What to do with the 10mm......

[Alibiiv]

I hunt black bear in Maine, so no grizzly story here. I do like to carry a handgun while hunting, just because. Done a lot of reading about hollow-point bullets shooting in bear meat are not too effective. The last bear that I shot weighed in at 235lbs, there were areas where she had eight-inches of fat on her. Today we went to the local gunshop where we picked up some Buffalo Bore 220 grain hard cast bullets, thought that we would try them. The problem.....they were $30+ per box of 20!! It's not the end of the world, however four boxes weren't a cheap date by any means. There's my son and myself, I'd feel a whole lot better shooting more than twenty rounds through the Glocks to make certain that they function well in the handguns before we take them on an actual hunt. Plus it is going to cost us about $100 just to fill two magazines; and, we usually will carry two extras inside of our packs.

So....the questions are (1) does anyone have a place/distributor where I can purchase some heavy (220gr) hard-cast bullets or jacketed bullets (I cannot find any), or (2) can someone give me a potential price for casting my own. I have a smelter for casting the bullets, mold handles, I would have to purchase a bullet mold, probably some gas checks, and a lubrisizer/resizer of some kind. Looking for others input and suggestions, what are the "10mm heavy bullet reloaders doing?

 

[KyCarl]

try Underwood Ammo way cheaper than BB and I like them lots better!
the large one is sold out but there will be more.
Ballistics Information 200 HC these are in stock and less than a buck each.

• Muzzle Velocity: 1250 fps
• Muzzle Energy: 694 ft lbs
• https://www.underwoodammo.com/collections/handgun-ammo/cartridge_10mm-auto

 

[Orange Dust]

You mentioned Glocks. You may have accuracy and leading problems with cast bullets if you have a factory barrel. The polygonal rifling in factory barrels doesn't like cast bullets. Lone Wolf and others make barrels for them with conventional rifling.

 

[palerider3]

You can buy hard cast 10mm bullets with a gas check and already lubed pretty cheap. It's easier to deal with for me personally. I run 200 gr hard cast from Double tap loaded at 1275 fps from my G20 with a Lone Wolf barrel and a 24lb recoil spring. Shoots good for me with about a 5-6" group at 100 yards from a rest. I sight in my dot at 75 yards and hold dead on to 100.

 

[sea2summit]

You're talking overweight human size which is what the 10mm was really designed for. What stops you from alternating a 200 grn FMJ and quality 180+ JHP? Not going to stress the gun as much and it sounds like you're price sensitive to ammo so it would encourage more practice.

 

[Ckgworks]

If you are set up for casting already, most of your cost is covered! If you are not already, I would look into Powder Coating cast bullets.....Shake and bake method is easy and cheap, and all you need is a small toaster oven. (don't get sucked into all you read on the interwebs). I can't give you a total cost breakdown without looking, but I can tell you that I'm making Powder Coated 9mm bullets for less than $0.035 each. And shooting them through a Glock Polygonal Barrel without issue. Look at Arsenal Molds...... they have a 200 grain 10mm mold, and you can pick up a 4 cavity Mold for $75.00, and I think their molds are fantastic. (I have two of their 5 cavity molds) They also have 2 cavity molds for cheaper. I have been watching for a deal on a 220 gr 10mm mold, but haven't come across one yet.
I just Ran the numbers for a 220 grain 10mm PC bullet and you would be around $0.055 cents each....For a Bullet with a 14.4 BHN Prior to water Quenching....My guess is after water quenching you'd be around 19-20 BHN. Note this price is based off buying Lead, Monotype, and tin off the internet, so if you scrounge like a lot of casters do, it should even be cheaper!

 

[Rick_W]

I hunt black bear in Maine, so no grizzly story here. I do like to carry a handgun while hunting, just because. Done a lot of reading about hollow-point bullets shooting in bear meat are not too effective. The last bear that I shot weighed in at 235lbs, there were areas where she had eight-inches of fat on her. Today we went to the local gunshop where we picked up some Buffalo Bore 220 grain hard cast bullets, thought that we would try them. The problem.....they were $30+ per box of 20!! It's not the end of the world, however four boxes weren't a cheap date by any means. There's my son and myself, I'd feel a whole lot better shooting more than twenty rounds through the Glocks to make certain that they function well in the handguns before we take them on an actual hunt. Plus it is going to cost us about $100 just to fill two magazines; and, we usually will carry two extras inside of our packs.

So....the questions are (1) does anyone have a place/distributor where I can purchase some heavy (220gr) hard-cast bullets or jacketed bullets (I cannot find any), or (2) can someone give me a potential price for casting my own. I have a smelter for casting the bullets, mold handles, I would have to purchase a bullet mold, probably some gas checks, and a lubrisizer/resizer of some kind. Looking for others input and suggestions, what are the "10mm heavy bullet reloaders doing?

