In Praise of the 10mm

[FATSEXY]

Hi, everyone.

I want to preface what I say here with the disclaimer that I am not a gun expert. I'm not even close to being one. I'm sure that most of you reading this know more than guns and ballistics and all that stuff than I do. So I'm not trying to make some definitive essay here, I'm just trying to plea my case. I've never served in the military, on a police force, and I gladly salute any and all of you who have served, are going in to service, and/or have lost loved ones in service to your country or community. It's because of you folks that I can live with the relative safely to sit around and write about how great a gun/caliber/widget is, and I'm truly thankful to God for all of ya.

Ok, now that I've gone through that, let me get to the point of this love letter: The 10mm is the best round in the history of pistols.

Think about it. One day, Jeff Cooper, probably the most important figure in the history of handgun fighting, was sitting around, looking lovingly at his 1911 no doubt, when he said to himself, "You know, this gun is great. The .45 ACP is incredible. But I just think I can come up with something a little bit better.". And so he came up with the 10mm.

Which is why the 10mm is the ultimate American pistol cartridge. Are you gasping? You disagree with that, I bet. ".45 ACP is the American pistol cartridge!", you're screaming that in your head (either that, or you're screaming "I can't own anything other than a single shot .22!" if you're from California, right?).

The .45 is not the ultimate American pistol cartridge, friends (and Californians). The 10mm is, for the sole reason that the .45 just didn't kick enough tail, so the 10mm was brought to life. Can you kill bears with a .45? Maybe, but do you really want to try? The point is that Cooper decided to make a round that could kill a bear, just for self defense. Basically, it's the ultimate American cartridge because it's what's great (and despised by other countries) about America: unneeded, overpowered, and created just because we could.

Do you remember when America was like that? Before we became anxious to outsource every job to save a buck on labor costs, before the bottom line was more important to companies than the quality of the product they were making? God help these younger folks nowdays, they are growing up to accept mediocrity as the standard that they are told they just barely have to live up to. I'm solidly blue collar, don't make a ton of money, but I'm happy working and making a living, and I do a good job, that's what we used to be like in this country. Whatever you do in life, do it better than anyone else who does your job, or fail at it busting your chops trying to, at least.

The 10mm represents the last moments that America was trying, if you ask me.

A few sidebars, all is not lost, and if you look into the firearms market, all that's good with America is still alive and well. Smith & Wesson catches so much flak over their Clinton Gun Band actions, mostly from people who've never been in a position where they had to basically eat it and trudge through life the best they could for a while, while hoping for things to turn out better at the end of tunnel, so to speak. And God bless those of ya who are like that, I'm not. I fully appreciate the position S&W was in.

And a few years ago, they lit the torch back up and started carrying it again. The 500 Magum is way too much of a cartridge to be in a pistol, you would think. Doesn't matter. S&W is American, and they can make it, so they did. We need more S&W-like attitude in this world, especially in this country.

And I'm not going to slight anyone who is not American for not understanding that concept. I'm not talking bad about you folks. It's an American thing, to twist the phrase... you wouldn't understand.

And one last thing...

"Well, the 50AE is more powerful!". Yeah. You want to lug around a Desert Eagle all day, after you spent a thousand bucks on it, and throw your back out of alignment just so that you can draw it, fire 8 rounds of thunder, and not come within 5 yards of what you're shooting at? Be my guest. I'd rather have a half-as-expensive G20 that could put 16 rounds on the target you'd miss 8 times with that clunky DE. I do fully appreciate the .50AE round, but in my mind, the way the 10mm came to be and the way it inspires fans of the round, really makes it superior to all other semi auto rounds.

[figment]

I too share your enthusiasm for the 10mm and all its variants. Too bad we don't have an XD10...

[FATSEXY]

Too bad I'm too dumb to put this in the right forum.

[dreydin]

a 357 post and now this? maybe i should look into these calibers

[FATSEXY]

If you have neither, I heartily recommend you do as I wish I had done, and buy yourself a S&W 610 revolver. Two guns in one, my friend (you can shoot .40 S&W out of it, too).

[Doc Holiday13]

I used to want a 500 S&W then I discovered the 460 magnum express. A 10mm would be nice to have if it was an XD

[mcb]

You 10mm Auto fan boys just never give up.

This ought to be right up the OP alley!

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10mm is so awesome, it beat Lootie to all the good beer.

Fred Thompson wants 10mm as his vice-presidential candidate.

10mm is why bad things happen to bad people.

Iran's nuclear program is a cover up for trying to build a 10mm pistol.

10mm is so awesome, it wards off vampires and werewolves.

Clint Eastwood wanted Dirty Harry to carry a 10mm, but they hadn't invented it yet so he had to settle for the .44 Magnum.

Jack Bauer isn't manly enough for the 10mm.

The only way to carry a man-purse and not look gay is to put a 10mm into it.

The Roman Empire collapsed because they stopped sacrificing virgins to a 10mm handgun left behind by an irresponsible time-traveler.

NASA mounts 10mm guns to all their spaceshuttles to take out Soviet satellites.

Anyone who disses 10mm is probably a godless commie.

Eskimos have fifty words for snow, but their word for 10mm is synonimous with 'buttkicking'.

