Try A 10mm 1911 Handgun For Big Game

Hunters eager to hunt big game with a handgun, but wary of .44 Rem. Mag. recoil, should consider the little-known, but deadly 10mm Automatic in a 1911-style autoloader.

The beloved 1911 is best known as the platform for the man-stopper .45 Automatic, often mislabeled the .45 ACP, which really references the pistol, Automatic Colt Pistol. Throwing a 230-grain flat-nose or round-nose bullet 900 fps, the. 45 Auto generates 414 foot pounds (f.p.) muzzle energy. In contrast, the 10mm Automatic kicks out a 180-grain bullet 1,200 fps to churn up 575 f.p. energy.

Neither is what anyone would consider a heavy hitter compared to 1,726 f.p. muzzle energy kicked up by a .44 Rem. Mag., spitting a 240-grain bullet 1,800 fps, but then neither of the autos recoils like a .44 Rem. Mag., either.

But can the 10mm take down deer? Oh yeah.

I discovered this remarkable round during a hunt at Rock Hill Ranch near Cross Plains, Texas. My gun was a sleek-looking, finely balanced, silky functioning Republic Forge 1911 that kicked so little that I doubted it would terminate a bunny. Zeroed with 180-grain Cor-Bon Bonded Core Hunter bullets at 75 yards, the pistol punched paper 2 inches high at 50 yards and just 4.5 inches low at 100 yards, a trajectory that surprised me. I didn't think it would be that flat. Or inflict the damage it did.

The first hog stood quartering toward me at around 40 yards. It absorbed a solid hit to the chest and fled. I found it expiring in an erosion cut about 100 yards away and added a finishing shot. Both bullets passed through the chest cavity. Estimated pig weight: 230 pounds.