10mm ammo for whitetail

[Runs With Fire]

I am planning on hunting with my glock 20 this year. I have found that most have one of two opinions. Either they want a 200+ grain flat nose hardcast ( for full penetration) or any hot hollow point (because a hard cast doesn't cause enough wound channel). I really don't know as I am new to handgun hunting. I have a box of buffalo bore 220 grain hard cast that I load when I'm in bear country. Would that work well, or not?
I don't have reloading equipment, but what would be wrong with some good ole' fashoined pure lead for whitetail under 40 yards? I've dropped them with .445 and .490 cal pure lead roundballs from my smokepoles. The lead worked great in those. Why not a pistol?

[David R]

I shot one with a 44 mag. PLENTY of power.

240 LSWC @ 1300.

It did a cartwheel and laid there.

I was amazed at the destruction.

What ever you use will be fine with a good shot.
David

[Lohman446]

At the risk of sounding like I "don't respect the game" we give whitetail deer a lot more credit for toughness than they deserve. They are NOT that tough of an animal especially if you are taking reasonable shots at reasonable ranges.

220 grain hardcast lead is plenty to take down a whitetail with a good shot. So are the vast majority of the various other suggestions you have gotten and will get.

[Wyosmith]

I have killed plenty of deer and antelope with handguns. 357 mags, 44 mags, 44 Spl and 454 Casull.
The 10MM auto beats the 357 in most cases. I am sure you will not have any problem if you shoot well. Any bullet of 180 grains that gives a good wound channel will kill any deer that walks. Cast bullets= LBT style, if your gun will feed them, or any good soft point)

[Runs With Fire]

I tend to agree that whitetail aren't that mean. I'm actually considering getting a RAR in .223 for whitetail

[jmr40]

Whitetail ain't hard to kill. Most any hp bullet in the vitals will kill one. I'd prefer 155 to 180 gr but even lighter would work. No heavier

The heavy hardcast bullet would be my choice for much larger tougher game. Or large predator protection

[the possum]

Killing deer and dropping them in their tracks are two different things. Put a big hole in their vital organs, and they will die. But they may run 100 or 200 yards, or even more, before doing so. Just something to keep in mind if you're hunting close to a property line, thicket, swamp, or other area that would make it extra difficult to retrieve the animal.

[Lohman446]

Put a big hole in their vital organs, and they will die. But they may run 100 or 200 yards, or even more, before doing so

I'm not sure that the cartridge is that influential on those deer that seem to make that impossible run. I had one do it after being hit quartering away with a .270. I literally poured most of the vitals (heart/ lungs) from the body cavity when I cleaned it. Still ran a couple hundred yards and it was probably the most damage I have ever seen in a deer I have personally shot.

[rodwhaincamo]

Elmer Keith designed a wide meplat bullet for handgun hunting and found it more than adequate. The faster it goes the wider the wound track which is never smaller than the caliber. Your 10mm can outperform his .44 Spl loads that didn’t blow his pistol up.

If you go with a HP I’d certainly opt for heavier over lighter. I’m not keen on how far these typically penetrate but I’d venture to guess a bit more than the average 10-14” or so many autoloader HP ammo does as they’re meant for two legged critters. So you’ll get more destruction and less penetration than a hard cast. And a hard cast is virtually certain to penetrate nose to tail.

There’s a fellow who had Lee modify their 255 grn .45 Colt bullet for cap n ball guns. The 240 grn version pushed by Triple 7 powder gives roughly standard .45 Colt performance and with a BHN around just 8 it went nose to tail through a running adult hog.

[Wyosmith]

Of all the above mentioned game I have killed with handguns not one has taken 2 shots. The longest run I ever saw from any of my kills was one antelope buck I killed with a 44 mag that ran about 65 yards. That buck was killed with a 320 grain LBT WFN Bullet fried from a 4" barreled S&W M29.
I have killed many deer, many antelope, a few elk, one buffalo, 2 bears and a bunch of horses and cattle with handguns. So when I read others say how they "may run hundreds of yards" I have to say they are right, but the word "may" is very very very broad.

