Is hunting with a 10mm handgun recommended?

[holo] said:

Please grade how effective 10mm is in deer hunting from 1-10. 1 being impossible, and 10 being just as or better than the average deer hunting cartridge.

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The unknown parts of your question are what optic and what bullet and its speed... plus how far will you shoot...

So if you're loading say a 180 grain Hornady XTP and it's going 1200 fps from your muzzle, and you couple that with a 50 yard zero on your optic.., on paper that round would be an 8+ from a handgun out to 60 yards
Elevation and drop would be + or - about 1" out to 60 yards, and at 60 yards that bullet will still be just about to go tran-sonic..., at elevations it would be going a tad faster. So it should do very well. (This assumes no difficulties with accuracy, perhaps firing from a supported position.)

Depending on the handgun you might be looking at an after-market barrel to get that 1200 fps with a 180 grain XTP, but that's not too difficult to do.

LD

Highland Lofts said:

Pistol calibers just don't have the shock that rifles deliver.

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Neither does an arrow. Nothing is going to give you a "bang-flop" like a rifle. That doesn't mean it doesn't work. It just means it works differently. A 20-100yd dash is to be expected and is not a sign that the cartridge is ineffective. After the first dozen you realize they all run but never very far.

The problem with comparing handgun cartridges to rifle cartridges is that you really can't. While it's easy to say that the .44Mag is less capable than a .30-30, there are critters I'd hunt (and have hunted) with the .44Mag that I would not even attempt with the .30-30, or even the .30-06. Those rifle cartridges MUST expand to be effective and you can't get expansion AND adequate penetration to hunt anything large. A heavy solid out of a big bore handgun is going to penetrate measured in feet, not inches and it doesn't have to expand to be effective.

Buzznrose said:

Cheap-o? What does that mean?

Neither Glock nor SA make a 10MM carbine, but other companies do.

Ruger makes a 10MM revolver.

10MM with the proper ammo will certainly kill a deer, but it’s limitations should be accounted for, as should the limitations of the shooter.

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https://www.recoilweb.com/hipoint-10mm-carbine-quality-garbage-139080.html
Hi Point carbine is what I believe he was referring to. I don’t have any experience. Looks pretty neato.

dodo bird said:

https://www.recoilweb.com/hipoint-10mm-carbine-quality-garbage-139080.html
Hi Point carbine is what I believe he was referring to. I don’t have any experience. Looks pretty neato.

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Ah, my apologies to Mr. DB Cooper. I didn’t pick up on the break between the Glock/SA and the Carbine comments and connected them.

The HiPoint carbines are often maligned, but from a lot of accounts, they run quite well, and generally often better then their handgun counterparts.

There are other companies who also make 10MM carbines, CMMG, Just Right, and Kriss being the first to come to mind.

I've hunted with handguns going on 35+ years. If I were putting them all on a scale comparative to a
rifle none would rate over a 3-5 depending upon the caliber.

That said, my first deer with a revolver was taken with a GP100 at 72 steps. Certainly didn't seem that far. Since I have mainly used a Redhawk in 41, 44 ,45 Colt, or a 8 3/8"Raging Bull or Freedom Arm 454. I have also toted an IAI Javelina 10mm quite a bit up until year before last when I picked up a G40.

I've taken mostly does at archery ranges, but feral hogs I have reached put to a hundred yards plus with the bigger revolvers or to around 60'ish with the 10's. Using the 180gr Gold Dot or a home cast HP, loaded to around 1350'ish FPS the do work and work well IF you can accurately hit where your supposed to.

The biggest issue with handguns is the short sight radius and lack of practice from field positions. It took me almost a year of hard practice before I was confident in my ability. With things the way they are now, and unless you have a place to practice standing, kneeling, improvised and mechanical rest like a bi-pod, its hard to pull it all together. Not to mention accurate range estimates in the field.

Is the 10mm adequate, absolutely, within 50-75yds. Is the shooter??? I watched Razor Dobbs take down some impressive critters that I would never attempt, but I know how my loads do work on deer and hogs.

I'd have a hard time rating it as it depends what shots you take and the shot placement. It will not wound like a rifle with explosive hydrostatic shock so it is a step down from any appropriate rifle cartridge for sure.

Using a hunting bullet like a 180gr Trophy Bonded or 180-200gr XTP I think it would be 100% effective with good shot placement. And I don't think a deer shoulder could stop either of those bullets though I have not shot deer with my 10mm. When I have discussed the subject with hunters elsewhere who have used it, it tends to break through deer bones and be adequate at reasonable ranges.

Deer WILL bang flop from pistol cartridges. Deer will also run and die 50-100 yards away. I’ve experienced both scenarios. Every animal is different.

@CraigC is right about the penetration of big bore handguns with heavy solids or hardcasts. And on big animals I’d damn sure rather have what he uses than my 10mm. But we are talking about deer. They don’t take a lot to kill. They don’t take a lot to kill cleanly. Even big northern white tails are no more than maybe 20” across their ribs for a lung shot and probably no more than 10” across at the heart.

Just think....the difference between a 10mm and. 44 mag as far as bullet diameter goes is only 3/100” or 0.03”. The difference between the 357 and 10mm is 42/100” or 0.042. Obviously bullet construction, bullet weight, and velocity play a vital role in performance. However, the 10mm isn’t lacking if loaded properly, and used at reasonable distances the shooter can achieve proper placement.

Are there better handgun options? Of course there are. Would I feel undergunned with a 10mm deer hunting? No. Not at all. That’s why I carry one. I’m not big on not carrying enough gun. So as a pistol cartridge for deer hunting, loaded properly, I’d give it a 7. Place it in a 6” S&W 610 and add a good optic, I’d take that to at least a 7.401

I wont get into the cartridges capability, but alot of prospect handgun owners feel that handgun accuracy (which is often dismal at best) is good enough, when they would never be happy with less than a one inch group at 100 yards from their rifle.