Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Favorite 10mm loads

I have a Smith 1006 on the way. You guys have any favorite loads. Planning on staying with 180 grain. I have picked up some 180 XTP's and have some 180 hardcast as well.

I can find plenty of data for the XTP but finding cast info is a little harder. Figured this is the best place for info. What ya got?

What has worked best for me in my Glock 20 is a heavy load of 2400 under the 180 grain XTP. I use the Rainier Ballistics copper plated 180 grain HP with the same load. I use Starline brass, load it twice and toss it.

I really like AA#9 powder in the 10mm. It gives good velocities and burns REALLY clean. AA#7 works well, too, and I usually used it with my my cast bullet loads.

I've owned several different 10mm's over the years, but not currently. I've been thinking I need to get another one.

I like the 180 XTP alot...other than having a hard time with getting them.

All my 10mm loading is done with Longshot, Blue Dot and 800X. Frankly I'm still figuring out what I like best. Hot loads of BD have proven accurate but there's a lot of pomp and circumstance involved. If you meter your loads you'll hate 800X but it does give good velocity at pretty reasonable pressure.

I'm using either 10.7 grs. of AA#7 with Hornady cases, or 10.5 grs. with Starline cases for 2-2.5 inch groups at 25 yds. with the 180 gr. XTP. I've gotten groups down to 3/4" of an inch at 25 yds. with 10.8 grs. of AA#7 with the Remington 180 gr. Golden Saber HP's and WW cases.
I've quit using the WW cases as they come too short for consistant ignition after they are reloaded a few times. Hornady, Starline or Federal all work fine and are to spec.
With 175 gr. cast SWC's, I've found that 5.0 grs. of AA#2 shoot same zero as the above 180 gr. loads and 2.0-2.5 inch groups. So does 6.5 grs. of AA#2 with a 140 gr. cast. These were Hunter Supply cast bullets from Midway. E

I ran some tests last summer with various factory loads and those "self-defense" loads too. I don't need a 180 or 200 grain bullet in my 10mm pistols. I prefer the 155 or 165 bullet weight. It penetrates plenty deep and give very flat trajectory out to 85 yards.

Since I pack mine as a grizzly defense gun, I prefer the heavier bullets, even the 200 FP FMJ loads.
It does shoot flat and hits hard way out there as well. Much like the magnum revolver loads as opposed to the more common semi auto pistol loads. E

If you don't want to handload, you might want to look at the loads offered by Double Tap. They offer two hard cast, wide flat nose, gas check bullets that are super in the 10mm.

One loading is a 200 Grain WFNGC at 1300 fps and the other is a 230 grain bullet of the same style loaded to 1150 fps. Both feature a .32" meplat and a BHN hardness of 21.....designed for deep penetration.

If you DO want to handload, they also offer these same bullets as components.

I stick with the 180s also - prefer a stout load of 2400 best. Blue Dot worked well also, but 2400 shaded it a bit. My pistol is a Kimber, very accurate.

Had a 1006, loved max loads of Blue Dot and Power Pistol under 180 Gold Dots and XTP's.

I liked PP for the ease of metering, Blue Dot for the fireworks.

Full loads of Blue Dot at dusk sure make a petty impressive show.

FZY........Those 180's give lots of penetration more than really needed unless your trying to shoot through a cast iron motor block. I use the 165 or 155 grn bullet weight and that gives me more than needed to penetrate any attacker, even at 20 yards away.

Now if I were in Bear country, I really would not be using my 10mm for such a walk in the woods. It would be my Smith & Wesson .44mag model 29. It makes a bigger hole and hits a lot harder than my 10mm.

Sorry about the late response, but I sure do appreciate the info. Got 5lbs of Power Pistol on the shelf think I'll start with that.

Plan on carrying it when out packing with the wife to our favorite fishing holes. Don't have to worry about big bears where we are but the occasional black bear could show up, as well as wolf and of course the 2 legged kind. Looking forward to working up loads for it.

What kind of case life can I expect? 2 times and throw away seems rather short. Those loads must be awful hot. What kinds of speeds are you guys getting with the 180's?

I was very happy with 1250 fps with the 180's. That was plenty a handfull to shoot, and brass life was fine for me.. You could go a lot hotter, the Smith 10's are built like battleships. I never saw the need to mash the pedal.

My Glock 20's are running 1450 with 155 grain bullets and the model 29 Glock is turning 1376fps.

Haven't clocked mine, but test data indicates 1150-1180 fps. as a rule with the 180 gr. stuff I've tried.
The 10 operates at very high pressures and can go critical easily. For that reason, I don't try for much more velocity.
Frankly, it's very impressive right there. No, it isn't a 41 Magnum, but it's more than the .357 and alot more than the .45 ACP. E

Glad to see so much 10mm info. Not bad for a moribund cartridge. A few years ago when you entered 10mm into the Gun Broker search only a couple of pages popped up, today it's 16. Will always have at least one 1911 and it wont be a .45acp.

I've had success with V-V N105 and some 210 gr SWC's, but I don't think you'll go wrong with PP and 180's. FWIW I reloaded brass about 3 times with full power loads and then segregated it to lighter practice loads. Yeah, I have lots of practice brass now.

Carry the Taylor extension that allows you to load 20 rounds of 10mm...each one of those S&W 44 mags don't carry the energy of 5 10mm rounds. You can dump 15,000 fp into a bear if he/she managed to keep the charge up in the face of that blistering swarm of lead.

You need to hit them once in the right place. Particularly with a handgun. Which are very tough to shoot well under stress. E