The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official
C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto,
official
SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic)
is a
semi-automatic pistol cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by
ammunition manufacturer
FFV Norma AB of
Åmotfors
Åmotfors is a bimunicipal locality situated in Eda Municipality and Arvika Municipality, Värmland County
Värmland County (''Värmlands län'') is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Ö ...
,
Sweden.
Although it was selected for service by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) in 1989, in the aftermath of the
1986 FBI Miami shootout
The 1986 FBI Miami shootout occurred on April 11, 1986, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, U.S. (the specific area was incorporated as Pinecrest in 1996), when a small group of field agents for the FBI attempted to apprehend William Russell Matix a ...
, the cartridge was later decommissioned (except by the
Hostage Rescue Team
The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...
and
Special Weapons and Tactics Teams) after their Firearms Training Unit eventually concluded that its recoil was excessive in terms of training for average agents and police officers' competency of use and qualification,
and that the pistols chambered for the cartridge were too large for some small-handed individuals. These issues led to the creation of and following replacement by a shorter version of the 10mm that exists today as the
.40 S&W, and while the 10mm never attained the mainstream success of this compact variant, there is still an enthusiastic group of supporters and users, and as of 2007, in recent years has started to grow again in popularity.
History
![DCB Shooting Bren Ten & SW 610](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/DCB_Shooting_Bren_Ten_%26_SW_610.jpg)
When
FFV Norma AB (now
Norma Precision AB) designed the cartridge at the behest of Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises, Inc. for their
Bren Ten
The Bren Ten is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 10mm Auto that was made by Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. from 1983 to 1986. While the Bren Ten's design has an appearance similar to the 9×19mm Parabellum CZ-75, it is larger and stronger ...
pistol (a newly developed
handgun with a design inspired by the
CZ 75
The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original " wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. I ...
), the company decided to increase the power over
Cooper's original concept. The resulting cartridge—which was introduced in 1983 and produced since—is very powerful, retaining the flat trajectory and high energy of a
magnum revolver cartridge in a relatively short, versatile rimless cartridge for a
semi-automatic pistol.
One of the first issues with its early acceptance as the result of quality problems as a result of rushed production to meet numerous (some even defaulted) pre-orders of the pistol it was originally—as well as then being only—chambered for: the
Bren Ten
The Bren Ten is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 10mm Auto that was made by Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. from 1983 to 1986. While the Bren Ten's design has an appearance similar to the 9×19mm Parabellum CZ-75, it is larger and stronger ...
. An example is the peculiar circumstances surrounding the pistol's distribution at its primary release, leading to a number of initial Bren Tens sent to dealers and customers without magazines (the magazines themselves had complications). The relatively high price of the Bren Ten compared to other pistols of the time (
manufacturer's suggested retail price
The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...
was $500 in 1986, the equivalent of $1,200
United States dollars
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
in 2021) was another factor in its demise, and the company was eventually forced to declare
bankruptcy, ceasing operations in 1986 after only three years of inconsistent, substandard production. Had it not been for
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company making the unexpected decision in 1987 to bring out their
Delta Elite pistol (a 10mm Auto version of the
M1911
The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
) and later, the FBI's adoption of the caliber in 1989, the cartridge might have sunk into obsolescence, becoming an obscure footnote in firearms history.
![Var1bluede](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Var1bluede.jpg)
Due to media exposure in the television series ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...
'', where
one of the lead protagonists had
used the pistol as his primary signature weapon, demand for the Bren Ten increased after manufacturing ceased. In the succeeding five years, prices on the Standard Model rose to in excess of U.S. $1,400, and original magazines were selling for over U.S. $150.
The
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
briefly field-tested the 10mm Auto using a
M1911 pistol and a
Thompson Model 1928 submachine gun before adopting the
Smith & Wesson Model 1076 in 1990; a short-barreled version of the
Model 1026 with its slide-mounted decock/firing pin block safety supplanted by only a frame-mounted decocker. A contract was signed with
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK; ) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also ...
to produce a quantity of the specialized
MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
utilizing the cartridge, designated
MP5/10 for use by their
Hostage Rescue Team
The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...
and
Special Weapons and Tactics Teams. Since 1994, both units still field the weapon and caliber to this day.
