Editor’s Note: The following post comes from Mike Branson, the newest contributor to the Lucky Gunner Lounge writing team. Mike has been shooting, working on, and writing stuff about guns for a long time, and we’re excited to have his experience on board. Along with Melody and Jim, and Kyle, Mike is helping me out with the writing duties here so I can work on some other big projects you’ll be hearing more about in the very near future. So stay tuned and in the meantime, be nice to Mike and the other guys.
-CB
I’ll admit it up front. I didn’t think the 10mm was going to make it. Unusual calibers that fill niche roles, like 5.7x28mm and .38 Super, tend to have a small but vocal cadre of fans who insist the caliber is totally awesome and underrated. I get that. It’s part of what makes the shooting hobby fun. 10mm fit into that category for most of my shooting life. It always seemed to be barely holding on, just one or two more years away from falling into the Sargasso Sea of Dead Calibers. I always thought it would eventually fade away, remembered only by a few pistol hunters and Colt Delta Elite collectors. I was wrong. The 10mm is resurgent. It’s the comeback kid. How? Why?
10mm: The Early Years
It’s fair to say that if the 1986 Miami Shootout hadn’t happened, you and I might not know about 10mm at all. If you haven’t ever read about the incident, it was an ugly deal. Five FBI agents were gravely wounded and two, Jerry Dove and Ben Grogan, were killed. The dirtbag who did all this damage was hit 12 times before he expired. In the aftermath, the FBI decided their 9mm and .38 Special ammo had let them down. A whompin’ stompin’ upgrade in handgun power would keep another Miami Shootout from ever happening again.
In the 1980s, 10mm was an up and coming new cartridge. Sonny Crocket was dealing hot lead with his exotic Bren Ten on this week’s episode of Miami Vice, and Colt’s exotic Delta Elite was available to 1911 shooters that wanted a power boost over .45acp.
In 1990, with its adoption by the FBI, 10mm would finally take its rightful place in the pantheon of great handgun calibers. Heckler & Koch was even making the Mp5 in 10mm. Surely the 1990s would see its widespread adoption by law enforcement agencies throughout the country and thousands of recreational shooters, right?
Nope. The 10mm house of cards collapsed quickly. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The Smith & Wesson 1076 pistols adopted by the FBI experienced parts breakages during routine training and qualifying. The metallurgy of the time period couldn’t hold up against high round counts in that caliber. The other thing breaking was the spirit of the agents shooting the guns. It was a race to see what would give out first, the big all-stainless sidearm or the wrist of the shooter.
The FBI originally ordered 10,000 pistols from Smith and Wesson but accepted only 2,400 before cancelling the contract outright. Agents that didn’t like the big Smith opted to carry Sig 228s in 9mm, while the agency hastily passed out a less potent 10mm “FBI load”. On the civilian end, Colt stopped making the Delta Elite in 1996 due to sluggish sales. Law enforcement agencies all over the country rushed to adopt the .40S&W, which was basically the “FBI load” stuffed into a shorter casing that would fit into double stack 9mm frames like the Browning Hi Power, Beretta 92 and the new, amazing, world-beating Glock 22. 10mm was yesterday’s news, debunked.
There were some good reasons for the collapse. The original loading called for a 200 grain bullet traveling at 1200 feet per second, yielding roughly 640 foot pounds of muzzle energy. By comparison, your typical Winchester White Box .45 ACP round lists at 356 foot pounds. Roughly 1.5 times the kinetic energy of .45 ACP going in one direction means a lot of recoil going in the other direction. As the FBI discovered, this is hard on both guns and wrists.
One of my buddies has two original Delta Elites that are retired after shooting full-spec ammo for roughly a thousand rounds each. The frame and slide rails have galled against each other, the barrel bushings are toast. When my only choices for a caliber are used guns that don’t last very long if I actually shoot them, I’m picking something else. By the late 90’s that’s what most shooters did. A few diehard 10mm fans were enough to keep Glock producing its excellent model 20, but, in general, the 10mm languished, not dead, but asleep.
