10mm or .45 for handgun?

Question

im thinking of buying a handgun, should i get a .45 ACP or 10mm AUTO? which one is better? both sound pretty deadly, but i heard 10mm can take out a BEAR and .45 cannot!!! also .45 ACP is heavier right?

Answer 1

I am the #1 fan of the 10mm.  The .45 acp is a great defensive caliber but it is not a hunting caliber.  The .45 acp is a wide, slow-moving heavy round.  It is a great man-stopper but does poorly against heavy, muscular big-boned 4-legged predators.  The 10mm is a magnum-class defensive round capable of doubling as a hunting round for up to deer-sized game.  For defense against 4-legged critters it also shines because you can get up to 15+1 rounds in a caliber ballistically equivalent to the old .41 Remington Magnum.  Sixteen vs. six .41 or .44 Magnum rounds, do the math.

In my humble opinion the best 10mm is the Glock Model 20.  With hi cap mags, night sights and 10mm round you are ready for anything:  Man, beast or things that go bump in the night.

H

Answer 2

In terms of force transferred to a target, they are almost equal.

A 10mm has no better, or worse, chance at dropping a bear ( you didn't say what kind of bear, perhaps a Koala) than the .45.  

I'd pick the .45 simply because it is a common round and I have owned a .45 ACP before and Ilike it.

Answer 3

The 10mm is more powerful than the 45acp. And it could kill a black bear or mountain lion but not a Grizzly or brown bear. Big bears need over 1000ft lbs to kill not hundreds of foot pounds. I know what I mean, I live in Alaska and hunt big bear and carry large revolvers to back up large rifles. Forget all about defending yourself from a 800+ lb bear with either of those handguns.

Of the two I would pick the 10mm even though I LOVE the 45acp.

Answer 4

45. all the way!!!!!!!

Answer 5

The 10mm is definitely more powerful than the .45 APC.  Anyone who disagrees needs to consult a ballistics chart.  

But whoever told you a 10mm could take out a bear and a .45 APC could not is full of sh*t--at least as far as black bears are concerned, which are not difficult to kill.  Grizzlies are much tougher animals.  

Nonetheless, neither round is ideal for bear defense.  If you're buying a handgun with the intent of using it against bears, I wouldn't go with anything less than a .44 magnum.  Better still would be one of the new so-called "super magnum" rounds, such as the .500 S&W Magnum.  In Grizzly country I wouldn't feel safe with much less.

Answer 6

Neither one of them.* Your best choice is a 357 magnum that has been tried, true, tested, and proven to be a no-nonsense man stopper, and you can shoot 38 caliber ammo in a 357 Magnum also.* Use 125 grain jacketed hollow points for self-defense ammo.* You get two (2*) handguns for the price of one.* Research it if you don't believe me.* Get a 4 or 6 inch barrel with adjustable sights.*  

Answer 7

Chose the 45 acp as it is about a tossup, but the breaker is the price of ammo; there are many makers of 45 acp ammo and you can buy a lot more bang for the buck with it.  Only somebody with a paid up life insurance policy should ever tangle with a bear with a handgun; remember that a handgun is your last choice; with any advance notice you want something bigger and better.  Go to a zoo and get a close look at a bear; you will realize why I prefer the buddy system when dealing with them.  This is where the handgun comes in handy for a bear gun; when you run into one you shoot your buddy through the leg and while he is flopping around you make your getaway.  Happy shooting.  

Answer 8

I would go with the .45acp. THe 10mm to me feels too close to the .40 caliber and I am not a .40 caliber fan. Also, .45 ammo is more available than 10mm. Walmart sells .45 but you would have to go to a gun shop or online to buy 10mm. I am not sure how much 10mm is though per box.

Hope that helps

Answer 9

A .45 is better. If I were staring down a bear, that's what I'd want with me.

Answer 10

10 mm was the rage in the 80's... heavy bullet ...more velocity than the .45 acp. If memory serves the Bren 10 (inspired by Col Jeff Cooper and popularised in MIAMI VICE by Sonney Crocket ) was one of the first handguns chambered in this hot loading.

