357 vs 10mm which one?

[SHOOT1SAM]

Gloob:

I know there's some arguing over this, but it is absolutely possible to shoot 40SW in a bone stock G20.

Just because it is "possible" does not mean it it prudent or safe. The 10mm & .40 S&W cases should headspace on the case mouth; shooting .40's in a 10mm barrel relies solely on the extractor to hold the case. It can be done.....but it shouldn't be done.

Sam

 

[AZ Desertrat]

.357 is one of the best all-arounders there is....but I like both the 10mm and the .357. I think I would still opt for the G20...if you reload...the sky is the limit on that one.

 

[JohnKSa]

...shooting .40's in a 10mm barrel relies solely on the extractor to hold the case. It can be done.....but it shouldn't be done.

It's hard on the extractor, but the real reason you shouldn't do it is because there's a sharp corner at the front of the chamber of an autopistol. Bullet material can shave and accumulate there if you're shooting a cartridge that is too short. If enough accumulates, it can cause a pressure spike and all the savings you realized shooting .40S&W will be wiped out by the repair costs.

If you've been doing it you should stop doing it and carefully clean the chamber to insure there's no buildup at the front of the chamber.

Revolvers typically have a tapered section at the front of the chamber which means it's not going to shave and accumulate material. A shorter round isn't usually an issue in that kind of chamber.

 

[Brett Byers AKA Slow]

To answer the O.P. ? "What will the 10MM get me that .357 won't?" Poorer faster! Get another .357

 

[Warp]

To answer the O.P. ? "What will the 10MM get me that .357 won't?" Poorer faster! Get another .357

I'm not a big 10mm fan (and I used to have one), but the answer to your question is pretty simple: 16 rounds in the gun at once without reloading, and 15 more with a quick and simple mag swap.

 

[kvtcomdo]

Personally I believe that the 357 is a more versatile cartridge, available in a wider assortment of platforms (from snubbies, to autoloaders,revolvers to rifles), firearms chambered for the magnum, can also fire 38's with no modification. Of those platforms I believe the 4" revolver is the most versatile of all. Capable of everything from plinking(with 38's) to, introducing new shooters, to serious target work, defensive work to hunting medium size game.

Frankly I think the .357 is the most all around cartridge, the handgun world has to offer. You can't really call you collection complete without one, If you don't have one yet.....time to go shopping

You really can't go wrong with either the gp100 or S&W 686, both are great quality guns, that will give pride of ownership your whole life. Yours kids will be using them long after your gone.

Agree completely.

Unfortunately, many feel the draw to a more sexy platform (semi auto).

They don't appreciate the utility and dependability and versatility of a good revolver.

 

[Casefull]

Poor deer, being tortured by guys blasting away with pistols. lol

 

[Elkins45]

I know there's some arguing over this, but it is absolutely possible to shoot 40SW in a bone stock G20.

I have been playing around with seating bullets to 10mm lengths in 40 cases, but I have experienced a couple of somewhat disconcerting hangfires where I could hear a distinct lag between the primer firing and the ignition of the full charge. The primers looked noticeably different with those rounds as well. Having experienced a case head failure in a full power 10mm round that split the frame on my G20SF I have decided that I don't want to add "firing out of battery" to my list of life experiences and have therefore discontinued the practice.

I have two types of 10mm pistols: polymer that can't contain an explosion and steel (S&W) that aren't being made anymore. I don't want to replace either...and I know I can't buy new hands or eyes.

 

[Harry1969]

If you need 16 shots to stop anything you should of brought a bigger gun. The 357 Magnum is more powerful than the 10mm, I know this is a shock to the 10mm community. Sure you can buy your Underwood ammo loaded way beyond industry pressure and possibly blow up your gun while trashing your brass after 1 firing, but you can match that power with 357 magnum rounds while remaining under 35,000 psi because of it's superior case capacity and ability to use slower powders. As the barrels get longer the 357 leaves the 10mm in it's wake, a closed breech firearm like the Coonan 357 again distances itself from the 10mm and clobbers the 10mm out of a carbine. Then we get into sectional density and ballistic coefficients which again favor the 357. I like the 10mm it's a decent round but it's proponents have been getting carried away lately trying to make it out to be something it's not, a 16 round semi auto 41 magnum.

 

[Warp]

If you need 16 shots to stop anything you should of brought a bigger gun.

If you need a gun to stop anything you either shouldn't be there or you should have brought a rifle/shotgun. But sometimes real life happens and the most you have is a handgun.

I suppose you could be exceptionally better than everybody else, but the fact is that private citizens shooting defensively, as well as LEOs in OIS, have an average hit rate of about 18-20%. Add to that the fact that handguns are weak and ineffective as a general rule, and that nothing short of a disabling CNS shot is a guaranteed stop, and you can see why capacity is a benefit.

As you should know if you've read this thread (or any others), I choose .357 over 10mm. I had a Glock 20 and sold it, but I have no intentions of ever selling my 4" GP100 chambered in .357 mag.

All that said...it is beyond-bias to claim that a capacity of 16 isn't a benefit over a capacity of 6 (or even 8)...and it is ridiculous to claim that you won't need more than 6-8 rounds.

Sure, 6-8 rounds of .357 magnum is a pretty darn potent payload. But if you want to go all in on 10mm, and you are carrying 16 of them...there is a built in advantage there. Which isn't to say it's superior, as the .357 has advantages of its own. But that's the point. They each have their own advantages, it isn't a case where one gets the check mark over the other in every single category.

 

[Torian]

For a 357 mag, you can't beat the 627 Performance Center. 8 shots don't leave me feeling underpowered in any way.

