Lifespan of 10mm pistols shooting full loads?

glock

I'd think that a Glock 20, especially one with a heavier after market recoil spring, would hold up to all the shooting you would ever do.

The G20 slide is massive, and the poly frame has proven itself to be near indestructible.

There will soon be some who will voice that the 10mm and the .357 are neck and neck in power, but the G20 is a more carefree, low maint, easier to tote handgun.

Ammo can be a problem. Good excuse to get into reloading.
 
I would probably reasonably shooting 10mm loads averaging above 600 ft pounds maybe 2-3% of the time, the rest standard target loads
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2-3% is not a lot. From your description a 1911 10mm would last a lifetime. Im not really qualified to say but my guess is its not really the recoil that wears out a pistol or it would break long before it got sloppy. The 1911 can take a beating...
 
Just get a S&W 1006 and be done with it. It was designed for the 10mm and can handle anything you put in it, it's a tank. I do reload for mine which helps with the ammo costs so I can shoot it a lot. I love it and can shoot it all day long. The 1911 just has a hard time holding together since it was made for lighter duty. The Glock......well it's a Glock......that's all I can say.
 
Honestly, if you are talking 2-3% of your rounds are going to be full power 10mm loads, there is no way you can "blow up" any quality 10mm handgun sold today (or any of the older S&Ws, which would probably take 100% full power loads as long as your wallet can stand them).

The Glocks will hold up "most any" 10mm loads, but your brass will likely be junk after one firing...which eliminates reloading, thereby negating about 90% of the reason for shooting 10mm.

I'm pretty sure the RIA 1911 will have no problem with any commercially loaded 10mm ammo. If you shoot a lot of the top-shelf Georgia Arms, Underwood, Double Tap, Buffalo Bore stuff, you may induce some wear... but at a buck or two per round, how much can you afford to shoot?

And by the time you have shot 1000 rounds, you have spent 2-3x on ammo as you have on the gun. Change your springs, use a buffer if you must, keep an eye on parts of the slide and frame that absorb the impact...it's not rocket science.

Enjoy the freedom that come with owning a 10mm.
But...reload. Makes it so much easier to enjoy. :)
 
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I shoot generally full power loads in my 10mm's. My usual goal is something in the range of 200 grns at 1200 fps most of the time.

My high round count gun is my Baer 1911 format HWML with 7,032 rounds. My witness is at 4,068 and the G20 is at 4,032 rounds. Only the Baer had an issue and that was the rear sight pivot pin broke and was replaced.

I would not worry about it. I shoot full power with the best accuracy because that is what I wanted out of a 10mm. If I wanted weaker, I would have shot a 45acp.
 
10mm

One option would be to buy a Glock 20 in 10mm and then possibly get conversion barrels in .40 S&W and .357 Sig. You could do your routine practice with the .40. The .357 Sig round has interesting ballistics too.

In any case, change your recoil spring about every 3000 rounds. That will reduce the damage from shooting hot rounds. It's a simple user- replaceable part that can greatly reduce the wear on the frame from frequent shooting, and most of us (myself included) don't change recoil springs as often as we should.
 
Yup, and totally not nessisary to run full power loads to humanity kill any size whitetail deer in a 40 caliber. Black bears are not any harder to kill than a whitetail.
With solids, you will get the same penetration results on a bear with a 40 as a 10.

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Full-power 10mm is 700-800ft/lbs.
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You should get what you shoot best, or enjoy the most. If you get a gun that you hate to shoot for fun, you will not get much practice. Shot placement trumps caliber. If you can put one .22lr between the eyes, they will go down. So how much is enough? For me 9mm is a good compromise. I can put it where I want, like to shoot it. The practice rounds cost less than others.

Most of the over the counter 10mm rounds have the same ballistic power as a 40S&W at a much higher cost.
 
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