Ammunition

The history of American 10mm service cartridges is a bit strange. We began with the right idea, got off on a tangent, and returned to the right idea. The right idea is a short-case 40-caliber cartridge suitable for use in handguns previously deemed 9mm sized. The premise of a .400-inch bullet in a moderately sized handgun was begun with the 40 Guns & Ammo round about 1972. A Browning Hi-Power 9mm was converted to fire a special short-case cartridge made by shortening a rifle case and fitting on it a 180-grain bullet. The result had a velocity of about 1000 fps. The bullet used was the same diameter as the one in the 38-40 revolver cartridge. Experiments were promising. There was a lot of interesting experimentation in those days, and the 40 G&A and the 38 Super Cooper were worthwhile loadings.Somehow, the concept evolved into a longer cartridge with considerably more power. The 10mm auto could not be chambered in a 9mm-size handgun; instead it demanded a 45 ACP-sized frame. The 10mm Bren Ten debuted with a hot Norma loaded cartridge topping 1200 fps with a 200-grain bullet. The Bren Ten debacle is well documented. Colt resurrected the 10mm with the Colt Delta Elite, and the FBI first adopted then discarded the cartridge. Without shorting the many personalities and technicians involved, let us suffice to say that the 10mm was not the service cartridge of tomorrow, but it has survived with better distribution than the 41 Magnum, another round hailed as the police cartridge of tomorrow.Afterward, the 40 Smith & Wesson was developed and shoehorned into a 9mm-size handgun. The 40 S&W is much closer to the original concept. While early 40s beat themselves to death, the design eventually worked. The short case required a small primer instead of the large pistol primer used in the 10mm, largely because the cartridge case rides rather close to the 9mm size ejector. You simply do not need to have an ejector close to a large pistol primer - ditto for the 45 GAP, another innovation and shoe horn job. The 40 battered some 9mm-size handguns, and even today, many believe 40 S&W handgun life is shorter than 9mm and 45 ACP handguns. The 40 suffers pressure spikes according to respected authorities, and this may be the cause of several well documented 40 S&W blow ups. Another cause may be the heavy use of lead bullets in a polygonal barrel. We have learned not to do this as pressure builds rapidly. With a cartridge already running at the top tier in pressure, a bit of bore restriction is all it takes to push the pressure envelope over the edge. The 40 develops high pressure like the 9mm, but also has a heavy bullet that has more momentum, further stressing the action. The 40 isnt alone in this regard. When the 357 Magnum revolver was current, cops used tons of soft lead wadcutters in training. Firing a few jacketed Magnums to clean the bore often cracked the forcing cone. You simply have to keep the bore clean in a high-pressure-cartridge handgun.The bottom line most shooters want to get to is this: does the 40 Smith & Wesson offer enough advantages to overcome the shortfalls?

Press reports now make it clear what Vice President Joe Biden’s gun control package will look like. Biden wants to impose:

On Wednesday, Illinois Senate Democrats advanced bans on semiautomatic rifles and pistols and some magazines.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday that it had conducted a record number of instant background checks on those wishing to buy firearms in December

Changes to Michigan’s concealed weapons law passed the state House last week, allowing gun owners who take additional training classes and who shoot and pass additional qualifying courses to carry their weapons in places such as schools, day care centers, stadiums and churches.

‘Armageddon Arsenals’ debuted last night on Discovery’s Destination America network. The series explores the weapons and security aspects of the massive new prepping movement, focusing on individuals and families across the country who are preparing for a variety of worst case scenarios–many of them more plausible now than ever.

No matter what one man may think is the ideal handgun cartridge, there is always another opinion. There are some cartridges too popular to ignore, and others that are chosen by simple necessity and practicality. The three cartridges discussed in this feature are not the results of careful experimentation and development — as was the 45 ACP; rather, they are the result of a response to marketing and commercial interests. These cartridges were chambered in the Colt 1911 to sell pistols. They offer alternatives to interest those who may not have purchased a 1911 otherwise. They offer some advantages over the 45 ACP, real or perceived, practical or even legal, to one extent or the other. The advantage may be in ease of control or in penetration. Economy is also an issue. The true history of each cartridge is a little different and more involved than usually narrated in the popular press. We are going to give you the lowdown on performance with a bit of history in the mix. Without the history you may not understand the dynamics of each cartridge and why they were designed to perform as they do or why the individual cartridge is popular, even though other cartridges may be more powerful.

Let's take a look at the 9mm Luger, 38 ACP Super, and 10mm and how they perform in the 1911 platform — and what loads we recommend.

In the course of a typical day's gunsmithing, I test fire at least three weapons for such things as inconsistent primer ignition, failure to feed properly, and sear disengagement. With the cost of commercial bullet traps somewhere in the stratosphere, I had no choice but to make my own to keep costs down. My indoor trap, which I use for pistols and rimfire rifles, cost less than $25 to build. Even if you use brand new materials, it should cost less than $100.

There will always be a need to identify chamberings of firearms that have been inherited or bought at yard sales. The lure of buying for bottom dollar and discovering a real jewel is ingrained in most of us, so a little thing like no chambering marks on a rifle or handgun is no deterrent to a gun fancier.

Varmint X, the new line of predator and varmint ammunition from Winchester, is being touted as a super-accurate lineup of the most popular centerfire rifle calibers for predator hunting: .204 Ruger, .223 Rem, .22-250 Rem and .243 Win.

The International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) announced that O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., will be one of the major sponsors of the Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship. The 2013 Smith & Wesson IDPA Indoor National Championship will take place February 21-23 on the indoor ranges of the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

MidwayUSA has announced a major upgrade to its commerce site, MidwayUSA.com. The new MidwayUSA website features: