Load data for 10mm

crkckr said:
Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff we used to have available as reloaders, simply isn't anymore. 800x has been discontinued and most Speer products are now in the "unobtainium" column! I've been hoping to get my sweaty paws on some 10mm 165 gr Gold Dots for over 2 years now and haven't seen a single one for sale! I will admit, I fear that bullet was, like most other 165 gr bullets in 40 cal, designed for the 40 Short & Weak and may not be able to withstand full 10mm loads. The Hornady 155 and 180's work well but the 155 is severely limited in penetration! At least the jacket and core don't seperate, like the 9mm, 45 and 44 bullets do! BTW, the best source for Speer products these days is on the Speer website since they have taken to selling direct these days. Still, in going thru their products, most are listed as "currently unavailable." Personally, I think they've laid everyone but one guy off and he can only operate one machine at a time!

My carry ammo, for all of my handguns no matter what caliber, is the Underwood loading of the Lehigh Xtreme Defender bullets. In 10mm, that means I have a very small but precious stash of the 100gr XD bullet, which my Glock 29 shoots especially well but Lehigh is no longer making. In my Glock 40, I shoot the 115 gr. It is my opinion that the XD bullet is the best possible bullet anyone can get for SD/HD with a handgun, bar none! To top things off, while they are loud (but flash supressed) the recoil is extremely mild, while the velocities are sometimes hard to believe! These bullets have a round nose profile for feed reliability, are totally barrier blind and create wounds that out class every hollow point on the market. Unfortunately, while I have loaded for most of the bullets Lehigh makes in way of 10mm, I have been unable to match any of their factory velocities with available powders to reloaders (the only powders I have not tried are the VV powders which are pretty high priced around here!).

The only bullet that may (I say may because he hasn't finished development just yet) equal the Lehigh XD is Peter Pi jr.'s Defiant 10mm load. His other calibers come as close to the Lehigh's as any other bullet available, although his prices are downright scary! That should change as he ramps up production. I would not hesitate to carry any of his ammo line.

As a backup to the expensive Lehigh bullets/ammo (Lehigh is still making and selling ammo but you must go to the Wilson Combat website to find it! Other than they use plain brass cases instead of Underwoods nickel plated - both are Starline - the velocities are the same & costs similar) I much prefer to use Speer Gold Dots, but so far Speer hasn't sold anything other than the 200 gr GDHP that I'm aware of. Boo, hiss, Speer! Since I have not been able to find any other 165 gr. bullets that will withstand 10mm velocities I am forced into the 180 gr. XTP, which works ok, although they are not the most fun to shoot out of my G29. They're fine out of the G40, which seems to tame even the heaviest loads down to .45 ACP levels. Both of these pistols wear Holosun 508T series red dot sights, even though I recently had cataract surgery in both eyes and now can see without the glasses I've been wearing for for almost 60 years! But I still can't see the front sight clearly (my up close eyesight wasn't very good before the surgery but it's even worse now! I still need reading glasses but it's a small price to pay!) and I find I like the precision of the RDS over irons anyway, so the one thing I said I would never ever put on any of my guns (anything that takes a battery) are there to stay!

So far the best velocities I've been able to get without exceeding all the book numbers have been AA#9, BE-86, & Power Pistol (keep in mind I load mostly lighter weight bullets, with just a few 180's in the mix). The most disappointing powders have been Blue Dot and HS6 which have come in way under published velocity numbers, without far exceeding the published maximums. The use of magnum primers does help but they also play hob with the extreme spreads and standard deviation numbers. AA#9 seems to give the best velocities so far. I no longer shoot any plain lead bullets, except for the relatively small stash I have for 357 and 44 mags) and exclusively use Missouri Bullet Co.'s coated bullets. I hate lead bullets although I loved the price! I may yet sell my casting equipment!

While I have by no means forsaken my .45 ACP, the 10mm is my new love and I wish I'd of made the change 30 some years ago when Uncle Jeff said to. I could just never get the money together for a Delta Elite. I should have sacrificed more back then so I wouldn't be swimming in 45 brass and bullets while wishing I had more 10mm now! Ah well, better late than never, right?
Cheers,
crkckr
Click to expand...
It made me think about what I had on my reloading shelf. I got 4 boxes of 180 gr gold dots. Only 1 was open. They are great bullets in a big 10mm. For sure
 
445 supermag said:
It made me think about what I had on my reloading shelf. I got 4 boxes of 180 gr gold dots. Only 1 was open. They are great bullets in a big 10mm. For sure
Click to expand...
I used to shoot Speer bullets often and now they are hard to find, especially Gold Dots.The last time I found some they had 2 limit.
I will keep on the watch for 165 gr Gold Dots but don't have much room in the ammo safe for too many.
I need to pull everything out and take an inventory.I might surprise myself at what I have had for many years.
 
