10mm pistol for hunting

I'd try to find a way to like a glock. Best all around 10mm for the money. That's all I can say about that.

Glock would be the easy way.

SIG P320 https://www.sigsauer.com/p320-xten.html

You can get a G20 (new or used) and add a 6” barrel if you prefer. Plenty of aftermarket barrels out there for the G20.

JTQ said:

Glock would be the easy way.

SIG P320 https://www.sigsauer.com/p320-xten.html

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Lots of issues with the magazines all over the web.

Honestly the G40 is a great hunting pistol, but if you can find an EAA Witness Hunter 10mm it's worth every penny.

For hunting, it won’t be nearly as easy to hit your target with a 10 mm auto pistol as with a magnum revolver with longer barrel and scope.

You’d have to practice and know your hold overs pretty well. No hashes in the scope reticle to help.

Obturation said:

I'd try to find a way to like a glock. Best all around 10mm for the money. That's all I can say about that.

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My son is a Glock only person... I showed him my optics ready Springfield 10mm and he said "I actually like this..." Which says alot about my choice... Of course I'm biased....he's my son...lol... no matter what you choose... I think you'll really like the 10mm... I've been shooting, reloading and hunting with my 10's since I was... Well since the late 80's...lol... I like my 6" Glock and EDC carry my Springfield... It's just a bit smaller

I bought this from Springfield Armory with the long slide 6" barrel. She handles very very nice.

TSchwab25 said:

The problem wirh revolvers is noise. They are just too loud to shoot without ear pro while hunting. Im also not shooting past probably 50 yards, so bullet drop doesn't matter.

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I actually cant tell much of a difference between my .44 SBH and my 10mm, both are too loud for anything resembling comfort, and nether are as gnarly as the 2.75" .357 i had.
To be fair i run my 10s hotter than the average factory load and use longshot which is supposed to be one of the louder, flashier, powders.

I absolutely cant stand Glocks, so my choice is a RIA 6" that i swapped the frame from a 5" ultra match.....or 5" ultra match frame with a 6" tac match slide.....however you wanna look at it.
If i run across an EAA Hunter for what im willing to spend ill own one of those as well, but for now the RIA does everything i want. Including ringing the hell out of plates at 100yds.

Check your state handgun regulations for handgun hunting requirements.

The state of Wisconsin requires a 5 1/2" barrel or longer measured from the firing pin to the muzzle.
Enjoy your search! Pick up every 10mm you see at shops and better yet shoot as many as you can. While at the range if someone is shooting a 10mm ask them if you can try it. Most guys will happily show off their handgun.

Obturation said:

I'd try to find a way to like a glock. Best all around 10mm for the money. That's all I can say about that.

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I agree for the most part. I have been carrying Glocks on duty and off for nearly thirty years and they are great pistols. However, in December I bought a S&W M&P2.0 in 10mm. It fits my hand much better than any Glock and the trigger is good. It has become my primary hunting pistol. What I don't like about Glocks is you need to replace the barrel if you want to shoot hot hunting loads (I prefer Underwood 220 grain SWC for pigs) since it's chamber isn't fully supported. The Smith can handle hot loads safely. Also the typical Glock sights are atrocious. This isn't a concern with the new Smith which also comes with suppressor sights and is optics ready. I still have two Glock 20s but I probably won't use them often in the future.

The first 10mn I bought was a RIA rock ultra fs hc. I was so excited about it until I shot it. It had a bad habit of jamming while trying to load the next round after firing. It had other malfunctions but that one was most common. It happened every other shot or so. I tried different types and name brands of ammo and even purchased replacement magazines, no change. I had it sent back to RIA, it still suffered from the same problem when I got it back so I ended up taking it back to where I purchased it and the shop took it back. I used that money to buy a Glock 20 and never looked back. It eats every type of ammo I put through it and have never had a malfunction. Accurate as well. I liked it enough that I got a Glock 40 later on and it's been just as reliable. I don't judge Rock Island on my bad experience with the sample size of 1, but it soured me enough to not buy another 10mm 1911, especially the double stacked ones.

For a dedicated hunting handgun I still recommend a magnum revolver with a 6" or longer barrel. It's just easier to get the power and accuracy you need for hunting.

The best 10mm loads will slightly beat the best 357 mag loads and all but match 41 magnum loads when the magnums are fired in 4" barrels. 10mm is closer to 44 mag than most realize when 44 mag is fired from 4" or shorter barrels. Add 2 more inches of barrel to the magnums and 10mm starts to fade, adding 2 more inches to 10mm doesn't really help much. Plus, you get a better trigger and sights on most revolvers.

Where 10mm fills a role is as a dual-purpose personal defense and large predator defense handgun. Powerful and accurate enough for close range large animal defense but compact enough and with enough mag capacity for typical 2-legged predator defense.

Of course, it is also acceptable for hunting if one is willing to accept even shorter-range limitations than most handguns. IMO if you have to start adding aftermarket 5" or 6" barrels to be legal just buy a revolver with a 6" barrel.

