10mm - The most versatile auto pistol cartridge in existence?

The 10mm is a fantastic round. And I am a proud owner of a G20 with a LWD 5.15" barrel and 3.5 lb connector. It shoots great and allows me to explore loads well over book.

As for where it slots ballistics wise. The 10mm slots right between the .357 and .41 mags. If you can find small primer brass one can go .41 mag numbers.

People do want pistols that will fire the big 10. When at the last Tulsa Gun Show I was looking for a deal on a NIB G29. I did not find one. And one vendor that only had Glocks and XD's on the table said a Glock 10mm was the most asked for caliber and he had none to sell. And took a few minuets of his time to ask me what I liked about the round. The man was generally interested in the swell of popularity he's seen in the 10mm concerning Glock.

As for 10mm and versatility. Naw,,, unless your uploading your ammo.

Buffalo Bore, known for riding the ragged edge with heavy loads, loads 10mm to just over 700 ft lbs in their "heavy 10mm" loadings. The above loads I think I'd shy way from without MUCH further research. I have not looked into it for handloading as I simply ain't interested in 10mm, but most agree it's equivalent to .357 magnum from 6" barrels.

http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=24

Don't forget the 10mm Mag.

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For which there was one gun made in very limited quantities. Unfortunate.

I'm still plannning to modify a Tanfoglio to accept it, since I bought a bunch of Starline 10mm mag brass. Modding the frame, slide and mag is easy-finding a barrel, not so easy.

Don't know if the 10mm is "the" most versatile auto pistol cartridge out there, but I think it's in the running. Factory ammo is available at any decent gun shop in the three most common bullet weights, and it certainly offers a lot of power. My Glock 20 is comfortable to shoot even with heavy loads, recoil being no worse than my Sig P220 in .45 acp. I love the dang thing.

The drop in Lone Wolf barrel in .357 Sig is just icing on the cake. Another nice and under-appreciated caliber.

I under-stand that S&W 610 change-over were good to go, for 10mm,mag.

"Can't understand why its not more popular?" Pretty simple to me - price & availability.

I under-stand that S&W 610 change-over were good to go, for 10mm,mag.

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Defeats the purpose for me. If I want a potent wheelgun, I'll grab my 629.

I would agree,I have both.The one I don't shoot is my S&W-586.

Hikester said:

I can't understand why this cartridge isn't more popular.

If you want light and fast, there are 125 grain loadings @ 1,600 FPS.

If you want heavy penetration, there are 200 grain loadings @ 1,200 FPS.

If you want heavy with low recoil, there are reduced power 180 grain loadings at 950 FPS.

If you want middle of the road performance, there are 165 grain loadings @ 1,400 FPS.

All of these can be fired from the same gun! And unlike running a different caliber at hot speeds the 10mm guns are designed for it out of the box.

People are going to complain about price. Well, that's partly due to not having a lot of users!

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To answer original question in S&W revolver YES in semi-auto NO.

To answer original question in S&W revolver YES in semi-auto NO.

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Why would you think that? I can run any of those loads, and some even hotter, in any of my five 10mm autoloaders without a problem. They all function fine with the anemic CCI blazer ammo as well as my 180 gr./1,400 FPS handloads, and everything in between.

It's a big cartridge with a big recoil. As far as I'm concerned it's use is limited to hunting. It really shines in the Witness Hunter model with 6" barrel.

For me it's one of the least versatile cartridges, but everyone gets their own opinion.

I look on the 10 as easy to reload and very versatile. It can be most things to most people but at the end of the day I think it is more power than most can handle well.

Plus they don't make a 10mm carbine!

Sure they do.

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Whoa! Hey Sam, do you know of anybody that has tried out that Oly Arms upper? I used to bug Marlin to make a Camp Carbine in 10mm, but hey, this is something I'd really be interested in.

I've loved the 10 since the eighties and bought a Colt Delta Elite back then. It's still in my collection, still quite lovely, and will be the last to go, though I also have a Glock 29 that now has woods/hiking duty. None of those pussification rounds have been through either of them. Minimum has been PMC 170 gr at 1200 fps.

loneviking said:

Have you ever shot one? I saw a Glock being fired at the range one day. The recoil was stout and the sucker was loud enough that I had to put on both foam plugs and a muff. No thanks. Out of a carbine, maybe, but I'm in no hurry to indulge. The Mod. 19 .357 I was shooting made less noise and recoil than that Glock.

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Owning a model 66 357 and a glock 20 I can assure you that the slide action and polymer frame soak up more of the recoil than a K-frame 357 revolver. Noise is subjective and perception varies by position. I think they are indistinguishable in terms or noise, both produce magnum level noise.