10mm at the Range
Shooting the 10mm is an intense experience, like shooting a Magnum revolver. Unlike a .45 ACP that gives the hands a strong but smooth shove, the 10mm gives you all its recoil at once, in a sharper, more insistent slap against the hands. The “grin per shot” factor is very high at the range. Lots of curious folks will ask to shoot two or three shots, grin from ear to ear, and that’s enough for them. Few shooters will bring a 10mm to a serious training class of 500 rounds or more. My friends who shoot 10mm regularly say they appreciate how the round drops bowling pins and steel plates with authority, and they don’t mind the challenge posed by the stout recoil. Its not for everyone, but fortunately, you aren’t forced to shoot the hot stuff in this caliber if you don’t want to.
In the same way that we often shoot .38 Special rounds through our .357 Magnum chambered revolvers, the “FBI load” with ballistics and recoil close to .40S&W is actually the easier loading to find. Many 10mm shooters I’ve talked to say they shoot the “FBI load” recreationally, and practice just enough with their favorite hot loading to stay proficient with it for concealed carry or hunting. The full house, hot load 10mm’s stopping power in these applications, when every round counts, is drawing experienced shooters to it again.
See, the 10mm wasn’t a bad idea, it was just ahead of its time.
A Second Wind
Time is catching up with 10mm and a variety of factors, some good and some bad, are all contributing to increase its popularity again. The tremendous advances in metallurgy and CNC manufacturing mean that pistols built today can handle the power of 10mm much better than their 1980s counterparts. The Rock Island Armory 1911 pictured above has more than 1000 rounds through it and has held up much better than my buddy’s old Delta Elites did with the same round count. Unlike the classic Colts, it has a fully ramped bull barrel and full length guide rod, features that were exotic and experimental in 1986 but don’t even raise an eyebrow now. There’s no sign of galling between the frame and slide, no peening, no cracks, no nasty burrs forming on the locking lugs or the recoil lug under the barrel. It’s still using the original extractor and it runs like a champ.
Am I saying a new production Rock Island Armory gun is made better than a real Colt from 30 years ago? Well gee, it just might be. Colt hasn’t been resting on their laurels either. The new Delta Elites incorporate improvements to prevent frame cracking and other fitment issues. CNC machining is why we now have tiny 9mm pocket pistols that last longer than bigger .380 pistols used to. Manufacturing technology has improved tremendously in just the past ten years. Companies no longer look at 10mm and think “if we make this, we’ll just get a bunch of broken guns returned to us for warranty work.”
On the bad side, another factor conspiring to bring back 10mm, .357 Sig, and other less popular caliber choices is ammo cost. 10mm used to scare off many shooters because it was so expensive compared to .45acp, 9mm, and .40 S&W. Well these days, it’s all gotten more expensive. The days of blasting through half a case of ammo on Saturday just for the heck of it are long gone for most of us. If its all going to be expensive to shoot, why not pick your caliber based on its ballistic merits instead of its price point?
So if 10mm is coming back, who is making 10mm pistols these days? There’s Colt, which released an improved Delta Elite about five years ago. Kimber, Dan Wesson, and, most recently, Rock Island Armory are giving 1911 shooters more 10mm options. EAA’s Witness series currently lists no less than 13 variants chambered in 10mm. At the 2015 SHOT Show, Glock announced the Glock 40, a long slide 10mm pre-cut for a slide mounted optic, joining their successful 20 and 29 models.
Sig Sauer announced at the same SHOT Show that they are chambering their iconic P220 in 10mm for the first time ever. VLTOR Weapons Systems has an ongoing project to re-engineer the original Bren Ten for the 21st century, but so far they haven’t been able to mass produce a gun that meets their standards. They are hoping for a 2016 release.
What I’m waiting for is more carbines chambered in 10mm. DJ Getz makes an excellent clone of the old FBI Mp5/10, and the longer carbine barrel boosts the bullet’s velocity even further, while keeping recoil more manageable than any pistol could. Its a win-win. Why not a 10mm Sig MPX? Or a 10mm CZ Scorpion EVO? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
10mm Auto doesn’t pretend to be all things to all people. Its a hard hitting caliber that offers great muzzle energy and excellent penetration at the cost of recoil and, perhaps, durability and longevity of the guns in its caliber. Friends of mine who shoot 10mm told me great anecdotes about its real world stopping power, like a friend who dropped a deer at 80 yards with his Glock 20 using an extended 6 inch barrel. Another friend has used it repeatedly to fend off those pestilential feral hogs in Texas.
