Looking for a 10mm
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duane_wade
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- Jun 29, 2025
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I've got a RIA 1911 10mm and like it but it is very picky on ammo I feed it. Ive polished the feed ramp and that has helped tremendously but think before I would use it for SD purposes I need to has my gunsmith look at it.
I've got a friend that bought a Tisas 10mm and he loves it. He's had no problems with at all.
Glock 10mm are rock solid guns too, I'm just not a Glock fan.
S&W M&P 10mm are also highly regarded.
I've got a friend that bought a Tisas 10mm and he loves it. He's had no problems with at all.
Glock 10mm are rock solid guns too, I'm just not a Glock fan.
S&W M&P 10mm are also highly regarded.
That’s disappointing. I’ve had good luck with RIA over the years, though it sometimes takes some time to break in.
The 10mm is a nice step up in power, I think it’s a worthy pursuit.
The 10mm is a nice step up in power, I think it’s a worthy pursuit.
I am a 10mm fan. I don’t know if I can help any, but I can tell my experiences with the 10mm guns I’ve had.
Note: Always remember that people choose the 10mm cartridge for a variety of reasons. Keep this in mind when reading or hearing opinions on 10mm guns.
Certainly any person’s specific use or need of any gun influences their opinion, but it seems especially noticeable with the 10mm due to the wide variety of purposes the 10 gets used for.
My primary use of the 10mm is concealed carry. I later saw it as a good multi-purpose cartridge, which I’ll get into.
First, the guns I no longer have.
S&W
My first 10mm was a S&W 1006, their DA auto, full size, with a 5” barrel.
This would’ve been around 1998-99. I remember it shooting pretty well. The bore axis is fairly high on the Third Gen S&Ws. The muzzle lift wasn’t extreme or anything, but it was a little whippy.
I am no fan of Traditional Double Action autos, but I would like to have another S&W Third Gen, either another 1006, a 1076, or a 1026. This is a want for reason of “Why not?” rather than any particular thing they excel at.
Glocks.
Next was a pair of Glocks, a full-size 20 and a compact 29. I am pretty sure that’s the order I got them: First the 20, then the 29.
Glock grips don’t match my hand very well, and the large frame 10mm and .45 are only worse for me. Glock grip reductions were a new thing at that time, and had that been more common I probably would have tried that and got along better.
The G29/30 feel a lot better to me than the 20/21.
My G20 didn’t stick around long, maybe six months but perhaps less. I could always shoot the G29 better. Whether that was due to some mechanical reason of the gun or guns, or a more likely a matter of hand fit, I don’t know. Keeping the G20 made little sense when I shot the compact G29 better.
I got the G29 around 1998 and kept it for at least ten years. It got carried off and on, but never spent very long in that use. I was heavy into Glocks when I bought it, but that was late in my Glock phase. As I got rid of my Glocks, the G29 was the next to last one I kept (G19 was last).
Glocks just weren’t for me, but I liked that one.
……….
I was without a 10 for a couple of years. Then I re-thought my desire or need for one, and the need for a multi-use handgun became more apparent. We were traveling to and from GA visiting in-laws a few times each year and wanted to limit how many huns I brought along. This was during the AWB ban and magazines over 10-rds were not being made. Although gun laws were pretty good in the states we usually traveled, the future was uncertain.
Another impetus for this multipurpose travel gun was when my GA brother-in-law was going deer hunting at a cabin about 100 miles away. The biggest handgun I brought that trip was a 9mm, which would have sufficed, but something else would have been better suited. I didn’t go on this side trip.
The 10mm seemed like a good do-all candidate for this. I could take one handgun and be covered for self-defense, hunting, an IDPA match (I have shot them on these trips), and about anything else I could think of. A single stack 10 would also be 50-state legal and magazines were easily obtained during the AWB ban.
………………..
Which brings me to:
10mm guns I still have. I have two right now: A Colt Delta Elite, and a Ruger GP-100 revolver.
