The 10MM Auto

[airedale]

Back in the 80s I subscribed to most of the popular Gun Rags, Guns And Ammo was one of my favorites and Jeff Cooper's column was read every month. Jeff was a big proponent of the Scout style rifle and also the 10mm cartridge along with the Bren 10 pistol that fired it. Jeff's writing had me hooked on the Bren 10 and I came within an eyelash of getting one but before I bought, reports of chinks in the Bren 10s armor started to come forward so I held off hoping for the problems to be ironed out. Well that never happened and the company that made that pistol folded because of bad press.

So in recent years there has been a resurgence of sort with the 10mm cartridge with several manufacturers putting out guns. I was real interested in the Ruger 1911 and the Remington 1911 Hunter 6 inch barrel. But again I held off due to problems in both pistols and right now neither are being made as far as I know and the old stock is selling for twice the retail.

Anyhow I again started researching what is available for a decent price and also getting good reviews from folks that purchased them. The one pistol that has been getting rave review is the Turkish made Girsan 1911, the hunter model with all the bells and whistles for a very good selling price. So I bit and bought one with the cerakote finish.

I just got my 10mm loading dies, brass and bullets so ammo is on the way and I will be wringing this baby out soon.

Below is the old Bren 10 pistol that started the 10 mm ball rolling, Miami Vice's Sonny Crockett's handgun of choice.

 

[DDT]

Congratulations on the Girsan purchase. 

I too was bit by the 10mm bug. Through the years I bought a bunch.  LAR Grizzly (with extra barrel kits, only one I don't have now), IAI Javelina 7", Colt Delta Elite, Glock 20 (wolf 6" Barrel), Para hunter 6" (still unfired, it became the Remington), and a Just Right Carbine.  I hand load the 10mm using 180 grain and 200 grain cast. One thing I will say is they all shoot well and it's an easy caliber to load up. I have carried the 10 when deer hunting, but have not shot a deer with it. I believe it to be capable but just haven't had a chance.  

You will like the 10mm. I have loaded with blue dot, unique and power pistol.  Blue dot is what I settled on using WLP primers in starline cases. When initially prepping the cases, just gave them a light kiss with a chamfer tool inside the mouth. Bullets slide right in without a bell which helps with case life. 

Are you going to get a Galco Miami classic holster?

Be sure to post shooting updates and enjoy the Girsan!

[Grouse]

I would love to have a Glock 10mm for hunting, but it's not in the cards right now.

[DDT]

5 hours ago, Grouse said:

I would love to have a Glock 10mm for hunting, but it's not in the cards right now.

My son got the G40 and put a Burris Fastfire on it.  I got the G20 before the 40 came out and added a 6 inch Lone Wolf Barrel and a bracket that replaces the rear sight and added the Fastfire.  I would recommend that when you are ready, go for the G40 if you want to hunt with it.  Will be cheaper in the long run. I'm glad that I got mine before I retired. I wouldn't be able to now. 

[airedale]

10 hours ago, DDT said:

Be sure to post shooting updates and enjoy the Girsan!

Thanks for the tips, I plan on loading 180 gr Hornady XTPs, I have had such good luck with them in other handguns, rifles and muzzleloaders that they are my go to bullets. 

I see that Blue Dot gives the best performance, but it is pretty hard to come by these days. I have on hand both Unique and Universal, both give pretty much the same ballistics with moderate velocities so that is what I will start out with.

I will be posting a review on the Girsan.

Al

[airedale]

Hit the loading bench and turned out 100 rounds of 10mm 180 gr HP Hornady XTPs using Unique powder, the load should be producing around 1100 fps out of the Girsan's 6 inch barrel. Put a Valkyrie compensator-muzzlebrake on, if nothing else it looks cool. Hope to hit the range sometime this week and see how she shoots.

