10mm and 100 Yards

[Ryushin]

I used to shoot small bore pistol steel silhouettes some 30 years ago when I was in my teens. I had a Ruger Mark II with a 10" bull barrel that I used to do quite well with so long ago.

I went to the range a few days ago to sight in two new scopes on his and hers Anshutz 1517 rifles and to and try out 1979 Browning BL-22 and a absolutely mint Winchester 9422M that I bought just before Christmas.

I've been meaning to try out my Kimber Eclipse 1911 in 10mm at a 100 yards but each time something comes up before I can get it done. I had previously worked up a published 10mm load with 12.9gr of Blue Dot and 155gr XTP bullets. I read that Blue Dot's pressure actually increases when it gets cold, so I brought my chronograph again to the range again to see if that was true. Normally I would see just a bit over 1450fps with this load. But today with it only being a bit above freezing I was seeing an average 1496fps (775 ft/lbs of energy) Inspecting the brass I found no more pressure signs then during normal temperatures (which is essentially, none to begin with)

The normal shooting position I use to use when shooting silhouettes was to lay on my back with my left arm bent back behind my with hand on the floor and my head resting against it, my knees bent with my pistol braced against my right leg. Well, considering there was snow on on the ground, that was not going to happen. So I braced my wrist on bag and went to my task. Considering it was chilly, a bit windy, and my eyes where watering, I was fairly pleased with my results.



I was actually impressed that the fixed iron sights where actually probably pretty spot on. I feel I did pretty good considering. Only a 5" barrel compared to the 10" I used to shoot. 10mm vs .22 is another big difference.

The 155gr bullet and 12.9gr Blue Dot is smoking fast. According to the Hornady Ballistics calculator the bullet is still moving at 959fps at 200 yards and is still carrying 315ft/lbs of energy and it's only dropped 26.5 inches. BTW, this load is now my EDC since I've been carrying this pistol for the last month.

Looking forward to warmer weather when I can really see what I can be done with a proper shooting position. Looking at this I feel I should be able to be 10 shots in under a foot with a bit of practice. Maybe it's time to start looking at a longslide 1911 in 10mm. Had a great time to say the least.

The lever actions 22's where also a lot of fun. Cold weather and the wind sure does put a damper on being outside though.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Nice shooting. I used to like to shoot my 10mm's on the 100 yrd range and the 200 yrd till they banned it at our local range. It was a lot of fun shooting at those ranges with the 10mm.

One RO told me that they were not worried about me, but it was others that they were worried about so we all lost out.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Looks good! Shooting pistols @ 100+ is fun, but with rounds the 10mm and .357 mag, you are actually aiming, not lobbing.

If you like playing with hotter loads in the 10, get your hands on some Remington Golden Sabers. Their "driving band" design reduces bearing surface compared to other bullets of the same weight; I noticed 40-60 FPS higher velocities with any given load versus Sierra, Speer or Hornady bullets. 180's @ 1,400+ from a 5" gun is easily doable with the golden sabers-especially if you've discovered IMR 800x

 

[joem1945]

The club I belong to has gongs at 150 yds. I like to shoot them with .44 mag, .41 mag, 9mm and .38 spl. The .41 mag seems to be the most accurate for me.

 

[Rock185]

I have little doubt you'll be able to keep 10 shots in about a foot at 100. Your load is relatively flat shooting, which helps a lot. I can shoot out to 115 yards on our range, and usually do a little plinking at 100-115 yards every time I go out. Those ranges are doable with 9MM ( especially 9MM +P and +P+ ammo ), 38 super, 10MM and Magnum revolvers. With sights adjusted for 100 yds. most of us could get scary good at those ranges, but then be a bit high at 50,etc. I adjust my pistol sights for POA/POI at 25 yds., and to date have been too lazy to sight in for the longer range.

At another club, we used to have a big steel gong at 200, at least 4' in diameter. Shooting at that with a .45 ACP was real challenging for me with sights adjusted for 25 yds., and 230 grain ball ammo. The hard part was figuring how high to hold over on the featureless berm behind the gong. We're talking about 6-7 feet hold over IIRC. I hate to admit that I hit that big gong less than half the time....ymmv

 

[Reinz]

Good shooting!

I have quite a few 10's, I don't know why I haven't done the 100 yarder with them. I think I'll give it a go next time out.

 

[Ryushin]

If you like playing with hotter loads in the 10, get your hands on some Remington Golden Sabers. Their "driving band" design reduces bearing surface compared to other bullets of the same weight; I noticed 40-60 FPS higher velocities with any given load versus Sierra, Speer or Hornady bullets. 180's @ 1,400+ from a 5" gun is easily doable with the golden sabers-especially if you've discovered IMR 800x

I've been look for some Golden Saber's. I have 2 pounds of 800x sitting in the cabinet. Hand weighing each load is fairly time consuming. I've been waiting for for the RCBS Auto Scale to drop below $200 before working up loads again with 800x. Longshot is just so much easier to use with heavier bullets. It also seems that Blue Dot is better for weights around the 155gr range. Can I have your recipe so I can research it and develop a load of my own. Your load equates to 784 ft/lbs.

My only concern about the 155gr XTP is the penetration achieved. Based on some youtube videos, I was seeing 11-13" for depth in gelatin. If I could see 15 or so inches with the 180gr with a massive energy dump in the beginning I will probably very well switch. The 180gr Golden Saber is my favorite round in the .40.

I have little doubt you'll be able to keep 10 shots in about a foot at 100. Your load is relatively flat shooting, which helps a lot. I can shoot out to 115 yards on our range, and usually do a little plinking at 100-115 yards every time I go out. Those ranges are doable with 9MM ( especially 9MM +P and +P+ ammo ), 38 super, 10MM and Magnum revolvers. With sights adjusted for 100 yds. most of us could get scary good at those ranges, but then be a bit high at 50,etc. I adjust my pistol sights for POA/POI at 25 yds., and to date have been too lazy to sight in for the longer range.

At another club, we used to have a big steel gong at 200, at least 4' in diameter. Shooting at that with a .45 ACP was real challenging for me with sights adjusted for 25 yds., and 230 grain ball ammo. The hard part was figuring how high to hold over on the featureless berm behind the gong. We're talking about 6-7 feet hold over IIRC. I hate to admit that I hit that big gong less than half the time....ymmv

I liked shooting out to 200 yards with my fathers TC Contender in 357 Maximum some 30 years ago when he shot high powered pistol silhouettes . I'd like to do that again. My range has steel going from 200 out to 600 yards. There is also Cowboy range with steel starting at 75 yards out to 500 yards with life size buffalo silhouettes and other animals between those ranges. There is even a life sized cowboy figure with a steel gong/bell around the heart area sitting at 220 yards. I can hit the cowboy about 50% of the time with my Beretta 96A1. I ring the bell about 10-20% of the time depending on the day when I do hit the steel.

So yea, I'm a fan of long range pistol shooting. Too bad my eyes are not as good as they where when I was younger but we all go through that as we get older.

 

[Stumper]

Just an FYI-Blue dot has two known cold weather concerns. In shotshells it tends to drop velocity significantly in cold conditions. In higher pressure loadings such as magnum handgun cartridges and very cold conditions it can generate very high(excessive) pressures. This phenomenon is believed to be related to the relatively high nitro-glycerine content of Bdot and possible fracturing of the ng. My understanding is that there is no concern at all in temps above 20F. but a potential problem when very cold.

 

[Johnny_B_Goode]

That was nice shooting with the 10mm. I hope you enjoy it for years to come.