Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .45 vs 10 mm

What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? Also what are the similarities & differences between two calibers?

One is faster, one is bigger. Matter of preference.

The 10mm has the same energy at 100 yards as the .45 does at the muzzle. It's very similar (but not identical) to the .41 magnum. It's one hell of a versatile cartridge, especially if you're a reloader.

If you want just one self-defense pistol, then probably the .45 is a better choice - wider selection of guns, and it's easy to find ammo. With good ammo, and good shooting, they are effective defensive weapons. The 10mm is a pistol loony's caliber (to paraphrase John Barsness )

It's pretty easy to get 1300 fps out of a 10mm, with 155 gr bullets, which is as good or better than current .357 magnum loads. The .41 mag will drive heavier bullets the same speed, but no one makes a semi-auto .41 - at least not in wide circulation.

In a standard 1911, you can get nine shot CMC mags, and so you've basically got a 10 shot 1911, which is far from a bad thing. Of course if you Glock, you can have even more in the mag.

It's a fun cartridge, easy to load. The parent case is the basis for the .40 S&W, the .357 Sig, and the 9x25, so if you like to change calibers you could theoretically just change barrels and maybe the magazine, to change calibers. I have a Colt with extra .40 cal barrel; one of these days I oughta fit barrels for the other two calibers to it

The downsides are ammo availability, and also limited selection of guns. If you don't fancy Glocks or 1911's, you may have to look for one of the discontinued S&W's (edit to add - I guess the EAA Witness is also available in it). Ruger made a few combo Blackhawks in .38/40 and 10mm combo, while S&W made the 610 revolver on the N frame. If I ever find one of them in the rare 5" barrel I might have to get one

you made me look up one of my reloads.
a 200grain xtp through a ruger buckeye shooters conversion 38.40/10mm, in the ten mill it clocked through a chrony the following:
1.1318
2.1302
3.1303
4.1290
5.1301
6.1295
out of a kkm barreled glock i am getting a little over 1200 out of the above, and with a six inch around 1285fps.
i would say that kicks a .45acp butt, and i like .45acp.
and as kevin says at distance you have a much flatter flight.

I have both, and both have their advantages over one another. I prefer the 45 at home, and if I'm on the trail in the backwoods, I want the 10 on my hip. Ammo is much more plentiful and cheaper for the 45, but if you reload, the 10 is fairly cheap to shoot. They are both similar in recoil.
There are many more companies loading for the 10 than there were 20 years ago when I bought my first one. Hornady, Cor-Bon, Double Tap, Winchester, Buffalo Bore, Federal all produce ammo for the 10. It's becoming much more common. I can think of 8 or 9 companies making 10MM auto loaders. The 10 runs at much higher pressures than the 45. It's really lucky for us 10MM nuts that the 40 S&W caught on because there is a wide variety of 40 caliber bullets to choose from.

The downside of the 10mm? Nearly twice the peak pressure of the .45 ACP (37,500-psi vs. 21,000-psi), 40% more bolt thrust, and even 35% more than the .357 Mag.

All that zap means choice between larger, heavier handguns or a shorter service life. Barrels won't last as long regardless.

I'd just add that it comes close to the performance of the 41 Magnum but with alot less recoil and muzzle blast. Not a bad deal.
In the same gun, it kicks both harder and faster. Or at least it has in the 1911 guns I've played with.
A practical field load for big game. Lots of penetration with the heavier bullets, particularly the 200 gr. flat point stuff.
I really apreciate mine. Both my 1911 .45's and my 1006 Smith. They cover my needs a little differently.For instance, I prefer the .45 as a small gun pistol, while I prefer the 10mm as a bear gun. E

What do you want it to do?

CCW? I'd likely side with the .45ACP, for more than a few reasons.

Field? 10mm, again, for more than a few reasons.

FWIW, I have, and dote heavily on, both.

DING DING DING - we have a winner

Have to go with that advice. I keep both in full size 1911's and that's exactly how they are used. The 45 (along with a smaller 45) gets most of the range time and almost all of the carry time. The 10mm gets field use and carried when in conjunction with field use. Both are great rounds. Glad it doesn't have to be one or the other!

I have shot both cartridges in a range of Glocks including 20 + 29 and 21 + 30 and with a vareity of ammo both factory and handloads and in all cases, the 10mm's were notably more accurate and recoiled straight back into the hand.

I liked them very much and would not consider a .45 over a 10mm though, I would also own a .45.

John

Aussie that is very close to what I found in my tests of the Glocks in .45 & 10mm. I mostly carry the .45 in a shoulder rig when in a vehicle for up close situations. Outside the vehicle it is the 10mm that will get the call.......Penetration with the 10mm is deeper and more accurate by 1 inch at 35 feet.

I have Glock 20 10mm with a couple of barrels.
Compared to a 45acp, 10mm sucks.

The 45 has a stronger case head and can go higher pressure.
The 45 has more case volume and can go higher power.
The 45 has a bigger diameter and makes a bigger hole.

Both great rounds. Load appropriately and go forth with confidence!

How dat? The .45 has more case capacity. Unless you are talking some decrepit design vs. a modern one, the .45 trumps the 10. This is especially true if you reload. The 10 can be bought in pretty much maximum loads. Maybe the .45 can too. I'm not familiar enough with all .45 offerings to know. It certainly used to be the case that the .45 was pretty underloaded.

They're both great auto cartridges. The .45 just holds more.

10mm SAAMI Max Ave. Pressure 37,500
45 +P Auto SAAMI Max Ave. Pressure 23,000

Okay, if you really think the 10 is the stronger case, I stand corrected. I personally don't think it has an edge, but to each his own.

I don't know anything about the case, but the 45 being larger doesn't much matter if the pressure limit constrains you using all that extra space. But I don't imagine anyone is making 10mm cases that won't take the SAAMI limit. Maybe 45 cases are just waaay sturdier than they need to be?

I have shot 45acp brass at 50,000 psi and the primer pocket does not get loose and there is long brass life.

You can't do that with 10mm brass. It is the weakest brass around.

The only thing you got is the case and the gun strength wise. I already covered the platform issue in a post preceding both of ours. That leaves the case. If the case is just as strong as the 10 and the gun is as strong, then you basically have the same limits for pressure, no? Ifso, the .45's larger capacity always trumps the 10's lesser. That's what I was saying. I'm not a physicist though.

My thought is that the 10 is a lot like the .308 in that it has always been loaded near potential, whereas the 45 ACP has not. There is a lot more room for improvement with the ACP, or at least there was. There are some hot +P loads out there now.

Another thing is people always comparing the 10 to the 41 Mag. It ain't a 41. It ain't a 38-40. It's the 10, which is good enough, maybe better than you need for killing folks, since the .40 seems more than adequate. Probably not good enough for the real dangerous game though. But then, experience trumps speculation and I am not an experienced dangerous game hunter. Per my speculation, I would want something more than either for truly dangerous game, either protection or hunting. The 10 does have a lot of firepower, especially in the Glock and some others. I think...I KNOW I'd take a hot-loaded 38-40 over a 10 for dangerous game.