Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 10 mm for Deer Hunting

How many consider the 10mm a good option for deer hunting with a handgun?

The 10mm with a good bullet will take deer just fine IMHO

A couple of days ago, I sow some Hornady Critical Defense 10mm loads featuring a 175 grain bullet. I wouldn't hesitate to poke one with that load if I had a chance.

200 grain .40 caliber XTP @ 1,250 fps... sure. In fact, that is the load I plan on taking in the timber for our December Alternative Methods/Muzzleloader season.

I wouldn't consider it a "good option" where there are so many better ones available. I'm sure it would be fine. Those that consider the 10 to be "about the same as a 41 Mag." are wrong. The 41 will always hold more powder than the 10 and always be more powerful, all things equal. In the real world, things are never equal though and it is a nice round for a manageable sized semi-auto. No doubt the 40 would do fine too. I've got pistols in 45 Colt, 44 Mag., 41 Mag., and 44-40 in my safe that would all best the 10...not that they're necessarily even needed. I'm sure you've got most, if not all, of these as well. In reality, the 10 is about like a 357 Mag. which many think is too light for deer, especially if the aforementioned are available. I think the 357 is fine too.

It's just whatever one wants to use or has to.

Loaded correctly, the 10mm is good deer medicine. Nothing wrong with it. As long as the shooter is competent with his firearm, it'll get it done with aplomb. Deer aren't particularly heavily constructed, so you can get away with a decent expanding bullet. I killed a couple of wild hogs with a Glock 20 this summer and it worked like a charm, loaded with Federal 180 grain Trophy Bonded JSPs.

The 10mm round (not 40 S&W loads in a 10mm case) is just fine, it compares quite well with 41 magnum fired from 4" or shorter barrels. It beats 357 from barrels that short and is closer to 44 magnum than given credit for.

All of the published numbers you see for magnum revolver rounds are from 7.5" or 8" test barrels. When fired from shorter barrels they don't come close, and 8" barreled guns are almost never actually used. Expect 200-400 fps less speed than published numbers if you are using a 4" or shorter barrel

All of the published numbers you see from semi auto rounds come from either 4.5 or 5" test barrels, which is exactly what is used in the real world and pretty close to what you'll get.

I consider a 10mm a good outdoors SD weapon that gives true magnum revolver power in a smaller, lighter package with 2.5X more ammo capacity. It still wouldn't be my 1st choice if I wanted to hunt with a handgun, but used within it's range limitations is a viable option.

I'd still choose a revolver if I wanted a dedicated hunting handgun. A 6" or longer barrel will get you closer to published speeds than 4". That along with the longer sighting plane and generally better triggers means a more accurate gun.

The 10mm is an excellent deer cartridge, if the right bullet is used. That is, something that penetrates well, unlike the many very tender self defense bullets on the market. I'm going to try to test the 150gr CEP Raptor this season but it will be running about 1500fps out of a .38-40.

Killed a big bodied Axis buck with mine using a BB Gold Dot. 10mm and .40 are plenty for deer and hogs.

The TN hog I shot with mine, NOR the badly damaged oak tree behind him considered my 10mm to be anything other than very bad news.

And no, the 10mm is NOT "About like a 357" the 10mm throws a 40 caliber, 180 grain bullet at about the same speed a 357 tosses a 35 caliber 125gr bullet. That would be 1300-1400fps. My loads with AA#9 chronograph 1375.

The two are not even kissin cousins, power wise.

Beal, you were on that TN hunt wherin I shot the hog with my 10, and yes I DO consider my 10mm to be MORE than adequate for shooting a deer, if I could get one within the limitation of my ability to make a sure bullet placement.
I finished off a rifle hit hog with a brain pan shot using my 10 on that same hunt and trip, and at close range every single bit of brain matter was removed from that hogs head.

Damned thing was as empty as the brain pan of a typical Democrat after that shot.

From Ballistics by the inch:

Delta Elite 10mm (5")
180 gr JHC BB 1,374 fps
175 gr STHP WW 1,209 fps

S&W M57 .41 Mag (4")
180 gr DPX CB 1,221 fps
175 gr STHP WW 1,108 fps

S&W M 29 .44 mag (4")
240 gr HS FED 1,094 fps
200 gr GDHP SPEER 1,009 fps

S&W 686 .357 mag (4")
158 gr HS FED 1,248 fps

Looks like the 10mm is at or near the top of the heap when compared to any revolver caliber with a 4" barrel (which is equivalent to a 5" auto after accounting for chamber length).

