Question about using a Ruger 10mm

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ChasMack

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I don't hunt much anymore so I am trying to educate myself on a few things. We have bear here in western NC, they have gotten in my truck,etc. They are not a real problem but I want to continue to hike in the woods so I'm considering carrying a 10mm. I was thinking of a Ruger revolver in 10mm, namely the 3" model since it would seem to be easily carried on long hikes. I have looked up some ballistic charts and a 3" would lose around 100fps compared to a 5" give or take. So the question is: would a Ruger GP100 in 10mm, 3" be adequate if loaded with CorBon,Underwood or Buffalo Bore hot rounds?
 
I would feel pretty comfortable with that setup. I have an old S&W 610 revolver in 10mm Auto and it has been a great revolver, though mine is a 6.5-inch barrel. The GP100 would be lighter and more compact than the old N-frame 610's even with similar barrel length. Personally I think a GP100 in 10mm Auto is probably one of the best woods revolvers currently on the market. 357 Magnum level power with a slightly heavier bullet and a little easier on the ears and quick reloads using moonclips. I would be tempted to go with a slightly longer barrel length. The 4.2-inch length version would be, IMHO, the perfect compromise in weight/carry-ability and shoot-ability for a wood revolver.
 
As you are only speaking of black bears I’d say the 10mm with a heavy bullet should work quite well. Were it me I’d look for a wide meplat bullet for penetration. At a high velocity it would likely still get you somewhere around a 1” permanent wound track, and possibly more. That’s not a small hole. The wider the meplat the better.
 
Personal opinion: Handgun rounds, generally, are much less effective than rifles or shotguns. So, practice enough to develop the skill for rapid, aimed shots. Just one hit is not necessarily sufficient.

Exactly. We must be proficient in the use of any SD weapon we carry, whether it is against humans or critters. Not just being able to hit paper, but do so quickly, accurately and from different positions with strong and weak hand grip. An added bonus to training is that it is fun. Man, I really want a 10mm. Have fun in the woods, OP. :D
 
Step one : Purchase 3"10mm gp100

Step: two: Purchase Underwood 200 or 220grain hard casts flat nose ammo

Step three: sight in, and practice,practice ,and practice some more

Step four: order simply rugged brand holster

Step five: Carry comfortably while hiking because you need not worry about the bears anymore, you are now carrying adequate firepower.

Step six: Admire the fine firearm you just purchased. :thumbup:
 
It would be as effective as a heavy .357 magnum load, not much more. Some seem to think the 10mm is equal to the .41 magnum, but it's more of a .357 magnum equivalent. The .41 can put up some big numbers especially for the handloader.

The good news is a heavy .357 magnum load will stop any black bear around and when I used to hike in bear country, a 4" .357 medium frame gun is what I usually had on me. It was light and handy, accurate, and packed a good punch with 165 or 180 grain heavy loads.
 
Step one : Purchase 3"10mm gp100

Step: two: Purchase Underwood 200 or 220grain hard casts flat nose ammo

Step three: sight in, and practice,practice ,and practice some more

Step four: order simply rugged brand holster

Step five: Carry comfortably while hiking because you need not worry about the bears anymore, you are now carrying adequate firepower.

Step six: Admire the fine firearm you just purchased. :thumbup:

So you do not own this handgun (yet)? If not might you consider something else as well (gun or chambering)? Not sure but 36 oz with stout 10mm loads might be a handful, especially from a revolver. Nice looking piece though!

Quite frankly stout loads aren’t exactly necessary with wide meplat bullets. At standard .45 Colt levels (~450 ft/lbs) a standard bullet can go nose to tail through an adult hog.

Check out what Beartooth shows as far as permanent wound channels and velocities:

https://beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/61
 
The cool thing about the 10mm revolver is you can always run 40S&W for cheap and/or lower recoil option. Just like shooting 38 Special in your 357 Mag. But in this case you have thicker more robust moonclips to make the reload quick and easy. Moonclips do rule!
 
