Why aren't there any more .40SW/10mm Revolvers?

novaDAK

New member
Judging by ammo prices, .40 can be had for the same as or lower cost than .38spl, so why aren't there more 10mm revolvers (like how you can shoot .38spl out of a .357, why not have a 10mm revolver you can shoot .40 out of?) I would have thought this would have been a popular idea--use 10mm for defense, and use .40 for plinking. With a longer barrel you could even use it for hunting. With moon clips, reloading would be quick.
So, why isn't this a popular idea?

Most people would say that .40 and 10mm are better rounds than .38 and .357 respectively.
 
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JohnKSa

Administrator
Revolvers chambered in autopistol cartridges have always been something of a rarity. They're out there, but there are never many of them. Same way with automatics chambered in revolver cartridges...
 

kgpcr

New member
They are very common

They call it a .41 mag and its outstanding in a revolver! no moon clips or any of that trash to mess with and more power to boot!
 

novaDAK

New member
sasquatch I knew S&W made a 10mm revolver. But what confused me was why they wern't more popular. But yeah I can see KGCPR's point about .41mag, but the availability of .40SW should be attractive for a person wanting a good defensive revolver which with a longer barrel would be OK for hunting/woods protection with 10mm...
 

waynedm

Moderator
You could always get a Ruger Bisley in .45 Colt/.45acp. I know it's not exactly what you want, but it's an auto pistol cartidge.
 

novaDAK

New member
I'm not actually looking to buy anything right now. I was just merely posting a topic I've always wondered about. That's all!
 

skeeter1

New member
Semi-auto rounds vs. revolver rounds

They call it a .41 mag and its outstanding in a revolver! no moon clips or any of that trash to mess with and more power to boot!

There are plenty of fine rimmed revolver cartridges to be had without trying to stuff rimless semi-auto rounds with half-moon clips into a revolver. If it made sense, the wheelgun manufacturers would do it to make a buck, but I think they know there's no market for them out there. The only one that's hung around for quite awhile is the .45ACP (with moon clips) in the S&W revolver, and I don't know why it exists. Get a M29/629 and load it with .44Spls and it will work just as well. I'm sure there's just no market for a 10mm revolver.
 
All I know is, if there was a .40/10mm revolver; I would buy it in a second over a .38/.357.

edit: is this already possible with current 10mm revolvers?
 

9x19

New member
Well, with very few exceptions, they were only popular with the gamers looking for a competitive advantage in the handgun shooting sports. :cool:
 

dakotashooter2

New member
Why??????? Because rimless cases in a revolver are basicaly a PITA. You will note a similar occurance in that there are few semi autos that use rimmed cases. In either case while they will work they don't always provide optimum performance for that shooting platform., especially for plinking where a large amount of ammo is lilkely to be fired. Loading moon clips to feed the gun can get pretty tedious. If I recall the 45ACP revolvers would probably not exist in the numbers they do if not for WW2. The military was not keen on issuing 2 types of 45 ammo so they adapted to using the revovers with moon clips.
 

Sturmgewehre

New member
10mm rocks. While I wouldn't necessarily want it in a revolver, I love it in an auto. Too bad it died... I wish it would make a come back, but that would require a huge renewed interest.

Unfortunately people buy what gun rags promote and what police and military issue. Since the 10mm isn't all that popular with any of the above, most average gun owners have little or no interest in it.

The 10mm went from wildcat to main stream when the FBI adopted it. When they dropped it and the .40 came out, that was the end of the 10mm.

Personally, I think 10mm is one of the best auto loader rounds ever.
 

gb_in_ga

New member
I can think of 2 reasons right off hand.

1> Moon clips are a PITA. Yes, they make for fast reloads which makes them a popular choice for certain shooting sports. But, for just going to the range and shooting, they are a PITA when it comes to clipping loaded rounds and unclipping empties. FWIW, that's why they came up with the .45 Auto Rim round -- to get around the PITA factor in .45 ACP revolvers using moonclips.

2> One of the advantages that revolvers have over autoloaders is that they are much less picky about bullet design affecting the feeding reliability of the weapon. If the brass is sized and the OAL isn't too long, the round will feed. That means that given otherwise equal potential autoloader and revolver rounds, the autoloader bullet must take into account feeding reliability into its design where the revolver bullet does not. That implies compromise in the design of autoloader bullets that revolver bullets do not have. We live with this when we use autoloaders and accept that implied compromise, but we do not have to live with the compromise when we use revolvers. That is, unless we are trying to use autoloader bullets in a revolver. I'm not saying that it won't work, because it does. But it entails having an inherent compromise that otherwise wouldn't be there. Of course, you can avoid that to a certain extent by handloading/reloading, but even then you'll find yourself in the position of not being able to find revolver optimized components readily available for autoloader rounds.
 

c.j.sikes

New member
10 mm rev. and moon clips

i shoot a 10 mm rev with moon clips, the clips are easy to load and unload with the right equpt. i find the rev. easey to hand load, up or down. on the range i carry 20 or so clips to shoot targets. i use hard cast bullets and find the cost very reasonable. my 10 has a 6 inch barrel and i really enjoy it. everyone does their own thing. only time and experince will tell. thanks c.j. sikes
 

Mike P. Wagner

New member
Moon clips are a PITA

My Blackhawk 45LC came with an extra cylinder that had a little ridge in each hole so that I can shoot 45 ACP without moon clips - it spaces on the case mouth. A waste of money - I've never used it. I can't imagine anyone shooting 45 ACP when there's a great round like a 45 LC available. But I understand that's just me. :)

I suspect that Ruger doesn't make it because there's not much interest. I think most folks who shoot .41 magnum are hunters looking for more power than an autoloader cartridge is going to offer. I think autoloading cartidges in general have to make compromises (mostly size) that revolvers don't have to make. I am guessing that there is a reasonable market for revolvers that shoot both revolved and autoloader rounds (45 LC/45 ACP, 357 Mag/9mm), but not much call for a revolver that shoots two autoloader rounds (10mm/40 S&W).

Who knows? If the 40 S & W gets popular enough, maybe somebody will. There are some 45 ACP only wheelguns. But I think it will be a while until 10mm or 40 S&W are as popular as the 45 ACP.

Mike
 

cje1980

New member
In short because you can buy a 41 or 44 Magnum revolver in the same size gun. There just isn't much point in it. The demand for such a gun just isn't high enough to justify manufacturing one.
 

Gonzo_308

New member
I could be wrong but I though the 610 was built on an L frame? that would make it the same size as a 686 or 357 magnum.

I still think I'd prefer a 357 over a 10mm though.
 

pinotguy

New member
The Smith & Wesson 610 was built on the N-Frame. They made a model for a couple of years - the 646 - that was built on the L-Frame. It was chambered in .40 S&W/4" bbl. only, and was offered in a standard version and a PC version. (FWIW, I'd love to find one of these someday.)
 
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