The multipurpose travel handgun idea took me to the just re-introduced Colt Delta Elite. I had always wanted one and here was a good chance. I bought a new one within a year of when they came back out in 2009 and have had it ever since.
I like the 10mm in the 1911. It’s of proper dimensions to feed and function in them. My Delta Elite has been controllable, accurate, and is a good size and weight match to the cartridge IMO. It is definitely different from shooting a 1911 in .45 ACP, but it is OK.
More recently, I got the itch for a 10mm revolver. The Ruger GP-100 in 10mm had always interested me, but they disappeared from the market before I could get one.
I actually had a rationale for this gun.
The biggest revolver I can usually stand to carry is the L-frame/GP-100 size. The largest bore cartridge they chamber these got with a six-shot cylinder is the 10mm. And that’s it. It’s as simple as that. It’s the biggest revolver I’d likely carry, in the largest caliber they are made in.
S&W only makes 6-rd L-frames in .40, but Ruger makes the GP-100 on 10mm, so by process of elimination, I wanted a 10mm GP-100. The Wiley Clapp model with 3” barrel and fixed Novak sights looked perfect to me.
Ruger’s manufacturing runs in waves, so it was this year before these became somewhat plentiful again. I found and bought one of the 3” models this summer.
I like it.
Moon clips are a necessity for the best experience. The chambers are cut to accept and function by dropping 10mm rounds into the chambers without moon clips. The ejector has nothing to push against without a moon clip, so everyone says they have to be ejected by poking them out with a pencil or similar object. That’s not entirely true. Obe found that when turned muzzle-up, most emptied fall out. I strike the ejector rod sharply out of habit, and maybe the shake brought about by this helps, but most fall free. What remains are easily flicked out. I wouldn’t carry it without moon clips, but for general shooting it’s not a problem.
It will also shoot .40 S&W ammo, but needs moon clips, and thicker ones at that, to do it. Dropping the .40s in without clips won’t work because they fall in too deep. The rim dimensions are just enough different that the 10mm clips let them seat a little too deep for 100% firing pin impact. TK Custom makes slightly thicker moon clips for shooting .40, which is great because I have a lot of .40 ammo that’s been laying around for years.
With all that out of the way, I can say I enjoy shooting the GP-100 10mm. People have asked what the recoil feels like. The best comparison I can make is it’s similar to .357 Magnum shot from heavy revolver. I’ve shot a pretty good variety of ammo through it, cast and jacketed handloads and jacketed factory and it all does OK or better.
Note: Always remember that people choose the 10mm cartridge for a variety of reasons. Keep this in mind when reading or hearing opinions on 10mm guns.
Certainly any person’s specific use or need of any gun influences their opinion, but it seems especially noticeable with the 10mm due to the wide variety of purposes the 10 gets used for.
My primary use of the 10mm is concealed carry. I later saw it as a good multi-purpose cartridge, which I’ll get into.
First, the guns I no longer have.
S&W
My first 10mm was a S&W 1006, their DA auto, full size, with a 5” barrel.
This would’ve been around 1998-99. I remember it shooting pretty well. The bore axis is fairly high on the Third Gen S&Ws. The muzzle lift wasn’t extreme or anything, but it was a little whippy.
I am no fan of Traditional Double Action autos, but I would like to have another S&W Third Gen, either another 1006, a 1076, or a 1026. This is a want for reason of “Why not?” rather than any particular thing they excel at.
Glocks.
Next was a pair of Glocks, a full-size 20 and a compact 29. I am pretty sure that’s the order I got them: First the 20, then the 29.
Glock grips don’t match my hand very well, and the large frame 10mm and .45 are only worse for me. Glock grip reductions were a new thing at that time, and had that been more common I probably would have tried that and got along better.
The G29/30 feel a lot better to me than the 20/21.