You ever wonder why aliens never visit us? We invented 10mm and now they're too scared to reveal themselves.

Oppenheimer helped invent the atom bomb, but what he really wanted was a 10mm.

10mm is so awesome, it would have replaced the Mk.19 but the army wanted to give the enemy a sporting chance.

10mm is so awesome, it kicked Bill Clinton's dog the day he entered office.

10mm is so awesome, it's the only 80's fad that's still cool. shakes head in disbelief

Titanic was actually the result of an ND with a 10mm. My bad.

Movie tough guys smoke unfiltered cigarettes, 10mm smokes bad guys.

10mm is so awesome, it once made some kid crap his pants.

Ninja are only visible to people who carry a 10mm.

10mm is responsible for bad Chuck Norris jokes.

The 10mm is so awesome, the bullet actually hits the target before the primer goes off. LOL

The Death Star from Star Wars: A New Hope was actually a transport ship for 6 linked 10mm pistols and 1 billion round of ammunition.

Therefore, it only takes 6 10mm bullets to destroy a planet.

The craters on the moon were caused by a drunk redneck with a 10mm.

The Grand Canyon was created when an Arfcommer tried to bumpfire a 10mm AR-15.

Don't tell the Russians, but the only weakness of the M1A1 Abrams MBT is the 10mm.

If you shoot a 10mm out of the front of a jet airplane going Mach 2.5, it creates a black hole and the quantum flux pattern destroys all sentient life within 3700 meters.

The 10mm is the reason that mainland USA has never been invaded.

Chris Angel is so amazing because he carries a 10mm cartridge in his pocket.

Smith and Wesson tried to make up for the .40 S&W by inventing the .500 S&W Magnum. It only slightly surpasses the 10mm in power, but it's nowhere near as cool.

Cycling the slide of a 10mm automatic pistol is more effective on burglars than racking the slide of a shotgun.

10mm is so awesome, it's the cause of global warming.

10mm is the only caliber Chuck Norris fears.

10mm is so awesome, when it was loaded, the cartridge jumped up and punched Sarah Brady in the face.

No matter what you shoot with it, 10mm will kill it deader than a hippie under an Israeli bulldozer.

.40 S&W is a 10mm set on Stun. My personal favorite of the list.

You wanna know why dinosaurs are extinct? Time-traveling 10mm fanatics.

10mm is so awesome, that Jeff Cooper invented a gun just for it.

10mm is so awesome, it blows aliens apart in a spray of acid.

You know that scene in Saving Private Ryan, where the Captain shot the panzer with his pistol and it exploded? Yeah, that's what happens when you get a custom 1911 in 10mm.

10mm is so manly, the FBI had to switch to .40 S&W because it's staffed entirely by girls and wusses.

10mm is so awesome, anyone who holds one instantly has his sex appeal double.

You ever notice that Miami Vice started sucking as soon as Don Johnson ditched the Bren Ten?

The phrase "big brass ones" actually refers to spent 10mm casings, a measure of manliness.

10mm is so awesome, the Geneva Conventions don't apply to it.

10mm is so awesome, it even makes a Glock worth owning.

Arnold Schwartzenegger was the only on set manly enough to carry the minigun in Terminator 2, but when they asked him to fire a 10mm handgun he sat down and cried like a girl.

The Soviet Union collapsed as a direct result of the invention of 10mm.

You know that satellite the Chinese shot down? They used a 10mm and are hoping we don't notice.

10mm is so awesome, it automatically makes anyone who owns one cool.

10mm is so awesome, it makes Schumer's (edited) shrink into his pelvis just looking at it.

10mm is so awesome, it got its inventor laid.

Remember the damage Katrina and Rita did to New Orleans? It all could have been avoided if someone had just shot the hurricanes with a 10mm.

Hiroshima was actually the result of a Glock 10mm kabooming. ha ha ha ???

10mm is so awesome, it neutered John Kerry merely by existing.

10mm can cure sociopathy with direct application.

You know the Tunguska event? That's what happens when you dual-wield 10mm MP5's while the A-Team theme is playing. almost a chuckle

10mm usually vaporizes its victims on impact, but sometimes leaves a bloody corpse behind as an example to the others.

Bigfoot owns a 10mm.

James Earl Jones and Barry White both have incredibly deep voices. Both keep a 10mm in their waistband. Coincidence?

10mm is so awesome, Fort Knox threw away all the gold and stocked up on Norma.

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Yes 10mm Auto fanboys are that rabid.

[Cannibul]

I would disagree with the OP on one point. Jeff Cooper is a big name. But John Moses Browning is the most important person in the history of Firearms in the US and perhaps the world.

The 1911. Almost 100 years old and still going.
The M2. Designed in 1921 and still kicking.
The Auto-5 shotgun. In production for 98 years and used models are still highly sought after.
Browning High Power.
.25 ACP
.32 ACP
.38 ACP
.380 ACP
.45 ACP
.50 BMG

[mrosamilia]

I agree 100% with your stance on the 10mm. I have a Glock 20 on my nightstand. You just can't argue with the ballistics and capacity!!

WE DO NEED XD-10

[jeepinbanditrider]

I want a G20. Oooooor a G29 10mm power in a sub compact package. One day I will have one.