What do you like shooting a 10mm with?

T

TheFineLine

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I'm wanting to get a 10mm. I prefer metal framed. I'm thinking a Dan Wesson Silverback or maybe a Sig P220 Elite Stainless SAO. I like a finely tuned single action. I have smiller hands but recoil isn't much of an issue. What do you have; what do you like?
 
Check out a Witness Elite Match. I have a run of the mill steel Witness that works great and is a lot of fun at the range. The single action Match is by all accounts an even better gun. It's a double stack but it really doesn't feel any bigger than a single stack 1911 to me. If it fits your hand the CZ style pistols are very comfortable and the triggers are great as they come but there are a lot of goodies available via Henning shoots if you want really superb.
 
I've had a G-20 for years, just bought the smaller G-29 about a week ago. The only other 10mm I'd trust is one of the discontinued S&W 1006 series.
 
If your primary criteria are SAO and a frame/grip size for "smaller hands," then you might also look at Colt's Delta Elite, if you can find one, a stainless single-stack 1911. Depending on the mag, you can get 8+1 or 9+1 capacity. The reviews I've seen on Colt's current run of DEs have all been positive.

The long discontinued S&W 10XX-series pistol were great guns, and still are, if you can find one in decent condition. All were stainless, 9+1 single-stacks. All, however, were traditional DA/SA, except for the 1086 & 1046 models which came with long-but-smooth-pull DAO factory triggers. Some of the Smith 10mms came with Novak tritium night sights. There were also 2 basic grip shapes to fit your grip preference - flat or arched backstrap - but Smith may have discontinued stocking them as well.
 
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I recommend a longslide. STI makes a good one, I'm happy with mine.

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Tanfoglio Stock (Stock I). It's one of my favorite guns to shoot. It hands-downs has the best da/sa trigger I've ever encountered. Accuracy, reliability, fit, finish - all exceptional.
 
I have a EEA Witness elite Match. It is very accurate and does not recoil that bad. excellent gun for the money. Mine was $600 + tax earlier this year. Comes in a nice case as well. Excellent trigger pull. Only complaint is 1 mag with gun.
 
I've been shooting a Delta Elite for fifteen years.
If I were limited to only one handgun for all needs, the Delta might be my choice.
Mine is pretty stock, but I did some trigger tuning, and had adjustable sights installed as I do a lot of load experimentation.

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I bought a 10mm Kimber Eclipse Custom II about three years ago. It was the only choice that met my requirements ... I wanted a grip-lever-controlled firing-pin safety (called a "series II" on a Kimber gun). And although I didn't know enough about 1911's at the time to realize it, I've come to believe that Kimber made ALL the right design choices in my particular model. But their customer support could certainly have been better ... it took me (in addition to 3 or 4 trips initially back to Kimber) three different local gunsmiths to finally get it working reliably. It was worth the effort to me (because I think the gun I've finally ended up with is the best possible semi-auto for me), but all that trouble-shooting shouldn't have been necessary.

I had a trigger job done, because I wanted a much lighter trigger-pull than the 4.5 lb trigger that it came with ... a big disappointment after shooting a two SA revolvers and several S&W DA/SA revolvers (shot in SA mode) over many years. One of the gunsmiths got it down to about 3 lb. That was still heavier than I wanted, so I lowered it to about 2-1/4 lbs (which eventually lowered itself to about 2 lbs, because of sear-spring-ageing, I guess). That was very nice, but it didn't FEEL quite as nice as my heavier S&W69 2-1/2 lb trigger feels. I eventually realized that my 1911 at that 2 lb level could potentially hammer-follow when chambering the first round, so I had to increase the trigger-pull back up to 3 lbs to get a safe margin above hammer-follow. (I didn't get any actual hammer-follow for a long time, because I ordinarily stay off the grip lever when chambering the first round, and that prevents hammer-follow, no matter how light the trigger pull is. But I felt I needed to make my gun safe for anyone to shoot.) It is unfortunate that the trigger-pull on a semiauto interacts with other functionality of the gun, unlike in a revolver, whose trigger pull (SA) can be made as light as you want.
 
If it a nice SA trigger you are after, no offense to the EAA guys, but a 1911 would be your best bet.

It really comes down to budget. DW makes two nice ones, RZ 10 and Silverback. STI has the Nitro 10 that is also very nice.

There is also the Colt Delta Elite, but I do have to warn you, there is always an ongoing debate about the fact they do not use ramped or fully supported barrels.

While many people tend to look down at Kimber, I have not heard many complaints about the 3 they make.

