As an example for what it costs to add a new caliber:
Total cost to add a new caliber: $1,685.14
I figure it will cost more than three times that amount to add a 300 blackout with an integral suppressor to the stable. Man, shooting is expensive.
I have a wide variety of ammo, mostly because I am not picky. My biggest requirement is that it function well with the firearms that I am going to be using it in.
The only ammo I standardize is rifle ammo. In 5.56mm, I am buying 62 grain green tips. I have optimized my rifles for that. In 7.62 mm, I am shooting 149 grain, but I also have some 168gr BTHP as well.
For handgun, there is a wide variety. Still, here are the main cartridges that I have in stock, and this is largely what I am carrying:
| Caliber | Bullet | Velocity (fps) | Power (ft/lb) |
| .38Spl | 125gr | 950 | 250 |
| .357Mag | 125gr | 1400 | 544 |
| .357Sig | 125gr | 1350 | 506 |
| .380ACP | 90gr | 950 | 180 |
| 9mm | 124gr | 1110 | 339 |
| 9mm subsonic | 135gr JHP | 1010 | 306 |
| 9mm subsonic | 145gr RNL | 1000 | 322 |
| .40S&W | 165gr | 1045 | 400 |
| .45ACP | 185gr | 970 | 386 |
| .45ACP | 230gr+P | 975 | 464 |
| 10mm* | 180gr | 1250 | 624 |
Note that when more than one bullet is listed in a given caliber, the heavier one is the one that I use in firearms with longer barrels. The lighter bullet is for shorter firearms. For example, that 135gr 9mm bullet makes best use of the longer barrel from a PDC like my Scorpion EVO and its 8 inch barrel. You can tell that I am a fan of the 125grain loading. I also stock subsonic 9mm for using with a suppressor.
However, I also have odds and ends of ammo that I have tested and you will see some odd stuff like 184 rounds of this, or 20 rounds of that. (The 20 rounds is rat shot for the .38Spl)
*For reference, I included the 500 rounds of 10mm that I bought to test. Once I get sights, magazines, and I am sure that this ammo functions well with this handgun, this one will be ready for use.
My wife likes to use the 380 for handguns, but her home defense gun is that EVO, and I don’t blame her. It’s easy to use, recoil is great, and with the 30 round magazines, it gives you a decided advantage against an assailant.
My EDC is either the 38 snubbie, or my Shield Plus in 9mm. My house handgun is a full sized M&P45, and its loaded with the 230gr +p’s.
I may add that 10mm to the mix at some point. The numbers are impressive. I am looking at a company called Underwood that appears to be loading defense ammo to its full potential. The S&W10 is nice because it is the same sized as the 45, and uses the same holsters.
Here is Garand Thumb reviewing the Underwood loadings for the 10mm. I like this video, because it is more entertaining than a dry lecture on the benefits of a cartridge, even if he does take some liberties with strict range safety.
I have never bought or fired Underwood’s ammo before and I know nothing about them, other than their website and the above video. I have to admit that 15 rounds of 180 grains moving at 1300 feet per second is interesting.
Silicon Graybeard lost his pet cat- it died in his arms while they were both asleep. It causes me to tear up, thinking about it. I hate losing a pet, and thinking about the day when either my pets or I will lose each other makes me want to go hug them. I believe that the Oatmeal summed it up best with this cartoon.
“He is my best friend, and I am his, but he will go to his grave having never known my name.”
Hug your pets. There is no love as pure as the one between a pet and his human.
A commenter comes here to the blog and manages to hit every single gun blog cliche in a single comment. His comments in red. Let’s take a look:
Congrats on getting a 10mm, tho I would have gone with a Glock given it is the most proven of all the 10mm pistols with over 30 years of production.
The brand wars. The two most insufferable fanbois are the Glock and the HK aficionados. We all tend to be loyal to a brand, whether that brand is Glock, Beretta, HK, or Smith and Wesson. Most of that is a matter of opinion and I happen to own or have owned most of the major handgun brands. As far as the striker fired pistols go, I prefer the 18 degree grip angle of my Smith and Wesson over the 22 degree grip angle of the Glock. Your own mileage may vary.