All of this came to pass as LEO's were finding that the 9mm could be marginal. They liked autos but the need was there for an auto with a bit more punch and higher capacity than the tried and true 1911.

Colt followed with the 1911 format Delta and SW with the 1076.

The FBI bought 1076's and found that the recoil made this a handgun that could be mastered by the few... and Colt found that the hot 10 mike ate up frames and recoil springs like theater popcorn served with free soda pop.

SW has produced a few N frame 10 mm revolvers that headspace and load using moon clips

The 40 SW was the next step in producing and hi cap auto with near .45 levels of ballistic performance. 40 SW is a downloaded 10 mm with a cartridge shape that lends itself to filling up high capacity double stack magazines,

You can probably kill a bear with either the .45 or 10 mm. Both are capable but would require an expertly placed shot and close range. Bullet design would be the issue.. Hollow point defensive rounds dont work well on any thing but humans (for reasons I wont explain here) and metal clad Ball ammo not adequate either.

Bears or any size would be better served with hard cast bullets pushed by a 44 mag or better.

Answer 11

a 45. is the most powerful one and a 10mm cannot take out a bear

Answer 12

Well I'm a fan of both cartridges but I'd advise you to get the 45 for the simple reason of ammunition availability.  

Answer 13

First of all, a 10mm could probably only be reliable on a bear out of a S&W model 610 with the longer barrel being used.  And the ammo would have to be hot (not that lukewarm 10mm).  Also, unless you reload or ONLY plan on hunting the 10mm is a waste of time.  The 10mm is the automatic reincarnation of .41 Remington Magnum (another boasted about cartridge).  10mm has nothing on .44 Magnum as a hunting handgun round (.44 Mag is the watermark then and now) and is way overpowered as a combat shell (.40SW and .45ACP are more than suitable).

Answer 14

So....uh...A 10 mm is definately a more powerful load than the .45.  Also has better mid and long range ballistics.

Typical loadings of same or near same weight bullets yeild nearly 200 more ft lbs of energy in the 10mm, as well as more velocity

Directly from http://www.buffalobore.com/, which is what I consider the most powerful factory ammo available-

.45 acp 185 gr hp 1150 fps 543 ft lbs

10mm   180 gr hp 1350 fps 728 ft lbs

.45 acp  200 gr hp 1050 fps 490 ft lbs

10mm   200 gr fmj 1200 fps 639 ft lbs

Sampling only two loads, it is CLEAR that the .45 is anemic compared to the 10mm.

Also comparing the .40 to the 10mm, is like comparing the .38 to the .357.

With velocities of a .357 mag and the power of a .44 mag, all in a 1.1" casing, and a semi-auto platform, who can deny the 10mm is the ultimate semi-auto chambering?

As for ammo cost they are comparable there, as for high quality loads, the 10mm in 155 gr hp is $20.25 (shipping not included), and .45 in 185 gr hp is $21.00 ( S.N.I.)  available from www.georgia-arms.com

Answer 15

you need to get some actual experience with handguns first.

I recommend taking a handgun class, and then buying a 22 pistol.

Barring that, a 9mm (9mm luger aka 9mm parabellum) is giong to be a much better choice for a beginner.

Finally, there is ammo cost.  Go to cheaperthandirt.com or midwayusa.com and look at the least expensive box of 50 rounds of 9mm, then the same thing in 45acp and in 10mm

45acp costs almost twice as much as 9mm.  10mm costs almost twice as much as 45acp

Answer 16

The 10mm is actually slightly more powerful than the .45. Nonetheless, they are both great self defense guns. I would not try hunting bears with either of these though. A pissed off bear takes alot to stop. I sure wouldn't want an undersized gun if my life was on the line. If you are concerned about bear attacks get a large bore revolver in something like the .454 cassaul.  

Answer 17

Depends on use. Self defense get the .45 ACP, hunting get the 10 MM.