School me on 10mm. Are S&W the only single stacks, etc.?

[mrpski]

I've wanted a 10mm since Sonny had one, but could never pull the trigger. Then, I went all 45 and 9mm, which is great. But I still have to scratch this itch:

-10mm
- 4.25-4.5" barrel
- single stack
- straight grip, like the 1066
Not certain of all of the S&W variants either.

I fear this will cost me.

Thoughts?

I have two of the Rock Island Armory Tac Ultras, 4.25" barrel in 10 mm and I think it is a great gun. Maybe not now but back a couple of years ago the RIA was half the price of a decent 10 mm like a colt or a smith. I hunt javelina with it in the SW deserts in the winter. Gives me 8 fast shots instead of using the Dan Wesson 357 revolver with a 6" barrel. Either is a great pistol hunting weapon and I feel that the RIA Ultra in 10 is well made and the best bang for the buck.

 

[78bagger]

Rosewood and mbliss57. Looks like we've got a club. Right after this all took place I took the Delta up to Frank Glenn gunsmith up in Phoenix. He told me just about exactly what Rosewood said so I left it alone and use it for a plinker. But I love the full loads in the XDM.

 

[Rock185]

I had a Bren Ten, then a succession of 10MM pistols and revolvers. When the dust cleared, the S&W 10MMs had become my favorites. Over time, I had about a half dozen S&W 10MM semi-autos; 1026s, 1006s, 1076s, and two of the early 5" 610 revolvers. All good guns, but I came to prefer the 5" semis due to a bit more velocity and heavier slide. Now only have a 1026, acquired years ago. A robust, reliable, pistol, but wish it had the adjustable sights as available on the 1006s. BTW, much as I like the semis, the 610 revolvers were the most accurate 10MMs I ever owned.

I'm a 1911 guy, so of course I had to have a Delta, and later a Kimber 10MM. Never had a case let go in the Delta, but confess all that unsupported brass hanging out over the barrel throat worried me, since I've always shot plenty of the "real" 10MM ammo. I realize legions of Delta owners report they never had a case let go, ramped barrels,etc. are not needed. OK,I get it. But for my own peace of mind, I much preferred guns like the Kimber and S&W that have ramped barrels and well supported chambers....

Anyway josywales, I guess the conventional wisdom is to buy an RIA, Glock or perhaps a SIG. But even though though discontinued by the factory, maybe a clean S&W 10MM might be worthy of consideration...

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Was planning on converting the 4013 to a 10mm, but so far it has issues I can't work out. It is the only 3rd gen I have had that has ever not worked properly and I have like 8. The last round in 4 different mags will jump out of the gun instead of chambering. Tried stiffer slide spring and mag springs, still haven't been able to iron it out. Once I get it worked out, will most likely make it a 10mm.

Do your magazines have the vertical top round indentations (VTRI) in them or not? The early ones did not have them.

While the mags with the VTRI are preferred for it as a 4013 if you do convert it to a 1013 the mags without VTRI are preferred.

The problem with the VTRI, from a 40-to-10mm conversion perspective, is that once you remove the spacer from the VTRI 4013 magazine (to accept the longer 10mm round) that once beneficial VTRI is now in the wrong place (too far forward) to hold the 10mm round in the extractor groove.

In fact it causes binding on the cartridge's body, restricting movement, & has to be reduced/eliminated for proper feeding to occur, therefore not helping to keep the round in place, in this instance.

My 1013 occasionally pops the last round out of the mag when firing full handloads.

Heck, even my 4040PD likes to do it sometimes.


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[Buck13]

Not S&W related, but I had two EAA Witness 10 mms. First was a plain-jane "Wonder Finish" steel frame DA/SA 4.5" barrel. Not bad, but I didn't like the fixed sights (POI hidden behind front sight) and the trigger was so-so. A good hiking gun, though.

Later I got a 6" barrel Hunter model. SAO trigger was pretty good. Front sight blade could maybe have been a tiny bit wider for best target accuracy (or rear notch narrower) but off a rest I could shoot it as accurately as any handgun. But when standing on my hind legs, the 10 mm seemed to aggravate my flinch worse than even a .43 Magnum, and I could never do the gun justice as a target pistol.

Between the flinch and not liking the difficulty of finding the brass after the guns threw it 15 to 20 yards (lost about 30% of brass at each session), I gave up and took the guns to a consignment shop. Sadly, they didn't sell until just after I passed up a .41 Mag 8-3/8" barrel that I saw in the For Sale forum here. I kicked myself for months over that one.

10 mm is a fascinating caliber. If I was to become interested in handgun hunting, I might try it again in a Glock 40 MOS.

 

[Jaymo]

Star produced the Megastar for a couple of years.
It was made in 10mm and .45 ACP.
Big, beefy, hefty guns that were designed to stand up to a steady diet of full power 10mm ammo.
Still kicking myself for not buying the used .45 Megastar at my LGS over a decade ago. I was waiting to find one in 10mm because the gun is so heavy. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have bought it and converted it to .45 Super.

TLDR; Star Megastar laughs at your puny S&W, Colt, and Glock 10mm pistols.
Only a 500 pound anvil is worthy of full house 10mm.


Seriously, it's a beefy, heavy duty 10mm.
Wanna get into "saggin' yo britches?" Carry a Megastar. It'll sag yo britches right to the ground.


I do have to wonder if my 1066 is a good candidate for conversion to 10mm.
Or, maybe I should convert it to .45 Super and be done with it?

