10mm but no 40 S&W?

Status
Not open for further replies.

beeenbag

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
1,821
Location
Grayson, Ky
So I have made the decision that I am going to dive into the 10mm world with a ruger sr1911 10mm.

My question is, now that I'm going to be loading for 10, would it make a case for leaning more towards 40 for my other handguns?

I currently only load 9mm, 45acp, 38/357, 380 acp and 44 mag in handguns. I do have 7 9mm handguns so swapping them all out for 40 isn't likely to happen but I may be more inclined to buy a 40 with dies and bullets already being in the stable. I've just never been a big fan of the 40 s&w and really like to keep as few chamberings as I can for now.

So would having dies, bullets and loading for the 10mm make you reconsider 40?
 
Not really. I'm in the same boat you are. I mostly own 9mm and 45 acp semiautos. I started on a 40 S&W and didn't like it. Last year I bought a 10mm auto and this year bought a second.

Right now I load 45 acp and 10mm. I don't see why I need 40 S&W. I'd rather just down load 10mm ammo if I want lighter shooting. 1000 ft/second 10mm data is all over, and brass isn't going to cost you significantly more than 40 S&W would. So again, why would you need a 40 if you have a 10mm? It's not going to accomplish anything you can't already do.

If you want an excuse to buy more guns, go for it. For me, I'm just going to tailor make my 10mm the way I want it.
 
Last edited:
Not me, each of my guns were bought for a specific use, some day i would consider it if i had money i didn't need but i like the 9mm as a carry weapon so don't see the need to buy a heavier gun
 
Nope. I buy guns I like, not guns that happen to fit the components I own. That's just amounts to throwing money away on things i don't have a use for when the money would be better spent on more components.

I have several 10mms and not a single .40 to keep them company.
 
Like some of the others, I load for 10, but don't own a 40 to load for. I keep a stash of 40 brass and sometimes help my brother load up some fodder for his 40. I may end up with one someday (almost certainly as a gamer gun in USPSA/IPSC), but the fact that I have dies (and projectiles) for it doesn't really motivate me.
 
I own a .40 with an interchangeable barrel for .357 Sig. I consider the gun as useful as it is versatile. I have never seriously considered a 10 mm since I have four .45 autos. Although I have three 9 mm's, I don't really like the way any of them shoot and don't trust them as man-stoppers. The .40 S&W is my cup of tea.
 
So would having dies, bullets and loading for the 10mm make you reconsider 40?
With me, it's kinda like I never "unconsidered" a 40, even though I don't happen to have one right now. But just like with my 38 Specials (just 38 Specials) I didn't buy them because I already loaded for 357s, and if I ever buy a 44 Special, it won't be because I already load for 44 Mags.
On the other hand, as an avid (or if you prefer - rabid) handloader, I have bought guns just because I wanted to load for them.:D
 
Since you're getting a 1911, just have a .40 barrel fit to the gun. Then you can run your cheap blaster .40 ammo through it at the range, and load up with full-power 10mm when needed.

And if you're a reloader, you probably have buckets of .40 brass already. That stuff is everywhere at the ranges I shoot at.
 
My question is, now that I'm going to be loading for 10, would it make a case for leaning more towards 40 for my other handguns?

So would having dies, bullets and loading for the 10mm make you reconsider 40?

No and no.

10mm and 40S&W:
Use different primers (LP vs SP)
Use different cases (40 cannot/should not be fired in a 10mm unless it's a revolver or caliber conversion barrel)
Has the ability to use most of the same powders, but should optimally use different powders
Share the same bullet diameter and overlaps weight at 180gr bullets, but IMO, 200gr is more appropriate for 10mm.
Share the same die set and shell holder.

10mm/40S&W is one step further away from 38/357 commonality and in the similar vein when considering 9mm/357sig.

Specifically for the OP - with the range of calibers listed, it really isn't about the commonality of components, but whether it's worth taking on another caliber.

It would make sense if a person already had firearms in 40 since the the 10mm is more likely to have the lower round count. But since the OP already has multiple 9/45's, purchasing a 40S&W firearm for the sake of dies and projectiles seems like something that would sit in the safe.
 
Kinda. I’m a fan of the 10mm but am not a fan of the price tags. I still have several boxes of factory ammo, dies, brass, bullets, but no 10mm gun to eat it. I keep looking at AR barrels but haven’t took that plunge yet since I want DI instead of blowback, but either way even in an AR it’s a pricey situation.

So when you have every other item on the list except for the gun itself it occurs to me that you are buying with your own discount at roughly 100 bucks off. I dislike 40sw but I keep thinking to myself “Self, you could settle for that gun that’s 1/3 the price”.
 
I am backwards on this. Nearly all my semi-autos are 40S&W. I like the cartridge. The fact that I had the dies and was loading lots of 40S&W was, in part, why I bough my 10mm.

Same here. However, I found that adjusting my dies back and forth was a hassle, so I obtained a second set of dies. It's cool being able to use many of the same projectiles and powders for both calibers.