Most of my friends consider the round to be “overkill” for concealed carry, with one exception. I have one buddy who carries a Glock 29 and chose the 10mm specifically for its penetration advantage. He considers the caliber fairly barrier-blind for a pistol round, and told me “bad guys tend to hide behind stuff while they shoot at you.” On the other hand, I asked him what training with the Glock 29 was like and he texted me back a one-word reply: “Abusive!”
10mm is making its comeback among shooters who don’t mind absorbing a little abuse on their end in exchange for more impact on the other end. Are you one of them? Think the 10mm comeback is just a fad? Why?
For my part, I’ve grown tired of punishing recoil. I’m sticking to 9 mm or .45.
I think the .45 acp has more annoying recoil than my all steel CZ clone 10mm with the hottest rounds. More of a push back than a pop up.
FWIW: The FBI standardized the mid-range 10mm load before they adopted the S&W 1076. The 1076’s issues were not caused by full-power ammunition.
The S&W 1076 was a piss poor pistol. S&W dropped the ball. They rushed the design, cut corners, and are 100% to blame for the failure of the 10mm in the early years.
The 1076’s downfall in FBI service could be traced back to a trigger modification requested by the Bureau’s Firearms Training Unit. The modification was meant to reduce the initial takeup in the trigger’s travel. Unfortunately, it could also result in interference between the trigger and drawbar, causing the entire lockwork to seize. When this happened, the trigger could not be pulled, nor could the slide be retracted.
The P220 in 10mm sealed the deal for me, I’m getting on the 10mm train! Nothing wrong with 9mm at all, it’s still my primary pistol caliber against two-legged predators, but I wanted to try something with more BLAST!
I have to admit I used to love the big boom ammo. Now days a .380, 9mm or 45 is all I need in a CCW round.
Great writeup Mike. Looking forward to more!
“10mm is the best mm”
After seeing a G20 flatten a moose in Alaska, I’ve been considering one for a woods gun.
I think the recoil is being way overstated, even with the hottest loads. I also find the recoil is more of a push, than the hard pop of my .45. Second thing. You said EAA has 13 models in 10mm. Tanfoglio has 13 models available that are distributed in the US by EAA. Underwood and Parabellum Research are the go to full strength ammo. Don’t even talk about any other “full power” ammo made by two companies that charge super premium ammo for outrageous prices, when these two do it better for half the price.
Agreed. I’m not a big guy – only 5’9″ and 190 lbs. For me, my Gen3 Glock 20SF using Underwood 135 Grn, 155 Grn, 180 Grn, 200 Grn JHP and even 220 Grn HCL ammo is more pleasant to shoot than my S&W 686+ .357 Magnum using low cost American Eagle 158 Grn JSP magnum rounds, yet these 10mm loads are a lot more powerful.
The recoil is definitely overstated. I shoot mostly .40s&w with a G23 and a G27. With the 23 and 27, the muzzle flip is pronounced. My G29sf doesn’t have anywhere near the muzzle flip and instead, pushes straight back into your hand. Even with full house loads, the G29sf is more accurate on first round shots and dramatically more so on follow up shots because the muzzle stays more on target. Shooting the 10mm is not abusive at all and I enjoy it more so than .40.
With a drop in barrel, the G29sf shoots .40s&w better than the G23 does.
Good article however, aside from the recoil issue.
10mm is here to stay.
I agree with all of you on the recoil. At 5’9″ and 140 lbs., the recoil is more manageable in the Glock 20 than it is in my Ladysmith .357mag. Initial reviews kind of scared me away from the 10mm, but it is not that big a deal. It seems a good balance between recoil and total weight. On the other end of the spectrum, my S&W 686 is not bad on recoil, but the weight is a bugger after a while.
Hard pop of a 45? What are you shooting a pocket pistol in 45 acp? Every 45 acp I’ve fired is a slow push recoil.
So what type of 10mm do you have? I have a Tanfoglio Match, 44 oz. I have a KImber 1911. I have the USN/USMC expert pistol shot with the 1911 .45 ACP. I say again, with more than 30 years of shooting 1911’s, they ‘POP’ and 10mm push back.
How do you think a 10mm feels in recoil????????
I’ve fired both the Glock 20 (10mm) and the Glock 21 (45 ACP) recently, and I can tell you the 45 is a rather fun push back while the 10 is a…well…rather sudden explosion.
