Okay... I really want a 10MM, but I don't think I want to spend 700-800 on a Colt Delta Elite. That pretty much leaves a Glock (that feels like a dirty word). I've never owned a Glock before. I have shot one, it was a 9MM, and had the weirdest trigger ever. I guess they have a safety on the trigger, that really distorts the feel... I wonder if a person could eliminate that "feature".

I'd also want to handload for this caliber, so, do these things take pretty hot loads? I've seen pictures of blown up glocks, I sure don't want to end up like that. Shooting factory ammo is not an option, I shoot way toooooo much to justify that.

The pistol would be a weekend warrior, trail duty, and plinker. Right now my .357 Mag fits all three duties, but its not much of a trail carry gun, with its 6" barrel. I love shooting the Mag, and I really don't like wimpy pistols.... I'd just like to hear some direction. I might just have to save up for a Colt....

I just found out that S & W makes a 10mm, so the same questions about that pistol, which is definetly in my price range.

If your going to reload for the 10mm than you don't want the Glock . Although the instances of "blown up Glocks " isn't as common as the typical rumour chain would have you believe , the ones that do occur can usually be traced to hot reloads and do tend to be 10mm's . Like some other designs the Glock has a portion of the chamber that is unsupported and if that unsupported portion of the casing ,after being reloaded a time of two or three etc. winds up oriented in the chamber in the same manner , it can bulge to the point of failure , and voila' ... ka-boom. Personally as potent a package as the 10mm is, aside from assembling cost effective ammo , why reload it hot, it's already hot as is ? As a defensive round it has more horsepower than you'll likely need unless your bad guy erects a cinderblock wall between you and him . If you have a genuine need for more firepower , a .41 or .44 Magnum would be in order , but hey I have never been to Montana , maybe the average perp' is bigger and thicker up there(?). As a casual "plinking" round I don't think you'll be employing the word wimpy to describe it at any time , it's a handful as far as autoloaders go.


444fitch

I've had my Colt Delta Elite for many years. I have no idea how many thousands of rounds have been through it, it is a tough, indestructible gun. If you want to save some money, you can get the EAA Witness 10mm. I haven't tried them myself, but everybody I talk to says they are good guns. Something else you can do is get a Springfield GI 1911 for about $425, then change out the barrel and recoil spring. Whichever way you go, you will not be disappointed. The 10mm is an excellent cartridge for self defense, and small to medium game hunting. Let me know what you get. By the way, Blue Dot is a great powder for this round.

rt

I want one too, and my choice will most lieky be an EAA Witness. I've had one in 40 since 1990, and I love it. The same basic gun in 10mm can only be better. I tend to load my handloads to 90-95% of their potential, and the Witness is the only gun I consider built to handle that all the time.

Papajohn

Matt,

Mine is a Kimber Stainless Target, and I am well satisified. This aquisition supported a notion that I have that the 10mm loaded with a fairly heavy bullet over a healthy dose of powder, would represent the most ideal compromise between control and impact effectiveness, when taken after four legged critters.

It also is a near match to my number one defensive pistol, Kimber Classic 45 ACP, so my learning curve was non-exsitant.

I am currently working up some 200 grain beartoothers, over Blue Dot, and I think this load has some real promise. The one negative that I have found with this gun, is that handloads need to be seated deeper than listed max OAL, or a live round will not eject properly because its too long. It will feed and fire, but not make it out of the ejection port because of its length. My read right now is that my load of blue dot is right at the base of the bullet, so I think if I want to push this round harder, I may have to go to a faster powder.

All in all, though, this is an excellent choice, and I wish you luck with it.

Steve

Great! thanks guys... I'm not going to justify hot loads, I'm young and bulletproof and faster is better. :D

Has anybody had any experience with the S & W 1006? I like American companies, and I can't really afford a Kimber or Colt... I do have a Para Ordnance 1245 LDA though, I love shooting that gun, but its not my idea of a carry gun it is very heavy. My neighbor has a S & W 9MM which is much lighter and very quick. I'm not sure of the model, he's not very talkative. It would be awesome if S & W built that 10MM off their 9MM platform with a metal frame.

Oh well, I'm gonna go do some shooting... I'll check in later!

Matt,

I did in fact own a 1006 once upon a time, and I liked it very much. It seemed to be very tolerant of the different weight ranges of bullets, and shot them all acceptably accuratte.

