Ruger GP100 in 10mm released

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by Dan-O

Cool. I’d pick one up if I didn’t already have a lew horton 610.

If they come out with a 3” version I’d probably get one.

You can always buy the 4 inch and have a gunsmith cut the barrel down to 3 inches. I thought about doing that years ago with the 6 inch GP100's because the 5 inch GP's are hard to come by.

Wouldn't do it now though, I'd rather have the extra inch of barrel for higher velocity.

[jackmoser65]

The world is full of critics.

[boondocker385]

Ruger....pass.
10mm in a revolver...another pass.

[Radny97]

I too am not interested in semi auto calibers in revolvers. But 10mm is the hotness right now and people will buy these. I applaud Ruger for giving people what they want and i hope they make money on them. More options is always a good thing IMHO.
Now if they did a GP100 in 41 mag that would definitely get my money.


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[TruthTellers]

Now if they did a GP100 in 41 mag that would definitely get my money.

I think that's coming. With a .44 Special and now a 10mm GP100, Ruger has moved into turning the GP into a big bore capable revolver.

I think it'll end up being a distributor exclusive, Ruger won't make too many .41 Magnums as the cartridge is not popular. With 10mm, the novelty is there for people who own 10mm and/or .40 S&W pistols and want a revolver that can shoot both cartridges without issue.

[DWFan]

I wonder if a person could modify .30-30 brass and do away with the clips? If so, then the old .401 Herter's Powermag becomes an option.

[Hunter Customs]

I'm kind of an odd ball when it comes to barrel lengths on revolvers, I always liked 3 or 5 inch barrels. However I'll have to applaud Ruger for trying something that other manufacturers don't. Will I purchase one of these revolvers, most likely not, for the simple reason I'm at a time in my life where I don't purchase guns unless there one heck of a buy. I do like the concept of being able to shoot two calibers out of the same gun.

[agtman]

Jeff Quinn of Gunblastdotcom apparently was given one or bought one from Ruger months ago and had a gunsmith ream the chambers out to accept 10mm Magnum, which is a lengthened 10mm Auto case and a cartridge I didn't know existed.
So, I think Ruger is keeping the long cylinder for two reasons: ease of manufacturing and in the even that some want the 10mm Magnum, they can have people do that work for them.

The 10mm Mag conversion in this revolver might actually be more attractive than in the large-frame 10mm SRH they released earlier.

While converting either to 10mm Mag would allow you to shoot three cartridges (using moon clips) out of one wheelgun, the smaller GP frame with a 4.2" barrel is arguably more portable and thus 'carry-friendlier' on the trail as a woods gun.

The cartridges themselves also give you load options: 10mm Mag for woods carry; 10mm AUTO for daily urban carry; .40S&W for cheap and easy plinking at the range on lazy Sunday afternoons.

[wild cat mccane]

You pretty much have to be a hand loader to even find this interesting.

This one is 6rnd, the new GP100 357 model is 7 rounds.

There are almost no commercial 10mm rounds hotter than 40, so not hotter than 357. The BB and Underwood 10mm rounds are about double 357 rounds.

[agtman]

Dan-O Cool. I’d pick one up if I didn’t already have a lew horton 610.
If they come out with a 3” version I’d probably get one.

Dunno about that. I think Ruger got the barrel length right on this model. 4.2" seems optimum as far as keeping velocity up without sacrificing portability.

"Magnum"-level cartridges in wheelguns show significant ballistic depletion (i.e., loss of fps/fpe) when barrels are chopped below 4" (snubbies).

That's why ammo-makers can advertise such impressive numbers for their .357, .41, and .44 magnum ammo lines. They're using factory "test" barrels of 6", 7", and sometimes 8". The resulting fps/fpe stats are valid, but few revolver-carrying folks in the real world tote around magnum wheelies of that size.

If they're carrying a revolver at all, it will typically be some form of 2.5" snubbie.

A 4.2" 10mm GP-100 is right on the borderline. Certainly easier to hump around than a 6.5" 10mm SRH.

[JohnKSa]

Dunno about that. I think Ruger got the barrel length right on this model. 4.2" seems optimum as far as keeping velocity up without sacrificing portability.