So you do not own this handgun (yet)? If not might you consider something else as well (gun or chambering)? Not sure but 36 oz with stout 10mm loads might be a handful, especially from a revolver. Nice looking piece though!

Quite frankly stout loads aren’t exactly necessary with wide meplat bullets. At standard .45 Colt levels (~450 ft/lbs) a standard bullet can go nose to tail through an adult hog.

Check out what Beartooth shows as far as permanent wound channels and velocities:

https://beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/61

Years that's a great article ,I've posted on here a few times aswell. I was just going by what the OP said bh cause he seemed interested in 10mm. 44 special would do the trick too. And you can get that in a 3" gp100 if you want ,OR shoot them in the short barrel m69 from Smith. Lots of options out there.
 
Just my opinion but a 10mm in a semi-auto platform would be higher capacity with faster mag changes than what you could achieve with a revolver, even with moonclips. Plus if you go polymer you could also save some weight.

The only advantage of the revolver would be practicing with cheaper 40 cal ammo.
 
I also live in the NC mountains. Personally if I'm carrying a revolver for defense I carry a 329 pd (44 mag that is as light as any 10mm I'm aware of). If I'm carrying one of my 10mms, and I often do, it's because I wanted the capacity. If an animal comes at you ( and the odds are astronomically low) it's a moving target and a reload is most likely "game over". That said, the Glock 29 is a shorter barrel and many people choose one for woods defense. I used to (and probably will again when the mood strikes me) so the ruger would be fine too as far as velocity is concerned I'd imagine.

I know more people who have been maimed or killed by falling branches (3) than have even been chased by a bear or mountain lion or coyote/ wolf. We never have a "which hard hat" thread. Lol.

Also different barrels, rifling, cylinder gap etc will affect velocity. I have multiple 4-8 inch 44 magnums. That 329pd shoots the same ammo faster than any of the others while my model 629 doesn't. I won't claim to know why. It also shows pressure signs much sooner

As far as practicing with 40. Google shooting 40 in a 10mm . I'll not say more personally on a forum, but you might be surprised
 
Years that's a great article ,I've posted on here a few times aswell. I was just going by what the OP said bh cause he seemed interested in 10mm. 44 special would do the trick too. And you can get that in a 3" gp100 if you want ,OR shoot them in the short barrel m69 from Smith. Lots of options out there.

Oops! For whatever reason I thought you were the OP, which I had assumed owns the GP100 in question.
 
You might look at the SR1911 Target in 10mm, flatter to carry, an extra round or two, and IMO, a little easier to quickly bring into action.
 
I don't hunt much anymore so I am trying to educate myself on a few things. We have bear here in western NC, they have gotten in my truck,etc. They are not a real problem but I want to continue to hike in the woods so I'm considering carrying a 10mm. I was thinking of a Ruger revolver in 10mm, namely the 3" model since it would seem to be easily carried on long hikes. I have looked up some ballistic charts and a 3" would lose around 100fps compared to a 5" give or take. So the question is: would a Ruger GP100 in 10mm, 3" be adequate if loaded with CorBon,Underwood or Buffalo Bore hot rounds?

I hunted Grizly with a guide in AK. I asked him if it was true (a rumor I'd heard) that a 22 LR bullet would just bounce off a bear's skull. He said no; it would kill it. NOT that I'm suggesting a 22 LR but a 10 mm should be fine provided you hit the bear right. Even with a very adequate hunting rifle, if a bear wasn't hit right and identified you as the source of it's displeasure, you could be in trouble.

The more energy your bullet has the more likely it would be that it would stop a bear quickly. Only you can decide how far you want to take that. 460 S&W Magnum? 500 S&W Magnum? Etc.
 
I hunted Grizly with a guide in AK. I asked him if it was true (a rumor I'd heard) that a 22 LR bullet would just bounce off a bear's skull. He said no; it would kill it. NOT that I'm suggesting a 22 LR but a 10 mm should be fine provided you hit the bear right. Even with a very adequate hunting rifle, if a bear wasn't hit right and identified you as the source of it's displeasure, you could be in trouble.