However, a bone to pick with the statement above is that Glock produced its first 10mm 35 years ago in 1990, the same year that Smith and Wesson produced the 1006. As noted in the article, Colt is the manufacturer that has produced the 10mm the longest.
I will say that .40 is not useless or does nothing better than 9 or .45, I’ve done research and one thing I think .40 does better than 9 is expand more reliably with just about any ammo as the .40 was designed for hollow points while the 9 was made for FMJ 80 years earlier and the cavities for the 9mm bullets are often small and can have issues expanding while making the cavity too big would shorten the OAL and cause feed issues.
The initial bullets for the 10mm (which are the same bullets that the .40 fires) were poor performers because they tended to overpenetrate. This was solved in the .40 because the bullets were a couple of hundred fps slower. That had nothing to do with bullet design, but was a function of the FBI agents being limp-wristed and sensitive to recoil.
The 9mm used to have a problem with expansion, but modern bullet design has largely solved that issue through the use of multiple means, including things like bonded lead cores, polymer-filled cavities, and specialized jacket designs, allowing for better stopping power while minimizing over-penetration. Other interesting design improvements include bonded designs or the all-copper hollow points. The coolest bullet designs I have seen yet are the monolithic designs that expand by using fluid dynamics of bullet shape to cause expansion. Bullet design has come a long way in the past 40 years. The most recent are bullets made from a blend of metal (for mass) and polymer to control expansion, called impact expansion. Arguments about what caliber bullet expands better are largely pointless at this time.
All handguns, as noted in the previous post, are sacrifices. We sacrifice effectiveness for convenience in carrying. Still, the majority of handgun rounds are so close to each other in performance that there isn’t a practical difference, thanks to modern bullet design.
.45 Auto is low capacity and expensive ammo in comparison to .40 and the pistols larger, yet the caliber isn’t much more powerful.
Now we mix reasons. If cost is a factor, 9mm is cheaper. Most handgun loads are in the same ballpark for power. For example, there are 9mm loads that come in at 500 ft/lb, which puts them in the same area as .40S&W.
I have a .45 that holds 14+1, a .40 that holds 15+1, another that holds 7+1, and a 9mm that holds 17+1, with another that holds 8+1. Capacity is function of model, size (full, compact, mini, micro), and caliber.
10mm, the key is stay away from Federal ammo because they load it weak and I suspect what they do is they use the same powder charge as they do .40 to save time during setup. Usually the foriegn companies like Fiocchi or S&B will load their 10mm warmer, but not as hot as the boutique companies.
In 10mm, there are not many companies that load 10mm to full power. The reason is simple: 10mm is still a niche cartridge, and the market for it is too small to offer a large variety. The makers of ammo are simply making what sells, and what sells is ammo that isn’t producing lots of recoil. The smaller ammo companies are tapping into the small market that wants the power and doesn’t care about recoil. It’s simply a matter of marketing and sales.
10mm defense ammo has an issue of the bullets are largely built around .40 velocities, so some companies will load it close to the same so as to not drive the bullets so fast they overexpander and fail to penetrate. The JHP I’ve seen perform the best in 10mm are the 200gr because they are built for 10mm velocities.
This is largely balderdash, and we have already addressed bullet design.
I got into 10mm because I could load it to its full potential at a fraction of what Underwood or Buffalo Bore would charge me.
Perhaps you can, but reloading doesn’t make economic sense, especially if you are taking the value of your time into account. I have skewered this sacred cow before.
Nice thing about 10mm Glocks is you can shoot .40 from without issues. IDK if the M&P can do that too, but it would be good to know and test to make sure in the event you need to.
No, no, no. You shouldn’t shoot .40 ammo in a 10mm pistol. It isn’t good for your pistol to do so, just as it isn’t good to fire .380 through a 9mm. Recommending that you do so indicates to me a lack of knowledge about firearms. I know that there are a lot of people who do, but that doesn’t mean that they are right, nor does it mean that it is a good idea.
