Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Hunting with a 10mm?

My standard preface: I am not a full time handgun enthusiast. Sorry.

But I have been chasing my tail for year trying to stay loyal to the 45LC. I have a pair of Rugers and hunted hard to get an 1894 Trapper in 45LC.

I am wanting more of a hunting handgun. I'd like to have a 5.5" Redhawk in 45LC. Seems I have to offer really good sexual favors and $900 for one of those. Major downer.

In my searching I noticed a trend for many to tote G20s. From Bush Pilots to backwoods campers. I've kinda thought the 10mm was dead?

So I have stumbled onto several pics of Long Slide Glock 10s that have kinda lit my fire. Lone Wolf is right down the road from me, but I am seeing mixed reviews. I'd really prefer the longer sight radius of the 6" LS.

Can anyone weigh in if even a stock 4.6" is "football" sized target accurate at 50 yards? Asking way too much? I do realize much is on the shooter, but guns capable?

Seems like a viable option to take afield at every moment. I see many, many bears each year. But I am not some guy from Delaware who has to have "Bear Protection". My thoughts are the opposite.... I want to be able to stalk up and tag a target of opportunity. But pull double duty as a carry gun(field not town).

Anyone kill anything with a 10mm?

IMO, your Rugers in .45 Colt are much better suited than a Glock in any caliber for hunting.

While I've heard a lot of talk about using the 10mm as bear protection, I haven't found a documentable instance of one being used defensively.

Most Glocks, in any caliber, will shoot into 6-8" at 50 yards and many will do much better. If I was considering an aftermarket barrel I'd personally choose a KKM, which will increase the pistol's accuracy potential by quite a bit.

I've killed several deer with a Glock in .45 ACP (Mod 21 & 30) and a hunting buddy has killed a few with his Model 20. He shoots 180 JHP's and has never achieved full penetration. I get full penetration with 200/230 JHP's about half the time.

All of our shots have been within 30 yards and our recovery distances have been virtually the same.



Addendum (just for the sake of it...)

Here's an interesting post about a Glock 21 used to kill an attacking bear; http://gunnerforum.com/semi-auto-pistols/6135-grizzly-bear-gets-killed-9-rounds-glock-21-45-acp.html

I'm not disparaging the 10mm, but most of the enthusiasm about the 10mm is based on inflated ballistics - here's some hard data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjsXvXEryDJjdFhsRUcwSHRUcktCMmhOMTVFa25xa1E#gid=0

Based on these results, a stoutly loaded .45 gives up very little to the 10mm in most loadings.

Yes, minute of a football at 50 if you do your part. Just like the .45 Colt, you need to seek out the premium factory loads (or reload) if you want to tap the true potential of the 10mm. Underwoods offers a good selection with real ballistics printed on the package, and federal just entered the full-power 10mm game. Far from dying, it seems it is seeing a resurgence.

From a ballistic perspective, a hot loaded .45 Colt trumps the 10mm but that's not really the point. A .454 trumps the .45 Colt and no one disparages the Colt because of it. The 10mm full power 10mm slots itself between the .357 mag. and the .41 mag. Nothing to sneeze at for sure, and it can nip the heels of factory loads .41 mag. out of a short barrel. The .41 is more powerful, but it is typically listed out of a longer barrel. A 3" .41 loses a lot of steam over a factory 6" test barrel. In any event, there are two great things about the 10mm.

1. You can carry an auto that is well suited for self defense. When carrying in many outdoor areas (anywhere but grizzly country) the 10mm has the muscle to get the job done, and self defense may be more important than animal defense.

2. Just like the .357 mag., you can use it with loads of varying power levels. You can shoot .40 S&W power loads at the range and load with full power 10mm for the woods. My Glock digests both without any drama whatsoever.

Don't pick it because it is better than what you have, pick it because you want to hunt or carry an auto. If you can't tell, I am totally sold on the 10mm for most uses. I feel comfortable and confident in a full power 10mm for woods and self defense use.

I think I got my point across.

What load do you use the most? And is that a laser? That's kind of cool to see a landard in use.

dang nice shootin...especially that little gray.......

this is gonna be kinda long winded but here goes.

