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Will a 10mm handgun chamber a .40 S&W?
- Thread starter cracked91
- Start date
Would depend on the chamber of the revolver. As far as I know, there are only three mainstream revolvers in the history of 10mm. Look inside the chambers themselves and if there is a ridge where the front of the case mouth headspaces, then you should not chamber .40's in there unless you don't care about messing up your chambers.
The three revolvers I'm thinking of are the classic 610 by S&W, the new Nightguard from S&W and the Buckeye Convertible special edition .38-40/10mm Ruger Blackhawk.
The new S&W night guard is advertised as a 10mm/.40 S&W, so I'd say yes for that one. I'd say NO to the Buckeye Blackhawk, as it's not made for use with half or full moon clips. The 610, probably, but someone else will have to weigh in on that.
As for the difference between the two calibers-- it's slight. Same pressure, shorter COAL for the .40, obviously, but the same external circumference of a loaded round.
So if the question simply is, "will a 10mm revolver chamber a .40?" then the answer is absolutely that it will, but for some of them, NO-- you certainly should not do it and it could harm the handgun.
In a semi-auto, you'd have the same damage to the chamber and whether or not it would fire would depend on whether or not the extractor managed to hang on to the loaded round well enough to absorb the chambering and the firing pin hit.
When you are talking about rimless or semi-rimmed pistol calibers, it's not like rimmed revolver calibers that headspace at the rim. .38 in .357, sure, but you can't do the same with .40 and 10mm unless you want the possibility of chamber damage.
The three revolvers I'm thinking of are the classic 610 by S&W, the new Nightguard from S&W and the Buckeye Convertible special edition .38-40/10mm Ruger Blackhawk.
The new S&W night guard is advertised as a 10mm/.40 S&W, so I'd say yes for that one. I'd say NO to the Buckeye Blackhawk, as it's not made for use with half or full moon clips. The 610, probably, but someone else will have to weigh in on that.
As for the difference between the two calibers-- it's slight. Same pressure, shorter COAL for the .40, obviously, but the same external circumference of a loaded round.
So if the question simply is, "will a 10mm revolver chamber a .40?" then the answer is absolutely that it will, but for some of them, NO-- you certainly should not do it and it could harm the handgun.
In a semi-auto, you'd have the same damage to the chamber and whether or not it would fire would depend on whether or not the extractor managed to hang on to the loaded round well enough to absorb the chambering and the firing pin hit.
When you are talking about rimless or semi-rimmed pistol calibers, it's not like rimmed revolver calibers that headspace at the rim. .38 in .357, sure, but you can't do the same with .40 and 10mm unless you want the possibility of chamber damage.
In a Dan Wesson 10mm 1911 style My buddy shoots 40s out of it just to prove he can do it. I wouldn't have thought it would work but basicaly the extractor holds it to the backand recoil handles the rest. Gun shoots just as well as before he started doing it. In an emergency I might consider it but I say just load your 10s lighter.
Yes, any 10mm handgun will chamber a .40S&W round. That doesn't mean it's a good idea or that it's safe.
In a revolver, without moonclips, the round will fall too far forward in the chamber and probably won't fire. If it does fire, it can result in a dangerous situation since it's not headspaced properly. With moonclips, it's perfectly safe to fire .40S&W in a 10mm revolver.
In an autopistol, the round will headspace on the extractor. That causes several problems which can result in damage to the extractor, pierced primers and, in the worst case, a blown up pistol. The only way to safely fire .40S&W in a 10mm autopistol is by using the proper conversion barrel.
Autopistol chambers are very different from revolver chambers. If you look at the difference in the chambers, that will immediately become obvious. The sharp "step" at the front of an autopistol chamber can shave off bullet material. If enough material is shaved off and builds up, it can act as a partial obstruction and may blow up the gun.
Shooting the wrong ammunition in an autopistol without the proper conversion barrel is virtually NEVER a good idea. If you're in a life-or-death situation and all you have is a 10mm pistol and .40S&W ammo that's one thing. Otherwise you're taking a foolish risk.
In a revolver, without moonclips, the round will fall too far forward in the chamber and probably won't fire. If it does fire, it can result in a dangerous situation since it's not headspaced properly. With moonclips, it's perfectly safe to fire .40S&W in a 10mm revolver.
In an autopistol, the round will headspace on the extractor. That causes several problems which can result in damage to the extractor, pierced primers and, in the worst case, a blown up pistol. The only way to safely fire .40S&W in a 10mm autopistol is by using the proper conversion barrel.
