The ol' 10mm debate.

[Guest bkelm18]

Ok, so I have been tossing around the idea of getting a 10mm handgun for general defense, woods carry, and feeling like a badass . Aside from availability and cost (I'm well aware of both), what are the pro's and con's of this round? I know that most manufacturers don't load it near what it should be, DoubleTap and Georgia Arms being the exceptions, and that it would behoove me to reload 10mm, I'm just curious what your esteemed opinions are of this round. Thanks.

[Magiccarpetrides]

Its pretty much the most tacti-cool round available. Dan Wesson makes a nice Cbob 10mm...unless you wanna go the Kool Aid route.

[Guest bkelm18]

Its pretty much the most tacti-cool round available. Dan Wesson makes a nice Cbob 10mm...unless you wanna go the Kool Aid route.

Well, I can't afford the DW, and I'm not a huge fan of KoolAid, but it's really a toss up between the G20 and a Tangfolio Witness Match and I'm leaning towards the Witness.

[Seaslug]

I've put about 400 rounds of Doubletap and Georgia Arms stuff through my new Glock 29 over the last month. It makes me . So much so, in fact, that I'm thinking HARD about going ahead and getting the G20 so I can have the "full" 10mm experience (sending you a PM re: a deal I've found). It has replaced the .45 ACP as my favorite cartridge, and that's saying a lot.

[Magiccarpetrides]

Seaslug have you tried the 10mm Equalizer yet?

[molonlabetn]

The 10mm is pretty much the most powerful cartridge for semi-autos which is still controllable in the hands of a competent shooter, to wield for self-defense. Standard loads aren't any more punishing than .45acp, and hot loads aren't horrible either (unless you think .38spl +p out of an airweight J-frame has unreasonable recoil, too).

10mm is to .40s&w what .357sig is to 9mm. It's a bit more 'umph' for a bit more cost and recoil.

[Seaslug]

Seaslug have you tried the 10mm Equalizer yet?

The first thing I did after purchasing my G29 was go to the Doubletap site and order some Equalizers and 135 gr. Noslers. I had my uncle standing behind me when I squeezed off that first Equalizer round (through a sticky Shoot-N-C), and I asked him if he noticed anything unusual. He stood there looking at the two holes and scratched his head for a minute, and I could actually hear the gears turning. I finally clued him in, and after I finished off the other 9 rounds, that target looked like I'd been hammering it with 00 buck. Although I'm not completely sold on its viability for SD, the Equalizer may be the single greatest plinking round I've ever fired. Makes me happy just thinking about it!

[Guest Mugster]

In a self defense round, if you need extended range it might be a good choice. I think close in (under 25 yards), a .45acp at full power offers a good balance between shootability and power.

I'm still puzzled why you'd buy a gun and then underload the ammo. Load it up to the hilt and take advantage of the power it offers. If its too much to handle, take advantage of a smaller weapon in a lesser caliber that handles quicker.

If you want to hunt with it or carry it as a backup to a rifle for dangerous game, it might be worth a look. Pretty good bullet selection to tinker around with.

[Guest bkelm18]

In a self defense round, if you need extended range it might be a good choice. I think close in (under 25 yards), a .45acp at full power offers a good balance between shootability and power.

I'm still puzzled why you'd buy a gun and then underload the ammo. Load it up to the hilt and take advantage of the power it offers. If its too much to handle, take advantage of a smaller weapon in a lesser caliber that handles quicker.

If you want to hunt with it or carry it as a backup to a rifle for dangerous game, it might be worth a look. Pretty good bullet selection to tinker around with.

If I were to get one and start reloading, I would definitely load it to what it should be. I was just saying most of the commercially available ammo is underpowered.

Edited September 9, 2008 by bkelm18

[Guest Grout]

Actually the 10mm as envisioned by Jeff Cooper to be chambered in the Bren Ten was supposed to be a 180 gr bullet at around 850-900 fps.Glock designed the Model 20 to handle the pressure of the loads Norma was loading the 10mm to.The Glock 20 is a *****cat with full power loads.

Edited September 9, 2008 by Grout

[Im Neero]

Grout,

What could you possible have to do that is better than being a Space Shuttle Doorgunner?

[Guest Grout]

You can only do it for one mission.

[Guest Abominable_Hillbilly]

It's definitely a round for reloaders, but that really doesn't bother me.

I've got a G20 and a full size Witness. The G20 is much more suited to full-house loads. The Witness is a fine pistol and a joy to shoot, but it doesn't inspire the confidence to stand up to the abuse of, say, DT's Beartooth loads over an extended period of time.

[Guest Grout]

I have found that the polymer frame of the Glock absorbs a lot of the felt recoil of the full house loads allowing faster follow up shots.

[et45]

I have found that the polymer frame of the Glock absorbs a lot of the felt recoil of the full house loads allowing faster follow up shots.