I did not care for how the straight backstrap pointed, but a pair of Hogue's fixed it right up, and made the gun point like a 1911. This gun was all metal, and it was pretty heavy, every bit as much as a 1911. Recoil seemed more pronounced with the hot loads than the 1911, but that may be because the gun sits slightly higher in the hand.

I had a couple of instances in which the slide locked back, mid string, and that had my attention. I also was not real crazy about the mag safety, and think that a fellow needs to be very well versed in tactical reloading, if he is equipped thusly. The final issue was the safety, which I would recommend carrying hammer down, safety "off", and only using that safety as a hammer drop, only. I use my Beretta in this fashion, and believe the Smith to have the same firing pin block system. Surely worth checking into.

I would still have this gun, but it is the weapon that I traded for my 350 Rem Mag, and that is now my all time favorite.

Nice guns, though, vastly underrated in my humble opinion.

Good shooting.

Steve

if you are looking for a good 10mm under $600 i would recomend the EAA witness 10 shot. good solid guns based off of the cz 75, in turn based off of the browning hi-power. I do know that you can pick one up off of gunbroker.com for $360.00, that's the reserve at least (there always on there) for the blued, don't know about stainless.

I'd reccommend the 1006 also.
Then put a set of rubber Hogues on it and don't look back. It's a sturdy auto that'll be reliable, but the trigger is something that will take some getting used to. Smiths are not known for a great S/A auto trigger.

If it's trigger is like my 4506, it won't be BAD, but it won't be great. You can live with it, and the '06 series are tough guns.

I'll be looking for a Smith then. I'm not to fond of foreign gunmakers... ya know... mostly cause my little brother is over there ;) so the Witness/EAA is not to high on my list.

I really appreciate the comments guys...

Ruger made a Blackhawk convertible in 38-40 and 10mm. You can pump those 10's up way high!

Okay... I really want a 10MM, but I don't think I want to spend 700-800 on a Colt Delta Elite. That pretty much leaves a Glock (that feels like a dirty word). I've never owned a Glock before. I have shot one, it was a 9MM, and had the weirdest trigger ever. I guess they have a safety on the trigger, that really distorts the feel... I wonder if a person could eliminate that "feature".

I'd also want to handload for this caliber, so, do these things take pretty hot loads? I've seen pictures of blown up glocks, I sure don't want to end up like that. Shooting factory ammo is not an option, I shoot way toooooo much to justify that.

The pistol would be a weekend warrior, trail duty, and plinker. Right now my .357 Mag fits all three duties, but its not much of a trail carry gun, with its 6" barrel. I love shooting the Mag, and I really don't like wimpy pistols.... I'd just like to hear some direction. I might just have to save up for a Colt....

I just found out that S & W makes a 10mm, so the same questions about that pistol, which is definetly in my price range.


I shoot both Colts and a Glock...and I like both....I have modified the Glock....the factory rifling is designed for jacketed bullets only...so..buy an aftermarket barrel if you want shoot lead....and load to about 985 fps or so....the disconnector and trigger springs needed to be changed on mine....makes it a new pistol...I also put a fiber optic front sight blade on it....really stands out against the target...Glock is the easies pistrol I have every seen to teach a new shooter....if the trigger is fixed...still love my Colt but the Glock is like an anvil...

I have to admit, most of my firearms regrets are the ones I didn't buy. I've bought and sold a lot of guns over the years and never really missed the ones I sold -- except one. It was a first year run of the Smith 610. Was probably the most accurate and shooter friendly handgun I've ever owned. An absolute joy to shoot. I got rid of it because, at the time, there were only half moon clips available for it. Those were really aggravating cusses. About 6 months after I got rid it, full moon clips were available for the gun in nearly every gunstore.

If your heart isn't dead set on an auto, see if you can round up one of those early 610's. They were absolutely fantastic revolvers.

Well, I've got a revolver. Not that I'm gonna rule out a 610.

I think I'm gonna end up with a Ruger P94. Its in my price range (under $500), its a .40 caliber, it doesn't have the case support issues that Glock does, and I can get a new one. I don't know what it is about used guns... I'd rather buy it new, then I know it was well taken care of.

I appreciate all of your guys' input... and will look for a Smith 1006, if I can find a new one or a barely used one I will grab it.

mattsbox99

I've owned a S&W 1006 since they were released. I've fired thousand of rounds through this piece. Both cast lead and jacketed, different weights and styles functioned 100%. Bought lots of 200gr. black talons while they were available for CCW.

