.40 cal or 10mm

[TJSaltdog]

I'm looking to buy another gun within the next month. Im torn between a .40 cal and 10mm. I do not have either one nor have I ever shot either one. I know that the ammo for the 10mm is more expensive than the .40 cal. Which one is more powerful? I have heard some say its the .40 and others say its the 10mm. Heck i have heard some say the 9mm is more powerful than the .40. With so many different opinions how is one to know who to believe? This is why I like INGO, there is a lot of knowledge here. Hopefully there is more knowledge than ignorance. Just kidding.

 

[7.62asprin]

10mm is the most powerful out of the bunch.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdB8yo085Sw[/ame]

 

[CBR1000rr]

The .40 was derived from the 10 mm. You will often hear fans of the 10 mm refer to the .40 S&W as "Short and Weak". I don't know why anyone would choose the 10 mm though. Not that it's a bad round but for all practical purposes, the .40 is more readily available .

If it's pure power you're looking for and the costs of ammo don't concern you, go with the 10mm. However, if you're simply looking for something with stopping power you should be fine with the .40.

 

[TJSaltdog]

The .40 was derived from the 10 mm. You will often hear fans of the 10 mm refer to the .40 S&W as "Short and Weak". I don't know why anyone would choose the 10 mm though. Not that it's a bad round but for all practical purposes, the .40 is more readily available .

If it's pure power you're looking for and the costs of ammo don't concern you, go with the 10mm. However, if you're simply looking for something with stopping power you should be fine with the .40.

I like that name "CBR1000RR". I use to have the Yamaha R1 but sold it and now my wife wants me to get a Hayabusa. If I decide to get one it has to be a generation 2 busa.

 

[Birds Away]

The .40 was developed from the 10mm. Many people had trouble handling a full sized steel 10mm with full house loads. The .40 short and weak is a shortened and heavily tamed 10mm round. Most of the 10mm factory ammo available today are not loaded anywhere near the capacity of the round. If a)you do your own loading or the price of ammo is no issue and b) you don't mind a full sized all steel gun then I highly recommend a 10mm. If you choose to go this route then you will have to do a lot of research to find the proper platform. There a quite a few 10mms out there, only a few are really appropriate platforms for the round. My friend has a Smith & Wesson 1006. He loves it. I love it. Everyone who shoots it loves it. I have heard the the Glock full size 10mm is adequate for the round, I don't know from personal experience. If you don't like any of these aspects then I guess you should settle for the .40 like everyone else. If you decide to get a 10mm be wary of compacts or anything under a 5" barrel. You will not be able to reach the full potential of the round out of a short barrel. Just my of course. YMMV. Enjoy and good luck in the search.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Get the 10mm, learn to reload, and never look back. With a Glock 20 you can buy an aftermarket barrel that is drop-in and shoot .40s&w as well, so you get the option of shooting a round with authority (the 10mm) or a more commonly available but weaker round (.40s&w). With reloading you can also download your 10mm rounds to .40s&w levels.

Factory 10mm ammo is as low as about 500 ft-lbs of energy to 750+.
Factory .40s&w ranges 350ft-lbs to 500.

The 10mm has a very interesting history and was truly a round before it's time. You get the energy (and more) of a .357 in an autoloader platform.

Some people will whine about not being able to find 10mm ammo at Walmart, but honestly, even during the great ammo shortage I was able to order 10mm ammo online and get it within a couple of weeks. Even now if you ask your local Walmart to order 10mm ammo for you most will. I don't have a lot of patience with people who only keep so little ammo on hand that they have to run to Walmart before they go shooting, and regardless having a .40s&w barrel gives you maximum flexibility.

 

[GunsNstuff]

The police do pretty well with the .40 cal. I think some departments in the US still use the 9mm. I'm not sure if any department issues the 10mm anymore. If they do I would imagine that it's very rare.

If you're unsure about the calibers 9mm, .40, & 10mm then I'd suggest you get a 9mm to start off with. It's the cheapest round of the 3, plenty of power for self defense use and will not recoil too much. If 9mm does recoil too much for you then you'd hate the 40 and the 10mm.

 

[mrortega]

Depends on what you want it for. If you plan on doing a lot of hog hunting go with the 10. If for SD go with the .40. You'll never regret the .40 and contrary to what a lot of people say the recoil is very easy to handle.

 

[TJSaltdog]

I have a RI 1911 .45ACP so recoil is not a problem. Im just adding to my collection and I dont have a .40 or 10mm. I have the money for one of them but not both. Which one would you get first if you had the money to get one?

 

[shibumiseeker]

I have a RI 1911 .45ACP so recoil is not a problem. Im just adding to my collection and I dont have a .40 or 10mm. I have the money for one of them but not both. Which one would you get first if you had the money to get one?

Get the Glock 20 and a LWD .40 bbl and have both!

 

[Kernal1984]

Just wiki each caliber and read you will learn a lot from that and would give you a good base knowledge.

I would recommend renting a gun in 40 cal at least to get a feel for the recoil cause some people whine about it being very harsh and if the 40 is harsh for you then the 10 would be out of your league no doubt.

