Shooting .40 S & W in an unmodified 10mm

[Kenk]

a good friend called and asked me about this, and though I'd get your take on it. Would there be issues shooting .40 S&W In an unmodified 10mm?, and if so, other than possible reliability issues, would it be dangerous or potentially hurt his weapon? It does sound like there could be possible extractor and or headspace issues as well.
Thanks

Ken

[sqlbullet]

It really depends.

I would say most modern 10mm handgun will probably work fine with 40 S&W.  The only gun I know of that the manufacturer stated would work is the Peter Stahls linkless 1911.

Many Glock owners report doing so with no ill effect.  I would not suggest it for a S&W 10XX guns as I have seen pictures of the brass that clearly show that the firing pin knocks the brass off the extractor hook, then detonates the primer.  The result are some mangled spent primers that were partially blown out and some pretty beat up case heads.

I used to be pretty vocal about my opinion that this was a bad idea. I still personally won't do it with my guns, else the zombie is about to munch my leg.  But I seen enough reports of guys doing it with no ill effects to get wound up about it.

[Graybeard]

I wouldn't suggest doing it in a 1911 with an internal extractor. External extractor designs typically are held in with a pin and their tension is provided by a spring under the opposite end from the hook. Internal extractors in 1911s are bent (tuned) to provide the correct tension. Since a .40 can't headspace in a 10mm chamber, the extractor is potentially taking more of a beating.

That said, it may work just fine. It may not. Reliability could be a factor, but not a kaboom.

I think the best advice is get a .40 barrel if you want to shoot .40s out of a 10. No risk at all that way.

[Kenk]

Thanks, after my friends inquiry, I thought briefly about trying a few .40 rd's in my new P220 Hunter, and than quickly turned away and ran
Thanks guys!

Ken