Why did the 10mm Auto make a comeback?

[inv136]

Posted this on the Glock ID forum, but apparently there were less 10mm fans than I thought. So I am reposting it here:

So why do we think the 10mm made such a great comeback from near extinction?

Is the 10mm popular as a "niche" round for hunters and hikers?

Why the 10mm and not the .50 AE?

Has the cost of 10mm come down to make it more popular?

Did the introduction of more boutique ammo companies like Buffalo Bore and Underwood bring the 10mm back?

I don't know about others, but, I've wanted a 10mm since I first saw the ad that Dornaus & Dixon placed in Shotgun News back in the 80's. I was going to place an order, until I read about the screw-ups with the company failing to send any magazines with the few guns that did ship. Next thing I know the company went out of business. The same thing happened with the other Bren Ten iterations that I read about and wanted to buy -Peregrine Falcon and then the VLTOR Fortis aka Bren Ten.

I don't know about a comeback, I have always wanted and still do want a Bren Ten. I've settled for my three 1911 pistols in 10mm. As for hunters, I don't hunt, and I don't know anyone that does, so 10mm for hunting is out for me and not relevant.

To answer your question about why 10mm and not .50 AE, I have a Desert Eagle .50 AE. Previously, I had a .44 magnum Desert Eagle that was a dream to shoot. I bought the .50 AE Desert Eagle, thinking it would be as well. It's not. It's like shooting a .44 magnum out of a 2" barrel revolver. I shot 7 rounds and put it down for the rest of the range trip. My 1911 pistols using Underwood Ammo rounds at 1,500 fps are like shooting a .357 magnum revolver. Manageable recoil and comfortable to shoot many magazines in one range trip.

As for your question about cost, that's a not a criteria I use for any of my defensive pistols or rifles. I factor effectiveness over cost. If I cared about cost I'd be carrying a .22 short or lr, instead of 10mm. I figure that 10mm is more effective for defensive uses than any .22 short or lr. Or any 9mm, .40, and .45 ACP.

[4949shooter]

I will be adding two more 10mm pistols to my safe. Looking at a Delta Elite, and maybe a Ruger SR1911.

It would be nice to pick up one of those Bren Tens manufactured from existing Bren Ten slide / frames, but they are too much money for a cop's salary.

[Intercooler]

   Spend some of that moldy money 

[4949shooter]

   Spend some of that moldy money 

Ha! 

[gandog56]

Back when the D&D Bren Ten was coming about I was very enthusiastic about the gun and the cartridge and its ballistics.

I remember reading about the Bren 10 in one of the first gun mag articles about them. I was kind of sceptical, like what good is this over like a .41 magnum.

Well, 4 pistols and two 10mm carbines later, I STILL love this round. Easy to load, lots of projectile options, can use a whole slew of powders to reload them. While not quite the same power as a .41 magnum, it fits well in several semi-automatic pistols.

[SPDSR]

Pretty sure that most interesting man in the world fellow doesn't shoot often, but when he does, he shoots 10mm Auto.

[4949shooter]

Pretty sure that most interesting man in the world fellow doesn't shoot often, but when he does, he shoots 10mm Auto.

Indeed! 

[sep]

Pretty sure that most interesting man in the world fellow doesn't shoot often, but when he does, he shoots 10mm Auto.

Indeed

Stay high capacity my friends...

[macc283]

Ted Nugent and Razor Dobbs is why i also started in 10mm

[4949shooter]

Pretty sure that most interesting man in the world fellow doesn't shoot often, but when he does, he shoots 10mm Auto.

Indeed

Stay high capacity my friends...

[The_Shadow]

I'll also go out on the hook here...I am partly responsible for 10mm's comeback as I was promoting it as I sported that S&W1006 in 1990 as I displayed its accuracy and power to family and friends.  Then across a few gun forums, much like this one, I worked to promote the cartridge and the guns chambered for this ballistic rough and ready workhorse.