Autopistol chambers are very different from revolver chambers. If you look at the difference in the chambers, that will immediately become obvious. The sharp "step" at the front of an autopistol chamber can shave off bullet material. If enough material is shaved off and builds up, it can act as a partial obstruction and may blow up the gun.
Shooting the wrong ammunition in an autopistol without the proper conversion barrel is virtually NEVER a good idea. If you're in a life-or-death situation and all you have is a 10mm pistol and .40S&W ammo that's one thing. Otherwise you're taking a foolish risk.
I can't speak to revolvers, but .40 in 10mm is less crazy than you'd think. Glocks and 10mm 1911-style (and probably every other; those are the two I'm directly familiar with) will take a drop in barrel. But a good while back I read some articles discussing guns made specifically for accepting both, as well as experiments with 10mm-only models.
Several models were made with dual extractors in the early 90s. There were also dual-caliber guns with beefier extractors to handle the extra stress.
Regarding 10mm-only guns, the opinion seemed to be that modern pistols are built to such standards that your extractor should be sufficient. The .40 primers deform but the cases did not fail. Aside from extractor fatigue, the biggest "issue" seems like the jump to the throat.
If you bought a 10mm for home defense and fired a ton of .40 at the range, you'd probably end up with premature barrel wear and otherwise never know the difference. But then again, the type of person firing enough rounds to wear the barrel is enough of a shooter to probably also own a .40...the type of person to use his 10mm as a practice .40 would likely still never use a fraction of his barrel life.
Several models were made with dual extractors in the early 90s. There were also dual-caliber guns with beefier extractors to handle the extra stress.
Regarding 10mm-only guns, the opinion seemed to be that modern pistols are built to such standards that your extractor should be sufficient. The .40 primers deform but the cases did not fail. Aside from extractor fatigue, the biggest "issue" seems like the jump to the throat.
If you bought a 10mm for home defense and fired a ton of .40 at the range, you'd probably end up with premature barrel wear and otherwise never know the difference. But then again, the type of person firing enough rounds to wear the barrel is enough of a shooter to probably also own a .40...the type of person to use his 10mm as a practice .40 would likely still never use a fraction of his barrel life.
That's not the biggest issue at all. Please read my post immediately above yours.Aside from extractor fatigue, the biggest "issue" seems like the jump to the throat.
The biggest issue, BY FAR, is that by doing this repeatedly you could conceivably blow up your autopistol.
Yes, a 10mm handgun can fit a 40 S&W cartridge in either a cylinder or chamber (as the case may be).
However, both the 10mm and the 40 S&W head space on the case mouth so it is not a good idea to shoot a 40 S&W in a 10mm gun. The 40 S&W's case is 0.85" long and the 10mm auto 's case is 0.992" long.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/357Sig10mm40sw.jpg
However, both the 10mm and the 40 S&W head space on the case mouth so it is not a good idea to shoot a 40 S&W in a 10mm gun. The 40 S&W's case is 0.85" long and the 10mm auto 's case is 0.992" long.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/357Sig10mm40sw.jpg
Years ago when the 40 S&W was first introduced and not yet commonly available, a gun writer had a gunsmith convert a Colt Delta Elite 10mm to handle the 40 S&W so he could do the research to write his magazine article. Had a custom barrel and custom magazines made. Modified extractors and maybe some other small parts. Spent effort selecting the spring for the 40 S&W.
The writer ran all his tests for the article and was ready to return the converted Colt back to 10mm. At that moment it crossed his mind to see how many of the changes he had made in the original 10mm had actually been totally necessary. With all the original parts returned, his 10mm fired all the 40 S&W rounds without a functional hang-up and with accuracy similar to his highly converted pistol.
The writer did not recommend to his readers shooting 40 S&W in their Colt Delta Elites, but he did say that in his pistol it worked.
Again, not recommending this to anyone.
.
The writer ran all his tests for the article and was ready to return the converted Colt back to 10mm. At that moment it crossed his mind to see how many of the changes he had made in the original 10mm had actually been totally necessary. With all the original parts returned, his 10mm fired all the 40 S&W rounds without a functional hang-up and with accuracy similar to his highly converted pistol.
The writer did not recommend to his readers shooting 40 S&W in their Colt Delta Elites, but he did say that in his pistol it worked.
Again, not recommending this to anyone.
.
(emphasis added)Revolvers mainly, but also pistols. I don't know much about 10mm, but I have read that its just a longer .40, so would a 10mm revolver take .40 S&W rounds?
FWIW; the .40 S&W is actually a shortened 10mm...