10mm vs 45acp

[stormhawk]

Looking for thoughts and comparisons on the two, thinking about new handguns for the wife and I in a 1911 platform.

[rugersol]

Looking for thoughts and comparisons on the two, thinking about new handguns for the wife and I in a 1911 platform.

I have/had both!

Choices in 10mm pistols (even among only 1911's) is gonna be very limited ... not the least of which, by availability!

Some may argue a 10mm will perform better vs. a bear! I tend to think it comes down to bullet construction! ... moreover, fer such a specialty, ya could always drop in a heavier spring in a .45, and run closer to .45 Super!

I ain't looked in a long time, but I'd guess .45acp factory ammo will be significantly cheaper! ... certainly more readily available!

About the only positive I can think of, with a 10mm, is that with most of 'em, ya can replace the bbl with a .40 bbl ... and with little to no other changes, shoot .40 in it! ... I consider that a positive as I find it far less stressful to have .40 brass spew outta my pistol, and onto the ground ... than 10mm brass! ... also, 40 factory ammo is significantly less expensive than .45acp!

As fer a 1911, I would avoid .40/10mm ... the bullet profile relative to the OAL tends to prematurely engage the slide-stop! ... in some cases, this can be resolved ... but it's far less of an issue, with .45acp!

If yer lookin' to get more rounds in a 1911, I'd take a close look at .38 Super!

If I were you, I'd find the 1911 I like best ... and if it's available in anything other than .45, then go ahead and consider it ... but otherwise, get the .45 and don't worry about other models!

[Seismic Sam]

If you just look at the ft-lbs numbers, the 10mm beats the venerable 45 by about 50%. So it's a real hitter. HOWEVER: There is the legendary story that the 10mm (S&W 1076, specifically) was too much to handle for some Federal agents, and the recoil hurt their girly little wrists. That's why the 40 Short & Weak was born. Seriously!!

So: You and your SO need to determine if you both can handle the recoil of full power rounds, and go from there.

The REAL deciding factor is whether you handload. If you do, and can handle the recoil, then you can have a ball with the 10mm.

If you don't, then you have a real financial problem for ammo. The cheap generic 10mm ammo is still WAAAYYYY more expensive than bulk 45 ammo, and also hard to find. In addition, the cheap stuff is watered down crap that is barely more powerful than 40 S&W ammo. An example is some 10mm ammo that puts a 180 grainer out the pipe at 1035 FPS, while a 40 puts the same bullet out at 980 FPS. YAWN!!!! The factory spec for the original Norma 10mm ammo is a 200 grain bullet going 1200 FPS, and you can drive a 180 to 1300, and a 165 to 1400 FPS. That ammo, however, is the Premium stuff (CorBon, DoubleTap, and Buffalo Bore) and is painfully pricey. Cheapest 10mm's are the Glock 20 and EAA's, and any 1911 is going to run you more than a grand.

[PHATSPEED7x]

Never shot 10mm, but would love to get into one someday. I'm a fan of 45ACP.

[grousemaster]

The .40 "short and weak" also packs more foot lbs and capacity than the venerable .45 ACP.

[TTS]

Looking for thoughts and comparisons on the two, thinking about new handguns for the wife and I in a 1911 platform.

I would go with the .45 in a 1911 platform, the 10mm is very hard on that platform.

May I ask why you are considering a 1911 in those calibers for her? (I love my 1911's as does my wife)

[Seismic Sam]

The .40 "short and weak" also packs more foot lbs and capacity than the venerable .45 ACP.

Yes, well paper statistics are just that, and foot-lbs are biased towards lighter bullets going faster, and don't even factor in bullet diameter. If you go to the Taylor Knock-Out factor, the formula is:

Bullet weight in grains X bullet speed in FPS X bullet diameter in inches
7,000

The 40 Short & Weak (literally requested by FBI agents with girly wrists...) has a TKOF of 10.08
The 45 ACP has a TKOF of 12.93
The 10mm has a TKOF of 13.71
The 50 GI has a TKOF of 18.85
A 240 grain 44 mag bullet going 1250 has a TKOF of 18.35

Capacity IS a valid issue if you have multiple assailants, OR if you is a gangsta and call yo' gat a fo-tay and hold it sideways and need a whole mag to hit anything...

