Whenever somebody chooses a 10mm Pistol over a Revolver, I presume it's because they specifically want a semiautomatic pistol, hence my recommendation of another semiautomatic pistol cartridge.
For the longest time, I bought into all the hype I read in magazines or online about the latest and greatest cartridges available, complete with all the claims of "improvements in technology" that made JHPs of weaker cartridges equal or better to those with greater mass/energy on-target, right up until I actually saw it tested/used and it just wasn't there.
Frankly, it's downright pathetic just how weak and ineffective modern factory loaded ammo is. When chronographed/gel tested, only the hottest, most expensive of boutique loads ever seem to meet the velocity printed on the box and expand reliably in gel, and there's really no sense in paying that premium if you have the ability to load your own to equal or hotter specs at a substantially lower cost.
What really did it for me was buying 500 rounds of 165gr Ranger T a few years back, getting all excited thinking that I had gotten the best of the best defensive ammo at a bargain, only to discover that it didn't expand reliably out of anything less than a full-size Beretta 96 with a 5" barrel. Granted, that's .40 S&W, but you know that most factory loaded 10mm Auto isn't much hotter than that. (Unless you consider a 25fps-50fps increase substantial, which I don't.)
Personally, I've really gotten into .357 SIG and .45 Super over the past few years.