IMO feels like .357 Sig and .45Acp had a baby. (Snaps and pushes)
-of course, ask 5 people and get 5 different answers-
I like dropping the 357 barrel in my 29. That lil bastage screams!
Really wanna put a .460 Rowland barrel on my Para and take that B. for a spin!
9mm is pricier than it used to be but it’s still what, 1/3rd the cost per round of 10mms for practice ammo? That’s not a small gap. Love the round but dang.
$22 per 50 is not bad for practice ammo, and $28 for super hot 200 grain solids (1,290 fps) per 50… http://www.pbrammo.com look at value line and VS.
I find the recoil of a G20 less offensive than a G22, probably due to the much heavier slide and bigger grip area. The nice thing about the 10MM is the selection of ammo that gives you the option of light loads for normal carry or a fire breathing full house load for hiking in areas where four legged predators may be encountered.
My experience also. .40 out of g20 was like shooting a g17.
I carry a RIA 10mm FS & I LOVE it!!! Absolutely masterpiece to shoot!
I carry a Glock 29 as my weapon of choice, certainly the ammo was expensive, before I started reloading it, but now everything is. The shear power of the 10mm compared to the 9mm is incredible. Sure it will make your wrist sting after a few rounds, but rather a sore wrist than the alternative.
Someone in the comments mentioned the over hype of the recoil. I have to agree. Yes it is sharper than the .45. And I do shake out my wrist. But it is not intimidating. It is really not much more than the .45. I am not a tactical, former military, macho guy. The .357 4″ revolver was not fun to shoot for me. So I am not coming at this with a bad ass mentality. The 10mm is not that bad in recoil using my Glock 20. I have not shot the 220 loads that I ordered from Underwood in case a bear jumps out at me in LA. 😉 But off the shelf stuff wasn’t that bad.
I took a Delta Elite through two classes at Gunsite back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, using Blaser 200 grain solids at 1050 fps. No problems with the pistol, runs like a champ. I keep full power loads on the ready, but 10mm ammo seems to be more expensive than 45 acp and I can’t find Blaser ammo (for 10mm) anywhere, so I am switching over to 45 acp for practice and training. Keep the 10mm for high risk environments. Great round for serious situations.
Get Parabellum Research for your 10mm. they have a value line for practice, $22 per 50, and Velocity Supreme for woods and heavy defense at 1,290 fps (actual chrono) in 200 grain for $28/50. Underwood is just as good or better, but about $35 per 50. Don’t even look at BB or DT.
Since .44 magnums aren’t for automatics, I plan on getting the Sig version. I’ll probably also pursue exercises to strengthen my hand muscles so the recoils will be a smaller issue.
The Sig P220-10 shoots softer than most 45’s and much softer than my P224 in 40SW
I’ll order a G40 and some padded gloves!
No need for gloves.
+1 for the G40. I have been looking for a US-made 10mm 1911 under $1,000 for a while. You can guess how much luck I had. A G40 for 1/3rd the price, 6″ bbl, double the mag capacity and a nice heavy longslide to soak up that 10mm recoil?
Sold.
FYI – Per the Glock website, the new Gen4 Glock 40 10mm Auto slide weighs less than the Gen4 Glock 20 slide (or the Gen3).
I have a G30SF with a conversion barrel in 10mm. It shoots great. While throws brass into the next county it had been ultra reliable. The only over the counter ammo that does it justice is win silver tips. Yes Buffalo Bore and GA arms make some decent stuff but you don’t see it at the gun shop or wally world. I started loading my own and what a difference it makes over factory rounds. The Glock handles the recoil fine and I don’t see the punishing that many here talk about. I did put a wolf non capive rod and 20lb spring in it and now my brass stays closer to home.
I have a Gen 4 Glock 29 and I love it. I carry it more often than any of my other handguns. I only use Underwood ammo for defensive purposes, that stuff is top notch and priced reasonable. I highly recommend purchasing Pearce magazine extensions because having all of your fingers on the weapon really makes a difference with the recoil.
Underwood and Parabellum are the two best. Parabellum is cheaper than Kevin’s by about $8 per 50. Parabellum has some hot 200 grain at 1,290 (chronoed) for $28/50.