Then here in this forum, amongst friends, Intercooler contacted me about ammo pull-down documentations.  As a handloader, I was excited as this turned into a labor of love to see what was inside the stuff being sold to the buying public.  Many have gone inside the various Pull-Down sections here on the forum, to learn what was documented as it preserves ammo history.  It was an extreme learning experience for me as I has to fully research powders, even plenty I had never used.  I studied one powder for almost a year, thinking it was Winchester Auto Comp...well after finally getting another handloader to give me a small sample it proved to be what I thought it was exactly!

In other efforts I continuously pester gun makers for new 10mm chambered offerings, their Facebook and web addresses get pounded often for new things!  Just doing my part!

[4949shooter]

Shadow, not to blow any smoke, but a large part of the reason I got into ten mm is due to the postings on the Ten Ring in Glocktalk. This was hosted primariiy by yourself, as well as a few others there. Others deserving mention in the return of the 10mm are Patriot, Intercooler, David Sneed, and Squlbullet.

What originally piqued my interest in 10mm back in the 90's was a chapter written in the book, COMBAT HANDGUNNERY, 3rd edition by the late Chuck Karwan. Chapter 11, "Touting The TEN," was written by Chuck and is dedicated solely to the 10mm. Underneath the title for the chapter is written, "The author feels the 10mm Auto may be the Ultimate Combat Handgun!" Just like that, with an exclamation point.

This entire book is an excellent read, especially this chapter and the next chapter, "Handguns and Dangerous Animals," in which the author picks his first choice as the best backup weapon against dangerous game animal as the Glock 20, loaded with a full metal jacket hot load like the old "Pro-Load" 180 grain. The author's second choice for a backup against dangerous game animals is the S&W M629 .44 magnum.
The reason being he picked the 10mm Glock is due to capacity and controllability. Also stated is if you were to run into human predators or terrorists in certain parts, the Glock 20 was said to be "one of the finest fighting handguns in the world." Hard to argue the logic, even if the the book 3rd edition was copyrighted in 1992.

The author was a teenage graduate of the Civilian Marksmanship Small Arms Firing School at Camp Perry Ohio, a West Point Military Academy graduate, and a Vietnam Veteran. In Vietnam he served as a rifle platoon commander, company XO, and company commander. He was awarded the Bronze Star for combat jungle operations. He has also been the author of numerous books and articles, which are too numerous to mention. The 10mm was his favorite handgun cartridge.

[The_Shadow]

4949shooter, I wasn't trying to leave any of the other guys out...Patriot (especially with his providing this forum for the continuation after the 10mmTalk dwindled), Intercooler & David Sneed both who shared their range test reports and videos, we have to mention Andrew "Choppin Block" with the Jello testing and Squlbullet with his detailed explanation post.  There were some others who also participated in the documentations that help the preservations.

I will say that the 10mm guys were the better behaved people on all of the forums over the years as they stayed the course...

I was very active on the Handloads.com forum but have slowed down on there some, 10mmTalk which was absorbed in the  AR15Armory.com and yes had many discussions over the years at GlockTalk.com.  Yes it is where most of us had forged a communication introduction with each other in the early years!  This bond that was forged continues on here... 

Another place that has grown is social media Facebook which has several 10mm groups...these have blossomed with interest and show and tell that shows the 10mm is still a growing fan base of enthuasist!

[4949shooter]

4949shooter, I wasn't trying to leave any of the other guys out...Patriot (especially with his providing this forum for the continuation after the 10mmTalk dwindled), Intercooler & David Sneed both who shared their range test reports and videos, we have to mention Andrew "Choppin Block" with the Jello testing and Squlbullet with his detailed explanation post.  There were some others who also participated in the documentations that help the preservations.

I know you weren't trying to leave anyone out Shadow. I just thought I may have been remiss in not mentioning you and some of the others since it was my thread.

[Intercooler]

  The ammo MFG's that gave us an ear too. I know early on I spoke with SwampFox and then worked with Kevin Underwood getting him set up on Facebook, testing loads, etc... Most everyone was pretty receptive and made changes along the way.
   We also had another excellent person out in Washington State that was a member here. I can't recall the name, but he made tons of videos until he blew up a couple of Glocks. I picked up a decent amount of unavailable ammo from him!