Hey guys

Can’t lie, total noob here. My experience is I’ve only shot a gun once (a .45acp) haha. I live in Portland, OR and have been recently going into the forests here for mushroom foraging & hiking. On a recent camping trip we saw a Bear far away and now I have become more concerned with going hiking alone.

I started researching handguns and suddenly have a major interest in hunting as well haha. Anyway, I fell in love with the FNX45T, and heard so many good things online that I decided to check it out in store, and purchased online (can cancel, hasn’t even shipped yet). Recently now I started reading into it and am seeing the new FN510T, and am seeing everyone is suddenly into 10mm and saying it will be more effective in stopping a bear, etc.
I’d really like to have a good handgun for both home defense and wilderness. The FNX45T seems super fun to shoot, have light recoil for a .45, and has a long good reputation. The FN510 seems to have significantly more recoil (I’ll get used to it?) and is a new gun so I’m wondering if it may have issues still or will be improved upon as a fresh release. I saw online some people saying how they’re having case bulge and FN is coming out with a 2.0 version, how expensive the ammo is, etc - but I also want to make sure if a charging bear comes at me, that I can save myself. Would also like something fun to shoot though & also not insanely expensive mags, so as you can tell I’m super lost.

So I’m a bit unsure which to buy. I’m not sure if I should be concerned with the 510 or not and buy it, or not. I’d like to buy soon as well with Oregon maybe passing Measure 114 :/ and don’t want to buy a handgun, just to buy a second handgun soon again. Starting med school soon and need something long term & reliable.

Would absolutely appreciate any input whatsoever.
Thanks guys!

The 45 will work fine and if you need a little more power you can shoot 45 Super that is closer to 10mm velocities but shoots a bigger bullet.

I only have experience with the FNX45T. I love that gun and it shoots nicely, but it is a big gun! Probably the biggest gun I have. So that's something to consider. It has a good trigger in my opinion and can be shot DA/SA or SAO. First time I took it out I shot the center out of the target, so I was pretty pleased with it right off the bat. The gun just felt natural to me. I've heard a lot of good things about the 510 and plan on getting one myself. I imagine the 45T might be cheaper to shoot, but I am not familiar with current 10mm ammo prices. I think you'd be happy with either, just depends on what caliber you really want and if you want hammer or striker fired. Good luck with your decision!

I've been asking myself the same question since the 510 was introduced, and I've come to the conclusion that I will have both before summer 2024.  



First will likely be the 510 ( is Santa listening??).  I've handled both in the store and both fit my hand very well and have good combat triggers.

At the present time, the cost of .45 vs 10mm is a toss up, with 10mm often being cheaper.

If there was an FNX10T, this wouldn't even be a debate. Would be 10mm first for sure.