Hornady 10mm 175gr CD in Clear Ballistics Gel

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Test Gun: Colt Delta Elite.
Barrel length: 5 inches.
Ammunition: Hornady 10mm 175gr Critical Duty FTX.
Test media: 10% Clear Ballistics Gel.
Distance: 10 feet.
Chronograph: PACT 1 XP with inferred sky screens.
Five shot velocity average: 1131fps.
Gel Temperature 70 degrees.

It would seem like I’m on a 10mm kick as of late and today is no exception. Today’s offering is the Hornady 175gr Critical Duty. This round shot very nicely out of the Delta Elite. Recoil was not bad at all, but you could tell it wasn’t as watered down as some 10mm’s out there. The five shot group hit point of aim at 10 yards and there were no signs of overpressure, the cases and primers looked fine. The five shot average velocity of 1131fps was 29fps lower than the advertised of 1160fps.

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Round one in the bare gel had a velocity of 1133fps and penetrated to 15 inches with a recovered expansion of .60 inches. Round two hit at 1141fps and penetrated to 17 inches with a recovered expansion of .58 inches.

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In the gel covered in heavy clothing, the first round entered the block at 1150fps with a penetration of 17.5 inches and expansion of .57 inches. Number two went 17.25 inches, expanded to .55 inches, and had a velocity of 1169fps. Both of the rounds were recovered base forward.

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I carry the same ammo in .380acp in my Beretta Pico. Never had an issue and it always expands/feeds. Hornandy knows what they're doing.
 
Is the 10mm making a big comeback or what? Just about every manufacturer makes them now and they're making more ammo too. It's a great comeback story. At one time it looked it would fade into obscurity.
 
comeback

Thanks for the report on that ammo. I'm a bit disappointed that velocity is 1130 fps though, especially through a full length 5" bbl. The 10mm can do better. Hornady may have done that to add to control, but it sells the 10mm short in my book. My carry SD load is the W-W 175 Silvertip

I've always been intrigued with the 10mm, and it does seem that it has pulled up to the station again. Certainly a number of 10mm pistols have hit the market in recent years. Hi-point (gasp) is even offering a carbine.
 
Is it just me or does it seem like there is very little difference between factory loaded 40 S&W and a factory loaded 10mm?

I mean 175 at 1150fps? This isn't the first time I've seen low numbers like that either.

I thought the 10mm was supposed to be 180gr at something like 1300fps or higher?
 
It's not as fast as it could be, but notice that it's accurate and the lower recoil allows faster follow up shots. I think this is done by design, Hornady knows what they're doing.

Still, I would like to see Hornady offer 10mm that does hit that 1300 fps range and use the C. Duty bullet because that bullet is so well constructed I have no doubts it will hold together even though it's going 150 fps faster.

BTW, if I'm running a 16 inch pistol carbine for defense, be it in 9, .40/10mm, or .45, Critical Duty is the best ammo choice because of the same reason: the bullet does not fall apart due to that controlled expansion.
 
its far lower than originally designed of 1,400 fps, and even lower than the water down version that came later 1,250 fps. in fact, what advantage does this round have over their 40cal? its like taking a .357 mag and loading it to +p .38 spl and still keeping the longer brass in use.
 
I realize we are talking defense ammo and I am definitely a revolver guy. I have to believe that velocity is for the best use of that bullet for those guide lines. The reason I bought a 10 MM was that I believe it is good enough for whitetail deer use. I benched my Ruger SR 10MM at 25 yds and can get groups under 1 1/2" with 165-180 loads. I will probably use it on deer this year to see the results. I agree that a 180 at approx. 1300 fps would be about right for the challenge. As for critical duty my pick wouldn't be a 10MM.
 
Again, I don't see 10mm doing anything better than any round. Well, the 10mm defense loads do a fantastic job of mimicking smaller framed caliber performance...

Though slightly lighter, most 357 mag beats the expansion and the penetration...
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/

9mm HST, though lighter, also is crazy.
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/

Heck 40 in the 155gr range or so does better than this.

Hornady is the only bullet maker that I would trust wouldn't self destruct at higher velocities. But the XTP is more a hunting round than personal defense...So it appears there are defense rounds with better defense characteristics than 10mm (ie, all of them).
 