Revolvers can do this like .44 Special through a .44 Magnum, or .38Spl in a .357Mag because of the difference in how those two platforms (revolver vs. auto) set their headspace. A revolver sets headspace by indexing on the rim of the cartridge. An autoloader that fires a straight walled case sets that space by the bullet seating in the barrel.
The 10mm case is 0.992 inches long. The .40S&W is 0.850 inches long. Since the headspace is longer for a 10mm, firing a .40S&W in it causes gas pressure and leakage to prematurely wear out your barrel and also damage your rifling. Additionally, it causes damage to your extractor.
If you want to do this, buy a .40 caliber barrel for your 10mm.
The 10mm is not a conceal carry gun, this is a duty caliber/open carry/home defense/go to war cartridge. Not every handgun needs to be a conceal carry piece and you know what? Not every carry gun has to be an autoloader.
I live in Florida. Open carry is not an option here. I am not a cop, so duty carry isn’t a thing. If I am going to war, I sure won’t be reliant on a handgun. For home defense, I have a bedside handgun, but it is only there to buy me time to get to the long guns in the closet. There is an AR, a shotgun, and a PDC in the closet for home defense.
Also, I have revolvers as well, so I am well aware that you can carry a revolver. As you note, I have a J frame just for that purpose.
Since you brought up the .38 J frame, start researching .32 H&R or .327 Federal revolvers for lower recoil and 6 instead of 5.
If you compare the muzzle velocity of a 38 and a 32 out of the same length barrel, you get the same- about 850 fps, with the chief difference between the two being a 38 bullet that is about 50% heavier. If I want to carry something with a longer barrel, then I would simply go with an autoloader or a .357magum. I am not recoil sensitive enough to need a low recoil handgun.
I don’t pretend to be an expert, and most of the posts that you see on guns are largely a matter of opinion, including my own. I am not sure whether my opinions are more knowledgeable than anyone else, but I have owned literally hundreds of firearms over my lifetime, and still own more than the ATF knows about. Call it dozens. I have more ammo in the house than the local police or fire department would be comfortable with. I still own the first firearm that I ever owned- a Winchester Model 250 (it’s a .22LR lever action with a tube feed). I have owned that gun since I was 8 years old. I also have my great grandfather’s shotgun that is over 100 years old.
Even with all of that, just when I get to thinking that I own a lot, along comes someone else to show me that I don’t know or have as much as I think I do. My neighbor has more firearms than I do, and one of my coworkers knows more about loading ammo and shooting out to 1200 yards than I ever will. So I don’t pretend to be an expert, just an aging man with a long list of opinions.
Thanks for the opportunity to get another post out.
In my continuing research of 10mm defense loads: Let me start this post by pointing out that pistols are a compromise, in that they all suck for self defense. We carry them because it is easier and gets you fewer sideways looks than does carrying a long gun. Better the handgun on your hip than the firearm at home in the safe.
The current 10mm that I have is a full sized M&P10mm and I am unlikely to carry it. I find that I don’t even carry any of my full sized handguns on a regular basis. What I find myself carrying most often is a J frame .38 or a Shield Plus in 9mm. Still, buying and shooting guns is fun, so what the hell?
Even though I won’t carry it much, I always keep plenty of magazines and ammo on hand for every firearm. Five magazines for every pistol is the minimum I am comfortable with. For ammo, the minimum is 500 rounds for semi auto handguns, 100 rounds for revolvers, and 1000 rounds for semi-auto rifles of “war shots” that I like to keep on hand. That doesn’t count whatever range ammo that I have.
Of course I am going to research this, because it’s what I do. See the months of research I did before going with solar as a backup power system.
