155 gr for anything?

[sqlbullet]

Why is there so much concern over the weight of a 155 grain 10mm?  I'm not a hunter but it seems to me the 357 mag at 157 grain was likely used for years before the current crop of whatevers???

Because penetration is predicted by sectional density and velocity, not weight and velocity.

A 155 grain 10mm will be similar as far as penetration to a 125 grain .357, velocity being the same with no expansion.  The 10mm, due to it's weight, will arrive with more energy, again if velocity is the same.

Ballistics by the inch shows that 357 mag in a 5" barrel, including chamber, will make about 1500 fps with premium JHP loads in the 125 grain range.  Underwood also makes 1500 fps with premium 10mm loads in 155 grain.  So, we have apples to apples on velocity and sectional density, but the 10mm has a larger un-expanded diameter and a 150 lb-ft energy advantage.

In 158 grain JHP's, the 357 Mag has velocity advantage of 150 fps compared to the 200 grain 10mm, which pretty much normalizes out the energy budget at 688 to 684.  Apples to apples for sectional density and energy, but not velocity.

I would expect the 155 grain 10mm to perform more like a 125 grain 357, which is not a super common hunting load.  That said, the 155 grain has a huge energy advantage and is larger out of the gate, which will result in better terminal performance than the 125 grain 357.

No reason not to use those heads since that is what the OP has.  They will perform fine on whitetail as long as you take good shots.

[10mm-Admirer]

I'm not the OP but appreciate the information.

So what are the 150-155's and 135's good for in 10mm applications?

There seems to be a velocity range where bullets expand adequately and penetrate as much as possible. Any velocity more than that seems to result in more expansion but not more and maybe less penetration.

The tests I've seen on YouTube seem to favor the 180 grain bullets for expansion and best penetration.

So what are the 155's and 135's good for?

[sqlbullet]

Lots of different opinions about what is ideal as far as terminal performance.

I favor 180 to 200 grain JHP or cast lead WFN, but I live in the mountain west.  Though I am in a metropolitan area, bear country is only about a 3 minute drive from my home.  It is not unusual to hear reports of bears in the city from time to time.

If I were in an urban environment with less dangerous animal presence I would look hard at 155-165 grain bullets for self defense.  Which HP to select becomes very important as bullets that fully expand in the 40 S&W in these weights may fragment when pushed to 10mm Auto velocities.  OTOH, those same bullets that fragment from a 5" or longer 10mm Auto may be spot on as far as velocity and terminal performance if fired from a Glock 29 or Witness Compact.  That is a big benefit of the Glock 29 that I frequently carry.  It still offers a terminal performance profile that exceeds 40 S&W in a service sized gun, but is packed into a gun about the size of a Glock 19.  I run a +2 basepad with the pinky extension and carry standard Glock 20 15 round mags with +2 baseplates for backup.

Among other uses the 135 grains bullets are great varmint rounds.  There are those here that like it's soft tissue profile for personal defense and while I personally favor heavier bullets, the 135's do produce some pretty spectacular results in gel.  A couple of advantages of the lighter bullets are more shock value due to higher velocity and energy, and less momentum means they will stop easier/faster against barriers.

Finally, the solids are not to be discounted.  Traditional JHP profile solids like the Barnes TAC-XP are great performers which will defeat clothing and barriers that would clog a lead/copper jhp and still expand. 

For me the jury is out on the new breed of solids with screw-driver tips.  The first generation penetrated about like a FMJ, with a slightly better wound channel.  The second generation rounds I have seen results for in 9mm offer great promise as the penetration is more in line with a typical JHP.  This is physics at work.  If the two bullets arrive at the target with the same energy, both penetrate to the same depth and stop, but one deforms and the other doesn't, then the one that didn't deform had to do more damage to the target.  That energy that didn't deform the bullet had to go somewhere.  I keep looking for some of these to be tested.

As I said in my first post, the 155 grain matches the SD and the velocity of the vaunted 125 grain JHP 357 rounds.  They just have more diameter and energy budget.  They are gonna be very solid personal defense rounds if you carefully select bullets that hold together at your velocities.

[jkelly]

I have shot 155, 180, and 200 grain XTP, plus 135, 180, and 200 grain Nosler Sporting Handgun bullets. I will tell you the two best bar none for hunting anything up to Moose and Bear is the 155 grain XTP and the Nosler 200 grain Sporting Handgun. These two bullets for my TRP 10mm are more accurate, and stabilize better than anything else out there. But hands down the 155 grain XTP is my go to for hunting pigs, deer, and bear. Oh yeah, also Turkey are great game for this pistol. The 155 grain XTP has plenty of knock down power, it holds ballistic performance for longer distances than any other bullet....and before arguing that. Go to Vortex LRBC, they have an awesome reloading calculator that gives you a breakdown in yardage increments of whatever you want, that breaks down drop, bullet energy, and velocity in every range listed. The 155 grain wins hands down out to 100 yards. It also penetrates enough to take down even the biggest moose or bear out there, even if hitting bone. Don't believe me still, watch Razor Dobbs and listen to him on multiple episodes. He uses 155 grain Double Tap ammo more than just about anything else. Sometimes he'll use 180 grain. But other than when he's in Africa with hard cast bullets, he pretty much readily uses 155 grain to kill. And he kills everything with it.

[Rojo27]

Welcome to the forum jkelly.
Thanks for your insight.

Just a side note; the 10mm 155gr Double Tap round that RD raves about is the solid copper Barnes TACXP projectile. 

[Kenk]

The 155's will work great for coyotes, providing you can call them in close enough...which I have several times. Put down the shotgun or AR and letem have it : )

[Labrat198]

Quick update, about 6 months late... used some Federal 180 grain JSP from the factory to dispatch a little buck in November. Found the lead just under the skin on the exit side, so I personally feel like the 155 grain xtp's would make it to the vitals but I would feel better using 180s. Smaller critters and targets are in the future for the boxes of 155 grains I have.