10mm Ammo comparison

[Anchorite]

Using 8.8gr of Blue Dot I get 1125 w/ 200gr Berry's in my Glock 40. I believe I've done 9gr and gotten around 1160, but I don't have that in my notes, just my cortex.

That’s a textbook load.

To provide context to my earlier comment, my shooting partner has killed 3 deer with his G20.3 and 180s with full charges of HS7. All were one shot kills, BUT penetration was not completely pass through on any of them. Longest range was 35 yards. They were ground-blind shots.

Given that his load was clocking somewhere in the neighborhood of ~1000fps, we postulated one would have to hit ~1200fps with a 200gr load to enhance the probability of complete penetration/ pass through with a 10mm.

That is probably hard on any 10mm, if it’s even achievable. I’m not trying to rain on any parade, but to my way of thinking, if one has the lean that hard on their chosen load/caliber, maybe it’s time to step up in both caliber and bullet weight. Just MHO.

 

[TTv2]

That’s a textbook load.

To provide context to my earlier comment, my shooting partner has killed 3 deer with his G20.3 and 180s with full charges of HS7. All were one shot kills, BUT penetration was not completely pass through on any of them. Longest range was 35 yards. They were ground-blind shots.

Given that his load was clocking somewhere in the neighborhood of ~1000fps, we postulated one would have to hit ~1200fps with a 200gr load to enhance the probability of complete penetration/ pass through with a 10mm.

That is probably hard on any 10mm, if it’s even achievable. I’m not trying to rain on any parade, but to my way of thinking, if one has the lean that hard on their chosen load/caliber, maybe it’s time to step up in both caliber and bullet weight. Just MHO.

It's hard with a sub 5" barrel 10mm, absolutely and those are the ones that people seem to keep gravitating to because it's conducive for conceal carry.

I have no doubts I can hit 1200 w/ a 200gr if I wanted to push it to max with Blue Dot, but I'd prefer to have an extended aftermarket barrel, something an inch longer than the stock barrel on the G40 and a tighter, more supportive chamber.

 

[Anchorite]

It's hard with a sub 5" barrel 10mm, absolutely and those are the ones that people seem to keep gravitating to because it's conducive for conceal carry.

I have no doubts I can hit 1200 w/ a 200gr if I wanted to push it to max with Blue Dot, but I'd prefer to have an extended aftermarket barrel, something an inch longer than the stock barrel on the G40 and a tighter, more supportive chamber.

Understandable.

 

[Necessary_Nutrient]

I don’t know that there are that many guns that will handle a load heavier than 180 at ~ 1000fpsMV are there? Buddy of mine has a G20 and we’ve never been able to get his pistol to operate reliably and consistently when trying to push anything in the 180-200gr up to 1100 fps. Maybe it’s a Glock thing, IDK. Bulged cases, flattened primers, mis-feeds are all par for the course when trying to get a 10mm up to 1000fps + with 200 grain loads.

And if you can’t push a 180gr 10mm at ~1100+fps, I can’t see the utility of a 10mm as a dangerous critter protection tool. YMMV.

My Power Pistol handloads do this in a 5.25" Springfield XDm with total reliability. Unfortunately, that barrel length is discontinued but you can still get the 4.5 inch in the XDm Elite

1296 is the current Alliant Max velocity listed for 10MM with a 5" barrel and 9.3 Grains using a 180 FMJ. These results are using this max load.

Blue Dot powder will do about the same but I haven't seen any in years. Longshot used to be able to do this but the max loads have been adjusted downward significantly. AA #9 can get pretty close, Hornady seems to think IMR 800X will get you there with the 180 XTP. Not sure why a 4.5 inch barrel Glock would struggle quite as much as you're describing. IMO, the Springfield XDm's are the perfect 10MM striker fired platform but I've never used the M&P or a 1911 in that caliber.

1-SA XDM 5.25	1296​	1306​	18.82​	1293​
2-SA XDM 5.25		1266​		1250​
		1297​		1268​
		1263​		1296​
		1285​
	Avg.	1283.4​		1276.75​

 

[sparkyv]

I've shot 195 grainers at or above 1,150fps (chrony'd in a 4"bbl) in 5 handguns, but besides the overbuilt M610, only my two XDMs have willingly digested them without issue. I get there using below max loads of Blue Dot, 2400, AA#9, Longshot, and most recently based upon 180gr testing, I expect to be able to do it with BE-86. The G20 should be able to do the same. The 5.25 XDM-10 is a beast.

