Which manufacturers make 10mm factory ammo that isn't watered down?

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Skarekrow88

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I've been watching ammo review videos demonsrating through chronograph and ballistic gel testing that a lot of factory 10mm ammo is loaded so lightly that it ends up performing closer to .40S&W including the Magtech, PMC Bronze, and Hornady Custom ammo I have been carrying in my 10mm. I bought a 10mm handgun, not a .40S&W. I want 10mm performance, I don't feel like thats asking too much of an ammunition manufacturer...

Anyone have any recommendations for factory 10mm ammo that is actually loaded to full power? I do have a box of Atomic Ammunition and Liberty Civil Defense that have gotten good reviews but apparently thats all I really have in my inventory for my 10mm that isnt essentially just overpriced .40S&W...
 
I've been shooting 10mm since it first became available. Looking at some of the major manufacturer ammo produced now days, I can see why some shooters might look at 10mm and wonder, "why bother"?


Some of the smaller manufacturer, "Boutique", ammo mentioned by hook63 might be what you're looking for. It's been a while since I chronographed the CorBon, and I don't know, with the new owners and all, if current CorBon ballistics are similar to that I chronographed some years ago. More recently, I chronographed some Buffalo Bore and Underwood 10mm.

Buffalo Bore 180 grain in a 5" revolver averaged 1306 FPS. Underwood 165 grain averaged 1338 FPS. FWIW, Winchester 175 grain Silvertip averaged 1147 FPS, and the old Norma 200 grain load averaged 1211 FPS. Velocities in a 5" semi-auto were not significantly different. That hotter Federal 10mm load hook63 mentioned appears to be more hunting oriented. Velocity of the Federal 180 grain bonded load in the Lucky Gunner tests was 1200+ FPS, but it didn't expand and penetrated 32" of gelatin.
 
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Double Tap 200 gr hardcast is advertised at 1300 fps from a G20. I got 1315 from mine when I shot it over my chronograph so their advertised speeds are pretty close.

10mm that isnt essentially just overpriced .40S&W...
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This is really less of a problem than some guys want to make it. I haven't seen any 10mm ammo on the shelves in about 2 years, but the last I bought was priced exactly the same as 40 S&W and 45 ACP.

Almost no one loads their ammo in any cartridge to full potential, and there is no need to have it loaded for bear all the time. Virtually every 30-06 factory load is no faster than the same bullet in their 308 loads. Most 357 mag factory loads will barely beat most 9mm loads with the same bullet weight.

The milder loads work just fine for most shooting, and you always have the ability to use hotter loads when needed. No point in beating up your gun needlessly
 
Winchester Silvertip has always been a full-power load. SIG has a pretty hot 180gr JHP.
I rarely shoot anything more threatening than cardboard, but it's still nice to have some shock and awe, occasionally.
The intent of 10mm was to replace .45 as a duty/military cartridge, with ballistics of 200gr @ 1050fps.
The original hot-hot Norma loads resulted largely from miscommunication between them and the cartridge's designer, and shouldn't be considered a starting point for "real" 10mm.
 
Don't know why Federal was mentioned.
Gold Dot is actually faster in 40 on the Speer website.

Only hope is Underwood, Double Tap, and who knows what bullet you'll get Buffalo Bore.

The question you should ask, what do these reloaders know for performance that Speer and Federal don't know?

Luckygunner is using a 4.6" Glock 20 for their 10mm and a 3.4" Glock 27. The results don't seem worth the cost in any factory load.
 
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I've been watching ammo review videos demonsrating through chronograph and ballistic gel testing that a lot of factory 10mm ammo is loaded so lightly that it ends up performing closer to .40S&W including the Magtech, PMC Bronze, and Hornady Custom ammo I have been carrying in my 10mm. I bought a 10mm handgun, not a .40S&W. I want 10mm performance, I don't feel like thats asking too much of an ammunition manufacturer.
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I agree.

Anyone have any recommendations for factory 10mm ammo that is actually loaded to full power? * * *
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See linky here: https://fenixammo.com/products/10mm-auto-180gr-fmj

180grns @ 1375fps is a near-max load, which is sufficient to send the .40-lovin' weenies on this board running for the Safe-Space Room at the nearest Starbucks. :rolleyes: A max load is right at 1400fps for that bullet-weight, and hardcore 10mm reloaders have no issues getting there.

