I ventured into the 10mm this summer. I wanted a higher capacity woods carry gun than my single action, 5 shot Rugers (45 colt, 480 Ruger). I bought a ROCK island Rock series 10mm with a 5" barrel. I ran several hundred 'standard' rounds through it. I bought some Underwood 220 hard cast, supposedly running 1200 ft/sec.
I was wondering how much recoil these had. Reading reviews on line I was expecting something 44 mag-ish. I think they are more 44 special-ish in the recoil department. I ran a couple over my chrono and they clocked 1184 and 1180 10 feet from the barrel. They were also fairly accurate. Put 3 in a 2" bullseye from 30 feet. I figured this is the max distance I'd be encountering anything that need persuaded be it 2 or 4 legged.
I'd bet the 220 hard cast would work on deer quite well. I have several doe tags this year and could get one within 25 yards pretty easily. Might try that.
All told, I really like the 10mm. Recoil isnt as bad as some make it out to be. Far less than my current loads in my 45 colt (300 gr hard cast) or 480 (375/400 gr hard cast). 1200 ft/sec with a 220 grain hard cast is pretty potent. I can put 1, some times 2, more 9mm on target than the 10mm but really like bigger, fatter slugs. I find the 1911 platform a pleasant surprise as well. I like the combo - alot. I might need to investigate a shorter barrel 10. Just because.