Yes, the 10mm is a versatile round. So are many other rounds. If you reload the sky is the limit.

If you reload, a .45 colt in a Blackhawk is a pretty danged versatile round. I mean, it can push .44 mag ballistics and, yet, with light loads, it may be a bit much, but it'll bring home a rabbit for camp dinner. Actually, you can do that with cowboy loads and Buffalo Bore, but not so much on a tight budget.

I prefer revolvers for outdoor carry and versatility is the reason. I often take camp meat when I'm out hunting other stuff with my rifle and a .357 can shoot the lightest .38 to the heaviest magnum, something that would require a recoil spring change at the very least on an autoloader. Powder puff wadcutters or my 105 grain SWC over 2.3 grains Bullseye in a .38 case, very accurate and effective small game gitter and only requires a sight elevation change, would not work in an autoloader set up for magnum pressure.

The term "versatile" means different things to different folks. Via light .38s to heavy 180 magnums, a .357 revolver is a versatile field carry for which one need not take along spare parts in the field to change loads. Add to this the inherent better accuracy of the revolver afield and I'm just not interested in the 10 for field use.

As for where it slots ballistics wise. The 10mm slots right between the .357 and .41 mags. If you can find small primer brass one can go .41 mag numbers.

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This is what irks me most about some 10mmauto owners.

They have no idea what they are talking about.

The 10mm is no more powerful than full power 357's

Quote:
As for where it slots ballistics wise. The 10mm slots right between the .357 and .41 mags. If you can find small primer brass one can go .41 mag numbers.

This is what irks me most about some 10mmauto owners.

They have no idea what they are talking about.

The 10mm is no more powerful than full power 357's.
I do have 357's 45's 44mags,been shooting them and reloading for them,for about 50 years. Sir ,your very wrong.

MachIVshooter said:

Why would you think that? I can run any of those loads, and some even hotter, in any of my five 10mm autoloaders without a problem. They all function fine with the anemic CCI blazer ammo as well as my 180 gr./1,400 FPS handloads, and everything in between.

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It's nice to be able to shoot readily available .40S&W ammo in same firearm w/o alterations. What popular caliber ammo was always in stock during shortages about four years ago?

Don't know if this is relevant, but my local Walmart does not carry 10mm auto, but our local hardware store has quite a bit. Odd?

Cool t-shirt.
Somebody should make one of this popular drawing that I've seen on various forums:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1...dgejokezd9.jpg

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Or, like this one ...

I like this one better. I shot all of these today.

50 shots offhand







This is my 610-65 shooter. This just goes to show that the 10mm is a nice versatile revolver round.

Yes.

I look on the 10 as easy to reload and very versatile. It can be most things to most people but at the end of the day I think it is more power than most can handle well.

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Actually, the phrasology of the OP's question was, in a more declaratory form, coined by me on these boards back in the early 2000s:

"The 10mm is the most versatile autoloading cartidge extant."

No pride of authorship, however, especially on the ethernet.

But I agree with Peter (nice 610 pics!), in that "most" shooters probably are weekend warrior-types - better described as casual shooters, not professional pistoleros - for whom a 9mm or .45 is fine. For the sort of "hobby shooting" they do, they can shoot guns chambered in these calibers reasonably well. I see this at our local range all the time ...

The 10mm, being designed from the ground up for "combat" use (per Jeff Cooper), simply takes more time and effort to become proficient with - and what most forget, it also obligates you to practice regularly with it to stay proficient. I'm talking about real 10mm ammo here by the way, not the watered-down, .40-duplicating variety. If that's the power-level you want for all or most of your "10mm" shooting, don't get a 10mm. Get a .40S&W and be done with it.

So while the full-throttle 10mm, or even loads in the upper mid-range, may be "more power than most can handle well," given that these "most" wouldn't invest the time necessary to train up to the 10mm, that's hardly the cartridge's fault.

Among the so-called "service cartridges," the 10mm chooses you, not you it. And for the weekend warrior the 10mm can be a harsh mistress. It's a caliber you have to want to shoot extensively. But almost everyone who's stuck with the 10mm long enough to see its capability first hand, and who understands its versatility of use, has never looked back.

Power, Penetration, Accuracy, Versatility - what's not to like? Among the so-called "service catridges," the 10mm distinguishes itself from the herd, as do its users ...

... Which brings us to another T-Shirt concept that on a different board got the 10mm accused of having an "attitude" problem.

View attachment 162729Here is my Colt 10mm. It's over 80,000 rounds and on it third barrel. She is a shooter.