Posted: 9/5/2007 6:41:46 AM EDT
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Is there a difference, if so what is it? I've always thought that .40 was the pistol round and 10mm a rifle version, but a few posts I've read got me re-thinking this. BTW- I'm pretty new to firearms, all my pistols are .40SW |
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Taken from Here The 10mm was designed in the early 1980's and introduced in 1983. Incorporating features that Col. Cooper (ret.), one of the founders of IPSC, thought would be desirable in a handgun cartridge. Dornaus & Dixion introduced the 10mm with their pistol, the BREN TEN. Unfortunately, Dornaus & Dixion had trouble supplying their pistol to the public. At the time, NORMA, manufacturer of ammunition in Sweden, was manufacturing 10mm ammunition and would have stopped producing this powerful cartridge if a firearm was not chambered for it. Fortunately, COLT Manufacturing Co. re-engineered the 1911 to handle the 10mm. Originally, NORMA loaded their 200gr.(grain) bullet at 1200fps (feet per second) and the 170gr. bullet at 1400fps. The original loads are very powerful, and I have chronographed the 170gr. bullet with velocities between 1335 to 1360fps from my S&W 610 5" barrel. I have heard and it seems confirmed that the early NORMA 10mm cartridges were not loaded too carefully. None the less, the NORMA loads are more powerful than those loaded by the major ammunition manufacturers today. Currently, there are numerous bullet weights available for the 10mm. The weights range from 135gr. to 210gr. The 10mm is a strong cartridge and is able to hold up to punishing pressures. The case was designed to withstand 53 000cup, a very impressive feat when other automatic handgun cartridges fall below 40 000cup. Most commercial loads have a mean pressure starting at 37 000cup and some of the more powerful loads go up to 45 000cup. Next to the .45ACP (22 000cup), and 9mm (35 700+cup) maximum pressures, the 10mm Auto is powerful indeed. Comparing the 10mm to magnum cartridges, the maximum pressures range from 46 000cup for the .357MAG down to 43 700 for the .41MAG and .44MAG. Due to the high velocities that the 10mm generates, it is a very flat shooting cartridge, which helps with longer shots. The 10mm achieves its peak pressure very quickly, and therefore needs either a strong recoil spring or strong lockup to contain the gases until the pressures become safe. The various semi automatic designs used to shoot the 10mm have strong recoil springs in order to slow the slide velocity. All the major ammunition companies have or still have the 10mm in their line up, but not as extensive a range or selection one would expect. Unfortunately, the obscurity of the 10mm has hurt it from being developed by the ammunition companies. This is due to the popularity of the .40S&W. Personally, I do not have any love for the "Short & Weak", but it is very popular with police and civilians primarily because it is able to be fired from a 9mm design platform. The main reason why many like the .40S&W is that it has an increased magazine capacity, usually 10 to 15 rounds. Another reason is the .40S&W is popular is that it has a reduced recoil impulse compared to the 10mm, but came close to the "stopping power" of the venerable .45ACP. The main reason why the 10mm AUTO didn't gain popularity with shooters was that, in it's original loadings, it is a very powerful semi-automatic cartridge. For new shooters, who may be recoil sensitive, most would shy away from a gun that is a real "kicker". In addition, another negative factor is that the handguns that chamber the 10mm are inherently on the large side in order to contain the cartridge's power. And there in lies the demise of the 10mm AUTO. With few new novice shooters taking on the 10mm and the various guns chambered for it, the 10mm AUTO has languished with little attention or much development. This is unfortunate because the 10mm AUTO is one of the better handgun catridges out there for general purpose shooting. The 10mm can be downloaded for plinking or target shooting, or loaded hot for game hunting |
It is almost like the magnum version was created first and then the special version came out and people/agencies loved it. |
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The 40 S&W is proof positive to the number of wimps in the shooting world… The 10mm runs neck and neck with the 357 mag. If you can 'handle' that, you can handle a 10mm. I have actually seen many complaints here about the 40 S&W being too much when compared to a 9mm! These people need to be armed with the 38 S&W. Oh, the 40 S&W is a weaker case design thinner in the web and utilizing a small pistol primer. It is not simply a shortened 10mm case! Yes the 10mm was developed in conjunction with the FBI. In typical political cowardice they would not say that a .45 ACP or a 9mm was the better cartridge. Instead they set up tests designed to prove that the just invented here cartridge was superior to everything else out there… |
You can reload both 10mm Auto and 40S&W with the same dies, but you need to change the primer 10mm Auto takes the large pistol, whereas the 40S&W take the small pistol. The bullet is the same. |
The FBI had absolutely NOTHING to do with the development of the 10mm Auto cartridge. The cartridge predated the FBI trials, where they eventually settled on a lighter handloaded 10mm. (handloaded for the trials that is... they created that particular load to barely come out over the commerical contenders in .45ACP and 9mm) However, this selection of a watered-down 10mm loading had everything to do with why the .40S&W was developed. |
I'm just trying to get educated, not start another flame thread.
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in addition to what many pointed out (that 10mm is almost the same in dimentions as .40 S&W) the 10mm case was designed to sustain much much higher pressures. My understanding is that currently is being loaded by manufactures up to 38,00 psi but can sustain much more. This fact, together with the round being at least 13.75$ per 50 (georgia-arms.com) many people who use this caliber - reload. Obviously the fact that you get almost .41 Magnum performance from a semi auto that has a double-stack magazine and holds 15 rounds -- is very remarkable That's why this round has a cult-like following. The most popular (in my view) pistols in this caliber are Glock 20 or 20C, Witness Elite (or Elite Match) - they have double stack mags, Kimber in 10mm (1911 style) and some custom gun makers such as Fusion Firearms sell almost complete kits for 10mm (and to convert their 10mm into .40 -- it will just require a barrel for 120 (or atleast that's my understanding) -- those are signle stack magazines There are other popular pistols but I do not think they are manufactured anymore (Colt Delta, S&W 1076 and 1006)
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Check my signature to see where my loyalty lies! In any event, you'll find a major difference between 40 and 10 is the guns that chamber them. The OAL of the 40 is such that it generally can be chambered in 9mm-sized guns, but with reduced magazine capacity (sometimes greatly reduced). The 10mm requires a gun of the same dimensions as a 45ACP. The effect of this, and the power difference, usually results in guns that have "too much recoil" for small and/or weak men and women and is "too large" in their hands. |