I have a Glock 20 with stock length KKM barrel and adjustable sights. Football at 50 is very reasonable. I carried mine all season trying to get a deer up close to take a shot. Had one about 60 at fading light and didn't feel comfortable with the angle. Anyway I digress

As far as killing power, I shoot DT cast loads in mine. I finished a doe this season that was shot with buckshot and the damage was pretty strong. My father in law raises cows and a few weeks ago he had one that needed to be put down. He had already went out and shot it several times with his usual livestock dispatcher a 32 S&W long. He came back to the house and said he neded my help. Took the 10 out there and the cow looked as if it had not been shot at all. I placed a round right behind its eye and it slammed the cows head in the dirt. Blood was pouring from the hole like a fountain as well as out the mouth. Not to be graphic but after seeing the damage it did to that big cows skull, I was impressed with the power of the little 10. I own 44 mags and a 454 casull and I don't feel undergunned with my 10 with the full power loads. Its a whole lot easier to carry than the big guns and for pistol ranges I feel no need to carry anything heavier and for the fact that I shoot it well and I am confident with it. Im about to pick up a glock 29 for CCW.

In the past Buffalo Bore 180gr gold dot was my load of choice but since they changed bullet brand I have been using Winchester 175gr. Silver Tips and am impressed with them so far. Yes, that is a crimson trace railmaster laser, an awesome little gadget. The lanyard was mostly for hunting out of a tripod so I didn't drop it.

I shot the fox at night, one handed out the passenger side window of my truck with some CCI 200gr FMJ Blazers. I shot three times and two connected before he dropped. You can see both holes.

So far for me only one kill, a decent sized hog in TN at the 24hrcf hog hunt, but I was thouroughly impressed with the performance. I can (in my 10mm) push a 180gr Gold Dot to 1375fps. I just noticed in an article in the latest shooting times that 1380 is the speed they got from thier brand spankin new model 69, in FORTY FOUR Magnum! Anyway, I am not afraid of anything in the lower 48 while packing my 10 with those loads. Buffalo Bore and Underwood sell 215gr HCFN loads that go over 1200fps. I can think of very few situations that one of these loads could not handle, that would not then require or at least strongly suggest some sort of a rifle as the logical next step.

Lots of you tube video's of folks killin stuff with a big ten. With some handloads and some of the hotter factory loads it is the equivalent in every way of a 41 Magnum with factory fodder. No one has ever suggested that a 41 Magnum in factory load guise is not sufficient for any reasonable game hunting in the lower 48 at least.

I predict that if you try it out, you will, like many of us here, become rather hooked on this round. And no it is FAR from dead, in fact it is gaining a large resurgence and following. Quite a few manufacturer's building 10mm's again. I sure wish I could afford one of the Dan Wesson 6 inch long slide hunter 10's, them is COO- EL!

For out and out power those Vaqueros if they are the original ones not the New Vaquero can be loaded up to dinosaur loads if you want the recoil in the 45Colt. I've got a bunch of the original Vaqueros in 45Colt and have a 300g load going over the chronograph at 1204fps but it's hard to shoot.

With the proper loads I think the 10mm will get'er done for the needs you mentioned. I would agree with the comment about the KKM barrels over the Lone Wolf and have a long brutal bad history with Lone Wolf barrels, KKM would be the way to go.

Many handguns have tremendous accuracy potential, the real question is can we shoot them up to that potential. When I see Hiccock45 shoot an assortment of Glocks and many repeated hits at a 12" gong at 70 yards and then hit again at 230 yards on a larger gong, I end up knowing that the limiting factor in duplicating those feats is not my handgun but me.

The 10mm in the Glock format is popular for backcountry users in the West for it's power and capacity. When loaded with hot factory loads or equally hot reloads it can be a great tool.

If the Vaqueros are the New Vaqueros I would look to the Glock.

Jesse,

I have a G21 (45 acp) Longslide. The slide is lonewolf's and I Have had no problems with it, and have seen rep's from Lonewolf pipe in over at Glocktalk when someone is bitching about their slide or other products and they have taken care of any issues. I went with a KKM barrel because lonewolf's chamber support is reputedly not as good and KKM has a better rep for accuracy. Just shot mine with 45 acp +P, off the bench at 15 yards 1.2", at 25 yards you could overlay the same group plus about a 1/2" flyer(?). You mention the crazy prices that redhawks are going for (these days), Unless you have a LE or military discount a G20 is going to run you around $570, A longslide around $260(?), a KKM barrel around $170, plus the internals for the longslide (you can always rob the internals from the Glock slide though)... not an inexpensive route either.