As general matter, any 10mm ammo from UW, BB, and DT will be real-deal 10mm, not the diluted crapola from the Big 3 mainstreamers.

That said, if you want real but also reasonably-priced 10mm for range/practice/training usage, velocity with the ubiquitous 180gn FMJ bullet needs to be at least 1250fps or better.

Thankfully - and especially thanks to some recent vetting by 10mm users on YouTube - the 10mm 180gn FMJ ammo from Sig, Magtech, and either S&B or Fiocchi (forget which) meets that velocity standard.

No need to get pants anymore by paying good money for so-called "10mm" factory ammo that returns only downloaded .40-performance out of the pricier 10mm case. :rolleyes:

Edited to add: By the way, Hornady boosted it's 10mm 180grn XTP-HP ammo from its former low mid-range-ish velocity of 1180fps to 1275fps, putting it squarely into real 10mm territory.

Here's the link ... and note that Hornady clearly designates this ammo for personal defense:

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/10mm-auto-180-gr-xtp#!/
 
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I think we are seeing factory Speer Gold Dot and Federal HST 10mm not super hot for a reason. You don't need it to get results.

Your comment is it exactly right. Most all 10mm is exactly 40 (either exact bullet or 20gr heavier) and overpriced.
 
The original Norma load was never advertised by Norma all that much higher than any other round.
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I bought a couple of boxes of 200gr Norma ammo, and chrono'd the rounds from one box; none of them was moving much faster than 1000fps.
Without changing the ballistics info on the box, still says 200@1200, Norma was the first of the water-downers.
Apparently, the original, circa 1983 ammo has a letter stamped on the primer cup, while the later, weaker rounds don't.
 
Plus, watch barrel lengths. Norma uses a long barrel. But that isn't unique.


Double tap switches from "5 inch barrel" to "Glock 20" today on their FPS per different 10mm options. Not huge. Agreed. But it's not all equal.
 
Velocity

Recently chronographed W-W 17.5 Silvertip (from a box purchased 20 yrs ago) avgs 1200 fps from my RIA 5" 1911. I read that SIG Vcrown does well.

My own 180 gr reloads are about as hot as I am willing to go (max from the manuals) and do not break 1200 fps, especially from an early Glock 20.
 
180gr / 1400 fps

"Hardcore" reloader or foolish? Reaching 1400 fps w/ a 180gr slug seems a bit farfetched, especially with a 4-5" barrel. As I posted earlier, in both my stock pistols(G20 and 1911) about 1200 fps is where manual max loads get me with several powders.
 
Intended fun result at range are pretty high I am sure :) I shoot Underwood through my 686s for fun too.

But per agreement on this forum and not just me talking, nowhere is 357 or 10mm within the universe of needed fps for rifle damage. So it's just a FMJ going fast that will be equalized by friction/drag but no results are agreed to happen by the increase in poundage. You may also see at times super fast means super shallow when looking at hollow points that are modern.

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=388971


When you see what HST and Gold Dot do from Federal and Speer factory loads, the point of Underwood kinda gets lost in the exciting high numbers. But that concedes the purpose of 10mm all together. As 9mm and 40 switch for also doing better per Speer and Federal's reporting.

XTP might be the only bullet of interest in high speed because it is designed not to expand like HST and Gold Dot. But that would only be for hunting where HST and Gold Dot do better for defense. You don't want a bullet folding back quick on target. That misses the point of expansion in target.

I mean shoot, the lowest defense round, the .380, in an all copper Lehigh goes through ballistic glass with no damage to the bullet.
 
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Plus, watch barrel lengths. Norma uses a long barrel. But that isn't unique.
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That was taken into account, circa 1983; Cooper initially wanted 200@1000, then decided he wanted an impact velocity of 1000, so the load was bumped a little; the designers wanted to ensure the rounds would make the published velocity in a 5" barrel, so the load was bumped a little more, in case Norma was using a longer barrel, etc.

Similar to the ground trod by the .41 Magnum, twenty years earlier, in that it was supposed to be a service cartridge, but as long as there was also a "magnum" version, all guns had to accommodate the hotter round, so, no mid-sized .41 service revolvers.
 
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