During testing of the caliber in 1988, it was decided that the full-power commercial load of the 10mm Auto was the best available semi-automatic pistol cartridge for law enforcement usage, but it produced excessive recoil for most agents. Thereafter, experiments were carried out, and a specification for reduced-
recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...
ammunition was created. The requirement was later submitted to
Federal Premium Ammunition
Federal Premium Ammunition is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vista Outdoor, located in Anoka, Minnesota. With a workforce of nearly 1,500, Federal manufactures shotshell, centerfire, and rimfire ammunition and components.
History
On April 27, ...
for production and further review. This became known as the "10mm Lite", or "10mm FBI" load, remaining common from various manufacturers today. With some pistol reliability problems increasing in this lighter load,
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
observed that a version of the 10mm case reduced to 22 millimeters in length from the original 25 mm could be made with the retained performance parameters of the "10mm Lite". This altered cartridge was named the
.40 Smith & Wesson. The shorter case allowed use in pistols designed with similar dimensions to those chambered in
9mm Luger, with the advantage that smaller-handed shooters could now have smaller-frame semi-automatic handguns with near—or in some cases, exact—10mm performance. Colloquially called the "Forty Cal" and other synonyms, this innovation since became a common handgun cartridge among
law enforcement agencies
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEA ...
and
civilians in the United States, while the parent 10mm Auto remains fairly popular.
Armscor,
Colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
*Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age
People
* Colt (given name)
*Colt (surname)
Places
*Colt, Arkansas, United States
*Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
,
Dan Wesson Firearms
Dan Wesson Firearms (DW), part of CZ-USA, is an American handgun manufacturer. The corporate headquarters, customer service and manufacturing plant is located in Norwich, New York. Dan Wesson Firearms is known for its revolver expertise and fo ...
,
Glock
Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...
,
Kimber Manufacturing
Kimber Manufacturing is an American company that designs, manufactures, and distributes small arms such as M1911 pistols, Solo pistols and rifles. The USA Shooting Team, Marines assigned to Special Operations Command, and the LAPD SWAT teamJ ...
,
Nighthawk Custom
Nighthawk Custom is an American firearm company based in Berryville, Arkansas, US, that manufactures custom M1911 pistols, rifles, revolvers, shotguns, and tactical knives for competition shooters, military, law enforcement and self-defense.
Hist ...
,
SIG Sauer,
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
,
Springfield Armory, Inc., STI International, and
Tanfoglio
Fratelli Tanfoglio S.N.C. is an Italian firearms manufacturing company. Their current weapons are used extensively in sport competitions and for personal defence. Tanfoglio is located in Gardone Val Trompia (Brescia), Italy, and is known for its ...
still offer handguns in 10mm Auto. In 2015,
SIG Sauer entered the 10mm marketplace with their
P220
The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol. Designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde; it is currently manufactured by both ...
model chambered in 10mm.
Ruger
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Pr ...
introduced a 10mm auto model to their popular
SR1911 line in mid 2017, followed by their Blackhawk, Redhawk and 10mm
GP100 Match Champion and Wiley Clapp models in 2018. The
Springfield Armory XD-M
The Springfield Armory XD is a series of semi-automatic pistols sold by Springfield Armory, Inc., in the United States along with follow-on variants: XD-M, XD-S, and XD-E. Polymer-framed and predominantly striker-fired, the series is manufact ...
series added a 10mm offering in late 2018. In November 2021, Smith & Wesson introduced 10mm Auto models in the
M&P 2.0 series.
Dimensions
The 10mm Auto has 1.56
milliliter
The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...
(24.1
grain ) cartridge case capacity.
400px, 10mm Auto maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in s">millimeters
10mm Auto maximum CIP cartridge dimensions
The common
rifling twist rate
In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pr ...
for this cartridge is 406.40 mm (1 in 16 inches), 6 grooves, Ø lands = 9.91 mm (.390 in), Ø grooves = 10.17 mm (.4005 in), and land width = 3.05 mm (.120 in). A large or small pistol
primer is used.
The
(C.I.P.; Permanent International Commission for the Proof of Small Arms) rulings indicate a maximum pressure of . In C.I.P. regulated countries, every pistol/cartridge combination is required to be
proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.
The
Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Am ...