Al

[chrisw]

I bought a Glock 40 last year, it wasn't easy to find with 10rd mags though. I like it so far, I bought it for deer hunting and of course the day I left it in the truck because it was really cold and windy is the day a doe came by at 20 yds. Next year I hope to use it more.

Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk

[rob-c]

I do like my Rock island ultra in 10mm , I bought a 40 cal barrel and extra springs etc. to have lower cost practice ammo . 

[bugsNbows]

I have a Glock 20 with a CT green rail laser next to my bed. Pity any poor sob that tries something stupid. 

[airedale]

On 5/10/2023 at 7:06 AM, DDT said:

Are you going to get a Galco Miami classic holster?

No, I already have a shoulder holster that the Girsan will fit along with a Uncle Mikes Nylon belt holster for large autos. A fellow I know likes an all barrel length Pro Tech belt holster and after looking at his I liked it so I picked one up. A lot of the gun's barrel is exposed but I do not think it will be much of a problem, I like the way it wears on me and the comfort.

[bugsNbows]

Nice! I too like those minimalist design holsters.

[cas]

Not to wish any bad luck on anyone....

I did something I KNEW I shouldn't do, but did it anyway. Bought a Para Elite Hunter long slide.  (Remington had just acquired Para some time before)  It was very tight when I got it. In around 450 rounds it was more loose than any 1911 I've owned. It rattled when you shook it, a lot.  It was also the most inaccurate semi auto pistol I've ever owned. Did lots to it to try to make it shoot better, didn't help. (trigger job, tight custom sized bushing, even threw an old "Dwyer group gripper" in it in final desperation).  Every round fired through it was in load development trying to get it too shoot worth a damn. No joy.

IIRC I paid $1200 for it (very stupid, but wanted to get one before they got worse, figuring Remington's effect on Para's already crappy reputation would only make it worse. The news Remington bought them spiked the prices)   Sold it with full disclosure for $625

"The pretty turd."

 

 

I built a long slide 10mm Glock.  Never did fire it. Bought a stripped frame and an aftermarket slide and barrel. Filled it with "higher end" aftermarket parts, Ti striker & saftey plunger, match trigger, Kensight adjustable  rear, fiber optic front. Went to try it and something or another was wrong. Took it home and decided that try as I might, I just didn't like the large Glock frame and the smart thing to do would be to part it out and sell the parts as new, rather than shooting it a little, decided I still didn't like it, then trying to sell used parts.

So I did, took it apart and as my luck would have it, THE VERY DAY I listed the slide and barrel for sale was the day Glock announced they were finally making a factory long slide. OF COURSE!  So noooobody wanted to buy my parts till they got down to a giveaway price.  The double joke was on me, because once I sold it, I went and bought "the pretty turd". I should'a kept the parts Glock. 

After I sold the turd, I bided my time until I found a Dan Wesson RZ-10 with adjustable sights. 

 

A good, accurate gun, but the long slide itch was still there. So a few years later I threw common sense away and bought a Dan Wesson Kodiak, despite having the Razorback. 

 

 

And if I'm telling my full story, my first 10mm was a Ruger "Buckeye" that I turned into a Bisley. Though honestly, after firing 50-100 rounds of  CCI Blazer 10mm through it when I first got it, I never used the 10mm cylinder again, favoring hotrod "Ruger only" .38-40 loads in it.

Edited May 21, 2023 by cas

[cas]

Double tap.

Edited May 21, 2023 by cas

[airedale]

11 hours ago, cas said:

Not to wish any bad luck on anyone....

Your report is exactly why it took so many years for me to finally make the move on a 10mm, there was a lot of bad press.

Al

[cas]

I regret it mostly because of my own stupidity.  I KNEW better, but started to listen to the internet and a couple people who's opinion's I respected, somewhat, up until then. lol

[DDT]

I have had nothing but good experiences with the 10mm since the 90s.  All the platforms I've tried for shooting have been more accurate than me. I think it's an inherently accurate caliber and easy to load. I like Lee dies best, in fact I have several sets. My favorite pistol caliber was 38 super before before the 10mm. Also shoot alot of .40 S&W. There are only a few sources of information that I trust,  here is a link to one of the most trusted and knowledgeable writers for a source of knowledge. 