My G20 didn’t stick around long, maybe six months but perhaps less. I could always shoot the G29 better. Whether that was due to some mechanical reason of the gun or guns, or a more likely a matter of hand fit, I don’t know. Keeping the G20 made little sense when I shot the compact G29 better.
I got the G29 around 1998 and kept it for at least ten years. It got carried off and on, but never spent very long in that use. I was heavy into Glocks when I bought it, but that was late in my Glock phase. As I got rid of my Glocks, the G29 was the next to last one I kept (G19 was last).
Glocks just weren’t for me, but I liked that one.
……….
I was without a 10 for a couple of years. Then I re-thought my desire or need for one, and the need for a multi-use handgun became more apparent. We were traveling to and from GA visiting in-laws a few times each year and wanted to limit how many huns I brought along. This was during the AWB ban and magazines over 10-rds were not being made. Although gun laws were pretty good in the states we usually traveled, the future was uncertain.
Another impetus for this multipurpose travel gun was when my GA brother-in-law was going deer hunting at a cabin about 100 miles away. The biggest handgun I brought that trip was a 9mm, which would have sufficed, but something else would have been better suited. I didn’t go on this side trip.
The 10mm seemed like a good do-all candidate for this. I could take one handgun and be covered for self-defense, hunting, an IDPA match (I have shot them on these trips), and about anything else I could think of. A single stack 10 would also be 50-state legal and magazines were easily obtained during the AWB ban.
………………..
Which brings me to:
10mm guns I still have. I have two right now: A Colt Delta Elite, and a Ruger GP-100 revolver.
The multipurpose travel handgun idea took me to the just re-introduced Colt Delta Elite. I had always wanted one and here was a good chance. I bought a new one within a year of when they came back out in 2009 and have had it ever since.
I like the 10mm in the 1911. It’s of proper dimensions to feed and function in them. My Delta Elite has been controllable, accurate, and is a good size and weight match to the cartridge IMO. It is definitely different from shooting a 1911 in .45 ACP, but it is OK.
More recently, I got the itch for a 10mm revolver. The Ruger GP-100 in 10mm had always interested me, but they disappeared from the market before I could get one.
I actually had a rationale for this gun.
The biggest revolver I can usually stand to carry is the L-frame/GP-100 size. The largest bore cartridge they chamber these got with a six-shot cylinder is the 10mm. And that’s it. It’s as simple as that. It’s the biggest revolver I’d likely carry, in the largest caliber they are made in.
S&W only makes 6-rd L-frames in .40, but Ruger makes the GP-100 on 10mm, so by process of elimination, I wanted a 10mm GP-100. The Wiley Clapp model with 3” barrel and fixed Novak sights looked perfect to me.
Ruger’s manufacturing runs in waves, so it was this year before these became somewhat plentiful again. I found and bought one of the 3” models this summer.
I like it.
Moon clips are a necessity for the best experience. The chambers are cut to accept and function by dropping 10mm rounds into the chambers without moon clips. The ejector has nothing to push against without a moon clip, so everyone says they have to be ejected by poking them out with a pencil or similar object. That’s not entirely true. Obe found that when turned muzzle-up, most emptied fall out. I strike the ejector rod sharply out of habit, and maybe the shake brought about by this helps, but most fall free. What remains are easily flicked out. I wouldn’t carry it without moon clips, but for general shooting it’s not a problem.
It will also shoot .40 S&W ammo, but needs moon clips, and thicker ones at that, to do it. Dropping the .40s in without clips won’t work because they fall in too deep. The rim dimensions are just enough different that the 10mm clips let them seat a little too deep for 100% firing pin impact. TK Custom makes slightly thicker moon clips for shooting .40, which is great because I have a lot of .40 ammo that’s been laying around for years.
With all that out of the way, I can say I enjoy shooting the GP-100 10mm. People have asked what the recoil feels like. The best comparison I can make is it’s similar to .357 Magnum shot from heavy revolver. I’ve shot a pretty good variety of ammo through it, cast and jacketed handloads and jacketed factory and it all does OK or better.