In looking at defensive ammo, the most important criteria is that it functions well in my firearm. It needs to go bang every time I intend it to. I will accept no more than one failure for every 500 rounds. (That’s why I no longer carry and have sold most of my 1911’s. They jam far too often. See this post here about the suckage that was my experiment with that platform.) Going along with that, the ammo must also be somewhat accurate for my handgun. That means passing a 5×5 test- I have to be able to put 5 rounds into a 5 inch circle at 5 yards in 5 seconds or less while drawing from a holster. I would rather hit with a .22 than miss with a .44.
The next criteria is that it has solid performance. There is no point in reinventing the wheel- I use the FBI criteria that states a bullet should penetrate between 12 and 18 inches of ballistic gelatin and a bullet that expands to at least 1.5 times its diameter. With handguns being poor performers, I want to maximize what performance I *do* get, so I try to only buy and stock ammo that meets this standard. I expected that my research will find more full power 10mm that goes beyond the 18 inches than falls short.
In 1983, Whit Collins, John Adams, Irving Stone, and Jeff Cooper worked with Norma AB to design the 10mm Automatic cartridge. Their goal was to create the a handgun cartridge that fired a heavier and larger caliber bullet than the 9mm Luger at a higher velocity and magazine capacity than the .45 ACP. This would create a handgun cartridge that combined the best of both platforms.
They did this by cutting a .30 Remington case down and loading it with .40 caliber bullets from the .38-40 Winchester. they not only achieved that objective but exceeded it by a healthy margin. The original 10mm Auto load shot a 200 grain projectile at 1,200 feet per second for 640 ft-lbs of muzzle energy, which was a significant step up in performance compared to the 9mm Luger and the .45 ACP. The new round nearly doubled the energy of the 9mm Parabellum and off the shelf .45 ACP ammunition.
Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises worked in parallel with Jeff Cooper and the rest of the 10mm Auto team to build a handgun designed specifically to shoot the new cartridge: the Bren Ten pistol. Similar in appearance to the CZ-75, Sonny Crockett in the television show Miami Vice helped make the Bren Ten famous. For this reason, demand for the pistol and the cartridge exploded in the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, the Bren Ten was rushed into production and the pistol’s reputation suffered due to early issues with reliability, quality control, and a shortage of magazines. The company was never quite able to regain its footing after those initial missteps and declared bankruptcy in 1986 after only making 1500 of the pistols. Shortly after the passing of the Bren Ten, Colt rolled out a Model 1911 modified to use the cartridge that they named the Delta Elite.
Then came a fateful day in US law enforcement. The 10mm Auto piqued the interest of the FBI during their search for a more powerful service round in the aftermath of the disastrous 1986 shootout with two bank robbers in Miami.
The FBI liked the 10mm and originally wanted to switch to that platform, but the fact that they had a lot of limp wristed agents who were recoil sensitive, they wanted something with less recoil. The FBI test report on the cartridge was apparently labeled:
CAUTION: Velocities, pressures and recoil are extreme, vary greatly, and damage weapons with extended use. Control for multiple shots extremely difficult.
They downloaded the 10mm to reduce power by about 30% and issued a request for handgun makers to bid on a new cartridge/handgun combination for FBI use. This loading became known as the “10mm FBI load.” This load was several hundred feet per second slower than the original 10mm Auto, but the FBI was still satisfied with its penetration and terminal performance. The winner of this competition would get a lucrative contract to supply most of US law enforcement.
Enter Smith and Wesson. They developed a cartridge that was shorter than the 10mm and met the FBI standard, and the .40 S&W was born. Derisively, it is said that S&W in this case stands for “Short and Weak.” Many of the advantages of the powerful 10mm cartridge disappeared with this downloaded cartridge. Instead of getting all of the combined advantages of the 9mm and .45ACP, you got none of them. That’s why the .40S&W has largely fallen out of favor- there is no advantage of having it.
To be completely honest, I own several .40S&W pistols, but I can’t remember the last time I carried or even shot one of them. Less capacity and slower bullets than a 9mm, lighter bullets than a .45ACP. What’s nice is that I can swap a barrel and change my S&W40 to .357Sig or 9mm.
