Is 10mm a Good Conceal Carry Cartridge?

Blog
10 Mar, 2022
Posted By: Patrick Long

With approximately 21 million Americans carrying handguns in public, concealed carry pistols are practically everyday conversation. You might wonder if the big 10mm cartridge is an effective round for concealed carry with all the calibers out there.

The 10mm round has good stopping power. But due to concealability, recoil, cost, and ammo availability, other options such as .380 ACP, 9mm, and 40 S&W make better concealed carry options.

10mm handguns have gained popularity in recent years and at one point were even the caliber of choice for the FBI. So why are there better options for concealed carry? We’ll cover the factors that make a good concealed carry handgun and how 10mm measures up below.

What Makes a Good Concealed Carry Pistol

Ease of Carrying

It doesn’t matter how great your CCW gun is if it’s so uncomfortable that you leave it at home. Because of this, I rate the ease of carrying, or how comfortable and concealable a gun is, as the most important factor for a CCW pistol. The key elements will be dimensions: length, width, height, and the loaded weight.

Ammunition

When it comes to CCW, there are solid options in many calibers, including .380, .40 S&W, 9mm, .45 ACP, and 10mm. Here I’ll give a brief rundown of the ballistics and cost of 10mm compared to some other popular CCW calibers.

Ballistics

While it makes sense to buy cheaper ball ammo for your range shooting, you should always load high-quality self-defense ammunition for carrying. If you encounter a situation where you use your handgun in self-defense, your round might need to penetrate through multiple layers of clothing, including sometimes heavier fabrics such as denim, to be effective.

Several manufacturers produce high quality self-defense rounds, such as Hornady, Speer, and Winchester. We will look at Federal 180-grain Hydra Shok. It is a standard in the industry, designed for and trusted by the FBI and many other law enforcement agencies.

At 180 grains and a muzzle velocity of 1030 feet per second, Federal’s ammo delivers a hard-hitting 423 ft-lbs of energy to the target. By comparison, Federal’s 124-grain HST for 9mm Luger has a muzzle velocity of 1150 feet per second and generates 364 ft-lbs of energy.

While there is a clear advantage in the physics of the 10mm round, experts have been conducting extensive tests and studies on stopping power for decades. The reality is that what happens when a bullet impacts the human body is incredibly complicated, but people widely agree that .380 or anything larger is sufficient for personal defense. After this, things like shot placement and ammunition play a more important role than the specific caliber.

Cost and Availability

While the 10mm briefly enjoyed a position as the FBI’s preferred service cartridge, it faded away quickly with the introduction of .40 S&W and improved 9mm ammunition. The caliber has had a resurgence of popularity in recent years. However, the volume of ammo for sale is still low compared to other calibers like .380 ACP, 9mm, and .45 ACP.

If you’re concerned about a doomsday scenario, this means you had better have a good stockpile of 10mm ammunition yourself, as finding much of it out in the world is unlikely. As previously mentioned, shot placement will have a much more significant impact on stopping a threat than the ballistics of 10mm vs .45 ACP. This means consistent training and range time.

At the time of writing, basic plinking ammunition for 10mm is going for around $0.70 per round if you’re buying in bulk. In comparison, you can purchase similar 9mm ammo for about $.30 per round. A quick online search reveals that several dealers are out of stock for 10mm ammo, where 9mm is still readily available.

One of the reasons the FBI moved on quickly from 10mm is that it had an excessive recoil. This meant agents needed more training to have the same level of accuracy. Combined with the increased cost, the caliber was unattractive as a duty weapon.

A Few 10mm Concealed Carry Options

There aren’t many options for subcompact 10mm handguns but there are a few if you’re set on it. While there are a couple with dimensions close to other popular CCW handguns, a key difference is the weight. Expect these fully loaded 10mm options to be about 12-16 oz. heavier than their 9mm counterparts.

Glock 29

When talking about handguns today, Glock is going to be in the conversation, and the G29 is designed for CCW. If you’ve shot a Glock, then there won’t be anything that will surprise you about the G29, although it has a bit more compared to a G19. While it is certainly small enough to be concealed, it has slightly larger dimensions than its 9mm sibling, the G43X.

Springfield Armory XD-M Elite 3.8” Compact OSP 10mm

Springfield has been fielding some incredible CCW options recently, like the Hellcat Micro-compact. Their XD-M Elite 3.8” Compact OSP in 10mm comes packed with features like 11+1 capacity, accessory rail, fiber optic front sight, and an optics ready slide. If you’re looking for a solid 10mm CCW option, you can’t go wrong with the XD-M Elite.

EAA (Tanfoglio) Witness Compact 10mm

EAA is just the American distributor for Italian firearms manufacturer Tanfoglio. Their Witness Compact 10mm is another attractive CCW platform. Based on a CZ design and in full steel, it’s a reliable handgun that comes with a smooth DA/SA trigger. It is larger and heavier than the previous options but also has a lower price point.

Model	MSRP	Capacity	Loaded Weight	Barrel Length	Overall Length	Width	Height
Glock 29	~$650	10+1	32.63 oz.	3.78”	6.97”	1.38”	4.53”
SA XD-M	$653	11+1	33.40 oz.	3.8”	6.75”	1.2”	4.58”
EAA Witness	~$550	12+1	36.98 oz.	3.6”	7.3”	1.4”	4.5”

Final Thoughts

There are a few viable pistols if you’re set on using 10mm for your CCW. Still, between ammo availability, cost, recoil, and handgun size/weight, other calibers like .380 ACP, 9mm, or .40 S&W are much better options. Hunting is a caveat; 10mm handguns are very popular for hunting and a go-to choice for protection in bear country. Ultimately, whatever handgun you use for self-defense, high-quality, consistent training will be your most valuable resource.

Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.

We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.