10mm vs .45

I am, by no means, an expert (on any issue--just ask my wife, she knows everything), but here's my $0.02.

Get the .45acp. It is my understanding that the 10mm tends to beat the hell out of the gun, thereby shortening the life span. That would also cause other parts to be more prone to failure (a very bad thing in a defensive gun). For this reason (the abuse generated ny the 10mm), I would not lighten the slide on a 10mm weapon.

Also, unless you reload, .45acp is definitely the way to go. 10mm is more expensive and harder to find (and will probably get more expensive and harder to find as time goes on).

Since you are recoil adverse, why not stick with the .45? The 10mm has more power, but do you really NEED more stopping power than a .45 will provide? If you do your job, the 230gr .45 will certainly do its.

Have you selected a 'smith yet?

Good luck,
Billy Ray

Go for the 10MM - it's ballistics are superior and it's stopping power, properly loaded is at the top of the charts.

I will concede that a 10MM used with extremely hot loads on a regular basis should probably be properly setup by a good smith for long life. (Occasional use with full 10MM probably doesn't warrant the extra work.) Barrel must be properly fitted with good, close to 100% lug engagement, preferably lug locked, correct (22-24lb) recoil system. Don't lighten the slide.
Use full power or even extra power mainspring and a squared off firing pin stop (the original 1911s had squared stops - it was changed to make slide retraction easier).

So why go to all this trouble? A gun set up this way with a quality (BarSto, etc) barrel will be 2" or better accuracy, only 3" bullet drop at 100yards (handy if you don't have a rifle) with more energy than a .45 has at the muzzle. And with proper high velocity loads (135/150gr @ 1400+) it is possibly the most stopping power possible in a service sized handgun.

My personal Delta IPSC Limited gun with BarSto barrel can easily ring the 12" gong every time at 100 yards and is superbly reliable. Study the Marshall/Sanow and Stassberg stopping power data - something significant happens around 1400 fps with the 10MM bullet.

Which ever you decide on, good luck. Just one guy's experience.

Warmly, Col. Colt

"Beware of Counterfeits and Patent Infringements"

10mm vs .45acp?

That's like comparing your feeble grandmother (.45acp) droning querulously about the advantage of polygrip to Salma Hayek (10mm) purring seductively in your ear about all the pleasures she's going give to you just as soon as you finish re assembling your 1911!!

Okay in all seriousness, I'm huge fan of the 10mm and I'd recommend that over just about everything but Salma Hayek!

But there is a distinct advantage to the .45acp, you can find it everywhere in just about every flavors.

10mm can also be had in all flavors, but requies a little bit of a search on the 'net if the local shops are supplying the *need*.

Derek

The ONLY advantage I see of the 10mm is the extra round in the magazine.

If you want power, get a 1911 set up in .45 Super. You can shoot .45 acp through it also....load up, load down, very versatile and easy to find .45 accessories etc.

The standard power .45 Super matches the full power standard 10mm loads with 200gr bullet at 1200fps out of a 5 inch barrel. And it accomplishes this at MUCH lower chamber pressures (mid to high 20k).

If you want even more power, The 450 SMC is also coming out from Triton, and the .45 Super also comes in ".45 Super Express" (extra power hunting ammo....like a 230gr bullet at 1200fps!).


Also if you want midrange power you can get ".45 Super Tactical" flavors (downloaded .45 Super, 230gr @ just under 1000fps).

ALL of these loads shoot from exactly the same gun.