Another issue that was likely a consideration is that length makes it legal for sale in Canada.

[HighValleyRanch]

"Magnum"-level cartridges in wheelguns show significant ballistic depletion (i.e., loss of fps/fpe) when barrels are chopped below 4" (snubbies).

This myth keeps getting proprogated!
Here is a chart from Buffalobore's website where they actually use different length test guns and tell you which guns they used to show velocity differences. I know they are accurate because I have chronoed the same results myself, and sometimes they are even lower than what I got.

The below is a sceenshot of their posted velocities for their .357 Outdoorsmans Keith hardcast in item 19//A/20.
You can see that a 4" gave 1375 fps, and a 3" was 1302 fps. My 1 7/8 LCR was chronographed at 1250 fps. So while there is some loss, it's not "significant".
73 fps from 4" to 3" and 125 fps from 4" to 2".
I wager that this BB load from my 2" LCR is hotter than many medium range .357 loads that many shoot out of their 4" barrels. I know I tested armscor and magtech and this was true.



Choose your loads right and you can see no loss, i.e. hotter load in short barrel over medium load in longer barrel.

[agtman]

Here is a chart from Buffalobore's website where they actually use different length test guns and tell you which guns they used to show velocity differences. I know they are accurate because I have chronoed the same results myself, and sometimes they are even lower than what I got.

You're cherry-picking what are atypical hot loads from a 'boutique' ammo-maker.

Nothing against BB at all, I like their lines of 10mm and .41 Mag ammo, but try sourcing similar fps/fpe stats - and the barrel-lengths used to get them - for magnum revolver cartridges from any of the Big 3 (i.e., Winny, Fed, Remy).

Then try the same research with Hornady and Black Hills, and see what their "test" barrel-lengths are. You're not going to see "snubby"-length barrels used.

[HighValleyRanch]

You're cherry-picking what are atypical hot loads from a 'boutique' ammo-maker.

That's always the boring reply!LOL

But I figure if one boutique manufacturer makes the load I want, why choose the ones that are more low power? I have quite a few boxes of the BB stuff!
And have tested them.

[bamaranger]

I'm for anything that helps keep the 10mm cartridge afloat. Putting the 10mm in the more portable GP frame as opposed to the ginourmous Redhawk makes a lot more sense too, even if I'm not totally sold on auto cartridges in revolvers.

There is a gap in the revolver cartridge ladder at .40 though. The old 38-40 addressed that, so did the .401 Herters, and of course the .41 mag. None of those ever gained much traction though.

[drobs]

Who's going to be the 1st to release the 10mm auto rim cartridge?

[reddog81]

Originally Posted by wild cat mccane

You pretty much have to be a hand loader to even find this interesting.

This one is 6rnd, the new GP100 357 model is 7 rounds.

There are almost no commercial 10mm rounds hotter than 40, so not hotter than 357. The BB and Underwood 10mm rounds are about double 357 rounds.

Hogwash. The prices on average 10mm ammo and average .357 is basically identical. The ballistics for the mass produced stuff is also similar. You could cherry pick between the various manufacturers and either could be declared the winner. BB and Underwood .357 rounds are about double the price of normal 10mm rounds.

[agtman]

You're cherry-picking what are atypical hot loads from a 'boutique' ammo-maker.

That's always the boring reply!LOL But I figure if one boutique manufacturer makes the load I want, why choose the ones that are more low power? I have quite a few boxes of the BB stuff!

Thanks for making my point (again).

BB is the exception that proves the rule. Other ammo-makers use long factory 'test' barrels to derive impressive velocity & energy numbers for their magnum revolver ammo. Chronograph that same ammo out of the kinds of short-barreled magnum revolvers folks are actually carrying in 'bear country' - ever heard of the 2.5" Ruger Alaskan? - and those fps/fpe stats deflate dramatically.

[wild cat mccane]

???

You can shoot 15 dollar 50rnd 357 and get 357 results. You have to pay 30 dollars from Underwood (plus shipping) for 40 rounds of hot 10mm.

Otherwise, commercial 15 dollar S&B 10mm is no hotter than .40. Heck, even Speer's new Gold Dot 10mm is only 1100fps in an auto 5in. With a cylinder gap???