My Power Pistol handloads do this in a 5.25" Springfield XDm with total reliability.

I'm doubtful these powders can get to higher 10mm velocities, especially in heavier projectiles.

He’s burning Unique and 231, but I don’t know the loads.

 

[SDGlock23]

Not bad, I'm a big .40 and 10mm fan and I don't disparage less than max 10mm loads simply because I myself wouldn't want to always shoot every thing in full power mode 100% of the time. I've ran a lot of loads over a chronograph and have seen the difference that barrel length makes and even switching to an aftermarket barrel. For instance, in addition to handloads, I was shooting some Hornady factory 10mm ammo through a G29 and a G20 (both Gen4) and then the same ammo but with a KKM 4 port barrel installed, which adds about 4/10ths of an inch of barrel and comps it.
Glock 29 (3.78"):
(stock bbl) Factory Hornady 180gr XTP = 1,081 AVG - 47.20 ES - 23.51 SD
(KKM 4 port) Factory Hornady 180gr XTP = 1,151 AVG - 15.44 ES - 11.31 SD
70 fps difference just in a barrel swap

(stock bbl) Factory Hornady 155gr XTP = 1,248 AVG - 1.29 ES - 1.0 SD
(KKM 4 port) Factory Hornady 155gr XTP = 1,383 AVG - 11.70 ES - 8.48 SD
A whopping 135 fps difference

Glock 20 (4.6"):
(stock bbl) Hornady 180gr XTP = 1,095 AVG - 8.25 ES - 4.89 SD
(KKM 4 port) Factory Hornady 180gr XTP = 1,161 AVG - 29.52 ES - 16.73 SD
66 fps difference

(stock bbl) Factory Hornady 155gr XTP = 1,316 AVG - 13.28 ES - 7.81 SD
(KKM 4 port) Factory Hornady 155gr XTP = 1,387 AVG - 19.07 ES - 9.48 SD
71 fps difference

I've had an idea for a while that better chamber support can increase velocity simply because the energy once used to "bulge" the brass can be used to push the bullet faster. The type of (and rate of twist) rifling could make a difference to and yeah, an extra 4/10ths of an inch of barrel helps, but that alone isn't going to make much difference, as you can see when comparing factory 180gr XTP out of the stock G29 and G20, there was a 14 fps difference in avg. velocity despite over 3/4 of a inch in extra barrel, which isn't much. I probably should have ran these without the comp screwed on, but oh well.

Not all guns need aftermark barrels but it depends on your goals, a stock .40 S&W or 10mm Glock will kill deer all day long, bulged brass and all. I wouldn't use the factory barrels to push handloads to the absolute max, but I've used Longshot and Power Pistol to push 180gr to 1175-1250 fps in a stock G20 Gen4. VV 3N38 does well too if you can find it, as does the now defunct 800X. I guess it boils down how much brass bulging you're willing to put up with, if you're using the bulge as a sign of weakness, just remember that pretty much all ammo in a stock .40 or 10mm Glock will bulge brass to some degree.

 

[Anchorite]

I've shot 195 grainers at or above 1,150fps (chrony'd in a 4"bbl) in 5 handguns, but besides the overbuilt M610, only my two XDMs have willingly digested them without issue. I get there using below max loads of Blue Dot, 2400, AA#9, Longshot, and most recently based upon 180gr testing, I expect to be able to do it with BE-86. The G20 should be able to do the same. The 5.25 XDM-10 is a beast.




I'm doubtful these powders can get to higher 10mm velocities, especially in heavier projectiles.

While admittedly not a 10mm convert, that little 3.8 XDM Elite is a sexy pistol.

 

[BreechFace]

Both my Glocks 20/40 run aftermarket barrels. I’m not a fan of the generous chamber support.

The 20 has a KKM and the 40 has an lone Wolf Alphawolf threaded barrel.