You have a very wide range of power from light .45 acp all the way up to super power .45 Super Express and 450 SMC (From Triton), and all of it from the same gun and the same brass if you so choose! Who needs a 10mm?
If you are going to reload anyway, why not reload all these .45 varieties with no more than a powder charge change on your press. If you are going to buy store ammo, then finding 10mm is tough enough, and most of it is weak stuff. You really need to reload 10mm to get full power ammo, and due to cost. If you are going to reload anyway, buy some .45 Super brass from Starline and you can use that one brass to load from light .45 acp way up to high power .45 Super Express.
I am a big fan of the 10mm and don't mean to put it down, but I recently sold my 10mm and my dies and brass etc, and now I just load .45 Super if I want power. I got tired of changing my press out to 10mm, got tired of searching for special magazines and accessories for the 10mm gun and reloads. I bought a case of .45 Super brass from Starline (www.starlinebrass.com) and no less an expert than the co-inventor of the .45 Super told me that I can load regular .45 acp loads in this brass as well as hit .45 Super loads.
I get it all from the same exact gun, same brass, same primers, same bullets, with no more than a powder weight change.

If you want to read more about the .45 Super and see where to get your gun upgraded or built, go to the inventors of the cartridge:www.acecustom45.com.



[This message has been edited by thaddeus (edited 05-25-2001).]

Not looking to start a caliber war. . .

.45 Super?

Why not consider the 41 Centaur also?

With the amount of INFANTILE actions carried on by Ace (both Triton and Taurus lamented this fact in the past few years) and their wanting royalties for the use of the name .45 Super, I'd avoid that cartridge. A genius business move on their part! They should run the democrat's next presidential bid!!!

If you want to really get a performance increase, go with the 460 Rowland, but if you are looking for factory carts that perform, the 10mm is the best choice.

Fringe carts (.45 S and 450SMC and 460 R) might look great on paper, but then again so does Hitlery Klinton's peronal ad!

Stick with either the .45acp of the 10mm and you won't be going wrong!

Derek

I have not decided, but I am not as down on .45 Super as viesczy. One, you don't need Aces, just buy a 28+lb. recoil spring, make sure you have an extra power firing pin spring, and set to.

Two, changing the powder charge is easier than resetting the press, however, as I mentioned earlier, whichever I pick will be a consolidation, so there will not be much changing.

The 10mm vs .45 Super argument is somewhat akin to the .44Mag vs .45 Colt debate which erupts occasionaly among revolver enthusiasts. The .45 Colt can do everything the .44 Mag can do, maybe the slightest extra, but it can do it at much lower pressure. Same goes for .475 and .500 Line, same power, more or less, but the .500 is a 35000psi gun and the .475 is 50000psi.

All that said, the 28lb (even to 32lb) recoil spring on a .45 Super batters the frame a good bit more than a 10mm.

The extra round is nice, though not critical, if going for capacity, I would better consider a 9x23mm or a double-stack.

The 9x23 is a possibility, though any revolver would be custom, however, I have a hard time warming up to a 9mm as my 'big gun', and I plan to move northward (anywhere) to get away from the heat, so it will be cold much of the time. How do 9x23mms perform against heavy clothing? Good because of their deep HP cavity? or poor because they are small cailbre?


[This message has been edited by telackey (edited 05-25-2001).]

Hey I am not down on any caliber, I was one of the original 10mm fanatics (and I still think it is an oustanding cartridge), but I am also an original .45 Super fanatic. Owning, shooting and reloading both for many years now, in the end the .45 Super won out purely due to how much easier it is for me to reload. Since I reload .45 anyway and have so many .45 guns and components, .45 Super is just too easy. Well, and that big fat .45 caliber 230gr bullet moving at 1200 fps kinda turns me on too The 10mm still scores the "cool guy points" at the range though, in that the cartridge is unique looking, whereas the .45 Super just looks like another .45 to all onlookers (ho, hum).

I don't think any of us knows the whole story of Ace's patent of the .45 Super, but from what I have heard from the Triton side of the story, I do not agree with Ace patenting the .45 Super name and cartridge. It would be much more popular if it were free for all to use, but then again Ace deserves to make some money for creating it...I dunno, all I know is that if I buy the brass I make .45 Super ammo at home, so none of the politics really affects me.




[This message has been edited by thaddeus (edited 05-25-2001).]