Just bought a Glock 20 Gen4 yesterday for defensive and hunting, I havn’t shot it yet going to today. WIth all the hoopla about its recoil i’m sure it’s not that bad unlike 400gr’s out of say Smith’s smaller X frame 4″ 500 so i’m going with Gus on the felt recoil aint all that bad. Comparaing the two for an example. Thanks guy’s you too Gus for all the info.
Olympic arms has a 10mm upper for ars, anybody have one?
I’ve had a Gen 3 Glock 20 for a couple of years. I shoot Underwood 180 gr JHP ammo. The ammo cost is not bad at all considering this stuff is premium self defense ammo. I order enough for the free shipping.
Carrying IWB in an Alien Gear holster is not a problem.
I love shooting the Glock 20. Recoil is not a big deal and followup shots might be a tad slower than compared to a Glock19 and a Colt 1911, but with a big leap in performance it is worth it.
Underwood and Parabellum are the two best by far… and half to a third of the the cost of BB or DT.
I recently bought a Glock 20 as I have long been a fan of .41 mag and often carry a 4 incher with heavy hard cast SWCs in MT at my place as we have so many vermin of BEAR size around. Like the Glock but do find the cost of practice a bit on the excessive side so don’t often carry it. Need more info on the 6″ barrel swaps and trigger work as well and am still getting over the culture shock of the G versus the 1911 of my great admiration when it comes to autos. More info of how the 10 works on larger critters is also hard to come by. It does have a snappy recoil but not all that much worse than 40 S&W heavy loads, not for newbies but old hands can deal with it.
for starters, I found this article to be extremely well written and researched and thats a journalists job well done! My rule was always ” get the biggest caliber you can handle proficiently.” As a reloader, you can always down-load a big caliber but you cant make a small caliber bigger. Thats why the 40 S&W came around. i am lucky that I have large hands and can handle a full-size autoloaders frame.
I was at the Harrisburg Great Outdoors Show in February 2015 and I talked to several gun makers about coming out with a 10mm. Taurus makes a 38 Super 1911 thats easily converted to 10mm but said its not even a thought for a production model. S&W said “if you and 5,000 of your buddies want to prepay for the guns we MIGHT give it some thought, otherwise, no we have no intent on a 10mm”. (Now you know why i dont own a S&W) . I talked to Springfield Armory about an XD platform 10mm but they said there was not enough interest to do it. I find the price of Kimber and Dan Wesson to be outrageously priced for their guns so they were cut from the buying pool. The EAA Witness in 10mm is a really nice piece and a price point even less than Glock but their customer service is well known to be about as bad as it could get. Glock would have been the next logical purchase but I feel the missing grip safety is just too dangerous in an emergency situation, thats why I sold my Glock for a XD. I commend Glock and Sig for coming out with new 10mm and I agree it is coming back with a vengeance because of the reasons you stated in the article. That leaves rock Island Armory. They make excellent quality pistols with realistic prices and an unbeatable warranty BUT they do not make any pistols in stainless steel. Dammit!
This brings me to my purchase. I went to a local pistolsmith to inquire about building me a 1911 based 10mm in stainless steel. I ended up with a Caspian Arms frame and slide with a “No questions asked” lifetime warranty, stainless commander size 10mm, 3lb adjustable trigger, all ambidextrous controls, the exact grips I wanted and built to my exact specs for less than $900 out the door and I supported a small gun maker in the process when all the big guys told me to go to hell. Now a small shop gets ALL my business and the money stays local. It does not get any better than that! Big kudos to Jerry Wilson @Wilson’s Sporting Goods in Bangor, PA!
This is what EAA imports. They make no guns. They import the gun maker that has won all of the world pistol championships since 1998. They make over 15 models in 10mm, from $450 Force all the way to a $5,500 X-Treme. Competitors in the US know who they are 🙂 The only gun that ever had a problem was the Steel $500 gun, which was discontinued. I have heard a few bad things about EEA support, and yet I have heard more about how great it is. Go figure. Never had to use them with any of mine over the years. http://www.tanfoglio.it/eng/catalogo/sport-amp-competition/
“They import the gun maker that has won all of the world pistol championships since 1998.” < ? The gun maker hasn't won any of those Championships. One guy has. He would win if he was shooting a different brand of gun. Also, where are you hearing how "great" EAA support is? That would be a first for me.
