The 9mm handgun round is perhaps the most popular handgun round in the world. That being said, in my opinion there should be more demand for its big brother, the 10mm. The 10mm is one of my favorite rounds but for some reason there just aren't that many people that like it, it should be more popular. An excellent round with excellent stopping power.
I have long owned various large bore handguns, each acquired to fill specific roles, but have owned many .45 acp pistols, most of 1911 design and still do a lot of custom work on them for customers of a few area gun shops. In colder weather, I EDC an HK 45c which fits me well and provides this southpaw with ambit controls. It is naturally point shootable for me and was very accurate and 100% reliable out of the box. +P rated, it is a very robust gun. A few years ago I started shooting .45 Super with it, finding it handled that cartridge well, but ran into .45 SMC which IMO is a safer cartridge than the .45 Super. When out in brown bear county testing custom bamboo fly rods I build, I load with .450 SMC 255 go hard cast. Stout recoil, but not unpleasant from my HK. I haven’t used it for bear, carry bear spray spray so I can avoid killing one, but this last fall in east Texas, it instantly dropped a large Tusker with a head shot, head on at 25-30’, penetrating all the way through the skull, before entering and passing completely through the hind end. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, never recovered the bullet. You can read a bit on it here. https://www.ammoland.com/2014/11/450-smc-ammo/#axzz6Fc3mNjFm I haven’t owned a 10mm, never saw the reason to given my combo, but like some in the AK these days, I may get a G20 for my annual trip up there, but will more likely opt for bear spray if needed with the G20 as a backup when fishing on the stream. If looking to try the .45 SMC, I’d suggest making sure your gun can handle the pressures. Some time back, I examined how the .45 Super fit the chamber in a few guns and noted several didn’t seem to support the cartridge adequately enough for my thinking on safety given the expected increase in chamber pressures; the SMC has a thicker case where needed, but I would still verify it is safe to fire in your gun.
Some say the 10mm is the best anti-bear pistol round (tbc, no pistol round is good vs bear, it might be better to say 10mm is the least worst...). They say it has the optimal mix of penetration, ETtT and rapid fire capability that makes it the best option if you don't want to lug a rifle.
If you query the numbers from AK encounters from the last decade showing stats of Bear spray vs firearms, the survival numbers, for both people and bear are pretty convincing which is more effective. Hint, it isn’t firearms or ammunition of any of any type. They have caused me to rethink my Bear defense strategies when I go for my annual fishing visits.
The 10 has been on my mind off and on the past couple of years. I just haven’t found a gun that I just had to have yet. If the USP came in 10 I would probably own it already.
haven't yet had an opportunity to fire a 10mm, I prefer to stick with 3 rounds for everything, keeps it simple for times when you need things simple. 22lr, 9mm, 5.56
As I suggested in an earlier post, consider .450 SMC if you have an HK USP, or the HK45c with the .450 SMC if you don’t. The HK45c fits my hand better. Check the ballistics and compare 10mm to the .450 SMC at Double Tap or Ammo Land, a bit more in the way of load options than a 10mm at slight trade-off on number rounds in mag. Practice with .45 acp, then carry with the load to meet the task.