I once saw a buck pronghorn antelope hit with a 165 grain 300 Win Mag with a Sierra Game King bullet right through the top of the heart, and watched it run clear across a field we were hunting on. We DROVE to where it fell and the odometer showed 4/10 mile. That doesn't mean a 300 mag is not good enough for antelope. These things do happen now and then, but they are exceptions, not a rule. That's the reason we remember them so clearly.

So far I have not had any problems dropping game animals shot with my handguns.
Rule #1 is to shoot at a distance you KNOW you can make a good hit (That should also be a rule for all rifles shooters too)

Rule #2 is to shoot a cartridge and bullet that you can depend on to exit and give you a blood trail, just in case you need to follow one.

Any good handgun bullet and cartridge is going to be AT LEAST as effective as a good broad-head shot by archers. In most cases the bullet is going to be better.

Placement and penetration are important. Expansion may be a good feature too for deer hunting, but not really necessary. EVERY deer and Antelope I have killed with my 357s were killed with hard cast 187 grain LBT bullets (hand cast by myself) and not one has gone more than about 25 yards after the shot. So far, I have had outstanding luck with them.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Is the 10mm cartridge legal to use for big game hunting in Michigan?

[Lohman446]

Yes

Michigan is broken into two zones. The 10MM is good to go in both. I’m in the “rifle” zone so basically anything that is not a .22 is good to go

[the possum]

So when I read others say how they "may run hundreds of yards" I have to say they are right, but the word "may" is very very verybroad.

These things do happen now and then, but they are exceptions, not a rule. That's the reason we remember them so clearly.

And it wasn't until I got on the internet that I learned so many people shared this perspective. Over time I noticed/learned that folks who talk about how easy deer are to kill live in areas where they get to use deer rifles.

I say the above because I only have experience in Illinois where we have to shotgun slugs. Back in the day with Foster slugs, it was not exceptional for deer to run long distances after taking a solid hit. It was expected, probably greater than half the time. I used to post reports online after season detailing all the stories I knew of. I clearly remember one fellow remark, "The next one is gonna whistle (from the wind blowing thru all the bullet holes) when I drive it to the check station." Even now with better sabot slugs I'd expect the death run 30% of the time or more. I'd have to spend a while thinking about it, but out of the deer I've personally taken, I think the ones that dropped on their feet were the exception to the rule.

It's even more recent since we've been allowed to use handguns. I've only gotten 2 deer with a pistol so far; both with a .454 Casull. One fell over dead. The other was drilled straight through the heart, breaking one shoulder in the process. She spun around and took off running on 3 legs. So,.. 50/50?

[Runs With Fire]

Limeted firearm deer zone: smokeless powder handgun .35 cal or larger, 8+1 max capacity straight walled only. Pistol caliber rifle: .35 cal mimimum straight walled case length between 1.16" and 1.80"

North of the limited firearm deer zone:
Any caliber firearm exept .22 or smaller caliber rimfire. Exept durring muzzleloading season.

[98 220 swift]

I shot a smaller buck this past season with my eaa witness 10mm. I used a 180 gr xtp handload that has was chronoed at 1325 fps. At very hot load. The shot was not the best he ran about 75 yards and was dead. The wound channel was impressive. To be honest it didn't look to much different from a lot of rifle wounds I have seen. The bullet exited and left a very heavy blood trail. I shot a similar sized deer several years ago with a 357 mag with factory 158 gr hydra shocks with similar results.

[bamaranger]

The factory polygonal rifled barrel in the Glock 20 is not recommended for lead slugs, at least early generations (up to Gen 4?). I have seen 1 online example where a stock G20 would not shoot lead, hardcast, high performance ammo accurately at all. You can take that for what it's worth. On the opposite side, I know some guys that shoot mild, coated lead from their G17's, clean the barrels religiously, and have no trouble. If I were dead set to shoot lead, I'd get an aftermarket barrel, likely 6" and go that route, but that is more cost.

The other issue with 10mm is that factory ammo is not always up to true 10mm performance. Federal is know for its soft 10mm ammo, so is Remington and its FMJ offering. The Winchester Silvertip 175 JHP has the reputation of a full power load, and I would confidently hunt whitetails with it. After that, the boutique high performance ammo companies offer true 10mm ammo, Buffalo Bore, Double Tap, and so on.