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.40 v. 10mm

It's pretty well known that certain mfg's load the 10mm soft. (Federal/Hornady) Also, some of the boutique companies get the 10mm up into the range it was intended and a bit beyond.

The W-W 175 Silvertip has a good reputation for breaking 1200 fps and does so most shots from my stock G20. I read SIG ammo is in the range in should be, but have never shot any. I've not chronographed a lot of .40 ammo, but the 180 gr loads I have tested from my 4.6" Browning HP, do not break 1000 fps. (Federal 180 FMJ and W-W Ranger)

That's over the counter, ammo, not boutique stuff....with a 200 fps edge to the 10mm. That's what the longer case gets you.

There was reference to the .38 spl. The .38 was originally a BP cartridge from before the turn of the century. As with nearly all the BP rounds that have carried on, modern powder and metallurgy allow quite a gain in performance. Lengthen that case to .357, and the gains are significant.

The 10mm and .40 do not have the same history, as we all know. Both operate at high pressure, and the 200 fps gain on the .40, I suspect, is likely at the limit of the case and the firearms so chambered.
 
But do I want a 40 HST/Gold Dot bullet that performs better than the older Speer "Bonded" at lower FPS or do I want an extra 200fps at double the cost from BB or Underwood for the older technology bullet or XTP hunting bullet?

The new Speer Gold Dot 10mm is 20grs heavier and only 100fps faster. At the expense of the larger frame? Not sure that makes sense.

To the claim that the large frame 10mm is versatile, I say it doesn't do defense or woods carry at any large amount better than the small frame 9mm/40. The FPS, bullet selection, and bullet operating FPS confirm this.
 
??????

Sorry, you lost me. But I do not believe anything I offer will change your mind on the 10mm.

Note that the claimed velocity (1100 fps) of the new HST 10mm/200 load is in the same range as the average velocity obtained with the OP's 175 grain Hornady load. What the HST 10/200 will really do, I dunno.

For a valid, apples to apples comparison, I'd offer one needs equal bullet weights,and barrel lengths. A better comparison, (and load in my opinion) would be a Gold Dot .40/180 v. Gold Dot 10mm/180. And a hypothetical question, what would a .40 do with a 200 gr slug? Not much I suspect.

I really wonder if the .40/180 HST will break 1000 fps from a service length barrel of less than 5"? I doubt it. Could be wrong of course.

Just watched a YouTube video where they claimed 1400 fps with the .40/180!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Long way from what I get in my Browning.
 
Just for fun I pulled a box of 50 180 HST bullets and loaded them into some nickle plated Starline 10mm brass with a starting load of LONGSHOT for about 1220 FPS. I shot about half of them and they were very accurate.

I don't have any gel to see what they would expand like at that speed though...
 
1003 fps

Okay, the guy claims, 1003 fps, from a 4.2" G23. From a 4.5" G22, ya might get maybe a bit more. And maybe not. I don't doubt the .40 HST/180 is a dandy load.

But it is not what a serious 10mm will do, as your own reloading exercise shows. What pistol did you use?

I'd opt that 200 fps increase in a handgun load (1220fps) is a big increase in power......the reason most folks shoot 10mm.
 
No doubt it's a good jump up in energy on target. My only 10mm is a Glock 20 G4 with an Alpha Wolf 5.3" barrel.

The question though is: is it better?

The 180g HST (And the Gold Dot as well) is designed to expand an penetrate to FBI specs at 40 velocities not 10mm speeds. You can see this in online tests where the Gold Dot is just destroyed beyond belief as it's being driven way beyond it's design.

It's the same as shooting a 45 Colt bullet from a 460 Magnum. It just doesn't give the results we expect.

In the 10mm loads, this effect would be lessened if we were shooting at targets farther away than Self Defense ranges like at Game for example. At the longer ranges, the bullets would drop back into their ideal performance velocity ranges and perform as expected.
 
if the Win STHP 175gr. actually got their claimed 1,250 fps they'd have a lot of regular 10mm fans hooked. but to get true 10mm speeds you need to go with the boutique companies like Underwood et al.
 
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