Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
There is a cult among gun owners. They’re secretive in person but loud online. They often hide in the corners of the internet, waiting for their beloved object of obsession to be mentioned. The cult of the 10mm is strong and always has been. While small, they are easy to find. Go to any forum and ask, is the 10mm worth it? They shall reveal themselves to you!
The Mighty 10mm
Okay, paranoia hat off, but seriously, the 10mm keeps a cult following four decades after its invention and last duty use. Jeff Cooper had an idea, and Norma had an engineering department. What emerged was one caliber to rule them all. It would be more powerful than 9mm but provide more capacity than 45 ACP. FBI adoption of the round after the ’86 Miami FBI Shootout guaranteed a degree of immortality to the cartridge.
While it’s fallen out of vogue with government agencies, the round is still popular. It’s quite versatile and can be loaded light for enjoyable plinking or heavy enough to take bear if need be. Somewhere in between sit some excellent defensive loadings. The 10mm is a great cartridge, and if it interests you, you might be wondering what rifles and handguns are available to you.
You’ve come to the right place!
The Best 10mm Handguns and Rifles
FN 510 Tactical
The FN 510 Tactical is one of the latest 10mm polymer frame, duty-type pistols on the market. If we are looking at duty-sized handguns, the FN 510 takes the cake from Glock, S&W, and the 1911 world. The FN 510 Tactical is a beefed-up FN 509 series that’s adorned with all the modern features you could throw a stick at.
Those features are why the FN 510 Tactical beats the competitors. Of course, we get removable backstraps and a Picatinny rail, but it’s more than that. It comes ready with a threaded barrel.
That allows you to add a muzzle brake to trim some recoil from the mighty 10mm or a suppressor to take advantage of those subsonic loads that are available.
The rear of the slide features an optics-ready configuration that uses a replaceable plate system to utilize a wide variety of optics. When you consider the flat shooting nature of the 10mm, a red dot makes a lot of sense to wring out all the range possible. FN even includes suppressor height sights for that potential suppressor and red dot addition. To top it all off, the gun comes with a 15-round flush-fit magazine and a 22-round extended magazine.
Glock 40
Glock has been fans of the 10mm for quite some time. They’ve consistently produced the Glock 20 and Glock 29, even when the popularity of the centimeter dipped. While the G29 and G20 are fine firearms, my personal favorite is the Glock 40. Glock’s 40 isn’t a 40 S&W, but a 10mm, although the 10mm evolved into the .40 S&W. At this point, I’m pretty sure Glock’s naming convention is on purpose at this point just to mess with us.
The Glock 40 is built on the Glock 20 frame but utilizes a 6-inch barrel. A longer barrel offers a few advantages.
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We get a little extra velocity from the longer barrel but also more control due to extra weight. Control is great with a heavy recoiling round. We also get a longer sight radius, which helps us shoot a bit more accurately.
That’s great, but I would take advantage of the MOS system Glock includes and add an optic. Shooters can really stretch out their range with a red dot. This is the perfect handgun if you choose to go hunting with your handgun. With the right load, it’s an excellent pistol for medium game and even good bear defense. The Glock 40 offers you all the Glock customization and reliability you can handle.
Glock 29
Another day, another Glock. The Glock 29 is the complete opposite of the Glock 40. The Glock 40 is the long boi option, and the Glock 29 is the little fella. The Glock 29 is a very rare subcompact 10mm handgun. If you need a concealed carry weapon that will work great for traditional self-defense and well for dealing with animals, then the Glock 29 is for you.
The Glock 29 features a 3.77-inch barrel; its overall length is just a hair below seven inches.
The gun isn’t light at 26.81 ounces, but it’s as small as a 10mm can get. The Glock 29 can be tough to handle with the short grip, and I do suggest a +2 extension that offers you a slightly longer grip.
The Glock 29 offers you a simple set of controls and a level of reliability that’s tough to beat. It’s a little gun that functions with the wider variety of 10mm cartridges out there. The little G29 isn’t for everyone, but it’s most certainly the best subcompact 10mm out there.
B&T APC10
This isn’t a rifle, but isn’t a standard handgun either. It’s a large format pistol if you will. I typically call them subguns, which meets the vibe just right. The APC10 takes the normal APC and turns the switch to 10mm. The weapon takes Glock magazines, which are the most common 10mm magazine options out there.
The B&T APC10 is a Swiss-made large-format pistol that uses a direct blowback system. Blowback typically results in a little extra recoil, but the B&T APC series uses a hydraulic buffer inside the gun to reduce recoil and generate a more comfortable recoil impulse.
It’s surprisingly soft and makes those quick follow-up shots easy. The 6.9-inch barrel gives you a velocity boost, and a weight over six pounds keeps recoil low.
The B&T APC10 is a great option for home defense if you want something that moves a little faster than 9mm. Pair the gun with a weapon light and optic, and you have something short and easily maneuverable indoors. Like most B&T guns, the ergonomics are great, and the gun is extremely well made, but boy, oh boy, is it expensive.
READ MORE: Walther Announcing Slender PDP F-Series for Everyday Carry
Kriss Vector
The Kirss Vector is where we get into proper rifle territory. Admittedly, the gun also comes as a large format pistol if you want to take that route. The Kirss Vector looks like it stepped out of Battle Star Galactica and into your hands. Admittedly, the futuristic appeal of the gun goes beyond skin deep. The Kriss Vector utilizes a very interesting delayed blowback system that has the bolt move with an inertia block downward into a recess behind the mag well.
This is known for reducing recoil substantially. It’s mostly felt in the weapon’s submachine gun form, but even in semi-auto, the Kriss Vector does deliver a very smooth recoil impulse with the 10mm.
It’s as soft shooting as a 10mm rifle can get. You certainly won’t get any control issues with the Vector series of PCCs.
As you’d expect, we get all the fancy rails you need for accessories and optics. The guns have various stock configurations, but they typically fold, and some can collapse like a six-position AR stock. The rifle variants use a mock suppressor to cover the ultra-long barrel, which is a nice aesthetic choice all around. The gun uses Glock mags, so make sure you grab some of the Kriss Vector magazine extensions.
Just Right Carbine
The Just Right Carbine series are interesting AR-Lite rifles. They aren’t quite ARs, but something akin to the design. They have the AR layout, with an AR-like safety and magazine release and an AR grip, but it’s different enough to deviate from the traditional 10mm platform. A lot of the differences come from the fact the gun was originally built to be a takedown design, making it very convenient as a pack rifle.
As a pack rifle, the 10mm is a great option. It’s powerful enough to deal with serious wildlife in a pinch but still light and compact enough to be easily carried.
The JRC series are simple blowback designs but plenty reliable. They pack a little punch on both ends with a sharp recoil impulse. Sharp, but not painful.
The JRC uses a Glock magazine, which is a common theme for this article. The FN 510 is the only gun that doesn’t take Glock mags on this list. The JRC offers an affordable rifle platform in 10mm that’s a great survival rifle choice if that’s something you need. Toss an optic on it, and you’ll be good to go.
A Sacrifice to The 10mm Cult
My secret is that I’m a member of the cult of 10mm. I’m quite partial to the round. It’s fun to shoot and versatile, and while I don’t face any bears, I guess I could. What do you think about the 10mm? Do you have a preferred 10mm rifle or pistol? Share below!
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