Disclaimer:I have never shot a 10mm and don't own either caliber

 

[JTinIN]

I'm looking to buy another gun within the next month. Im torn between a .40 cal and 10mm. I do not have either one nor have I ever shot either one. I know that the ammo for the 10mm is more expensive than the .40 cal. Which one is more powerful? I have heard some say its the .40 and others say its the 10mm. Heck i have heard some say the 9mm is more powerful than the .40. With so many different opinions how is one to know who to believe? This is why I like INGO, there is a lot of knowledge here. Hopefully there is more knowledge than ignorance. Just kidding.

Like the previous posters have brought up, it depends on what you are wish the hand gun for and in part what other hand guns you have. Feel free to post an IPhone photo of the inside of your safe ... which includes the GPS coordinates

Thus if you are planning on using this handgun for concealed carry, would probably go with the S&W40 as the CCW typically are a little smaller and shorter, at least in the summer.

If you have a nice small 380/38/9mm for deep carry and/or a moderate size 9mm (or 45 ACP) for every day carry and tend to like the plus size then go for the 10mm for you "winter" carry, "full size" IWB carry and general every day shooting.

If you were looking for a full size belt gun, then a Glock 20 is an interesting option and was the gun I got just as the last AWB went into effect, as at that time had nothing that held more than eight rounds and fit on my belt. That Glock 20 has wandered off to a friend that is a "black hole" for firearms, he gets them, test fires them and then they go into the black hole of his safe to never ever come out again, except for oiling.

A few non INGO references:
10mm Talk Forums - AR15 Armory.com
44mag vs 10mm for bear defense - The Firing Line Forums
10mm Factory Ammo Test-Over 40 Loads!! - AR15 Armory.com
10mm Factory Ammo Offerings (for you 10 lovers)
http://www.gunblast.com/10mm.htm
http://www.ammoengine.com/find/ammo/10mm

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqLO6XaPnnE[/ame]

 

[WebSnyper]

I have a RI 1911 .45ACP so recoil is not a problem. Im just adding to my collection and I dont have a .40 or 10mm. I have the money for one of them but not both. Which one would you get first if you had the money to get one?

If you don't reload, I'd say 40 S&W. Ammo is prevalent, and even available when other very common calibers seem to sell out on the shelf. It comes in many different makes and models/sizes of gun.

As I understand it most commercially produced 10mm is underpowered from a perspective of what a 10mm can be loaded to.

I also shoot 45 and the 40 is a different animal than a 45 from a recoil standpoint. 40 is qute snappy, especially in smaller guns.
The 45 in my guns seems more of a slow push, compared to a quick snap for a 40.

 

[saberstar]

I own a 10mm and a 9mm, from shooting them both I would say the feel of the recoil from factory ammo is almost double that of a 9mm. I am not sure this is a good comparison though. For me I like the 10mm its fun but, it causes me to flinch alot. I think it just takes some time to get adjusted to the recoil. I would suspect that the G20 would have a tad bit more felt recoil the the 1911 frames (to me anyway).

On cost if you purchase a G20 they hold there value well so you wouldnt lose much in resale.

 

[IndySurvivor]

I have a RI 1911 .45ACP so recoil is not a problem. Im just adding to my collection and I dont have a .40 or 10mm. I have the money for one of them but not both. Which one would you get first if you had the money to get one?

I would go with the 10mm. Like it was said earlier .... reload and never look back. I have(had) the Colt 1911 Delta Elite. Loved that pistol!!!! Never had an issue with it. I am looking to get the Glock 20 and get the replacement .40 barrel and have both weapons.

 

[Excalibur]

The reoccurring joke with a .40 is when someone asks for +P ammo for a 40, my response is they do make a +P 40 cal, it's called the 10mm

 

[88E30M50]

If you don't reload, I'd say 40 S&W.

There's a lot of truth in this. I'd go with the 10mm over .40, but if the owner doesn't reload and wants to shoot it a lot, 10mm can get expensive. On the other hand, during the very worst part of the ammo crunch, I found Hornady 10mm XTPs on the shelf at a local gun shop. 10mm may not be plentiful, but it's also some of the last stuff off the shelf of a shop.

I just had a Glock 23 (.40) and a Glock 29 (10mm) out to the range this morning. Those two guns are very close in size and feel. Neither seems to have too much in the way of recoil though to keep them from being a fun shooter. Either of them rings steel with authority.

So, TJSaltDog, it's been a year since this thread was opened. What did you end up with?

 

[dmarsh8]

It all depends on what you want to do and how proficient you are. You can have a 50 cal desert eagle, powerful is irrelevant if you cant keep hitting your target.
Being Wrong is Important... and, Admitting It is too!

 

[cmamath13]

10mm is the most powerful out of the bunch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdB8yo085Sw

Wow! Impressive results! Pretty graphic too. Toward the end of the video I was hoping he would put that damn heart down.

 

[edporch]

I'm looking to buy another gun within the next month. Im torn between a .40 cal and 10mm. I do not have either one nor have I ever shot either one. I know that the ammo for the 10mm is more expensive than the .40 cal. Which one is more powerful? I have heard some say its the .40 and others say its the 10mm. Heck i have heard some say the 9mm is more powerful than the .40. With so many different opinions how is one to know who to believe? This is why I like INGO, there is a lot of knowledge here. Hopefully there is more knowledge than ignorance. Just kidding.

It depends.
If you want the most powerful of the two AND the one that has to ability to do the widest array of loadings, go with the 10mm.
Especially if you reload.

If you want a basic carry handgun that has respectable power with off the shelf ammo, go with the .40SW.

I have both.