The grips are black synthetic. I have
a Model 629 Classic .44 Magnum, also
an N frame. My 629 is several years
old and came with a Hogue Mono-
grip, which doesn’t fully wrap around
the frame’s backstrap. The 610’s grip
does. Also, the finger grooves on the
61 0 are much more subtle, and the
indentations don’t extend back on the
gr ips.
On the one hand (pun alert), I like
the 610’s grip better because the shal-
low grooves allow me to position my
hand and fingers exactly where I want
them, and the full wrap prevents the
bare metal of the frame from stinging
the web of my hand, which can hap-
pen with full-power .44 Magnum loads
in the 629.
But on the flip side, the deeper,
extended grooves on the 629 essen-
tially produce a smaller grip circumfer-
ence. I have medium-size hands, and
the 629 fits me a little better. In other
words, whether the grips on the 610
suit you depends on your hands. For-
tunately, the grips are easy to change
if you don’t like them. Turn out an Allen
screw on the right side, and the two
halves of the grip can be separated.
Double-action trigger pull wasSMITH & WESSON MODEL 610
SMITH&WESSON
MODEL 610
TYPE:double-actioncenterfirerevolver
CALIBER:10mmAuto
CAPACITY:6;3 moonclipsincluded
BARREL:6. 5 in.(astested)
WEIGHT: 50 .1oz.
OAL/HEIGHT/WIDTH(ATCYLINDER):12.25/
6.0/1.7in.
CONSTRUCTION:st ainlesssteel.
GRIPS:bl acksynthetic
TRIGGER:doubleaction,11 lb.,15 oz. pull;
si ngleaction,4 lb.,5 oz. pull(measured)
SIGHTS:fu llyadjustablewhite-outlinerear,
bl ackrampedbladefront
SAFETY:to ol-operatedtriggerblock
PRICE:$96 9
MANUFACTURER:Smith& Wesson,
smith-wesson.com11 pounds, 15 ounces, and it was
consistent with almost no stack-
ing. Single-action pull averaged four
pounds, five ounces, with about five
ounces of variation over 10 pulls.