They have 23 models in 10mm, with 20 match grade running from $700 to almost $7,000. As to EAA, my LFD gets them from Tanfoglio, and there is no mention of EAA anywhere. EAA is the SOLE US licensed distributor, but not the only importer. As to support, all the models I have had for over 11 years now, have never required any support. As to technical questions, I have always gone straight to Tanfoglio, who aside from the time difference, have always emailed back with full answers in a day or so.
Sig-Sauer can’t keep up with their demand for the new 220 series 10mm, nor can Glock with the new 40 model 10mm long slide.
If you want a 10mm for the power, why handicap yourself with a 4.25in barrel ? That is the “Commander” length, isnt it ? I own one of the Dan Wesson PM7 10mm. I bought mine in Jan, 2007 and was all in at $876.66. This was a Govt length 5″bbl (this round was designed around this barrel length) in SS with all the bells and whistles Target sights, trigger, skeletonized hammer, Beavertail Grip Safety,flared ejection port,full length guide rod and a match barrel. I feel pretty good about my DW 10, but I still bought me a new Glock 40 Gen 4 10mm as soon as I found one for sale. Price for this was $810.21 in my hands, the kit comes with 3 mags and a set of the plates for different optical sights a cleaning rod & brush, and a mag loader helper. All this in a nice plastic, but stout case with a lock inside. I shoot/practice with the rounds I carry, usually DT 180gr JHP, Recenty ordered some Underwood 180 JHP both of these rounds are loaded to about 728ft lbs. Maybe more in the 6in bbl.
Wow …would love to see a pic of that custom 10mm!
Missing grip safety is “dangerous “?
Nonsense! Grip safeties are for weapons that aren’t drop safe.
While it might indeed be an awesome round, I don’t want to buy guns in “odd-ball” chambering. While it may not be as “potent”, the .45 ACP and 9MM rounds have proven effective for a very long time. Furthermore, in a SHTF situation, you’ll want to be able to get ammunition “where-ever you can find it”. If you stick with common calibers or NATO rounds, you’re more likely to find decent supplies of ammunition that will go bang when you pull the trigger.
This used to be commonly accepted. Recent ammo shortage had 9mm and .45 very scarce; oddball was all you could find.
With my G20 and a slide and mag from a G21, I can shoot 10mm, .40, .357 Sig, 9mm, .45, .38 Super, .400 Cor-Bon, 9×25 Dillon, .40 Super, and .460 Rowland.
One reliable platform, several barrels and unmatched versatility.
Yep! Glock 20 is great!
Yeah, with SHTF situation you would be stuck with 10mm and .40 S&W to shoot in your 10mm. Doesn’t seem like that would be too much of a problem.
Bruce:
Got it! Understand your viewpoint about the old ammo adequacey issue, however, if we follow this logic, we’d still be using the .45 LC and 45.70 rifle round. Technology advances, as the .45 acp and 9mm were the Cat’s Meow over 100 years ago, so too are the modern roads. Do not be afraid to try new ammunition types.
Never will I understand the “overkill” opinion regarding the 10mm. It’s basically a ballistic twin of the .357mag. That caliber is considered by many to be the most effective man stopper of all the carry pistol calibers. The 10mm is that, but in an auto package (more rounds) and bigger (albeit slight) caliber, and arguably more concealable especially considering the increase in rounds per gun.
Also, if you buy from underwood, not only will you be purchasing exceptional, hotter than hell ammo.. but it’s about the same price as good .45acp. Oh and it’s shipped to your door.. FOR FREE!
Underwood and Parabellum Research V-Supreme are the two best hot ammos for 10mm, and Parabellum is $28 per 50 rounds.
Underwood ships for free?! When and how? Do you have to buy in bulk?
I get emails from them periodically with free shipping codes. The only stipulation typically is you have to buy a minimum of $100 in ammo, which isn’t a problem at all! lol
Go sign up!
Oh OK, awesome! Thanks for the info!
I recently bought the rock island 10mm in the picture above. It is without a doubt, the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned. I couldn’t even fire 8 rounds outta the thing without it jamming a live load between the slide and the bottom of the ramp of the barrel. VERY,VERY, VERY dangerous situation. I managed to get 21 rounds through the thing with about 6 or 7 rounds with slide dents in the butt of the round close to the damn primer and dented brass. Mind you all on live rounds. When it did actually fire the round I was very comfortable with the recoil. If you can’t handle recoil from a 10mm, sell all your guns and get a bb gun or something. Anyways, this ri 10mm is a real piece of shyster!