(SAAMI) maximum pressure limit for the 10mm Auto is set at .
Performance
At mid-range potential, the 10mm Auto produces energy higher than an average mainstream
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
. The 10mm is slightly less powerful than the .357 Magnum with high-performing commercially-available ammunition, or hand-loaded .357 magnums, and well below standard
.41 Magnum
The .41 Remington Magnum, also known as .41 Magnum or 10.4×33mmR (as it is known in unofficial metric designation), is a center fire firearms cartridge primarily developed for use in large-frame revolvers, introduced in 1964 by the Remington A ...
rounds. The cartridge is considered to be high-velocity, giving it a less arcing flight path upon firing (also termed "flat-shooting") relative to other handgun cartridges. More powerful loadings can basically equal the highest performing .357 Magnum loads, and retain more kinetic energy at 100 yards than the
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
has at the muzzle.
The 10mm outperforms the .40 S&W by for similar bullet weights when using available full-power loads, as opposed to the "10mm FBI" level loads still found in some ammunition catalogs. This result is due to the 10mm Auto's higher SAAMI pressure rating of ,
as opposed to for the .40 S&W,
and the larger case capacity, which allows the use of heavier bullets and more
smokeless powder
Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared t ...
.
Usage
![GLOCK 29 10mm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/GLOCK_29_10mm.jpg)
The 10mm Auto is marketed for hunting, defensive, and tactical use and is one of the few semi-automatic, rimless cartridges that is legal for hunting
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
in many U.S. states.
The round makes the "Major"
power factor ranking in the
International Practical Shooting Confederation
The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) is the world's largest shooting sport association, and the largest and oldest within practical shooting. Founded in 1976, the IPSC nowadays affiliates over 100 regions from Africa, America ...
, even in lighter loadings.
The FBI
Hostage Rescue Team
The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...
,
Special Weapons and Tactics Teams, and various other law enforcement agencies continue to issue or authorize the use of 10mm, including: the
Coconut Creek Police Department, Glasgow, Montana Police Department,
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
Police Department, and the
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Police Department.
In military use, the government of
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
has issued the Glock 20 to the ''
Slædepatruljen Sirius
The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol ( da, Slædepatruljen Sirius), known informally as ''Siriuspatruljen'' (the Sirius Patrol) and formerly known as ''North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol'' and ''Resolute Dog Sled Patrol'', is an elite Danish naval unit. I ...
'' (Sirius Sledge Patrol) headquartered in
Daneborg
Daneborg (or Daneborg Station) is a station on the south coast of Wollaston Foreland peninsula of northeast Greenland, at the mouth of Young Sund emptying into Greenland Sea. Daneborg serves as the headquarters for the SIRIUS Patrol, the dog sl ...
,
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
.
The pistols were issued as a defense against
polar bears which the unit encounters during patrols.
See also
*
9×25mm Dillon
The 9×25mm Dillon is a pistol wildcat cartridge developed for use in USPSA/ IPSC Open guns. The cartridge is made by necking down a 10mm Auto case to 9 mm.
History
Around 1987, Randy Shelley, an employee of Dillon Precision, necked down 10mm ...
*
10 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case length.
*''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge.
All measurements are in mm (in).
Pistol cartridges
Re ...
*
List of handgun cartridges
List of handgun cartridges, approximately in order of increasing caliber.
Table of handgun cartridges
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
, -
! Cartridge name , , Bulletdiameter , , Caselength , , Cartridgelength , , Type , ...
*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/ submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the sa ...
References
External links
The Gun Zone – Birth of the 10mm Autopistol CartridgeCheaper Than Dirt – Cartridge of the Week, the 10mm, 10mm AutoBlogger – The 10mm Auto pistol cartridge is Alive and WellBallistics 101 – 10mm Ballistics ChartHandloads.Com – 10 mm Load DataHandloads.Com – 10 mm Stopping Power*
ttp://www.gunblast.com/10mm.htm GunBlast.com – The 10mm Auto Pistolbr>
GunBlast.com – Colt Delta Elite 10mm Semi-Automatic PistolModern Firearms: 10mm Auto Cartridge
{{30Remington
10mm Auto firearms
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1983
Military cartridges
Paramilitary cartridges
Pistol and rifle cartridges