IMO the holy grail of 10mm is the original S&W 1006. But they are hard to find and expensive. Glock is the only other option that has proven it will hold up to full power 10mm use. I carried either a G20 or later a G29 for years as my hiking/camping woods gun in bear country.

But I gave the new Smith M&P in 10mm a chance and like it better than my Glock. I went with the 4" compact with a safety. Compared to my old Glock the 4 lb trigger on the Smith makes it much more accurate to me than the 6 lb trigger on the Glock. Sights are better and I like having a safety for how I use it. Only time will tell how well it holds up.

There are 10mm Auto revolvers if you're so inclined.

TSchwab25 said:

The problem wirh revolvers is noise. They are just too loud to shoot without ear pro while hunting. Im also not shooting past probably 50 yards, so bullet drop doesn't matter.

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Any of these we’re discussing are loud enough to cause hearing damage. Any of them will instantly cause a ringing in the ears. Just like a typical hunting rifle. Might as well take the one that’ll get it done: .357/.41/.44 Magnum.

The advantages of an auto pistol (faster follow up shots) don’t matter with hunting. That’s why the serious handgun hunters use single shots from shooting sticks.

Glock would be cheap but the cz would be way more money but way cooler. If I come into some money I will have one of the cz's.

mcb said:

There are 10mm Auto revolvers if you're so inclined.

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If using a revolver, why use a round limited by autopistol requirements.... I love a wheel gun, I don't intend to own one that shoots auto pistol rounds. If others like them, I encourage them to go for it. I've not shot a 41 mag yet but I'd sure like to.

AJC1 said:

If using a revolver, why use a round limited by autopistol requirements.... I love a wheel gun, I don't intend to own one that shoots auto pistol rounds. If others like them, I encourage them to go for it. I've not shot a 41 mag yet but I'd sure like to.

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Probably not applicable to most hunting situations but a revolver chambered in a rimless cartridge like 10mm (45 ACP, 9mm etc) uses thick robust moonclips that enable some of the fastest most fumble free reloads you can get with a revolver.

My S&W 610 was bought for USPSA competition but when I upgraded to a newer revolver several years later the 610 became my hunting revolver. I had many thousands of rounds through it so I shot it extremely well, the ballistics are comparable to and in my opinion slightly better (due to heavier bullets) than 357 Magnum while being slightly easier on my unprotected ears. And it reloads fast.

If I wanted to up the power, I could have the cylinder reamed for 10mm Magnum and have power comparable to 41 Mag but retain the ability to use moonclips, and still shoot 10mm Auto and 40 S&W. But s you can see from the picture in the previous post 10mm Auto does just fine on the whitetails.

TSchwab25 said:

They are just too loud to shoot without ear pro

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No to this in it's entirety. 10mm is too loud to shoot without protection in any scenario other than last ditch effort to save your life.

Dan Wesson makes a 6" 1911 in 10mm. I have two Dan Wessons and they have been great.

460Shooter said:

No to this in it's entirety. 10mm is too loud to shoot without protection in any scenario other than last ditch effort to save your life.

Dan Wesson makes a 6" 1911 in 10mm. I have two Dan Wessons and they have been great.

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I would rather shoot my 10mm revolver without ear pro than my 357 Mag revolver (assuming similar energy loads). The two deer in my first post in this thread were shot with a 10mm and without ear-pro. It is not a pleasant sound or even a health sound for repeated exposures but unlike my 357 Magnum my ears did not ring the rest of the day. And I can still pass my hearing tests for my age...

Buy my Glock so I can get the Springfield armory XDm

Only reason I get the Glock was due to the best price at the time and I didn't want a 1911 in 10MM

mcb said:

I would rather shoot my 10mm revolver without ear pro than my 357 Mag revolver (assuming similar energy loads). The two deer in my first post in this thread were shot with a 10mm and without ear-pro. It is not a pleasant sound or even a health sound for repeated exposures but unlike my 357 Magnum my ears did not ring the rest of the day. And I can still pass my hearing tests for my age...

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So would I, but that’s not the point at all. In a world of electronic hearing protection and enhancement, why anyone would shoot a gun without protection outside of a self defense situation is beyond me.

Just another PSA from the hearing clinic guy: centerfire handguns chambered for hunting cartridges are all well into the range of "likely to cause instantaneous hearing loss". That doesn't mean they are guaranteed to - people get away with all sorts of things, at least until they don't - but buying a semi-auto for hunting, thinking it is safe to shoot it without ear protection, is a mistake.

I also will note that there is no such thing as "normal hearing for my age". The testing isn't done that way. It's either "normal hearing" or it isn't. There are professionals who will "let people off the hook" - I remember once telling a half-deaf WWII vet "Well, your hearing is not bad for an 80 year-old loader on a battleship" - but now I wonder if he ended up telling people "My audiologist said my hearing is not bad for a guy my age".

460Shooter said:

So would I, but that’s not the point at all. In a world of electronic hearing protection and enhancement, why anyone would shoot a gun without protection outside of a self defense situation is beyond me.

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I wear electronic ear muffs out in the woods when hunting tree stands as it actually enhances my ability to hear a twig snap, leaves crunching from a wandering deer.