The more energy your bullet has the more likely it would be that it would stop a bear quickly. Only you can decide how far you want to take that. 460 S&W Magnum? 500 S&W Magnum? Etc.

Yes, and with recoil with quick follow up shots, as was mentioned, being a consideration as well, one thing I wondered about with a 3” 36oz revolver in 10mm potentially using hot loads and heavy bullets.

Not bears, but hogs, I was always fond of an AMT 1911 loaded with 230 grn +Ps.
 
Just my opinion but a 10mm in a semi-auto platform would be higher capacity with faster mag changes than what you could achieve with a revolver, even with moonclips. Plus if you go polymer you c12 ould also save some weight.

The only advantage of the revolver would be practicing with cheaper 40 cal ammo.

One shot on target beats 12 sprayed all over the woods.
 
If that pistol is reliable, and you can hit your target with it accurately and on demand (probably more than once), I don't see the problem. Personally, I would choose either a full size 1911 or a Glock 20 for this purpose, mainly since both would hold more ammunition and probably be a bit more forgiving in recoil than a compact 1911 in 10mm, but that's just my preference and why. Professional black bear guides where I hunted in Maine carry 45 automatics, both for protection from healthy bears as well as to put down bears wounded by hunters, which are potentially all in a bad mood when encountered after being wounded.
 
Not bears, but hogs, I was always fond of an AMT 1911 loaded with 230 grn +Ps.
Down here we have found that just about any centerfire handgun 9mm/38 special and up will do fine on pigs. After, all, we kill them dead pretty quick with KBAR size knives. I carry a Glock 23, mostly because I don't like it very much because its a 40, but also because it has more than enough power because its a 40. And since I don't like it very much, I don't care if it gets beat up riding in my holster while walking, crawling, or wading waist deep in a swamp. Its an old Gen 2 police turn in with night sights, and it fires.
 
I carry and trust my G29 loaded with Double Tap 200 gr hardcast. I get an honest 1300 fps with that load in my G20. Haven't tested it in the G29 but they advertise 1250 and I'd believe that is probably pretty accurate. A 3" revolver should be close. And a 10mm is every bit as effective as a 357 revolver. On paper 41 and 44 mags look a lot better with published ballistics from 8" barrels. From typical 3" or 4" barrels 10mm is right there with them.

I hunted Grizly with a guide in AK. I asked him if it was true (a rumor I'd heard) that a 22 LR bullet would just bounce off a bear's skull. He said no; it would kill it.

Bullets will deflect off a bears skull, and have done so on many occasions, and not just 22's, center firer rifle rounds have. It depends on the angle of the shot. If a bear is coming directly at you the nose is about the only place where I'd feel comfortable getting a bullet into the brain. A bears anatomy is not the same as human. The sloping skull will quite often deflect bullets, and a hit in the eye won't get to the brain. Now if the shot is from the side a 22 will easily penetrate. Photos are from a 260 lb GA black bear.

016.JPG 018.JPG 020.JPG
 
Down here we have found that just about any centerfire handgun 9mm/38 special and up will do fine on pigs. After, all, we kill them dead pretty quick with KBAR size knives. I carry a Glock 23, mostly because I don't like it very much because its a 40, but also because it has more than enough power because its a 40. And since I don't like it very much, I don't care if it gets beat up riding in my holster while walking, crawling, or wading waist deep in a swamp. Its an old Gen 2 police turn in with night sights, and it fires.

Like Elmer Keith I’ve alsways felt bigger was better.
 
I carry and trust my G29 loaded with Double Tap 200 gr hardcast. I get an honest 1300 fps with that load in my G20. Haven't tested it in the G29 but they advertise 1250 and I'd believe that is probably pretty accurate. A 3" revolver should be close. And a 10mm is every bit as effective as a 357 revolver. On paper 41 and 44 mags look a lot better with published ballistics from 8" barrels. From typical 3" or 4" barrels 10mm is right there with them.