I don’t want to simply buy 10mm ammo that is loaded to 40 caliber specs. If I wanted to do that, I would just carry one of my 40 calibers. I was looking for an ammo manufacturer that was loading ammo that really took advantage of the 10mm cartridge. After some searching, I like Underwood ammo as well as Fenix ammunition. Both of them are loading to the full 10mm capabilities. Buffalo Bore does as well, but their bullets are overpenetrating and seem better for large animals than for self defense.
Fenix makes one self defense loading for 10mm, and that is a 180 grain JHP moving along at 1250 feet per second, giving us a muzzle energy of 624 foot pounds. They are currently out of stock, so let’s look at our next contestant.
Underwood has quite a few loadings for 10mm. I selected the Tools & Targets YouTube channel because the guy clearly loves his 10mm and does a decent job in testing the bullets he looks at. The loadings that I am most interested in:
200 grain XTP moving along at 1250 feet per second with 694 ft/lb of energy. This round got 1100 fps out of that 4.6 inch barrel, delivering 537 ft/lb. The bullet penetrated 24 inches. That velocity isn’t great, but it’s the overpenetration that concerns me. Any energy that the bullet has when it leaves the backside of your target is wasted energy.
180 grain XTP at 1300 feet per second and 676 ft/lb. This channel saw the ammo come in right at 1242 fps for 616 ft/lb from a 4.6 inch barrel. He got a full 16 inches of penetration with the bullets retaining 150-179 grains of their mass, even though they expanded to more than .640 inches in diameter. Impressive performance.
155 grain XTP at 1500 feet per second and 775 ft/lb. The guy in this video found that it hit 1500 fps from a 4.6 inch barrel, just like the box claimed. That means it was right about 800 foot pounds of energy. The bullet gave 12.5″ to 13″ of penetration, with or without the clothing barrier.
135 grain JHP at 1600 feet per second and 768 ft/lb. The guy here got an average of about 1450 feet per second out of a 4.6 inch barrel. The wound cavity looks great, but it is only penetrating to 12.25″ and I just don’t see me wanting to use this one. I think the combination of slower than advertised speed along with the Nosler hollow point means suboptimal performance.
Overall, it looks like I will be selecting the Underwood 180 grain XTP for our initial reliability testing. I will order some, and once the reflex sight comes in, we will take a couple of hundred rounds to the range and see how it works. At $1.25 a round, it is actually cheaper than Gold Dots ($1.75) or Hornady Critical Duty ammo ($1.50). I just ordered 500 rounds for testing. If that round doesn’t work out, I will try the 155gr loading.
The disclaimer: I don’t advertise, and receive nothing for my reviews or articles. I have no relationship with any products, companies, or vendors that I review here, other than being a customer. If I ever *DO* have a financial interest, I will disclose it. Otherwise, I pay what you would pay. No discounts or other incentives here. I only post these things because I think that my readers would be interested.
At about 1730 on Saturday evening, a knife wielding man was chasing people while being armed with a knife. The people being chased ran into a Chick Fil A. It so happens than an off duty Boston cop was eating dinner inside at the time. He identified himself and told the assailant to drop the knife. Instead of doing so, he charged the cop and stabbed him. (Tueller drill?) The cop shot his attacker, who was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
All told, it appears to be a good and righteous shoot by one of the few people in Boston who can legally carry a firearm. That would normally be the end of the story, and may or may not earn a blog post here. Except the mayor and police commissioner got involved.
They offered condolences. To the dead attacker and his family.
This is the same mayor that in late 2023 after hosting a ‘no whites’ Christmas party for ‘electeds of color’ and has vowed to resist Trump and ICE when they attempt to deport illegals. Note that no one is publicly identifying the attacker. I wonder why.
Joe Blow decides to call me stupid for stating that the Ukraine/Russia war is a stalemate. Normally, comments attacking me like that wouldn’t make the blog, but Joe is a long time commenter and has earned a bit of grace. He just needs some facts.
