9mm vs. 10mm?

Question

I am torn between getting a Stoeger Cougar 8000 in 9mm and buying a Glock 20 in 10mm. The gun will mostly serve as home defense and a "just for fun" gun. The 9mm is a very cheap round and the cougar is an inexpensive pistol, whereas the the Glock costs a little bit more and the ammo is fairly expensive. I am open to reloading to fray the cost of the 10mm. On that same note does anyone know how it costs per cartridge to reload 10mm. Ive had good reviews on both pistols, but I still cant decide.

I don't want a .40, .45, .38, .357, or anything else, so please don't recommend these calibers.

I am also considering doing some practical shooting so a 9mm would put me in minor and a 10mm would put me in major

Answer 1

John, the .9mm is a standard defensive caliber. The .10mm is a magnum class defensive/hunting round.

For home/personal defense the .9mm is a good choice. Practice ammo is cheap for the .9mm, harder to find and more expensive for the .10mm (but it won't put you in the poor house).

I like the .10mm as a service weapon. I've carried a Glock Model 20 .10mm for 12+ years on the streets. At a 100 yards it is as powerful as a .45 acp at the muzzle. The .10mm is far superior at penetrating barriers (car glass and sheet metal) than the .45 acp. This may not be a good thing in a home defense scenario where a loved one could be sleeping in the next room. So if you chose the ten for home defense consider buying pre-fragmented slugs for home defense use. Now if you are in the great outdoors where four legged predators may be a problem you're definitely better off with the ten.

The .10mm got a bad rap from: 1. Wimpy people who whined and cried about the recoil (like when the .357 Magnum first came out); 2. Gun makers taking shortcuts by converting .45s to .10mm rather than doing like Gaston Glock who built a brand-new frame for the big .10mm.

The Glock Model 20 .10mm is a superior pistol, but only you can decide what works better for you.

Best.

H

Answer 2

Well, the two calibers are worlds apart. The 9mm is known for a very controllable recoil, very economically priced ammunition, excellent reliability, and a good track record in the law enforcement circle WITH THE PROPER AMMUNITION. For home defense, you will want to choose your ammo very wisely. I'd stay away from the heavy 147 grn. JHP's as they seem to perform rather poorly in real street usage. The 115 grn. JHP's seem to be the round of choice by most law enfocement agencies and most report excellent results with them. I feel that the two most positive things about the 9mm round are, 1) ammuniton prices, and 2) ammunition availability. The ammo is cheaper than any other centerfire pistol ammo and you can get it almost anywhere.

The 10mm was originally intended to be the ultimate defensive cartridge. It was supposed to fill the power gap between the .357 Magnum and the .45 ACP. When it came out, the loads that were made for it had such excessive pressures and such high velocity, that it was a flop, more or less. The FBI quickly switched over to a watered down loading that closely resembled the balistics of the run of the mill .40 S&W defensive ammo we use today. The 10mm ammo will cost a lot more and will be harder to find. Proper selection of defensive ammunition is VITAL with the 10mm as it it a notorious over-penetrator and has a very snappy recoil.

I know you said you didn't want any other calibers, but if you want a good increase in power and projectile size over the 9mm, without the extra high pressures of the 10mm, the .40S&W is an EXCELLENT choice.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

If you were reloading already and had a lot of "overhead" in that department, maybe a 10mm would be something to consider. But it appears that you are not in that situation. Never buy into a caliber with the idea that you will eventually reload. I did that with a .44 magnum and wated money. Get the Stoeger and have a hell of a lot of fun. There are a lot of slug variations (88gr-147grn) in 9mm that you can try out as well as different velocities (975fps-1350fps). You might also look into a Glock 17. I do not like the safe-action mechanism of the Glock myself (been there, done that), but this could be a compromise between caliber and brand that might suit you.

Answer 5

First, you don't say how experienced you are with firearms. The 10mm is a hand cannon. It has lot's of recoil and muzzle blast and also is wy too much gin for home defense. The round would go thru your walls and probably into the neighbors house too. On the other hand, it is a decent hunting cartridge that performs well on medium sized game. The 9mm, IF loaded with some of the newer ammo like TAP performs pretty well as self defense, but is a poor choice for hunting. It has much less recoil and muzzle blast and usually carries more rounds than the 10mm. The FBI tried to go to the 10mm, but realized that it was too powerfull (liability wise) so they dropped the program and went to the .45acp. It boils down to what YOU want, what YOU can handle, and what YOUintend to do with it. See, I didn't give you my speech about having enough gun to do the job right!! LOL

Answer 6

I like the 9mm. But if I had to choose, I would go with the Glock 20. The 10mm is so much fun, and reloading is a must. Not because you can't get good factory ammo, but because reloading the 10mm is very rewarding. You can laod the 10mm to shoot moderate loads to very hot.

I gotta go now, but trust me. The 10mm is super fun to shoot, and the G20 is really a sweetheart to shoot. For self defense, it will do real damage. Good luck.

Answer 7

The key phrase I see is "just for fun". Go with the 9mm as it doesn't cause you elbow or shoulder pain and is inexpensive to shoot. The 10mm was in interesting solution to a non-existing problem as are quite a few of the "reinvent the wheel" calibers we see on the market. They came about to create a new demand for more product. Look at the 9mm and 45acp; they have been around over a hundred years and are still going strong. Hundreds of other calibers have been introduced and fallen by the wayside, if it ain't broke then don't fix it. I collect 9mm and 45acp pistols and when I see the ammo on sale I buy it by the case. Go forth and "have some fun".

Answer 8

Why not go for a Glock in 9mm?

Glock's don't digest reloads well, unless you load copper jacketed bullets. Even still, the Glock doesn't fully support the head of the case while in the chamber, and using reloaded brass could lead to a massive failure. This happened to someone at my club. His reloads were all uniform, and below maximum, but the brass head gave and caused his .40S&W Glock to self-destruct.

At any rate, I'm not saying don't get a Glock, I'd just get one in 9mm (or the Stoeger if thats what you want), or get the 10mm and stick with factory ammo.

Answer 9

10mm Ammo Price

Answer 10

Both those guns would be considered production guns. Thus there is no major. If you shoot a 10 or 9 in production they are scored the same.

You really are asking about two very different calibers.