Not even close, I love 10mm Auto, been play with it since 2006 but it is not even close to 44 Mag in the power department. A hot 10mm Auto is a 200gr bullet @ 1300fps as you state. I load my own 10mm Auto with a 200gr XTP to 1242 fps from my S&W 610 6.5-inch and I am slightly above published data for 10mm Auto and the propellant I selected (my choice/risk). My 44 Mag load is a 240gr XTP doing 1336 fps from my 6.5 inch M29 and I am still 0.7 gr under max published load for the propellant I chose. That's real chrono data from two nearly identical revolvers.

vUxCAZHm.jpg

That's 29% more momentum and 39% more kinetic energy (for those that think one is better than the other). I have little doubt there are guys pushing similar 240gr 44 cal bullets to well over 1400 fps from similar barrel lengths, not to mention the guys really pushing the super heavy 300+ gr 44 Mag in the over-built large frame Rugers (Red/Blackhawk) Not sure why the internet feels the need to continue the myth that 10mm Auto is somehow equal to 41 or 44 Mag in power but it is simply not true. 10mm Auto has a lot of great attributes but in raw power/momentum it simply falls well short of 44 Mag and still a bit short of 41 Mag.

If you have a 10mm Auto Revolver you could choose to ream the chambers longer and run 10mm Magnum (I have seen it done on S&W 610's and Ruger Super Redhawks, and I see no reason why you could not do it to a GP100 if your willing to suck-up the recoil). Now that is a 10mm cartridge that is very similar in performance to 41 Mag from similar barrel lengths but it still falls short of 44 Mag performance.
 
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https://grabagun.com/armscor-island-52009-m1911-a1-fs.html

As much as I love revolvers, there no replacement for displacement. And 16+1 of 10mm can displace a lot more tissue and blood faster than a 6 round revolver. Unless of course you’re Jerry Miculek. And it’s $100 cheaper.....

https://grabagun.com/ruger-gp100-match-champion-stainless-10mm-4-2-inch-6rds.html

Remember we aren’t talking about hunting where you have time to make that first shot perfect. We are talking about a sudden rush of adrenaline during a high stress situation. Likewise, practice should be implemented to achieve proficiency for those situations. Most times 6 shots should be more than enough to stop that animal. However, not all animals are equal. There are countless accounts on here of people making perfect shots and the animal
Simply refused to expire. So, for the one time 6 rounds isn’t enough, you’d have 11 more rounds before you had to reload.
 
Not even close, I love 10mm Auto, been play with it since 2006 but it is not even close to 44 Mag in the power department. A hot 10mm Auto is a 200gr bullet @ 1300fps as you state. I load my own 10mm Auto with a 200gr XTP to 1242 fps from my S&W 610 6.5-inch and I am slightly above published data for 10mm Auto and the propellant I selected (my choice/risk). My 44 Mag load is a 240gr XTP doing 1336 fps from my 6.5 inch M29 and I am still 0.7 gr under max published load for the propellant I chose. That's real chrono data from two nearly identical revolvers.

View attachment 826616

That's 29% more momentum and 39% more kinetic energy (for those that think one is better than the other). I have little doubt there are guys pushing similar 240gr 44 cal bullets to well over 1400 fps from similar barrel lengths, not to mention the guys really pushing the super heavy 300+ gr 44 Mag in the over-built large frame Rugers (Red/Blackhawk) Not sure why the internet feels the need to continue the myth that 10mm Auto is somehow equal to 41 or 44 Mag in power but it is simply not true. 10mm Auto has a lot of great attributes but in raw power/momentum it simply falls well short of 44 Mag and still a bit short of 41 Mag.

If you have a 10mm Auto Revolver you could choose to ream the chambers longer and run 10mm Magnum (I have seen it done on S&W 610's and Ruger Super Redhawks, and I see no reason why you could not do it to a GP100 if your willing to suck-up the recoil). Now that is a 10mm cartridge that is very similar in performance to 41 Mag from similar barrel lengths but it still falls short of 44 Mag performance.

I took it as standard over the counter ammo. Nothing special or handloaded to be at the far end of performance, unlike how I took it with the 10mm loads.
 
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