And finally, the 45 ACP was chosen for its knock-down power, and has pretty much illustrated that in two World Wars and Vietnam, and in the Middle East the 9mm has shown an occasional LACK of knock-down power with Godless barbaric Muslim terrorists who had to be stopped by a rifle or somebody who did have a .45 on them. So as far as foot-pounds, figures lie and liars figure, particularly the marketers who are trying to sell guns in high velocity small calibers like the .32 NAA and .25 NAA.

[rukwikenuf]

The .40 "short and weak" also packs more foot lbs and capacity than the venerable .45 ACP.

Quite possibly, however, the Short n Weak .40 wasn't one of the cartridges that defeated the third reich...

Plus, its just confusing if you ask your homies to pass the Fotay. They might very well hamd you an OE! And there's no confusion with the FoFive

[Seismic Sam]

Plus, its just confusing if you ask your homies to pass the Fotay. They might very well hamd you an OE! And there's no confusion with the FoFive

You sir, cannot speak "Jive" to save your soul, and obviously are not up on your brands of malt liquor!! Get a shopping cart, walk up and down 1st St. N by the Broadway Bridge, and start picking up cans and bottles to learn about the fine, fine, supahfine kinds of malt liquor out theah...
In particular, check out the first item on this list:

http://drunkard.com/issues/03_03/03-03_forty_fury.htm

[xd ED]

[rukwikenuf]

Plus, its just confusing if you ask your homies to pass the Fotay. They might very well hamd you an OE! And there's no confusion with the FoFive

You sir, cannot speak "Jive" to save your soul, and obviously are not up on your brands of malt liquor!! Get a shopping cart, walk up and down 1st St. N by the Broadway Bridge, and start picking up cans and bottles to learn about the fine, fine, supahfine kinds of malt liquor out theah...
In particular, check out the first item on this list:

http://drunkard.com/issues/03_03/03-03_forty_fury.htm

wait, am i being insulted by our resident troll?! i'm quite vaguely familiar with the supahfine malts at the liquor store, i'm what they call a certain i-don't-know-what.

i'm grasping at straws here, gimme a break!

[Exjay]

The .40 "short and weak" also packs more foot lbs and capacity than the venerable .45 ACP.

Quite possibly, however, the Short n Weak .40 wasn't one of the cartridges that defeated the third reich...

Plus, its just confusing if you ask your homies to pass the Fotay. They might very well hamd you an OE! And there's no confusion with the FoFive

Jus sayin' homie

[whiteox]

Plus, its just confusing if you ask your homies to pass the Fotay. They might very well hamd you an OE! And there's no confusion with the FoFive

You sir, cannot speak "Jive" to save your soul, and obviously are not up on your brands of malt liquor!! Get a shopping cart, walk up and down 1st St. N by the Broadway Bridge, and start picking up cans and bottles to learn about the fine, fine, supahfine kinds of malt liquor out theah...
In particular, check out the first item on this list:

http://drunkard.com/issues/03_03/03-03_forty_fury.htm

At one time I had a paper copy of that issue of Modern Drunkard.

[stormhawk]

As to why we are looking at these in a 1911 platform, 1 I used to carry one in my military days and liked the firearm, 2 my wife likes the feel and balance of the ones she's looked at. We do plan on renting before we buy if need be ( unless we manage to get together with someone we know at a range who has one) to see how she handles the larger calibers (she currently shoots 9mm) and how comfortable she is with them. We are using this as a starting point and will also be looking at 38 super and even 9mm if needed.

[sgruenhagen44]

I would just go with a .45. Especially if its for your wife was well. WHen I first starting shooting pistols it was a .45 for the most part or a .38 special. I found that .45s are really not that more uncomfortable than 9mm or .40s. Big metal framed guns do a good job of absorbing recoil. I would pick up a coonan 1911 in .357 mag before I would get a 10mm. Like sam was saying, you can't really stroll into walmart or fleet farm and walk out with a bunch of 10mm ammo.