10mm vs .45ACP

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 6/26/2018 | J Hines

[w1n1]

If you're looking for a powerful cartridge for your semi-auto handguns. Then it boils down to a couple of choices.
The 10mm and the .45 ACP.
Both of these are widely popular so many will have a difficult decision to choose. Some folks that have the money will get both. However, for this scenario we need to choose one.
Even if you do own both a 10mm Auto and a .45 ACP handgun, how do you know which one is best for certain task?
Both of their capabilities overlap each other but their characteristics and traits differ.
Each has distinct strengths and weaknesses.
Anyways, we'll keep this un-biased and help you decide which one is best for you.

Brief History
.45 ACP: John Browning's Masterpiece
John Browning .45 ACP is the iconic cartridge for over 100 years.
His thinking was on designing a cartridge to shoot a big full metal jacket, slow bullet that has knock down power, alias "man-stopper".
It was a highly popular among gun enthusiasts.
Typically a .45 ACP load is a 230-grain bullet that fires at 830 fps for 355 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
This was the gold standard for short range with knock down power in a handgun, this ruled for many decades.

10mm Auto: Jeff Cooper’s Conception
During the 1970s and 80s shooter only had 2 choices for the semi-automatic handgun cartridges, it was the 9mm Luger and the .45 ACP.
Legendary gun trainer Jeff Cooper wasn’t satisfied with the two cartridges. So, he teams up with the Swedish ammunition company Norma A.B. to build what he considered the ideal combat handgun cartridge.
The result was the 10mm auto: its a medium-bore cartridge that really has a "kick ass" punch.

Which Cartridge is Best for You?
So which one should you buy?
Just like with everything, it’s really a matter of what you intend to use your handgun for.
On the 10mm side of the fence they like to point out that it has more energy at 100 yards vs the .45 ACP does at the muzzle.
But, the .45 ACP counters that it is bigger at 100 yards than the 10mm at the muzzle. Read the rest of this 10mm vs .357 magnum here.

[TNoldman]

The use of my 45ACP is anticipated at 25 yards or less. It is my serious carry weapon. At home I have an AR-15 223 and the 45 ACP.

[umgud]

100yd shots are likely murder.
15yd shots are social work.

[dangerdoc]

I haven’t bought brass for a few years but I don’t remember 10mm being significantly more expensive than 45acp and it is available from Starline. Other components for the 10 are the same or cheaper.

[sarge83]

I have several 1911’s and like the .45 ACP for defense against humans. However if I need more thump for four legged beast I prefer a hotter .10mm round. I carry a Glock 29 in my vehicle all the time . BTW unless you personally reload your own .10mm only use commercial ammo in your Glock 10’s.

A couple years ago when I first got my 29 I ran across some reloaded 10 at my local gun/pawn shop and was not finding a lot of .10mm ammo to buy. My little voice said NO! But I didn’t listen and it came at a great price. The second round I fired hurt like crazy and sounded weird, big kaboom! It blew the magazine out the bottom of the pistol, the magazine released hit my hand and cut it and the frame was cracked. The shell casing looked like it has been unzipped about halfway. I sent pistol to Glock and paid $100 for a new frame. The shop was great about the reloads they shipped and received my pistol and gave me $100 store credit.

[Big Red Badger]

Reloads....
Scary.

[dangerdoc]

Loading rifle ammo is a pain, I’m considering a 10mm carbine for 50 to 150 yards, past that I’ll use something bigger that .223.

[FreedomPoster]

I wasn’t implying police were military. The point to bringing them up, and SEALs, is that they’re large governmental users of .45 ACP who help maintain - Availability.

[budj]

Whichever round you choose, remember two things for home defense:

1. When (not if) you miss, there will be a hole in your wall.

2. When (and if) you hit, there will be blood on your floor.

You will have to clean up.

[Seruzawa]

Not sure why anyone is concerned about handgun accuracy at 100 yds. If one is then .357 long barrelled revolvers might suffice.

[WKUHilltopper]

That was my thought. The calibers I consider using are the ones I can anticipate finding on the ground. And with the seditious MSM, subversive DemonRats and that cackling, traitorous Waters...the SHTF might be coming sooner than thought.