Why do you post this BS? A fully loaded 125 is at least 300 FPS faster than a 180 grain 10mm. A fully loaded 357 158 grain is about 1400 FPS out of my 4" M-19

1. 3 inch S&W J frame

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard cast LFN = 1302 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr. JHC (jacketed hollow cavity) = 1299 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 1398 fps
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 1476 fps

2. 4 inch S&W L frame Mt. Gun

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard cast LFN = 1375 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr JHC = 1411 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 1485 fps
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Jacketed Hollow Point = 1603 fps


https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=103

This is at least the second time that you have posted this and ignored the correction the first time obviously.

I have chrono'ed the BB and older Remington 240 grain loads at 1400 FPS. The loads you list above are in the 44 special high end range. The 357 loads you list are not at low as well from my own chronographed results of other ammo.

Yeah, uh, no. Those are not top end revolver loads and you're obviously looking at energy anyway. An absolute top end 10mm load is a 220gr at 1200fps. The .41Mag can get 265's to over 1300fps. Meanwhile, the .44Mag tops out at 355's at 1250fps and Ruger only .45Colt with 360's at 1100fps. So no, while it's very capable, it's nowhere near the top of the heap.

Remington 125 grain JHP ammo will be in the same ball park. You should compare top ends loads to top end loads.

Here is another 357 125 grain load that the 10 mm 180 can't touch for speed

http://www.underwoodammo.com/357magnum125grainjhpboxof50.aspx


Built to the tightest tolerances for peak performance rivaling and sometimes surpassing handloads in many guns. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.

XTP Bullets feature a performance-improved point that has 6 precise folds to divide the bullet into symmetrical sections and initiate controlled expansion at low velocities while not fragmenting at higher velocities. They expand reliably at a wide range of velocities for a deep, terminal penetration with every shot. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer-primed, reloadable brass cases.

Technical Information

Caliber: 357 Magnum
Bullet Weight: 125 Grains
Bullet Style: Hornady XTP Jacketed Hollow Point
Case Type: Brass

Ballistics Information:

Muzzle Velocity: 1700 fps
Muzzle Energy: 802 ft. lbs.

Ruger SP101 3" Barrel
Muzzle Velocity: 1500 fps

Ruger GP100 6" Barrel
Muzzle Velocity: 1700 fps

That is looking at velocity from the ballistics by the inch website. They have not chrono'ed every load, so I grabbed the most comparable ones. Your loads and your guns and your chrono may be different. Out of a 4" barrel, off the shelf factory ammo for the magnum revolvers is not much better (and is quite often worse) than off the shelf 10mm ammo from a 5" barrel.

Yes, top end .41 and 44 loads should trump top end 10mm loads. That isn't really the point. The point is this: if a guy thinks a factory loaded .41 or .44 out of a 4" revolver is up to the task (whatever the task is....deer, bear, breaking rocks, etc) than one of the full power factory 10mm loads is equally up to the same task.

Super hot loads out of long barrels is another story, and I am not asserting otherwise. At various times for outdoor use I carry or use a 3" .357, an 4 5/8" .357, and a 4" .44 magnum, all with factory ammo from Win/Fed/Rem/Speer. I am happy to know that when I carry a 10mm with hotter loads I equal or exceed the performance of those guns with a factory load. That's it. Not that the 10 is better than a hot loaded .44 out of an 8" barrel, as it is clearly not. It is *close enough* to factory loads out of a short barrel to get the job done.

A lot of 37 and 44 mag loads are not to to end specs. Remington, Double Tap, Buffalo Bore, Underwood Ammo and some of the Winchester rounds will be much higher velocity than the loads you listed, which are 38+P and 44 Special +P territory. Compare top end loads to top end loads. If you are using watered down 357 and 44 mags loads then list the 10mm watered down factory loads.

When I chrono my I used a 4" and 6" M-19 some loads were faster in the 4", some loads were faster in the 6" and some were nearly a dead heat. As to the 44 I used a M-26-2 with a 6 1/2" barrel. I have 2 of them and one is 50 to 80 FPS slowere than the other with the same loads on the same day.

It's not even in the same ballpark. I don't know what the deal is with the loads tested by BBTI but they are anemic. My moderate Unique loads run in that velocity range. The Federal load listed is a self defense load, as are all the others. Bottom line is, they tested better 10mm loads and there is very little that can be assessed from the results of such limited testing.

And energy is meaningless.

Ok. Just a point of clarification, since you said it twice. The above from BBTI is NOT energy, it is VELOCITY in fps.

Another point of reference, the .44 mag 240gr hydra shock load clocked in at 1,296 fps from a 6.5" model 629 and only 1,094 fps from a 4" model 629. These are velocities, not energy. The point is magnum revolver cartridges apparently lose A LOT when stepping down to a 4" barrel. It dropped off 202 fps, which is a bunch.

I own several magnum revolvers and only one 10mm, so I don't think it is bias on my part.