The Sig P220 is a very stout gun, and could most likely handle any of the hottest ammo thrown at it. While the SA trigger is decent, it isn't a 1911 by any stretch of the imagination.

Luckily for you, there seems to be a nice resurgence in the 10mm and the choices are getting better every day.
 
I've had most of the common 10MMs over the years I guess,i.e., Bren Ten, Delta, Kimber, Glock, S&W autos and revolvers, Ruger Blackhawk, etc. Soon as SIG builds the P220 10MM variation I want, I'd like to try one of those. Even though I consider myself a 1911 guy, in 10MM autos I most prefer the S&Ws. The S&Ws, especially the 5" guns, reliably handle any and all of the factory and reloaded ammo I've tried with no issues at all. Even use of the "real" 10MM ammo ( Buffalo Bore, CorBon, the old Norma, and equivalent reloads) does not require special extra heavy recoil springs, dual recoil springs, buffers, small radius firing pin stops, etc for reliable function and pistol durability. The 10MM pistols benefit more than some others calibers in having some sort of wide beavertail type grip safety to spread recoil force, and adjustable sights due to the wide range of bullet weights and velocities in 10MM ammo.

BTW, in the 1911 types, that beautiful Delta in RickB's photo and MarkCO's DW Razorback exactly illustrate the the wide grip safeties and adjustable sights I believe to be very good features with the 10MMs.
 
I've had a G-20 for years, just bought the smaller G-29 about a week ago. The only other 10mm I'd trust is one of the discontinued S&W 1006 series.
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Couldn't agree more, especially for self defense..i would trust only Glock or S&W 10XX series pistols in that case. They will eat any factory ammo, and do it reliably. For the hunters and those who shoot stout hand loads, go with the S&W 610 revolver...it's a shame that way too few 610s were produced and the prices are now sky high.

1006, 610-2..
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I love Sig but the design is top heavy so I've learned to stick with 9mm in that make.

For 10mm you want a low bore axis to tame the recoil a little bit, unless you're a recoil junkie. 1911 and Glock have a lower bore axis than Sig.
 
I love Sig but the design is top heavy so I've learned to stick with 9mm in that make.* * *
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While it's great that Sig got into the 10mm game w/ four P220 models (3 SAOs & 1 DA/SA), the guns are pricey and the stingy 8-rd magazine is disappointing.

Look, Sig engineers could easily have created a mag with 10-rd capacity just by tweaking the base pad. IIRC, Bruce Gray (of GrayGuns), who did a "10mm conversion" on customer-supplied stainless steel .45acp P220s some years ago, which not only created an internet stir, but his converted guns became the prototype for Sig's factory 10mms, was able to successfully modify the P220 .45 mag to hold 9-rds.

Heck, S&W's 3rd Gen 10XX-series guns - also single-stacks like the Sig - were almost there with 9+1 capacity.

It makes you think that Sig consciously limited their 10mm P220 models to 8-rd capacity so as not compete with their 8-rd .45 P220s. :rolleyes:
 
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What I have is an EAA (Tanfoglio) Witness 'Hunter'. This is an all-steel, SAO 10mm double stack with 6" barrel. Unfortunately I don't see them being imported now--but I'd buy a second one in a heartbeat. It's as close to a 1911 as I think you can get in an all-steel double stack, and is a real pleasure to shoot. It feels wonderful, and the fit and finish are excellent.

My only others include a G20 (great gun I guess, not all that impressed), and a G29 (what I choose to carry consistently over all my other choices).

I don't really consider a Glock with a 3 1/2 lb trigger to be too very much different than 'SAO', at least not for self defense or action shooting purposes--where in my opinion the trigger is at the very bottom of the list of things you'll give a hoot about when the time comes.

I consider the G29 to be one of the most butt-ugly atrocities of aesthetics ever produced, short of the Nambu--and probably the single most ideal personal defense weapon available to a shooter who wants a nice balance of capacity and horsepower. I can't really say exactly why, but it feels far better to me coming out of the holster and getting on target than the G20, and I just prefer to shoot it over the G20.

While many fine single stacks have been and are being built, they're not for me if there's a double stack available--that's one big plus of 10mm just wasted, more or less, given you're not looking for an ultra thin gun for some reason.

The EAA Witness Hunter grip is less than 1/8" thicker than a government 1911--and I find it a bit more comfortable than a 1911. Again, a bit a moot point I guess if you can't find one. I think manufacturers such as Sig are really blowing it not taking full advantage of .40 cal stackability in a 'normal' sized frame.



The Hunter when I was clowning around with the EOTech sight--what a hoot

 
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