Are there any steel framed 3rd gen .40s that are suitable for converting to 10?
My hands and wrists are beyond the days of shooting full power 10mm from an aluminum framed compact.

 

[James&theGiant1911]

Sonny's Bren Ten wasn't really a Bren Ten either.

His Bren X was in 45 ACP. Why? There were no 10mm blank cartridges available, but 45 ACP blanks were readily available, so the studio bought a pair of Bren X's chambered in 45 ACP.

Not only that it was also painted silver while original Bren Tens are two tone black on silver. It picked up better in night shots same with the Ferrari which was painted white on special from Ferrari.

 

[Racer X]

Sonny's 10mm was a Bren Ten, good luck finding one, you will need even more luck finding magazines for one.

Cheap 10mm pistols would be either a Rock Island Armory 1911 chambered in 10mm, they have them in single stack and double stack varieties, barrel lengths of 4.25 and 5 inches. Another option is the EAA witness, which is a double stack, somewhat similar to the Bren Ten, might scratch that Sonny Crockett of seasons 1 and 2 itch.

More expensive would be Colt, Dan Wesson, Kimber, or Para-Ordnance 1911's. Para-Ordnance makes double stack and single stack versions. Glocks are good in 10mm too. S&W 10mm pistols are out there, but expect to pay a premium as they have been out of production for a long time.

RIA also makes a 6" 10mm in single or double stack. Around a grand.

 

[FoundFather]

RIA also makes a 6" 10mm in single or double stack. Around a grand.

Also, you MIGHT be able to get a CZ 97b converted by CZ Custom to 10mm for $1162: https://czcustom.com/cz-parts-all/czc-97b-10mm.html#tab_productquestion

They announced this at the Shot show, but I have not seen any reports of anyone actually being able to buy one yet, and CZ Custom is showing "out of stock" on their website.

Looks like a great option to me, a little cheaper than a Sig. Love to hear if anyone has actually seen one of these beasts.

 

[Chubbs103]

Not only that it was also painted silver while original Bren Tens are two tone black on silver. It picked up better in night shots same with the Ferrari which was painted white on special from Ferrari.

I have no knowledge of what was or wasn't done to the Miami Vice pistol, but a hard chrome slide was a $50 option from Dornaus & Dixon. I do not know how many came that way (interweb says ~75), but I'm sure plenty were chromed later just to be like Sonny.

By the time the Ferrari was white, S&W was the pistol of choice.

 

[JohnHL]

I do have to wonder if my 1066 is a good candidate for conversion to 10mm.
Or, maybe I should convert it to .45 Super and be done with it?

I don't understand this question.

Are there any steel framed 3rd gen .40s that are suitable for converting to 10?
My hands and wrists are beyond the days of shooting full power 10mm from an aluminum framed compact.

Nope.

John

 

[rosewood]

I don't understand this question.

Same here, converting a 10mm to a 10mm seems kind of pointless.

 

[Screwball]

I love my 1006... but hated the safety. All of my Berettas are now G models, so I knew what I had to do... convert to decock-only.

 

[rosewood]

I have never seen one of the extended mags in person. Don't think I even knew they existed before joining this forum.

Rosewood

 

[JohnHL]

Same here, converting a 10mm to a 10mm seems kind of pointless.

I think he owns a 4566.

Possibly a typo?

John?

 

[James&theGiant1911]

I have no knowledge of what was or wasn't done to the Miami Vice pistol, but a hard chrome slide was a $50 option from Dornaus & Dixon. I do not know how many came that way (interweb says ~75), but I'm sure plenty were chromed later just to be like Sonny.

By the time the Ferrari was white, S&W was the pistol of choice.

True they had to blow up the corvette cloned Daytona so no more bootlegged ferrari, they got a real one. I have never seen a hard chromed bren ten but if the interwebz says they were made then surely they were.

 

[Chubbs103]

True they had to blow up the corvette cloned Daytona so no more bootlegged ferrari, they got a real one. I have never seen a hard chromed bren ten but if the interwebz says they were made then surely they were.

After some poking around, it looks like the hard chrome slide from the factory was only available on the Special Forces (Commander length) pistols. It was known as the Special Forces Model L (for light). The black slide one was the Special Forces Model D (for dark)

My memory had a full sized pistol as well, but it must have been one chromed after-market to look like the Miami Vice pistol.

My apologies to the OP for the hijack.

 

[stansdds]

Sonny's Bren X was was hard chromed so that it would be easier to see in night scenes.

 

[dsb1829]

I have run a couple of 10mm guns. Originally grabbed a 1006 that I found at a small shop in AL for about $450. Great shooting gun, not much aftermarket support and IIRC mags were hard to come by. After a couple of hikes in the woods I became disenchanted with the 42oz weight. For a range gun it is a nice rig.

I then went to a Glock. Way more aftermarket and mags are easy to get. Muzzle rise with the light weight is significant, especially with hot rounds. The Glock would also bulge brass in a somewhat concerning manner.

Biggest issue with 10mm is cost and availability of ammunition. I ended up mostly reloading. Definitely have to collect your empties as others don't often have the caliber or also pickup their brass.

If you have the itch, scratch it. At the end of the day I do wish I hung onto that 1006 as it was unique in my modest collection. But I don't miss the caliber.

 

[squidsix]

The 72 Daytona dead giveaway that it was a replica was the automatic trans. But there is a lot of cool info out there about the Miami Vice cars.
I forgot that Sonny's backup pistol was a S&W 9mm. Totally cool.
Wasnt someone remaking the Bren? Omega maybe? It was many years ago but I was sure.