[TruthTellers]

Good points here about how a lot of 10mm is basically just .40 S&W power with a higher price tag. True, if you want the full power 10mm, you either have to reload for it or pay for premium ammo, but my guess is that those here who are saying they'd rather have .357 are already loading their .357's with premium ammo that would cost the same anyway and with the moon clips, shooting .40 is the same price as .38 Special.

I think the question one would have to ask is how much power do they want in their GP100? The 10mm GP100 is the most powerful GP ever made by Ruger, it will shoot a bigger, heavier bullet faster than .357 can. Personally, I like that and am willing to give up the extra round to have that penetrating power and given I already have a bunch of .40 S&W guns, I wouldn't mind having a revolver that's also 10mm capable too.

Not to say the 7 shot GP isn't on my list too, just given the choice between the two, I'd go 10mm.

[wild cat mccane]

I admit, I'm a bit cranky with the 10mm.

The internet fandom of 10mm has ALMOST gotten me to pick up a few guns in 10mm.

After reading up on 10mm performance, to make 10mm any better than 40, you have to reload heavy or spend about double that any of the other auto cartirges (ie, Underwood 10mm is 17 for a box of 20rnds + plus shipping, 9mm HST is about 20 bucks with shipping).

I would bet $10 Federal won't make an HST 10mm, if every, any hotter than 40. This is just what Speer did with their new 10mm Gold Dot: 40 level speed.
Bullet design in HP isn't made for high speeds with the lonely exception of the Hornady XTP where the P stands for penetration. If you want that level of penetration with that expansion...FMJ in a 40 saves you a boat load of money and gives up little. Jacket separation because you hot loaded a round...well, you're giving up the benefits of HP.

So, even those hot 10mm rounds from Underwood, BB, and Double Tap, they might be at the very edge or past the ability of the HP to keep together. None are loading the superior HST round. So, for defense, you give a lot up and gain an older technology.

For hunting, well, even BB states on their website their (and really any) FMJ 9mm is perfectly capable of killing bear. So...

[agtman]

I think the question one would have to ask is how much power do they want in their GP100? The 10mm GP100 is the most powerful GP ever made by Ruger, it will shoot a bigger, heavier bullet faster than .357 can. Personally, I like that and am willing to give up the extra round to have that penetrating power, and given I already have a bunch of .40 S&W guns, I wouldn't mind having a revolver that's also 10mm capable too.

Especially since the cylinder of the new 10mm GP100, like it's bigger 10mm sibling the SRH, can easily be converted to also fire the 10mm Magnum cartridge, which adds versatility of use to the equation, not to mention power that exceeds the .41 Magnum. *


* See Taffin's article on the 10mm Magnum here:

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt10mag.htm

The 10mm Magnum has definite applications as a hunting pistol and a long range silhouette pistol. Shooting informally at long ranges of 100 to 200 meters and using rocks as targets convinced me of this. Anything the .41 Magnum can do, the 10mm Magnum can also do and perhaps do it even a little faster and a little better. That is a tough confession for an old sixgun man to make.

[agtman]

FMJ in a 40 saves you a boat load of money and gives up little. Jacket separation because you hot loaded a round...well, you're giving up the benefits of HP.

There's no question that most "standard" 10mm factory ammo is watered-down .40-level crapola loaded into a more expensive case - exceptions being, of course, BB, UW, DT, ... and Sig's initial 180gn 10mm FMJ load yielded a reasonably impressive 1250fps (and a 50-rd box of it was reasonably priced too, as I recall).

Look, if all you want a 10mm pistol or revolver for is to shoot .40-level ammo, don't waste your money getting a 10mm-anything. Just buy a weapon chambered in .40S&W and be done with it.

As far as FMJs, if I want "heavy & fast," I don't play around with watered-down 180gn .40 slugs at 1000fps. I handload 220gn 10mm hardcast poly-coated FPs to just under 1250fps ... THAAAWAAAPP! Major backwoods goodness right there.

[wild cat mccane]

How about the not watered down/fast 40 150ish FMJs?

The 10mm does almost nothing well...

[458winshooter]

Niche gun I agree with others sorry I'll pass.