BTW, I really enjoy that SR1911-10.
 
I am backwards on this. Nearly all my semi-autos are 40S&W. I like the cartridge. The fact that I had the dies and was loading lots of 40S&W was, in part, why I bough my 10mm.

I kind of went along similar lines, bought some nice police trade-ins, got into .40 and liked it. Bought a 10mm for hunting since I already had the dies, played with both for a while. Decided that the .40 makes for a better self defense package and I'd rather use my .44 mag revolver for hunting, so I moved the 10mm on down the road. Whittled my pistol caliber reloading tail down to 9mm, .40 and .44 mag.


To the OP, there often a bunch of good deals on police trade-in Glocks, Sigs, S&W, etc. in .40 (and 9). Might as well pick one up and give it a try, both .40 and 10mm do well with 180gr bullets and powders like Longshot. You're really only looking at different cases and primers. I don't think I've ever bought a .40 case, but I've got a couple gallon bags of them in the shop from scrounging my ranges.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mcb
I am backwards on this. Nearly all my semi-autos are 40S&W. I like the cartridge. The fact that I had the dies and was loading lots of 40S&W was, in part, why I bough my 10mm.

Same here.

Same here. However, I found that adjusting my dies back and forth was a hassle, so I obtained a second set of dies. It's cool being able to use many of the same projectiles and powders for both calibers.

Most of what I shot when I first started reloading was 40, but I have found myself shooting other calibers now, and not so much the 40. If I did, I would definitely get another set of dies for 40, as adjusting them back/forth between 10mm and 40 is a pain. Same reason I have one set of dies for 38 and another for 357mag.
 
Why buy hamburger when you already have steak?:)

This is true. If you want hamburger, you can always grind down the steak.
You can always download 10 to feel just like a 40 without changing components, just use less of a faster powder. The same goes for "neutering" ;) a 40 cartridge to have the same recoil as a 9mm or downloading .357 mag down to 38 Special.
If you have so many 9mm guns, there is no reason to get the same clone in 40 unless you have $ burning a hole in your pocket in which case, go for it. If you are tired with the "pew pew" recoil of 9mm, you have your 10mm you can load full throttle with Blue Dot or Power Pistol. There's just an extra sense of gratification being able to shoot a big blaster handgun accurately.

I have one 40 gun and four 9mm guns as well as 357/38/45 and .22 but I shoot the 40 more than all my other handguns combined. Variety is the spice of life but I've also learned "beware the man with one gun" also holds true.
 
You can always download 10 to feel just like a 40 without changing components, just use less of a faster powder. The same goes for "neutering" ;) a 40 cartridge to have the same recoil as a 9mm or downloading .357 mag down to 38 Special.
It really depends on what you want to do with it. I got into shooting .40 in USPSA in the late '90s, because there was and advantage to it for that sport / division. Years later, there are more divisions than you can count. I sometimes shoot 10mm in Single Stack division, but it's downloaded to the same power factor that I can get with a .40.

In this instance, I would prefer to shoot .40, as I don't have to worry about chasing my brass. I have maybe 1500 pieces of 10mm, where I literally have buckets of .40 brass. And I can usually pick up more .40 brass than what I brought to any match I attend. So for me, it makes sense to fit a .40 barrel to the Colt Delta Elite.

For other purposes, maybe shooting 10mm exclusively and tailoring loads to the task at hand makes the most sense.
 
I guess I was thinking more along the lines of, using a 40 to collect the trash from things I didn't like when load developing 10.

I could always load the trash in 10 cases and use as plinking ammo but the brass is fairly expensive and id prefer to use the round counts on each brass for shots that make me smile, if that makes any sense. Hate to have a box of 90 .40 bullets sitting there I didn't like in 10 and could load in common, free 40 brass and make a plate ring. That was my thoughts on the matter anyways.
 
I guess I was thinking more along the lines of, using a 40 to collect the trash from things I didn't like when load developing 10... could load in common, free 40 brass and make a plate ring.
That's a valid reason.

I'll do you one better. I bought a couple thousand frangible .40 bullets, because they were really cheap. But they're also a little fragile. In loading around 1200 of them, I had around 60 bullets where the tip broke off. They obviously won't feed very well this way (yes, I tried). So I spent $700 and bought a Ruger Blackhawk 10mm/.40, and in doing so was able to salvage maybe $2.50 in broken bullets.

:confused:

(any excuse to buy a new gun)

HKvURLYl.jpg
 
I shoot 40S&W in my 10mm's all the time, because I'm tired of chasing expensive 10mm brass when there's bucketloads of 40S&W brass laying about for the taking. I just load up full-power 40S&W and treat it as low-power range loads for the 10mm.
 
I bought a S&W 625 .45ACP revolver in large part to dispose of bullets whose profiles are unpalatable to my picky 1911. That thing is a garbage disposal!

I ended up with a 625 and am so glad I have it, for the very same reason as you. And I would really love to have a revolver that takes 10/40 rounds as well.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top