I remember David Manning saying he was doing a Bill Drill in around 1.75 with the one he had.That was back in 92 before he started going down hill.He commented on the frame absorbing the recoil.

[TripleDigitRide]

So, who has the best deals on 10mm range/target ammo?

[R1100R]

Georgia Arms

[Seaslug]

Georgia Arms

+1 by far, but there was a pretty good wait at last check...

[Guest 70below]

The 10mm is pretty much the most powerful cartridge for semi-autos which is still controllable in the hands of a competent shooter, to wield for self-defense. Standard loads aren't any more punishing than .45acp, and hot loads aren't horrible either (unless you think .38spl +p out of an airweight J-frame has unreasonable recoil, too).

10mm is to .40s&w what .357sig is to 9mm. It's a bit more 'umph' for a bit more cost and recoil.

Not after I find an inside the waistband holster for my Desert Eagle .44!

I've shot SeaSlug's G29, its definitely a fun gun.......definitely worth consideration in anyone's gun box.

[Guest m4coyote]

I have enjoyed my G20, but I had some problems with it in the beginning. I purchased it new about three years ago, and will give you a run down on the issues.

After the purchase, I field stripped, inspected, & gave everything a thorough cleaning. I took it to the range, and proceeded to fire a box of American Eagle 180 gr. loads through it. I was impressed with its long range accuracy, and ease of shooting.

After the range trip, I cleaned it, and put it in the safe. Some time later, I decided to take it to the range again. This time, things did not go so smoothly. After the first magazine, it started light striking the primers, and would no longer fire a cartridge. Thinking that oil or some contaminant had gotten into the striker channel, I removed the rear plate, and inspected the safety plunger, striker spring & cups, and the striker. After inspecting the striker channel, and determining that everything was dry and clean, I reassembled it. Still no bang, and a very slight primer indentation.

I removed the magazine, cleared the chamber, and turned the gun over - so I could see what was happening with the action of the trigger bar. Bingo, the trigger bar was not contacting the safety plunger. For a test, I removed the safety plunger and gave it another go - bang every time.

A little bit of research revealed that due to this problem, Glock updated the trigger bars in the G21 and G20 a year after my purchase. A state police agency was having this exact issue with their G21's. Rather than sending it back to Glock, and paying the $50.00 insurance and shipping fees, I just ordered the $15.00 trigger bar and installed it myself. This ended the light strike problem, but another issue cropped up.

Another range trip revealed that the gun would function normally on the first round every time, but when the second round was chambered, it would sometimes not return fully to battery. It required a tap on the back of the slide to return into full battery. Sometimes, before I knew better, it would ignite the primer - even if not in full battery. The extra bulged cases caused by this frightened me, so more research was in order.

After speaking with several Glock armorers & competitive shooters, I decided to purchase a Wolff solid steel guide rod and assorted weight recoil spring kit. After installing the steel guide rod and and non-captured springs, I have had no further issues.

None of the rest of my Glocks (G19, G23, G26, G34) have had these problems. I know that many folks claim to have had no issues (for thousands of rounds) with the factory guide rod & recoil spring that comes in the G20 and G21, but I will forever consider the updated trigger bar, solid steel guide rod & non - captured spring a requirement for a G20 or G21.

[Guest 70below]

Another range trip revealed that the gun would function normally on the first round every time, but when the second round was chambered, it would sometimes not return fully to battery. It required a tap on the back of the slide to return into full battery. Sometimes, before I knew better, it would ignite the primer - even if not in full battery. The extra bulged cases caused by this frightened me, so more research was in order.

I had this same problem while shooting a G29.......no one else had the problem, and it turned out that while I didn't have this problem with any of the other pistols I was shooting, including a G17 and G22, I apparently was limp wristing just a bit on the G29 either from the shorter grip or just because it was a slightly hotter round. As soon as I locked my wrist a bit more is started going fulling into battery.

[Seaslug]

I had this same problem while shooting a G29.......no one else had the problem, and it turned out that while I didn't have this problem with any of the other pistols I was shooting, including a G17 and G22, I apparently was limp wristing just a bit on the G29 either from the shorter grip or just because it was a slightly hotter round. As soon as I locked my wrist a bit more is started going fulling into battery.

I was gonna post this, but I didn't wanna call you out in front of everyone...lol. M4, this is probably exactly what was happening with your G20, as well. The heavier recoil spring has now compensated for the limp-wristing.

[Guest m4coyote]

This may very well have been a limp wristing problem, but several shooters had the same result on the same day. The recoil spring I chose for the Wolff guide rod was the factory weight - 17 lbs. I have not even installed or used the 19 or 22 lb springs yet.

Something was binding with the original plastic guide rod & spring assembly, or the spring was weak, because swapping out the Wolff assembly for the OEM will still cause my G20 to not return to full battery (about 1/16"-1/32") about 5 out of 15 shots - with multiple shooters.