My 10mm handguns:

Two Colt Delta Elites
A 6 1/2" Ruger Super Redhawk
A 6" and a 5" Springfield Armory TRP Operator

 

My 10mm handguns...minus my Glock 29...

 

This followed the 1986 FBI shoot out with Mattix and Platt. The FBI tested the 10mm and found them too difficult for the average agent to handle. I don't usually trust this source, but it is generally consistent with what I was told by an FBI agent friend. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.40_S&W

 

On one of my training sessions at FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) in Georgia, we discussed the "Miami Massacre" in firearms class. The instructor said...his opinion...the reason the FBI went with the 10mm caliber was due to their denigrating the .45ACP earlier in favor of the 9mm and couldn't be seen as admitting a mistake.

What usually gets missed in any discussion of the Miami Massacre is the the Winchester Silvertip 9mm round performed exactly as designed...it was less a failure of the round than the failure of FBI specifications for the ammunition plus poor tactics and mindset used by the agents involved.

Reality makes a beeyatch of poor planning and execution. Shortcomings in training, specifications and performance are brought to light suddenly and violently.

 

I have a copy of the FBI Training film based on the incident. Interesting viewing. No plan survives contact with the enemy. One point raised was the demoralizing effect of the of the sound of the rifle fire.

 

The Colt Delta Elite was my introduction to the Colt Government Model. I had 3 other 10mm autos before the Colt Delta Elite, but the Colt Delta Elite just fit right, was reliable, and accurate. Kimber left me with a negative (and false) bias towards the 1911 platform. The Colt Delta Elite turned that bias around.

 

My Rock Island Armory 10mm's...

Ultra FS (Full Size) 8+1

Ultra FS HC (Full Size~High Capacity) 16+1

.

 

I need Delta Elite. Have wanted one since they first came out.

 

I purchased a Smith and Wesson 1006 , bought it used with 4 magazines, it shoots great !
I later purchased a Colt Delta Elite but I haven't shot it yet.

Craig in CT

Where it all began .

 

I purchased a Smith and Wesson 1006 , bought it used with 4 magazines, it shoots great !
I later purchased a Colt Delta Elite but I haven't shot it yet.
Craig in CT
Where it all began .
View attachment 784294

Looking forward to some pics Craig...

 

So a question for you 10mm guys...

Is it safe or advisable/unadvisable to shoot a 40 S&W cartridge in a pistol chambered for 10mm?

 

So a question for you 10mm guys...Is it safe or advisable/unadvisable to shoot a 40 S&W cartridge in a pistol chambered for 10mm?

The .40 S&W case length and overall cartridge length are shortened, but other dimensions except case web and wall thickness remain identical to the 10mm Auto. Both cartridges headspace on the mouth of the case. Thus in a semi-auto they are NOT interchangeable. Fired from a 10mm semi-auto, the .40 Smith & Wesson cartridge will headspace on the extractor and the bullet will jump a 0.142 inches (3.6 mm) freebore... just like a .38 Special fired from a .357 Magnum revolver. If the cartridge is not held by the extractor, the chances for a ruptured primer are great.

......................................................^^^^^^^ HEADSPACE ^^^^^............................................

In the realm of firearms, headspace is the distance measured from a closed chamber's breech face to the chamber feature that limits the insertion depth of a cartridge placed in it. Used as a verb by firearms designers, headspacing refers to the act of stopping deeper cartridge insertion.

The exact part of the cartridge that seats against the limiting chamber feature differs among cartridge and gun designs:

Bottleneck rifle cartridges headspace on their case shoulders

Rimmed cartridges headspace on the forward surfaces of their case rims

Belted cartridges headspace on the forward surfaces of their case belts

Rimless pistol cartridges headspace on their case mouths

When headspace is larger than the cartridge case, there is front-to-back cartridge wiggle room when the breech of the gun is closed. This extra space is called head clearance.

Now... DA Revolvers can fire either cartridge , depending on their respective chambering, via the use of full moon clips.

 

Thanks, gents. It makes sense to me out of a revolver, similar to 38spl/44spl out of their respective magnums.

Jesse, thank you for that video. I had seen it before, but I could not remember who/when. I also believe some time ago I saw Hickok45 shoot some 40 S&W out of his Glock 20.