Hand loaded 10mm 200 gr Gold Dot over 7.6 gr of 800X fired from 4.5" barrel EAA Witness through four layers of denim into calibrated gelatin.
BB: 584.7 fps, 3.5"
Impact velocity: 1,065 fps
Penetration: 12.6"
Retained weight: 200.8 gr
Max expansion: 0.825"
Min expansion: 0.523"
Please note the very deep cuts created when the bullet was pulled.
RMR is the company that had the 200grain Gold Dots which were pulled from 40S&W ammo made for LE by Federal back in 2009. They were a limited supply and were sold quickly.
I know that ft/lbs and TSC are not particularly relevant to handgun wounding, but it’s hard to look at 10mm or .357 mag impacts in gelatin and not be impressed in how much it MOVES the block compared to 9mm/.40/.45. Is it possible that, despite having little physiological effect, that the extra ft/lbs make a greater psychological effect? Does the target really FEEL the hit more?
Not true. At velocities under about 2,000 fps, TSC is not a significant wounding factor. It has to do with the fact that human tissue (with the exception of brain and liver tissue) is very elastic.
I think it could back off by about 100 fps and do slightly better. My personal defense load (for the rare occasions that I carry the 10mm) is a 165 gr GDHP at about 1,300 fps.
Knocking those gelatin blocks around was indeed impressive to me when I was a young lad.
Today, I look at it this way. Temporary cavity is not much pumpkin when it comes to handgun cartridges. Which does not mean it does not ever happen. It just means it is not much pumpkin. I like my 9x23mm, and in a wheelgun, I don’t feel unarmed with the old school 125 grain JHPs. However, it is not some thing that you can count on. It is not something that can be measured. If it happens, great, but the conventional BG testing techniques show us the good handgun performers, and we should look at those results.
Maybe I am looking at it all wrong. I do guarantee that good performing cartridges are available in all service calibers now, and when I first started shooting, well, this couldn’t be said.
So, I tend to concentrate on the performance improvement that has been made over RNL, SWC, and FMJ. There may be incremental improvements from here, but I think we have mostly seen the Holy Grail.
In my informal testing, it appears that the velocity of the 10mm tends to make up for poor bullet design to a great extent. Obsolete bullets or generic, not bonded hollow points tend to still expand through denim when they probably wouldn’t have at slower speeds. 10mm or .357 made bullets work REALLY well that might not have at slower velocity back in the day. Today, though, we have a wide range of loads that perform well in the service calibers.
For the record, my EDC is a G23 loaded with 180 gr Gold Dots.