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt10mag.htm

There has been a resurgence of the 10 in the past few years. If it wasn't good there would not be so many gun makers going to that caliber. 

Of course these are only my experiences and opinions,  your mileage may vary. 

 

[rob-c]

On 5/21/2023 at 3:22 PM, DDT said:

I have had nothing but good experiences with the 10mm since the 90s.  All the platforms I've tried for shooting have been more accurate than me. I think it's an inherently accurate caliber and easy to load. I like Lee dies best, in fact I have several sets. My favorite pistol caliber was 38 super before before the 10mm. Also shoot alot of .40 S&W. There are only a few sources of information that I trust,  here is a link to one of the most trusted and knowledgeable writers for a source of knowledge. 

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt10mag.htm

There has been a resurgence of the 10 in the past few years. If it wasn't good there would not be so many gun makers going to that caliber. 

Of course these are only my experiences and opinions,  your mileage may vary. 

 

Thanks for the link, bookmarked and saved . 

[DDT]

1 hour ago, rob-c said:

Thanks for the link, bookmarked and saved . 

I noticed that I made a mistake on that link. It's for the 10mag. Here is the correct link for the 10mm.

http://sixguns.com/tests/tt10mm.htm

John Taffin does some great work. 

[airedale]

I have done a lot of reading about the 10mm and from what I have seen the consensus most feel gun problems are due to ammo that is loaded a bit too hot. In fact the Girsan recommends not shooting hot reloads out of their pistol. I will stay with moderate loads with this 10mm and hopefully stay problem free, I have a couple of 44 mags if I need some big time pop.

Al

[TACC]

That definitely depends on the weapon. I have XD/M in both 3.8 and 4.5 barrel, and 2 G20's, 5 inch , and 6 inch KKM with a break on it.

Both MFG shoot lights out with serious Underwood 220 grain Hardcastle ammo.

I haven't had a problem with anything yet.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[airedale]

Been wicked busy here on the Farm so have not had much time for shooting. On Father's day one of my Sons brought up his new Steel Challenge build rifle to sight in and I got the Girsan 10mm out and we threw a bunch of lead on the range. I mainly tested the Girsan and my handloads for reliability. I am happy to say this pistol worked flawless with zero issues. It's performance mirrored the online youtube reports that started my interest in this particular pistol and caliber. When I get a little more free time I will give it a good wringing out and accuracy test but so far so good.

Al

[rob-c]

On 5/23/2023 at 11:04 PM, TACC said:

That definitely depends on the weapon. I have XD/M in both 3.8 and 4.5 barrel, and 2 G20's, 5 inch , and 6 inch KKM with a break on it.

Both MFG shoot lights out with serious Underwood 220 grain Hardcastle ammo.

I haven't had a problem with anything yet.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 

I found in my Rock Island 10  that the Extreme copper washed 180 grainers shot terrible , even at low end loads . Bought some jacketed 180’s and that made a huge difference in groups . 

[airedale]

My only complaint with this 1911 is I had to get the metal detector out to find the spent cases.

Al

[cas]

Mine throw them high enough that I can shoot, turn around and watch them land. 

The Para, I put a crazy heavy recoil spring in it, crazy heavy main spring and a different squared off firing pin stop, and its still threw them into the next county. Probably because the lockup was so crappy.

[airedale]

Shot the Girsan again and got it sighted in pretty well, I was having a tough time seeing the front sight so I ordered a fiber optic job that will help me a lot getting on target I think. Not a single malfunction as of yet with my handloads, the reliability has been great. I would like the trigger just a bit crisper and lighter, good trigger jobs on 1911s are not cheap, something I may get into down the road.

Al

Edited August 16, 2023 by airedale