Never heard that one about a rock. I know lots of people that have them and love them and shoot hundreds of rounds without a FTF, etc. What spring and ammo are you using? You could have a bad magazine. Take the bottom off, pull out the spring, stretch it about 40%, and put it back in and see what happens. It sounds like it is not pushing the round up right.
Billy, my so has just had this happen also. I believe his situation to be a bit diiferent or at least I hope so. My son was taking up much of the recoil, enough that he was buffering the energy needed for the slide to cycle a round fully. Not saying this is your situation, but the 10mm does need a firm hand to allow it to cycle properly unless the recoil spring is adjusted to the shooter’s strength.
CZ-97B in 10mm. The -97 is already a massive all steel beast. Perfect for 10mm.
WANT!!!!
Same as the Tanfoglio Match. CZ clone that is better made. 40 oz of stainless steel empty. http://www.tanfoglio.it/eng/catalogo/sport-amp-competition/match.html
I’ve owned a Smith and Wesson 1006 and a 610 since the early 90s. Reloading plated bullets made shooting them affordable. It’s a bit of work but making plastic water bottles pop at 40 yards is worth it. The 1006 is built like a tank.
I’ll be jumping on the 10mm bandwagon too but with an L frame S&W, custom made of course.
I own 2 EAA witness pistols…one double action… One single…both great guns in a Wonderful caliber…long live the 10mm!
I have and like very much a smithand Wesson 1006 3rd generation pistol I purchased in the early 90s(2-4) I think . The countermand told me “you need a hotter load to properly break it in ” so I got 2 boxes of 50 rds of those loads and went out the door happy with my new pistol. I picked 10 mm to carry along beacause I travel a lot in N.M. And Colorado driving on rural highways and back roads for business and pleasure(fishing) I wanted a round that could reach further and hit harder than a 45 from the gunship I went straight out to my target range. Once there I loaded it up and holding on off dear life pressed the trigger. Whoa what a surprise! That was so much easier to shoot than I ever expected (ammo was a federal 200 grain ball at @1086fps I was so light to me I smiled and proceeded to empty the magazine fairly quickly , I was smiling even more now and grabbed the box reloaded both mags and ran thru the first box before I knew it after reading how much of a monster it was for recoil I was happy and excited this being my first semi auto after shooting ruger single actions and colt saa previously. It was a pleasant surprise so next I bought more ammo another make and tried it out again dead on at 50 yes. Wow ,was all my buddy said Afterwards I cautiously disassembled it remember my first semi auto, cleaned and lubed it and saved it in the safe off the next session I’ve since put about 150rds thru it only cost kept me from firing more . With no problems at all it’s very reliable dependable and accurate I have many other semi autos now but for power and range I always pick it for driving the rural roads of both states and when fishing. Some have commented that it’s quite heavy. Yes but for a purpose that extra weight really helps control felt recoil. No I haven’t tried full house Norma ammo-the price being what it is! all in all I really like it and am very glad to see the rounds resurgence in popularity as I feel this can only help lower prices as well as increase availabilit
I have to say that I am piling on this commentary a bit late in the game, however, I too have fallen under the 10mm’s spell. 10mm a fad? Nope!
After buying a Glock 20 in 10mm and learning how to competently handle it’s demand for respect I managed to pick up a near virgin Delta Elite and a S&W 610 full lug 6 inch. After reading about some “retired” Delta’s here, I found someone to chemically bond Teflon to the high wear points of the slide. Anyone that thinks that this is a great idea, I would suggest thinking twice. Refitting the slide incorporating this process turned into a 5 week exercise until we got it right. After it was completed and getting the buffer installed with new Wolf recoil springs we were in business. So far I think I have at least done what I can with the Delta to allow it to live a long(er) life of full power loads.
As far as the 610 goes, it has been both a good hunter as well as crazy accurate for steel plates knocking them over without reluctance. All in all the 10mm could just be the best “serious” round out there. Semi-auto or wheel gun, hunter or carry, there isn’t much it cannot do.