The fact is that Russia only controls 19% of Ukraine, and about a quarter of that was the territory in the Crimea that was taken a decade ago. The fact is that the front lines have been largely in the same place for the past three years. This is where the lines were in November of 2022:
Now look to see where the front lines are now:
Nearly two and a half years later, and there is virtually no difference. In fact, in terms of territory held, there have been no gains since the first year of the war.
You can see that the Russians made huge gains in the initial two months of the war, then Ukraine won back some territory within six months, then the lines have remained virtually stable since. That’s called a stalemate. In the meantime, over one million lives and half a trillion dollars have been lost, and for what?
I see absolutely no US national interest in this war. None. The “oh, we need to defend Ukraine or the Russians will take over Europe like Hitler did” is simply a weak imitation of the domino theory, a stupid holdover from the Cold War that has been used as justification for every stupid useless war that the US has been involved in for the past 80 years.
There is not a reason to spill a single drop of American blood, nor waste a single American dollar on a war that simply isn’t our problem. Let Europe worry about this one. I don’t think that Russia is going to go to war with the European Union unless the EU keeps beating war drums and trying to start one. We need to stop letting France, Britain, Russia, and Germany drag us into the wars that they have been fighting in Europe for over 1,300 years. If they want to keep fighting, let them, but there is no reason for us to be involved.
The fact that members of the EU have been refusing to allow US military units to purchase supplies is beyond the pale. For example, a Norway company recently refused to allow a US submarine to purchase diesel fuel for their backup generator, and called for other companies to do the same. The Norwegian government quickly backed away from this boycott, which is good for the EU, because if I were Trump, my first step would have been to pull all nuclear weapons from EU bases. All of them. It’s something that is quick and easy to do, and sends an unmistakable message to the EU: our military cooperation with your country can disappear overnight, if you want to fuck around.
The US is NATO and the EU has been taking advantage of the US security guarantee to increase social spending while ignoring defense. The number of main battle tanks in EU member states has decreased from 15,000 in 2000 to 5,000 today. The US has 4,657 main battle tanks in NATO territory, meaning that the US is 50% of NATO’s military strength. Even THAT statistic is misleading. Italy, for example, has about 200 Ariete tanks, but only 50 of them are fully operational, with the rest of them being in various stages of disrepair. If this is typical of NATO member states, the US forces in Europe make up 80% of the entire NATO force. What do we get in return for that?
This is why the EU has so much money to spend on social programs. The US military has 100,000 troops in Europe. That equals ten percent of our entire military, costing the US about $200 billion a year. What do we get in return for that?
The message being sent by Trump is unmistakable- the days of Uncle Sugar being exploited are over. The EU can screw around with Russia, but at the end of the day, they don’t have the forces to take on a large war.
In the entirety of the biological world, the strong seek to prey on the week. Every living thing in the world is in competition with other living things for food, shelter, and someone with whom to make offspring. Similarly, throughout recorded history, weaker nations have been conquered by stronger nations. That’s just how life works.
If you are the leader of a weaker nation, you need to seek the protection of a strong ally, or a coalition of allies who together are strong enough to fend off an aggressor. For the past 80 or so years, that ally has been the United States. The nations of the world have turned to the US and begged for help from the US time and time again. The US has responded by lending out its treasure and the lives of its sons and daughters over and over again, largely without ever asking for or receiving anything in return. Many of the nations receiving that help have then criticized and bad mouthed the US the entire time they were receiving handouts.
It hasn’t just been other nations. The citizens of the world keep coming here, sneaking into our country, accepting handouts, then badmouthing the country the entire time. The American people are tired of it. We are no longer willing to be your bitches. So we have elected Trump.
Trump is the embodiment of a business ethos- you want our help? What is in it for us? The only thing that Ukraine and Zelensky have to offer us is mineral rights. Zelensky doesn’t want to do that. Trump has him over a barrel- you grant us mineral rights, and we will help you by securing a peace deal. Refuse that deal and continue the war, you are going to do it without our blood and treasure. That’s just how it is. We are under no requirement to fight the wars of the entire world.