Jerry

Jerry,

That is one WICKED and COOL looking Glock! And I am not a GLock guy in the slightest. But that one gets my attention.

If timed and sprung correctly for some 45 Super ammo, that one would be a kick butt game slayer.

Jerry-

Many thanks. That is EXACTLY the info I needed. If I go that route, I was wanting to run the LW Slide with a KKM barrel. Can obviously be done.

Putting pen to paper sucks, but that's reality. You are totally correct. I can get a little "help" on the Glock and parts. But not enough to be a major Game Changer.

I do live in Grizzly Country. It's on my mind at times, but not like so many others. As I mentioned, having the ability to take a Black Bear cleanly is very appealing in a Spot and Stalk scenario of creeping along a logging road.

There is no way the 10 could touch my Rugers as far as KE or KOs or whatever. But as was said, that wasn't really my intentions.

There is a lot to be said of a capable Auto with 15 rounds on hand vs a Single Action pistol with 6 rounds and lots of skill needed to get them off.

The Texas guy with all the great hunting pics.....you have some really well placed rounds! Putting the rounds in the right places sure helps any stats. Great job.

I use a 6" Glock barrel in my G20, much better than the LW barrel I started with. I am not a Glock fan, but would have to try hard not to like the G20 as mine is set up, and with the Burris Fastfire III "red dot" sight, it is very easy to hit football sized objects at 50 yards. The 10mm can be problematic as far as case support, ammo integrity, and the "ka-boom" issue, but I think is a good choice for the uses you want.

If I wanted more, rather than a .41 mag revolver, a 1911 in .460 Rowland would be a good alternative.

They are 220 grain hard cast not 215.

Problem with the 10mm is bullet selection. The various 180-200gr JHP's are too lightly constructed for anything but lung shots on deer. Which is fine if you can work within its limitations. The heaviest loads consisting of 220-230gr LBT's at 1100fps are at best similar to middle weight loads for the .41 and .44 magnums. You can beat that in a Colt SAA .41Spl. If you're going to compare boutique loads, then it's best to look at Buffalo Bore's 230gr .41 load that runs 1450fps, or their 265gr load that runs 1350fps. No, the 10mm is not nipping at the heels of the .41Mag. It's not even close.

The .38-40 shares the same bore diameter, and Beartooth Bullets (for one example) will sell a FN hardcast in 401 or .402 diameter, that will work well in either a .38-40 or a 10mm.

I was also surprised that a 5" S&W 610 will give higher velocity than 3 different 10mm 1911's, and I expect one of the Ruger Blackhawks would do even better.

I use the LW 6 INCH in my Glock 20 SF . I use a 24 lb recoil spring. I replace the Trigger with a Fulcrum Trigger System and the sights with the Mepro Adjustable Tritium . My load is the 200 gr Horandy XTP with Longshot and Starline Brass

In my experience the 180 grain XTP hp holds up rather well at 1300+ fps. The Buffalo Bore 265 grain clocked about 1260 fps from my S&W M-57. The 230 grain in the high 1300 fps range. A 40 cal 220 grain flat point is a formidable load my most things in the lower 48 IMHO.
But a 255 grain hard cast at 1090 fps from a 45 Super is very potent as well with the larger diameter.

I believe this was directed at my comment. What I said was the 10mm with top end boutique loads can nip at the heels of factory . 41 loads. The point is NOT to compare top end 10mm loads to top end .41 loads for the .41 is clearly more powerful. No one said otherwise.

The point is that it is entirely possible to buy ammo for a 10mm that approaches FACTORY strength .41 ammo, especially when that factory .41 ammo is fired out of a 4" or less barrel. No one that I know says a factory load out of a .41 mag is inadequate for deer/black bear/etc. If a factory .41 works for the job, then a top end 10mm works as well. If you need a top end boutique load out of a .41 mag just to get the job done, a top end 10mm isn't going to cut it.

So what you have with a 10mm is a gun that exceeds the .357 magnum and CAN nip at the heels of some factory .41 mag loads.