With the great expansion and solid penetration ability of modern designed hollow points in 9mm, 40 & 45 (and their respective “One Stop Shot” numbers ranging from 79-84% using FBI Spec ammo), I see no practical reason to go to a more powerful cartridge for self defense or LEO use. Add to that the larger frame, stouter recoil, pricier ammo, and the logistics of yet another cartridge to maintain in inventory, and I’m going to have to just say no. But hey, I am not a gun collector, nor a hunter. If I was either, I would have that ambi safety SIG 220 on order already!
I read this article after salivating over the Dan Wesson Bruin. They make em in 45 and 10. After thinking about why I would want to beat myself up with a 10 Mike M below me answered it best. I can handle the recoil also. That $1800 Dan Wesson just might stay on the shelf though. That is a big stiff seeing my real Massachussets Dan Wesson 357 only cost 1/6 of that 30 years ago
I have never met a 10mm I didn’t like. Bought a blued Delta Elite in 91. The only ammo available around here were Silvertips and Hornady and very expensive. The first time to the range it shot with laser like accuracy, hitting an empty gallon paint can repeatedly at 80 yds(with fixed sight no less). I later turned it into an USPSA Open class gun with compensator and red dot sight. Used McCormick 10 rd .45 magazines I modified to hold 11. I still own it as I cut the slide/barrel down to use the full profile comp and retain a full size length. When I shot in Open, I used Nosler 135g bullets and it probably has thrown 10,000 rounds down range. No cracks or galling anywhere and still dead on accurate with my BoMar rear sight. Added a Glock 20C a few years ago and it too is accurate as hell. It’s what I carry in the woods with 15 rounds of Silvertips loaded.
Give me a 10mm P227 and I will be a very happy man. Until then I will have to deal with EAA.
I really like my 10 it’s a flat shooting accurate round for a 1911. I bought a Delta Elite and a Glock 20. Although the Glock 20 hold more rounds the 1911 handles the round better. The extra weight of the Delta Elite doesn’t flip like the Glock. Two clips through the Glock 20 is about all I want to shoot. The trigger starts pinching your finger because of the muzzle flip and you get whiplash of the wrist. You can buy good quality new starlight brass ammo now for less than 45cal on line. Long live the 10mm. My new build is a 10mm commander caspian stainless steel frame and slide colt cuts front back and serrated flat top with Novak sights. Can’t wait until its finished…
I used to live in AZ. One friend had a Colt Commander 4″ (officer) the other had a Colt Delta Elite. I was better with the Delta because of the longer barrel. But within most gun fights of 30 ft or less I’ll keep my 4″ S&W 357
My son loved shooting my Glock 20 with 10 mm+p ammo when he was a kid
I shoot the G20 and my daughter shoots it as well. Se is 15 years old and she will ask to shoot it over my G27. Recoil is not an issue for us. I appreciate the follow up ease of the gun.
STI makes some excellent 10mm 1911’s as well, including the double-stack Perfect 10.
.40 Short & Weak is just a compromise round. It doesn’t do significantly more damage than modern 9mm. It pales in comparison to .357 SIG. And for the damage it kicks harder than .45 ACP while doing less damage. In no way does it match these other rounds, almost the worst of all worlds. I prefer to carry .357 Magnum or 10mm Auto around 800 ft lbs.
I find these the best guns to shoot radscorpions with
Just picked up a Glock 20 Gen 4. Here’s to building wrist stamina!
I’ve owned a 10mm Glock for 10years. Only gun I’d never sell.
I’m not too experienced with firearms, but I’m not so sure 10mm can compete with the new FK7.5 round from what I’ve read.
I seen a flashy looking handgun on the cover of Guns&Ammo at work, and I thought “Hey, it’s a $6 magazine, what the hell?” so I bought it to read on my lunch break. The new FK BRNO Field Pistol shoots a proprietary cartridge that’s purported to have the ballistic performance of a .44 magnum at a 100 yards, the recoil of a .40S&W (due to the recoil mitigation system) and the weight of a .45.
It was designed for hunting and any applications where you might need to use your sidearm to reach out and touch something a little bit farther away than normal. From what I’ve seen, the thing is almost dead-accurate as well.
Again though, I don’t know much about firearms and cartridges, so this is mainly just me talking out of my ass.