10mm or 45ACP for hunting?

[Sgathak]

As the topic header says... is the 10mm of any serious value for hunting? How about the 45? Specifically Im thinking as a backup to a rifle, or for certain species like ornery hog, for example.

I know some people have used 40S&W for hunting... but Im thinking thats the bottom of the powercurve. Right?

Any thoughts?

(Before anyone even starts, Im not asking about any other round, and not talking about handgun hunting for mammoth, so dont care about any pocket cannons... Im looking at a specific pistol and want to know if its of any value for hunting as it is being marketed. The pistol Im thinking of has a 6in barrell if that helps anyone. Thanks.)

[Armadeli]

Sgathak, I think the .40 has greater numbers on paper. But then again the .223 looks nice on paper too. The .45 is a good all around back up choice, but of the three for a hog I'd take the ten. Personally, I own a .45 and have 12 rounds to play with per mag, I wouldn't trade at this point.

[Kevin]

Check your regs, the 45 ACP is not a legal round for big game in Colorado. The case must be a minimum of 1" long, and the 45 ACP is 0.898".

[Sgathak]

Who said it was for CO?

[Kevin]

I didn't. I said check your regs. CO was an EXAMPLE.

[Sgathak]

But that doesnt help me figure out if the rounds themselvs are adequate for hog sized game. [img]/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

[Steelworker]

Short answer: Yes, both rounds will do, if loaded properly. Long answer to follow.

[Rugerman]

Sgathak,

Personally I have not taken game with that round(10mm).But as a 20 year member of Handgun Hunters International, and talking to other members, there has been quite a few hogs and similar size game taken with the Glock 20 w/6" barrel. I think both rounds would be O.K. with the right bullet under 100yds. but under 50yds. would be alot better. The .40 has taken deer, but out of the three, the 10mm and .45 would be my choice leaning toward the 10mm.

[MikeM]

Sgathak. First, no experience, but if you don't get enough responses check a reloading manual. My old Speer book compares the 10 to a 41 mag, saying just a little less powerful then the 41. Although saying it is border line for deer, they do offer a load for those using the round for a trail gun in bear country. Per Speer, the 10 was too powerful for police work, hence the 40 was developed.

[Steelworker]

"As a round, the 45 is fine - great even! - but Ive never been comfortable shooting it. Maybe its the pistols themselvs but those have been "top drawer" examples of 45 pistols (Ive fired 45 in HK USP, Glocks, 1911s, and Sigs) so I dont think its because Im shooting junk. Ive just never felt that it was "controllable" for me."

Those are your words from a previous post. If you are not comfortable with the 45 acp, you won't be comfortable with the 10mm either, since it has a bit more recoil (in standard pressure loads). So why get either? Except for finishing shots, just use a rifle or shotgun.

45 acp is not legal in Indiana either and for the same reason -- case length. It is legal for wild boars in Tennessee on private hunting preserves.

As for hogs, I shot a huge wild boar in Tennessee with a hot handloaded 44 magnum 240 gr. half jacket SWC in a S&W 29 with 8 3/8" barrel. The bullet penetrated in the 12" to 14" range and expanded to .62". I still have that bullet. It was just under the skin on the opposite side. Using modern 45 acp ammunition, you could expect penetration in the 12.5 to 14" range, with expansion in the .68" to .72" range. That's not bad performance. Bullet design in certain hangun calibers (9mm, 357 Sig, 40 S&W and 45 acp) have come a long way in the last few years. You can now get 9mm's that easily outperform the 357's we used in the 80's.

I would not hesitate to hunt wild boar in Tennessee with one of my 45 acp's (or 10mm for that matter). There are several good loads available, all in standard pressure (Pro Load, Black Hills or Speer 230 gr. JHP (all use the same Speer Gold Dot bullet), Winchester 230 gr. LEO load (RA45T, available at Pro Load), or even the Remington 230 gr. Golden saber. Another route is to load a hard cast semi-wadcutter up hot. Jeff Cooper used to recommend some hot 45 acp loads and we used them quite a bit some years ago. They'd drop any game animal this side of the Mississippi, if you did your part.

In 45 acp, some of the +P loads actually give shallower penetration, which you definitely don't want. For that reason, the only +P load I might recommend is the Winchester LEO load (RA45TP). Having said that, if I were going to +P levels for hogs, I'd opt for the handloaded SWC. It penetrates deep, gives a full 45 caliber hole all the way through, and it feeds fine in my pistols. I'm assuming the 6" barrel is a revolver? If so, ballistics won't be much different than a 5" 1911. If it's a revolver, you can use 45 Auto Rim cases, which are very robust. You can load these far hotter than the acp cases. That would be a good way to go.

I think 10mm would work fine. If Tim Sundles makes any BB loads for it, use them for hogs.

The 10mm will shoot flatter than the 45 acp, but I don't think that matters much. Most handgun shooting without optical sights is within 25-35 yards, and the 45 does fine at these distances.

As a backup to a rifle, do you mean for finishing shots? If so, even a 9mm with good JHP's will suffice (actually FMJ works in 9mm if a head shot). The 9mm and 40 S&W would be fine for finishing shots. The 45 acp may be quicker, especially if using FMJ, since 45 FMJ does something far better than either 9mm or 40 S&W FMJ -- it crushes bone, making secondary missile wounds. 45 acp FMJ penetrates 26" of living tissue. Add the excellent Hornady flat point FMJ and it gets even better. Contrary to popular opinion, penetration of metal/body armor has no relation to penetration of living tissue. The 223 does pretty good on steel compared to 45 acp; downright fantastic in comparison. Yet 45 acp JHP's will usually penetrate far deeper in living tissue.

In a revolver, I'd pick either a Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt with 5 1/2" barrel and load it with BB ammo, or I'd get one of those new Ruger Blackhawk revolvers in 45 Colt/45 acp (two cylinders). Either of these will allow far more flexibility for hunting than the smaller cased semi-auto loads.