Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 10mm 180 FMJ for woods protection

I have several boxes of 180gr FMJ flat nose that are rated at 1230fps and wondering if it is enough for black bear and such. No grizzly where I hunt yet. I have looked high and low for 200gr hard cast and nothing is available right now. The only thing close to it is Buffalo Bore 10mm 190gr mono-metal. Any other ideas?

If that's what I had, I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep. If you can't get it done with that, I doubt a different load is going to be the deciding factor. It will always come down to where the bullet is placed, not the bullet you chose (within reason of course).

Yes, load up and call it a day!

^^^This^^^

I prefer the Buffalo Bore 220 gr Hard Cast Outdoorsman Load. But I wouldn’t hesitate to use your License ad ifhats all I had.
Especially if Grizzlies are not a consideration

Mackay Sagebrush is selling 200 grain Hardcast Flat Point in the Classifieds.
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...29/10mm-bear-predator-loads#Post16524029

There's nothing in Nebraska, save perhaps bison or elk, where a 180/10mm load couldn't do the job.

Unless you won't be in Nebraska................

Even a black bear or a cougar will drop quickly enough with a 180 out of a 10mm.

That would be a great load !

^^^^^

This. Yep.

Damned bears were all over the place where we were hiking last month. We literally walked outside the place we were staying and 50 feet out the door, some danged bear was leaving his calling card in the yard. Day and night there were multiple bears either getting into the trash or leaving berry piles on the lawn, or up and down the road. Funny thing is we never saw them as we were hiking, but we would come back a couple hours later and there would be a fresh pile on the lawn.

I kept the 10mm with a light attached in room for night time duties and carried a 1911 .45 ACP with +P 250 grain hard cast flat points at 950+FPS as my carry gun on that particular weekend.







I figured either load would take care of Mr. Grumpy Bear nicely.

I need to get some of your ammunition

Enough for black bears? I’d say so! Pretty near ideal actually. We live in “bear country “. No grizz, just blacks. A bird feeder on the deck won’t last a week. As they are pretty secretive, we almost never see them. I typically carry a 9mm, but bears are of little concern. People just go about their business and bears do the same.

It's OK to use a quality hollow point. Really, it is. This notion of solids only for dangerous game is an internet farce. Solids are required for dangerous game in Africa because the size of the animals is so extreme and hide/bones so tough. Shots on these animals require very precise shot placement, typically brain - even in self defense situations.

Hollow points are designed to inflict maximum damage and energy transfer. Most hunting regulations forbid non-expanding bullets of any type for hunting...because they don't kill game effectively. Where allowed, the military chooses hollow points for missions because they are significantly more effective than FMJ's on adversaries. Yet we have this internet notion that animals that are going to eat us, and must be stopped with some sort of solid bullet. If solids are so effective, why don't we use them on two legged threats? There's no vital in a black bear that's more than 15" under the skin from any direction when he's positioned in a threatening way. Almost every reputable expanding bullet these days penetrates 15" in gel tests. I know gel tests are not real world, not even close, but it's one perspective. If something is gnawing on me, I want immediate damage to vitals or CNS. I don't care if the bullets comes out the other side. I'm not tracking some blood trail.

Sure, caliber matters too. Someone will say a 44mag, with a 300gr. lead hard cast doing 1200fps with a meplate of 0.4" is the ticket. Sure, it also has 50% more energy of a hot 10mm.

For me, when I'm in the mountains in CO, I carry a 10mm with 200grain XTP's in everything but the G29 (which is absolute last resort woods carry gun), which gets 200grain lead hard cast. The only reason the LHC is carried in the G29 is due to the short barrel, the velocity of copper bullets (more barrel resistance) is not much better than a 40SW. Lead bullets are about 50-100fps faster and produce a measurable increase in energy. For me, I want full energy transfer to the target, penetration to at least 20" (heavy bullets help), and bullet construction that will expand, but not break apart. Getting that penetration from a heavy expanding bullet requires hot 357's, 41's, 10mm's or 44mags.

Please identify ANY commercially produced hollow point/jacket/gilded construction pistol bullet that matches the deep digging potential of a properly created hardcast slug.
Energy transfer? Bah.
Attacking animals lead with their head.
Better have something that does more than ring the bell. It needs to get inside.
Even ball or fmj will increase the drilling potential over a hp. That includes a clogged one.

I've tested quite a few projectiles in various calibers and sabot combos through BP inline rifles where velocities can be pushed well above standard handgun speeds.
The XTP/XTP Mag were poor.
Blown them apart on deer necks. And that is not a tough medium compared to any bear's grill.

Yes, higher speeds cause issues as most jhp's have a velocity window. But slower speeds (handgun) bring their own inherent weaknesses.

How many big large animals have you taken with hollow points.
I've killed a bunch with flat point hard cast and had plenty of tissue destruction.

Much better than a dull stick....unless you have a major league swing! You’d be much better served with a heavier, wide metplat bullet, provided it feeds reliably ....but, if that’s all ya got! memtb

Every single one of them. Probably 40+ deer, A dozen elk. Hundreds of small game.
And no where did I say that LHC doesn't work, I said the notion of solids ONLY is an internet farce. Keep using your solids.

I forgot to add, hollow points and soft points, bounce off animals. All the animals killed by them over the last 100 years are in the same file as the fake moon landing. How easily I forget. Must be the same reason why PETA led divisions of wildlife require them in the hunting regulations, it's safer for the cute animals.

What's in your CCW, lead hard cast? Cant have those whimsical HP's bouncing off biker jackets, getting clogged on cotton white tank tops and fat man grizzle.

XTP is a pistol bullet btw. I'd expect it to fail at rifle velocities...so would the manufacturer.

I've taken bison, grizzly, Asian Buffalo all with flat point hardcast and no way would try some of those animals with a hollow point.

I've seen XTPs fail to expand at 1400 FPS I'll take a quality flat point hard cast any day

Deer are not large heavy game v

Neither is a typical black bear.