If Ukraine can’t accept those terms, they are free to ask the European Union, the UK, or Canada. When those nations pledge their help and can’t deliver it, the US will be happy to come to an agreement to loan them some money on terms that both nations find acceptable. No more free rides.
With that being said, the reality is that Ukraine can’t win against Russia without outside help. Even with all of the help they have been given, the best that Ukraine has done is fight to a bloody 3 year long stalemate. At this point, Ukraine has been given nearly $400 billion in aid over the past three years, including $120 billion in weapons. That places Ukraine in 6th place for military spending worldwide in terms of real money, and as a percentage of GDP, Ukraine is spending three and a half times as much as any other nation.
I have heard Europeans call the US every name in the book because we won’t just give them our money. Whatever. Every time you insult us, the cost of our help should increase. Show some gratitude and come to a deal or fuck off.
My social media feed is filled with people from Poland, Canada, and the Czech Republic who are calling the US bullies and other names because we won’t go to war with Russia on Ukraine’s behalf. There are also tons of lefty Americans demanding the same. To those of you who are aren’t American- pressure your own country to go to war with Russia. To those of you who ARE American, put your money where your mouth is:
I recently had a bad day at work. I got home a couple of hours late, well after midnight. Let’s just say that I wasn’t happy with either my employer or the family of one of my patients. I played hooky the next day and called in sick, and that is something that I have only done 3 or 4 times in the past decade.
While I was running around doing things that I wanted to do and enjoying my impromptu vacation day, I happened to wander into a store that was well stocked stocked with ammunition. I overheard the salesman at the gun counter trying to sell a 9mm handgun, and the customer was full of questions. The salesman made a comment about 10mm being the new hotness that they can’t keep ammo in stock for, but 9mm was plentiful.
That was when I recalled that I have been thinking about adding 10mm to the stable for the last few years. So I did it. I bought a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 in 10mm with the 4.6 inch barrel, the thumb safety, and the optic slide cut. Smith and Wesson doesn’t make a compact 10mm, so we went with the full size and the optics cut. I was sort of forced into the thumb safety because the store didn’t have a pistol in stock without one.
Since it was an impulse buy, I hadn’t done any research and didn’t know if I got a good deal or not, but it cost me $620. I didn’t want to look, just in case I got screwed, but it looks like I didn’t do poorly. MSRP on this one is $679, and there is a promotion running right now where Smith and Wesson will send you a rebate in the form of a free green dot reflex sight.
At any rate, I went to buy some ammo to go with it, and the only 10mm they had was FMJ. I had to stop at a different farm supply store to get defense ammo. I bought a few boxes of Hornady Critical Duty 175gr FlexLock hollow points. I will do a post comparing ammo in different calibers soon.
When I was checking out, the clerk told me that they can’t keep ammo or baby chicks in stock. She told me that it is as bad as during COVID.
At any rate, a new caliber means new magazines, laying in a stock of ammo, and I will need to get some kind of aftermarket sights to go with the green dot. It will keep me busy for a bit. I will take it to the range shortly, but for now, I will place it in the safe next to all of its new friends.
Now I have handguns in the following calibers:
.22LR, .38Spl, .380ACP, .357 Magnum, .357Sig, .40S&W, .45ACP, 9x19mm, and 10mm.
The disclaimer: I don’t advertise, and receive nothing for my reviews or articles. I have no relationship with any products, companies, or vendors that I review here, other than being a customer. If I ever *DO* have a financial interest, I will disclose it. Otherwise, I pay what you would pay. No discounts or other incentives here. I only post these things because I think that my readers would be interested.
I once bought some hard to find parts from an online firearms dealer that usually has hard to find parts. The company had a logo that looked like a country boy or hillbilly. I can’t remember the name of the company. I seem to remember that it has something in the name like junior or sonny.
If anyone knows of a company like that, please let me know.