With a new sets of night sights and a little triger work, it has served me well. The original grips were recalled and I asked for and received the arched style replacements that were used on the .45s. Double action trigger is not the greatest, but works well if you PRACTICE. Good thing for those who carry. Single action trigger needed some work. I purchased the jig from Brownells and did the work myself.

This is one you can keep for life.

Hoopie,

Dan Wesson makes a 10mm 1911. I don;t know what their pricing is like but they seem to enjoy some popularity on the 1911 Forums.

might have found you one:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976567831.htm

I absolutely love my Witness 10mm. I bought it because it is the closest thing to the Bren 10 there is. If you are not familiar with that, it was the modified CZ75 original platform for the round. Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice had one and it was the only double action pistol endosed by Col. Jeff Cooper, back in the 80's. As a young teen, I obviously spent more time reading and pining for cool guns than buying.

10mm is a great cartridge. Go to www.glocktalk.com and see what they have to say about reloading for this cartridge and glocks in general. They have a whole lot of people over there that have vast amounts of experience in this area and they put out some very good information.

McNett is one of the smartest people over there for 10mm stuff and he has developed his own line of ammo that really puts new fire into the 10mm. His ammo is called doubletap ammo. His ammo gives you .357 mag +P power in a auto that holds 15+1. Not a bad combo if you can get used to the glock trigger. CDNN is selling slightly used G20 pistols for less than $400 I believe. Here's the link to the 10mm reloading site.
http://www.glocktalk.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=67

I bought a G20 about 15 years ago when I had to have the fastest thing on the market and I still have it because it really harnesses lot's of horsepower in a relatively small package and it is nearly indestructable. Good Luck with whatever you choose.

I've pretty much decided its gonna be a smith, I really don't care for Glocks or Imported guns... I guess glocks are imported too...

It seems everytime I go to the gunstore, the polymer pistols get cheaper and the metal pistols get more expensive. :(

I'll definetly look at the GA pistol... I'll have to talk to my gunsmith and ask if he'll do a transfer. I don't know if he will or not...

if you are looking for a good 10mm under $600 i would recomend the EAA witness 10 shot. good solid guns based off of the cz 75, in turn based off of the browning hi-power. I do know that you can pick one up off of gunbroker.com for $360.00, that's the reserve at least (there always on there) for the blued, don't know about stainless.

Your comments about the EAA got me interested as I know nothing about them. I went to EAA's website, but I can't tell if the pistol is a DAO or ar DA/SA??

I absolutely love my Witness 10mm. I bought it because it is the closest thing to the Bren 10 there is. If you are not familiar with that, it was the modified CZ75 original platform for the round. Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice had one and it was the only double action pistol endosed by Col. Jeff Cooper, back in the 80's. As a young teen, I obviously spent more time reading and pining for cool guns than buying.

I checked out their website and it's a good looking pistol, but...

is it DA/SA or DAO only?

I've got the all-steel version in 40, and it's my favorite auto. It's traditional DA/SA, you can carry it cocked and locked (and I do!) and the safety wipes down just like a 1911. I love mine, and I recommend the all-steel version. The Wonder finish apparently holds up better than the blue/black phosphate that I have, the grip frame of mine is white from all the shooting and dry-firing I do with it. Just make sure you specify what you want if you order one, because I'm pretty sure they also offer a DAO.

And as if the pistol wasn't good enough to stand on its own merits, it's priced right! I keep thinking I want a 45ACP, but I really think I'd rather have the ten. I already have dies, bullets and shellholders, why not just move up a power level?

And moxgrove pointed out something I had forgotten.........How much time I spent reading magazine articles about guns when I didn't have the cash to buy them! I remember the G & A articles about the Ten when it was new, bragging (in Col. Cooper's own words!) that the 10mm has as much energy at 200 yards as the 45ACP has.........at the muzzle! I've fantasized about one ever since!

Papajohn the Lustful :p

I have the wonder finish and really like it. One thing I forgot to mention is that EAA offers caliber conversions for less than $300. If you have the large frame, you can get a kit for .22l,.40 S&W, 9mm, or .45 acp. I have a long slide 10mm and a 4" cocealed carry slide for mine. I think this probably is the most ignored, or undervalued pistol around.