Old rooster said:
I used to shoot Speer bullets often and now they are hard to find, especially Gold Dots.The last time I found some they had 2 limit.
I will keep on the watch for 165 gr Gold Dots but don't have much room in the ammo safe for too many.
I need to pull everything out and take an inventory.I might surprise myself at what I have had for many years.
Click to expand...
I could almost swear I received an in-stock notification for 165gr 40 cal gold dots not long ago. It also could've been for 124gr 9mms. I set up so many in-stock notifications that I lose track and when they come in, I've already decided I wanted to try something else. Since I only shoot 200gr HC lead out of my 10mm, these would've been for a 40S&W, but I already have enough factory ammo to fill up my magazines.
 
Old rooster said:
Thanks 436,I'll try these.

ARlife4me I hate that Speer got us hooked on their bullets and I can't seem to find them too much anymore.
If I can find the 165 gr GD HP I'll get some.Which powder do you use on them?
Click to expand...
besides the gold dots in 165, try v-crown in 165's. I like them just as much and sierra makes the v's for sig. I'm not sure if there's a 180 or 200gr version of the v's? I shoot a lot of different brands in the same caliber and just tailor each depending on who's shooting it (wife, kids or helping out friends in need). There's a parent in the same town I'm in that has a child that's a classmate of my twins that I did some test loads for her to try. She has been shooting 180's in her 40smith, so I made 10 x 10 for her to understand recoil difference in weight change, but still have the same muzzle energy. 10 cartridges of 135's, 10 of 150's, 10 of 155's, 10 of 165's and the rest was a bullet brand mix along with different powders. I told her to shoot 3, make notes, shoot a different 3, make notes and so on until 30 rounds of 3x10. The 1st set was slow fire and the next set of 3x10 was quicker. She couldn't believe how much difference the was from her regular 180's and the reloads I did. We both had the same handgun, so I tested (all were below max pressure) 1 of each in my gun before sending/handing to her. Now the problem.......the 1's she liked the best are not in production anymore (sierra 135's).
 
I fear that the Sig V Crown 165 gr bullet will be like all the other 165's I've tried - designed to work at 40 Short & Weak velocities but they simply come apart at 10mm velocities. I've had the same happen with some 180 gr bullets as well, even some that are bonded! I believe the same is probably true of the Gold Dots but then, since Speer has decided to poop all over us reloaders, I may never find out! I won't buy their ammo because, like a lot of factory stuff these days, it's velocities are down right sad! I'm not sure what is going on but it seems to happening to everyone in the industry except Underwoid and Buffalo Bore. I think you could also include Double Tap and Defiant Munitions, who actually load 10mm up to real 10mm velocities, not stuff watered down to some other caliber! At this point in time I'm glad I'm a reloader because at least I can control what my velocities are... unfortunately, I have not been able to duplicate any of Underwood's velocities loading the Lehigh Xtreme Defender bullets. So I load them up as hot as I can manage while keeping pressures at a semi-reasonable level but I carry the factory loaded ammo. Now if I were a rich man I'd get.... well, forget that, I'm far from rich so no use dreaming! Like most of us, I just do what I can with what I've got!
Cheers,
crkckr
 
crkckr I feel the same way about Speer.
When I was younger,starting in the early 70's I bought Speer and Hornady as well as Sierra all the time.I went to my local LGS recently and found some powder and a few other things but no Speer bullets I wanted.They had 2 boxes of 6.5 bullets that I don't shoot but nothing I shoot.
I did find 2 boxes of Sierra bullets and bought them and not a lot more.
Your right,Speer should have treated us reloaders better.We made Speer a house hold name and what do we get from that now?
I killed so many deer with the old Hot Core bullets I could never count.Then the Grand Slam.
I see so little from them anymore and wish they returned to their former self.
Not sure that will ever happen.
 
Once the corporate bean counters get hold of a company they're like bulldogs and just won't let go. They shake the company up like a dog with a ragged toy until every loose penny falls from every nook.... then in most cases just leave the shell of what was a great company to deal with nothing but a shell of it's former self. Or a spit covered doggy toy that is so nasty even other dogs won't touch it! I suspect this is what has happened at Speer. Or maybe they have laid everyone off except one guy and he can only operate one machine at a time and that produces just enough of the the best selling ammo they have leaving nothing for us poor, downtrodden reloaders... you know, those of us who helped make Speer the company with the reputation they used to have?! **** bean counters... they're like lawyers and should be all packed up and be sent to Iran or some other place where they'll be appreciated!
Cheers,
crkckr
 
Odd thing; I'm shooting more Speer now than I've ever used before. I have loads for 1/2 my rifles with Speer bullets. I guess it's all in the availability of what we need when we need it lately. Nosler has been the one who's dropped the ball for my needs lately. Hornady has been there other than for 405 win stuff, and they just let some 405 bullets loose on the market lately, so that may change.
 

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