10mm revolver loads?

[GarrettJ]

I brought home up a Blackhawk 10mm/.40 today, just for something different to play with. I was able to put a few rounds through it this afternoon, but not a lot. Weather wasn't cooperating. The .40s shot nice and soft, and full-power 10mm was quite comfortable.

I don't want to try to turn this thing into a .41 Magnum. I have other guns if I feel the need for more power than what the 10mm is capable of.

I'm not planning to ream one of the cylinders out to 10mm Mag. However, I find I can load much longer than what I could do for a semi-auto. This should give me room to push a little faster, while keeping pressures at safe levels.

I made up a dummy round at 1.450" OAL. That's about half way between a regular 10mm and the 10mm Mag. It drops easily into the chambers. No hanging up on a tight cylinder throat.

I'm going to work up some "regular" loads for this first, but it has me thinking...

I'll let you know if I come up with anything interesting.

 

[mcb]

Try 800-X in that long 10mm Auto. It does not meter well, you will need to weigh each charge but it really makes 180 & 200 gr bullets move along in 10mm. The extra space will help allot with the bulky large flakes of 800-X

 

[BigBore44]

800-X is a really great powder for the 10mm. 11gr of BlueDot is my load with 180’s though.

 

[WestKentucky]

I used standard powders for 357mag when I was loading 10mm auto. Itliked aa7. That was for a delta elite though, and it was peppy.

 

[Toprudder]

I recently started loading for a 10mm semi-auto. Based on what I had read, I decided to try AA#9, BlueDot, and Power Pistol. Since I have had good luck with BE86 in other calibers, I decided to try that as well. AA#9, BlueDot, and BE86 all gave about the same performance with 180gn bullets (just over 1200fps, 4.7" barrel). AA#9, while it performed well, was noticeably dirtier than the others. BE86 metered slightly better than BlueDot, so it is my preferred powder at this time (that might change, though). I did not expect BE86 to give the velocity that it did in 10mm.

I've heard 800x is really good for 10mm, and I have a half pound left from earlier testing, so I will probably get around to trying it. It meters like corn flakes, however I noticed that a +/- 0.3gn variation did not have too much affect on velocity when I tried it in 45acp.

It will be interesting to see what changes in performance you get out of loading long in the standard 10mm cases.

 

[GarrettJ]

Off to a good start. Except the weather has not been cooperating. We had ice and sleet all weekend, and continued with a mix of rain and snow today. It was a balmy 31°F outside this afternoon, and breezy. I had loaded up a couple of standard length loads, plus four more at 1.395" OAL, all using Longshot and a 180 gr. Hornady FMJ-FP.

With the standard length cartridges, I loaded 8.6gr. and 9.0gr. of powder. With the longer length, I started at 9.0 and worked up from there.

I was in a hurry trying to get out between crappy weather, and forgot to grab the Colt Delta Elite to get a comparison of the standard length loads. So that will have to wait for another day to try that one.

Standard length loads averaged 1283 and 1303 fps.

The longer loads got up to 1377 fps, with no signs of excess pressure. I expect I can go quit a bit higher. But again, I'm not looking for a 10mm Super Mag. More just interested in seeing what can be done easily with longer cartridges the extended revolver chambers. I'll go a little farther, and then I think I may try H110 or AA#9 next.

I couldn't say if one load was noticeably more accurate than another. In my rush to get out of the weather, I was only shooting at 7 yards. At that distance, they all just made one ragged hole on the target. I'll back up a bit next time.

 

[GarrettJ]

On second thought, I may not bother. I brought out the Colt Delta Elite and shot it next to the Blackhawk with the standard length loads today.

This time I was shooting offhand at 25 yards. I shot the Delta like I typically do offhand at that distance with open sights. Nothing to write home about. But then the Blackhawk put 7 of 8 shots into one little group. And the 8th wasn't too far out. That's far better than I typically expect to do with an off-the-shelf production gun with no trigger work - no nothing done.

Maybe I'll leave well enough alone. A 180 gr. bullet at 1300 fps is nothing to sneeze at. And as noted, I have other guns/calibers if I need more velocity.

Next up I'll need to see what it can do at 50 yards or more.

 

[someguy2800]

Just curios, why did you get a 10mm instead of a 41 or 44 mag? Just to share brass with the delta elite?

 

[robert4301]

I'm in the market for one of those Blackhawk 10mm convertibles. I just bought a Super Redhawk 10mm. I think 10mm is a great revolver cartridge. It's very efficient with great velocity, amazing accuracy and surprisingly mild blast and recoil, even in a 1911. 10mm is also an avid reloaders dream. It's even accurate with mild plinking loads. I'm finding even max book loads extract easily without pressure signs in the SRH. Even some plated bullets I've accumulated that don't do well in my 40 S&W autos shoot fairly accurately in the SRH. I think a 10mm Blackhawk Convertible will make a fine "roach gun" to use up all the 40 cal and 10mm ammo i have that's poor in the autos.

 

[GarrettJ]

Just curios, why did you get a 10mm instead of a 41 or 44 mag? Just to share brass with the delta elite?

Misty just because I just like it.


I've been a fan of the 10mm for a long time. I always wanted one of the .38-40 / 10mm convertible Buckeye Blackhawks, but not the $1200+ price tag I always see them listed for.

The ability to shoot .40 is just an added bonus. I've got lots of other guns in that caliber.

.41 doesn't have much appeal, only because it is a caliber I don't currently load for and I would have to start stocking another type of brass and bullet.

And I've got other guns in .44 Mag.

 

[Toprudder]

I have a S&W 625 revolver (45acp) that I like to shoot. One nice thing about it (and the 10mm revolver as well) is that any bullets, or test loads I work up for my semi-autos that end up not feeding or cycling properly, I can use them up in the revolver.

I would love to find a convertible 10mm/38-40 revolver.

 

[ATLDave]

I have a S&W 625 revolver (45acp) that I like to shoot. One nice thing about it (and the 10mm revolver as well) is that any bullets, or test loads I work up for my semi-autos that end up not feeding or cycling properly, I can use them up in the revolver.

625's are like a garbage disposal for ammo that 1911's choose not to eat! Throw them in... they go round and round, then disappear!

 

[Toprudder]

625's are like a garbage disposal for ammo that 1911's choose not to eat! Throw them in... they go round and round, then disappear!

I had some 230gn bullets that had to be seated very short to chamber in my semi-autos, and did not feed reliably in a couple of them. I could load them long and shoot them in the 625, and they were VERY accurate in that gun. And I don't have to chase the spent shells.

 

[ATLDave]

I have a couple of mostly-full 500-ct boxes of 45 SWC-profile pills that just never ran reliably in my 1911. My old-but-new-to-me 625 likes them just fine! A revolver can be a good companion to a picky autoloader in the same caliber.