 

[OilyPablo]

.40SW LW barrels are just over $100. Not worth experimental 40 in 10 forays.

 

[Propforce]

If you need a gun to stop anything you either shouldn't be there or you should have brought a rifle/shotgun. But sometimes real life happens and the most you have is a handgun.

I suppose you could be exceptionally better than everybody else, but the fact is that private citizens shooting defensively, as well as LEOs in OIS, have an average hit rate of about 18-20%. Add to that the fact that handguns are weak and ineffective as a general rule, and that nothing short of a disabling CNS shot is a guaranteed stop, and you can see why capacity is a benefit.

As you should know if you've read this thread (or any others), I choose .357 over 10mm. I had a Glock 20 and sold it, but I have no intentions of ever selling my 4" GP100 chambered in .357 mag.

All that said...it is beyond-bias to claim that a capacity of 16 isn't a benefit over a capacity of 6 (or even 8)...and it is ridiculous to claim that you won't need more than 6-8 rounds.

Sure, 6-8 rounds of .357 magnum is a pretty darn potent payload. But if you want to go all in on 10mm, and you are carrying 16 of them...there is a built in advantage there. Which isn't to say it's superior, as the .357 has advantages of its own. But that's the point. They each have their own advantages, it isn't a case where one gets the check mark over the other in every single category.

To argue 10mm over the .357mag because the "need" to have 16 round capacity for this caliber for "self defense" shooting is like arguing the need for multiple hammers to kill a bug. It is way over-kill.

You don't need the 10mm to kill the soft pink flesh 2-legged varmint. As we see everyday on this board the "lowly" 9mm is more than capable for the job.

So these 2 calibers are being applied to tough skined 4-legged threat. If you should find yourself surrounded by a gang of angry deer, you should feel confident your 16 round 10mm semi auto will not let you feel undergunned.

Unless it jams on you at that critical moment

 

[Nite Ryder]

Everyone has an opinion, and sometimes that opinion stinks. I've found most people will rant and rave about a particular gun, or a particular caliber, then you find out that is the only thing they own, or have fired. I have a Model 20 Glock, and while it is a nice gun, it isn't even close to being my favorite. I have three barrels for the Model 20, the factory barrel it came with, a 40 S&W barrel, and a 10 MM ported barrel. Both of the after market barrels are made by Storm Lake, both of them are easy to install and shoot well. I have eleven 357 Magnum revolvers, my favorite is a S&W 386PD, the most accurate is a Ruger Blackhawk. It is hard to choose a best, I would say it all depends on what you are going to use the gun for. One poster said "357 all the way", to that poster I say hogwash, a 10 MM will beat a 357 Magnum ballisticly any way you can figure it. But if you don't need the power of a 10 MM and the number of rounds a Glock offers, then a 357 Magnum is cheaper to shoot. Is there a perfect gun for a given task? Maybe, but it would be my guess there are many guns that would serve you well for any given task. When you only own a couple handguns you are going to pick what you have, because you don't know anything else.

 

[Warp]

To argue 10mm over the .357mag because the "need" to have 16 round capacity for this caliber for "self defense" shooting is like arguing the need for multiple hammers to kill a bug. It is way over-kill.

You don't need the 10mm to kill the soft pink flesh 2-legged varmint. As we see everyday on this board the "lowly" 9mm is more than capable for the job.

So these 2 calibers are being applied to tough skined 4-legged threat. If you should find yourself surrounded by a gang of angry deer, you should feel confident your 16 round 10mm semi auto will not let you feel undergunned.

Unless it jams on you at that critical moment

I didn't realize you were recommending against .357 mag for defense against people due to the lack of capacity. That certainly changes the discussion.

 

[Elkins45]

A full power 10mm round (200 grain at 1200fps) has 640 ft/lb of energy. 16 of those would deliver over 10,000 ft/lb of energy on target. That's a lot of muzzle energy.

 

[chuckpro]

There is so much half truths and complete non truths as well as some good advice in the previous post, i am not going to try to respond to them so i will just respond to the OP.

I have hunted and taken Missouri white tail with both 357 and 10mm. My choice for hunting would be nether. Go with a 44. With that out of the way, I prefer my 357's because of the trigger and the ability to fire single action. Capacity has never been an issue while hunting.

 

[Harry1969]

A full power 10mm round (200 grain at 1200fps) has 640 ft/lb of energy. 16 of those would deliver over 10,000 ft/lb of energy on target. That's a lot of muzzle energy

I guess that's one incredibly stupid way of looking at muzzle energy figures.

 

[Warp]

Well, this is a debate that involves 10mm...you know muzzle energy is going to be a huge topic.

 

[Jaymo]

For hunting, I prefer the accuracy and consistency of a fixed barre (revolver) over a tilting barrel (auto).
Up to 800 ft lbs for .357.
Up to 700 ft lbs for 10mm.
Both with Buffalo Bore Ammo.

Between the two, I'd use the GP100/.357.
My preference, however, would be my Redhawk/.44 Mag.
Or, one of my rifles.

 

[JohnKSa]

Well, this is a debate that involves 10mm...you know muzzle energy is going to be a huge topic.

Ironic given that the driving forces behind the 10mm design were not at all fans of measuring terminal performance with energy.

 

[Torian]

They are literally close enough in performance to both do whatever you want them to do, whether it is hunting or self-defense.

Beyond that, which gun is more comfortable for you to shoot? Which are you a better shooter with?

Those are the questions I would probably be asking. I have a 357 and a 10mm so I don't have to choose.