what are the pros and cons of the 10mm?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Doogy

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Messages
98
Seems like a dedicated following by many, but i'm wondering what the pros and cons were that made it more of a boutique round rather than a widely accepted one.

thanks!
 
Pros:
Gives more than 357 mag power from an auto platform rather than a revolver.
With that, an auto has more round capacity than a revolver typically 8+1.
I find autos more accurate and easier to shoot (let us NOT start that debate)

Cons
Recoil is heavy compared to the 45 or 9mm most are used to.
Ammo is expensive because of relatively low production.
The FBI ultimately wanted a toned down 10 mm and the 40 S&W was developed. This brought the 40 S&W into wide acceptance and use and relegated the 10 mm to a limited popularity.
Ammo is a bit harder to find than 9mm, 45 acp and 40 S&W.
 
Pros:

High level of firepower. Some of the most popular 10's each hold over 15 rounds. (Glock and EAA)

Power closer to a .41 mag.

Getting to be a greater selection of bullets to reload.

True hunting cartridge.


Cons:

Too much gun for a lot of people.

I almost always I have to order online to get the full power loads (Double Tap, etc.).

Not as large selection to choose from as with others.





Oh and did I mention Nuge owns one, ;)
 
I really liked shooting my S&W 1076 but alas, the biggest con was the availability & cost of ammo....and that was years ago before the ammo prices skyrocketed!
 
The previous posters pretty well nailed it. It's a very powerful round, but the recoil is stiffer than you'd get with other cartridges. The ammo itself is somewhat more difficult to find than the "big three" autoloader rounds (9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP) and therefore more expensive. Guns chambered for it are also harder to find- not many makers build guns in that chambering, and I think that also keeps many people from getting into the 10mm.

It's a quite capable round but it never quite got the following it deserved. If autoloaders were more popular for hunting, I think we'd see more 10mm out there, but they aren't (seems revolvers have the hunting market pretty well in hand) and we don't.
 
It has a unique recoil as well. It pushes back like a 45 but at the same time, snaps like a 357.

The biggest pro is its power and accuracy

Its biggest cons are cost of ammo and very few manufactureers make them
 
Cons: Ammo is expensive, some LEO's were too lazy to acclimate themselves to the handling characteristics and recoil of the 10mm.
 
The 10mm is the most versatile handgun caliber for handloading. You can load them up to hunting velocities and load them down to just over .40 if you want. I have Rhumatoid Arthritis and have gotten away from 10mm due to the snap, but if not for that I would still be reloading it. I still have my dies just in case.
 
why is the recoil so much more than other loads?

.....also, why is it a good round for hunting?

good input everyone, thanks!

Doug
 
why is the recoil so much more than other loads?

.....also, why is it a good round for hunting?

Because it's more powerful than any other semi-auto pistol round (at least those found in service sized weapons), and more power = more recoil usually, but more power is also nice to make a humane kill while hunting.

Equal and opposite force and all that nonsense.
 
yeah I wondered about the recoil of the 10mm compared to a .45 in a steel gun. Seems like if Sonny Crockett could shoot it without crying like a chick, so can I :neener: ok kidding aside, by how much harder is the recoil compared to a .45? just a little bit, twice as much? And what kind of gun are you measuring it against, a polymer or steel gun?
 
I'm really not being a wiseacre here, but the recoil really isn't that bad. It's just a matter of adjusting how you shoot the weapon and how you prepare yourself.

If I had to judge the recoil, I'd say imagine a light .357 magnum snub that you don't have a good grip on. To me, it's that kind of snap.

Once you use one for a bit, and get used to it, it doesn't feel any worse than 9mm practice loads. In fact, I had lightened Walther P1 that kicked worse than a Parker 10mm and far worse than a Dan Wesson Razorback.
 
A few of our tax dollars went toward a study on the best ammo for FBI operational conditions. The 10mm edged out as the winner.

http://www.firearmstactical.com/pdf/fbi_10mm_notes.pdf


When I add in my personal "operations requirements" of versatility to cover urban to forest threats, the 10mm still wins.

In a week or three, I'm going to Reno, then into a National Forest in northern California. I'm taking magazines with two different loads of 10mm ammo instead of two guns. Cool.
 