[bmwcyle]

BINGO

[READINABLUESTATE]

I have both a model 20 and a 21 Glock. The 20 (10mm) is far superior in every way. Bigger bang and twice as many bullets.

[Lurker]

“I haven’t bought brass for a few years but I don’t remember 10mm being significantly more expensive than 45acp and it is available from Starline.“

I could be wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time and sure as hell won’t be the last.

We standardized on .45 because it’s much more common. And it’s got a lot more punch than 9 mm or .40. The other reason is that we already own 4 pistols chambered for it.

That was before Glock and the 1911 makers started cranking them out. We’ve got standard loads that shoot well, feed reliably, and we can both control out of our chosen platforms. That carried a lot of weight in our decision making process.

I’d love to have a brace of Delta Elites, but they’re pricey. And it means another set of dies, bullets, and a big pile of brass. As it is we’ve got more than we know what to do with. Until we cleaned things up it was literally falling out of the closet. LOL.

We could spend an entire Work week at the press and still not load everything we’ve got.

I’m not knocking anyone else’s choice. To each their own and more power to you.

Best,

L

[NorthMountain]

The point to bringing them up, and SEALs, is that they’re large governmental users of .45 ACP who help maintain

Fair points .... I'm just not convinced they're big enough to make any real difference in availability. I believe .45 is widely available because of an ENORMOUS private citizen market. That market was created, decades ago, by the .45 cal M1911A1 being the standard US military sidearm. The 10mm just never got that boost. The FBI dropped it too quickly.

[afterhoursarmory]

I was switched from 9mm to .45acp.
Reading my pistol handbook it said “.. at a range of 25 yards..”. I didn’t think a 3.3” barrel would do it. First shot wasn’t the ten ring, it was the “10” in the ten ring. Fired off another 50 rounds and that was my daily carry from that day forward.

(also - switched from a Kydex holster to a custom leather holster; world of difference. Leather is so much more comfortable.)

[MichaelRDanger]

I recently purchased a pistol caliber carbine and considered both the 10mm and the .45 ACP. I went with the .45 because the recoil is marginally easier to manage but the real deciding factor was the availability of ammunition. A gun without ammo is useless.

[SauronOfMordor]

Availability and price favor the .45.

Plus the high velocity 10 tends to beat up the gun, shortening lifetime.

[dangerdoc]

I was a 45 guy till we moved to the mountains. Needed a little more punch and got a good deal on a Glock 20sf. But I still load and shoot a lot of 45 and 9mm. .40 bullets are common and the 10mm takes large primers just like the 45 auto. I bought a couple thousand pieces of brass and another set of dies and good to go. As a bonus I can also load 40sw for my son.

[yarddog]

If I were receiving one as a gift, I would pick a Sig P210. I think it is common knowledge that Glocks in .40 and 10mm do not support the case heads as well as other guns.

From the 60s until around 1995 I was heavy into handloading. Probably had half a dozen presses and just about all the accessories. Around 1995, I just got tired of it and sold or gave away everything but a Lee handheld press, dies in 9mm, .308 and 6.5xX55. Also a Lee priming tool and a scale.

I just now realized that I don’t even know where some of it is.

There are so many guns I wish I could have kept. A model 29, a 57, a 27, a few 1911s. A High Standard Victor etc. I had to sell them to stay in grad school. I went from over 200 guns to less than 20 and none of that 20 are really nice.

I kept some that were not worth much but were still effective. For example two Argentine Browning Hi-Powers.

[Lurker]

Believe it or not we do not own a single 9 mm pistol. I did, years ago, have a Browning Hi Power made in Belgium by FN. I a moment of monumental poor judgment I sold it.

I’m seriously considering picking up a couple of police trade in Glock 17 or 19 pistols simply because there are so damned many of them floating around. Neither of us really care for the ergonomics of them.

We are long time 1911 shooters so it’ll take quite a bit of practice to become muscle memory proficient with them. That being said if TSHTF they’ll be everywhere along with copious quantities of ammunition.

It’s hard to knock down that argument for getting a couple. And in our neck of the woods we are much more concerned about critters of the two legged variety.

If a Grizzly happens to wander through the western suburbs of Chicago we will dig the 629 out of the safe. LOL

Enjoy your day.

Best,

L