Also, we measured the barrels on both the Smith & Wesson and Taurus revolvers to be 0.1 inch longer than the manufacturer’s claimed 4 inches. The front sight is now a serrated ramp, in stark contrast to the thin arcing blade that graced the earliest Model 10s. This means the wall thickness of the barrel is oversized, and this becomes apparent when compared to earlier models sold with a tapered barrel. Our Model 10 is sold with a “heavy” barrel. The 4-inch barrel has become the standard for duty carry, offering enough sight radius and velocity for effective use. The latest Model 10 revolver from Smith & Wesson is perhaps the archetypal double-action revolver. Available in bright stainless for an additional $50, we tested the blue model for $325. Fitting neatly in between is the Model 82 from Taurus International. This is the Armscor Model 200 from the Arms Corporation of the Philippines. In contrast, the least expensive revolver we could find in blued steel with a 4-inch barrel is listed at $199. The M10 has also been the basis of many competition guns and is the most expensive of this test trio at a current MSRP of $489. I.e., the Smith & Wesson Model 10 was once the standard sidearm for police and military use. 38 Special-only revolvers that are inexpensive and simple to operate. Toward that end, we recently tested three. That said, real-life self defense is a serious matter in which simple, deadly tools are often enough to keep kin and your own skin safe from harm. But then we would have been denied the pleasures of so many more movies by the “muscles from Brussels.” We find it amusing that this representative film and so many others could be shortened to approximately three minutes if the intended victim had merely lifted an unadorned. She is aware of his approach but does nothing.
For example, in Jean Claude Van Damm’s The Replicant, a serial killer enters the apartment of a young mother and brutally kills her.
It is easy to be reminded of this whenever we see a movie that begins with a horrendous or unspeakable crime against a defenseless victim. In fact several people among our staff and associates became interested in firearms not from a family member nor via the NRA, but after playing the part of the victim wherein a handgun might have changed the outcome. While it is easy to appreciate the most expensive firearms such as the Korth revolver (July 2002), each of us know that nearly any reliable handgun can be used to stop an act of aggression. This means they have an active interest in collecting, shooting, participation in gun sports, and of course, self-defense. As a subscriber-supported publication, it is reasonable to believe that Gun Tests readers are passionate about guns.