I don't know if anyones mentioned this

The single biggest thing going for is that

It is a freaking blast to shoot!

It makes the 9x19,40S&W, and 45 ACP seem rather ho hum.

Truthfully, the only thing that keeps it from having much much larger following, are the ammo prices.

Get one of these and never look back.
dillon-xl650b.jpg
 
Reloading sounds good until you realize every 10mm pistol I've shot launches the brass great distances. Where I shoot, recovering 50% of the empties is doing great :(

--wally.
 
ive heard of some EAA Witnesses launching the brass upwards of 40ft. Alan from Sprinco laughed pretty good when telling me about it. 1/2 of my brass bounced off the dividing wall between the lanes, went behind me and stopped7 lanes down behind some other shooters. I recover about 3/4 of mine. there are some good deals on gunbroker. the only brass i bought was once fired, 300rds for $32 including shipping
 
As far as wear and tear, the biggest problem is cracked frames. Atleast thats with the Witness line. I never hear much about Glocks, S&W 1000 series, or the Colt Delta Elites.
 
I have never been able to find real world information about actual shootings with the 10mm. Does anyone have any sources with info shooting the 10mm in the real world?
 
The small radius firing pin stop and a 25# mainspring will do quite a bit to slow the slide velocity down, and prevent that valuable brass from going into orbit.

I like 180 grain JHPs going > 1200 FPS, so they still fly pretty far. But no where near as far as they did before those 2 items.
 
Pros:

* Very powerful round passing the power of the .357 Magnum full house loads by a decent margin through the same length barrel; yet at the same time: can be bought (or made) very light, around .40 S&W power loads. Thus very versatile. Has lighter recoil than a hot .357 Magnum revolver, and can be reloaded (imo) much faster and easier, with obviously much superior capacity, as well.

* Good for having only one gun if you live in or near the woods, yet go into the city (or town) often from there; keep one mag with FMJ for bear defense, and the other mag full of JHP for two-legged BG defense.

* Higher capacity than a .45 ACP (2 rounds more in a 10mm Glock 20, as compared to a .45 ACP Glock 21; Glock 20 15+1, Glock 21 13+1), yet superior power and versatility compared to the .45 ACP and even .45 Super.

* For a more concealable 10mm pistol, check out the Glock 29.

Cons:

* Hard to find [good] 10mm ammo in local areas, and thus forced to order online to get the good "hot" stuff (www.doubletapammo.com), and cheaper practice 10mm rounds (www.georgia-arms.com).

* More expensive to buy as compared to the popular calibers, but not by THAT much... if you know where to look (check links above).

* A bit more recoil with the hotter rounds as compared to the 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. But not too bad, as long as you practice... like you'd do with any of them.

-

For me, living in the woods, and working in and near the woods, but having to travel into the city and towns afterward, I find having a 10mm Glock 29 on me as my CCW a good compromise, for bear and human criminal defense. :)
 
As far as wear and tear, the biggest problem is cracked frames. Atleast thats with the Witness line.

It's the slides, and AFAIK, it's really only been the models with a rounded profile. The ones being repaired are being retrofitted with the older square profile slides. My little Compact has been battered with more full power ammo than I have bothered to count. Still runs fine, no cracks. Not enough rounds through my Limited to say, but I don't foresee any problems.

There have been a few Glock KB's, a few Delta's with cracked slides and frames. Have never heard of any issues with the DW or Kimber 10mm's (my Kimber is still A-OK). The S&W 10XX guns are the beefiest of all, and I've never heard of one breaking.

The cartridge does seem to cause a strange phenomenon, though; guns so chambered multiply while you sleep.

10mms.jpg
 
MachIVShooter:

That is one of the prettiest pictures i have ever seen. Thanks for the correction on the cracked slides. As far as the S&W 1000 series, i agree that i havent heard anything bad at all about them. They are arguably the best semi auto to get in 10mm. The problem is they havent been made for over a decade, hard to find and sadly, more of a collectors item. Its one semi auto that S&W perfected. Its too bad that it came out when S&W's auto loaders were deemed "sub-par". I wish they would start making them again, liek Colt is with the Delta Elite's.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top