There is an eccentric character named "Razor Dobbs" who has a large number of YouTube videos and does a lot of 10mm hunting. Dobbs shoots well, often off of some type of support or tripod, and has had great success with a 1911 style 10mm pistol.

[Runs With Fire]

I'd like a lone wolf barrel, but it's a cost I can't swing.

[eastbank]

the 38-40(1873 Winchester) with a 180gr bullet has killed quite a few whitetails at 1200-1300fps. pop them thru their lungs and get the silverware out.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Given some thought to the two zones and legal firearms.. I think a 10MM would be a excellent pistol cartridge for deer. Better than a 357 or 327.
Shooting 40 yrds or less honestly I think you should give it a try this Fall.

Suggestion:
Consider over the Summer proficiency in doing double taps just in case you don't get that all perfect broadside shot. On a occasions or two I've two {quicks} is better than one heart pounding slow.

[std7mag]

I'm with Bamaranger on this one.
With a revolver or semi with traditional rifling 10mm would be fine.
Glock states not to use lead, aka non jacketed bullets due to the polygonal rifling in their barrels.
Should be in the paperwork you got when you bought the pistol.

Use an XTP, or Sierra JHP and you'll be fine.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I've killed and seen killed a great many whitetail deer, of every imaginable size and with weapons ranging from long-bows with hand-made arrows, to 20 and 12ga shotguns with Foster and sabot slugs, handguns from 357 and up and rifles ranging from .223Rem to .45-70.

They just don't die that hard. If you poke a hole through both lungs, they're done breathing. Rarely do they go more than 100 yards. Yet, I've seen a doe that had both lungs shredded and her aorta literally torn off the top of the heart still travel more than 250 yards.

Lots of folks see weird stuff like that and blame the caliber/cartridge rather than realizing it's small sample size deviation that's to blame.

I would not hesitate to hunt deer with a 10mm loaded with a bullet designed to be a stopper, such as the XTP or anything similar, or any lead bullet of an alloy and design that would promote reasonable expansion and penetration. In fact, I routinely carried my .357sig Glock 33 (with extended barrel for legality) when I was whitetail hunting so a 10mm would have been an "upgrade".

[GarrettJ]

Originally Posted by bamaranger

The other issue with 10mm is that factory ammo is not always up to true 10mm performance. Federal is know for its soft 10mm ammo, so is Remington and its FMJ offering. The Winchester Silvertip 175 JHP has the reputation of a full power load, and I would confidently hunt whitetails with it. After that, the boutique high performance ammo companies offer true 10mm ammo, Buffalo Bore, Double Tap, and so on.

I found the 175 gr. Silvertip averaged 1227 fps. in my Colt Delta Elite. Hornady's 180 gr. JHP averaged 1216 fps. Both would be adequate. I've gotten a 180 gr. bullet over 1300 fps. with book loads using Longshot powder.

In comparison, the Federal HydraShock 180 gr. ammo only averaged 1043 fps. from the Colt. Even worse, it was going 962 fps. from a Glock 29, which is essentially the same velocity as the .40 caliber version of that same bullet from the similarly sized Glock 23.

[stagpanther]

I've had a 20SF for years and have not yet hunted with it--I just don't have the confidence of a good shot at 25+ yds. I've never been able to get a really good grip on it. I have, however shot gobs of hand-loads for it--even rigged it for a 9 x 25 dillon. Sig makes some factory stuff which I've clocked through labradar and it performs as advertised on the box through a 6" barrel. I believe they use deep curls. I can't add anything to the better comments here--except that know the energy profile which falls off fast at distance.

[458winshooter]

My personal take on handgun hunting is how does the performance of the round compare to the old 44-40 load?A 200gr load at 1245 fps or a 217gr at 1190 fps.Those two loads did it all back in the day for our ancestors and deer haven't changed into some mutant bulletproof beast or wear body armor.The 44-40 was the go to caliber back in the day and I'm sure your 10mm will match or better it's performance.Shot placement is still the key.

[mete]

Energy falls off fast at a distance. No kidding ! It's always been difficult to explain to shooters like Metallic Silhouette types that packing the case with obvious overloads is the way to success. That of course is because they never heard of Ballistic Coefficient ! Handgun bullets have very low BCs .