The heaviest hard cast that I can find for the 10mm from my usual suppliers is a gas-checked 200 gr from Montana Bullet Works with a 22 BHN.

 

[Alibiiv]

You're talking overweight human size which is what the 10mm was really designed for. What stops you from alternating a 200 grn FMJ and quality 180+ JHP? Not going to stress the gun as much and it sounds like you're price sensitive to ammo so it would encourage more practice.

Thanks for the reply back. We shoot the Glocks quite regularly, just find the price of the Buffalo Bores a bit on the heavy side. I've trained with Glocks my entire career, shoot a variety of them frequently. That is one of the reasons I am trying to find a less expensive outlet for the 10mm hard cast bullets. I don't mind spending the money to get set up to cast my own, I have most of the equipment to cast them. One of my pet Glocks is the G19 with a 22 adapter kit, great to get some sight and trigger time in and a whole lot of fun to shoot. I'd like to stick with the heavy 220 grain hard cast bullets. We have been using Hornady XTP 200 grain bullets to hunt with they are a good bullet, I would like to go towards the hard-cast bullets and give them a try.

 

[Alibiiv]

If you are set up for casting already, most of your cost is covered! If you are not already, I would look into Powder Coating cast bullets.....Shake and bake method is easy and cheap, and all you need is a small toaster oven. (don't get sucked into all you read on the interwebs). I can't give you a total cost breakdown without looking, but I can tell you that I'm making Powder Coated 9mm bullets for less than $0.035 each. And shooting them through a Glock Polygonal Barrel without issue. Look at Arsenal Molds...... they have a 200 grain 10mm mold, and you can pick up a 4 cavity Mold for $75.00, and I think their molds are fantastic. (I have two of their 5 cavity molds) They also have 2 cavity molds for cheaper. I have been watching for a deal on a 220 gr 10mm mold, but haven't come across one yet.
I just Ran the numbers for a 220 grain 10mm PC bullet and you would be around $0.055 cents each....For a Bullet with a 14.4 BHN Prior to water Quenching....My guess is after water quenching you'd be around 19-20 BHN. Note this price is based off buying Lead, Monotype, and tin off the internet, so if you scrounge like a lot of casters do, it should even be cheaper!

Thank you for the information I will look in to the Arsenal Molds. I have a friend who runs a tire shop, I can pretty much get a lifetime of wheel weights from him. I am not sure what the Brinnel is on tire weights though, will have to check in to that. Do you have a lubrisizer? If so what are you using? If I can get set up for casting, I have a Dillon 650XL I will set up to get some practice in with the round.

 

[Alibiiv]

The heaviest hard cast that I can find for the 10mm from my usual suppliers is a gas-checked 200 gr from Montana Bullet Works with a 22 BHN.

Thank you I will check them out. I am surprised that with all the hype on the heavy, 10mm hard cast bullets that no one offers them to reload. Orange Dust wrote about a concern that I too have about shooting cast lead bullets in the polygon barrel. I called Buffalo Bore and asked about being able to shoot their bullets in the Glock barrel. I was told that the 220 grain 10mm bullets were designed to shoot in the Glock 20 and 40 10mm barrels, and they were considered to be an alloy and not a lead-cast bullet. Lots to research before I get in to this project.

 

[sedancowboy]

Here is a link to the 220 gr hard cast bullets that BB use in their loads. they are great bullets and shipping is always fast.
https://rimrockbullets.com/xcart/tsh-40-10mm-200-gr-tc-per-300.html

 

[Ckgworks]

Wheel weights typically run about 12 BHN, and water quenching will bring them up to around 18 BHN.....Be careful, many of the new wheel weights are zink which is not good in a lead mix. Adding a little Monotype and tin to wheel weights can get you up to 15 BHN prior to quench, but you are getting close to the brittle mix from too much antimony.
I do have a older Lyman lube sizer, but most of the Powder coated bullets I do, get run through a Lee sizer die on my RCBS press....mostly just because it's faster and you don't need the lube with PC. The Lee sizer are a cheap way to get started.

 

[cross]

Cutting Egde makes 190 gr copper solids. That's what I load for bear spray in my Glock 20.

Cross

 

[Alibiiv]

Here is a link to the 220 gr hard cast bullets that BB use in their loads. they are great bullets and shipping is always fast.
https://rimrockbullets.com/xcart/tsh-40-10mm-200-gr-tc-per-300.html

Thank you very much, this is just what I was hoping to find.