I'm looking to pick up a side arm to carry with me while elk, bear, and eventually moose hunting. I'm considering the 10mm, feel free to talk me out of it.

I'm not going to try. I love my Kimber TRL II 10mm or whatever it's called.

Get an EAA Witness Elite. They also have a "Hunter" model. Nice gun. Looks good. Accurate. priced right. Love the gun! I would not shoot a moose with it, however!
Peter.

i love the 10mm --- if using factory loads, be selective in what you carry -- anything from 40sw to HOLY COW loads are available

i've taken deer, pigs, exotics, and other things with mine --

I'm looking at the Glock 20. I don't have any plans to actually hunt with it. I want something as a defensive firearm while in the backcountry and think the Glock will suit that need well.

The new Glock 40 is very sweet and hard to beat. Put an RMR on it and you have a just about perfect hunting sidearm as far as I'm concerned. Accurate and soft-shooting even with very heavy loads.

For back country use I find a good revolver hard to beat. a 357 41 44 mags well do what you need and there are far more options. All of them can be loaded from light to hot.

I have three guns I use for those situations, depending which continent I'm on- .454 Raging Bull 5" for mildly expected problems and Ruger SRH 7 1/2" .454 for serious stuff. Big selection of bullets that will handle almost anything. When my life may be in danger-FA .475 Linebaugh, 7 1/2", very light, easy to carry.
10mm is a little iffy for really big game.

I'm with Peter on this one. My Witness is the most accurate out of the box pistol I've ever owned.

I'm in the back country and I carry a G20SF. I put a Lone Wolf barrel and 22lb spring along with a ss guide rod. I have packed lots of guns but I prefer my 10mm . It's easy to shoot well. I strongly recommend the 10 I use 220gr TC Buffalo Bore atm. I haven't had to shoot for my life with it yet. And hope I don't have to. Not that I don't trust it. I just prefer to deal with heavy and dangerous with a rifle. All those reccomended are good choices . But, a 10 is also.

460 Rowland was developed for this.

Jiri

Yes it was and it is a great choice. I researched alot on it and the 45Super and decided on the Super. Pretty much the same velocity but if I want to shoot ACP it is not headspacing on the extractor. I got a G21 SF gen 3 for the job . Before I got the LW barrel , comp,24lb spring and ss guide rod I played around with "improving " the ACP round in it . I came up with a 250 gr Berry's plated flat nose TC pushed by 9gr of Accurate #7 . It gave me around 850fps . 100% reliable function ( once I shortened the oal. And it didn't batter the frame. That is with the OEM spring and guide rod. . But , I traded it off so now will need to get another to continue my project.
I also want to play around with the Lehigh Penetrators in the 9 , 10, and 45. . I do wish Lehigh made the 10mm Penetrators in at least 180 gr. For the 10mm Auto. However I won't b able to do any reloading until freeze up , if things go according to the plan. :-(

I have a Glock 20 stock barrel heavy main spring and SS guide rod, I shoot Buffalo Bore 220 Gr cast bullets. And do not shoot jacketed unless I remove all the lead.

Very accurate and easy to control, much easier to shoot than my S&W 29 with 300 gr cast loads.

That was the deciding factor on what I carry up here in AK. Was talking to 4 other miners and FS workers last year and they all carried the Glock 20. Like the thought of 15 rounds that I can hit with. Plus a 10 MM might not stop a bear but 14 of his friends might!

CEB makes a copper 190gr flat nose SOLID in 40cal. Might be just the ticket for nasties if you roll your own loads!

I like 10mm G20. Have two of them.

Ultimate 10mm for me would be a S&W 610 unfluted 6" bored out to 10mm Magnum.

Cold Trigger Finger:

I get/load ~1420 fps (~900 ft-lb) with Lehigh Penetrator and ~1250 fps with 250gr HC out of my 460 Rowland.

I have two barrels for pistol, one in .45 ACP and another one in .460 Rowland. For proper functioning, I also change recoil spring and firing pin stop (square firing pin stop and 22 lb spring for rowland, 16 lb and round stop for ACP).

Jiri

quote:

Very accurate and easy to control, much easier to shoot than my S&W 29 with 300 gr cast loads.

Load your 44 down to 10mm levels and it well be Just as easy to control.

I had a Glock 20 and sold it and bought a Glock 40. I prefer the G40 for woods carry because of its longer barrel and sight radius. I handload both 200 XTPs and Beartooth 200 grain WFNGCs for it and my STI Perfect 10. I also have an S&W 629 Classic and Ruger Super Redhawk. So, I carry whatever seems appropriate for the situation. (camping, fishing, dipnetting etc.)

I have individual hip holsters for each of the above handguns and they all conveniently fit in my black nylon chest holster. The chest holster is now made by Man Gear out of Wasilla, Alaska. Mine was originally made for my Ruger Super Redhawk and I was pleasantly surprised to find it fit all my handguns.

I have had all manner of 10mms and carry one daily. My current favorite for every day carry and woods carry is a .357 Ruger GP100 that I had Dave Clements convert to 10mm. It has a 3 inch barrel and carries very well and shoots great. The moon clips also allow thee use of .40 S&W for cheap shooting.

That's a nice looking 10mm revolver

I have a Glock 20SF with a KKM barrel and JPoint sight. Easy to carry and provides a lot of firepower. I shoot either a 180 gr. JHP, or a 190 gr. FNGC. I have yet to take a game animal with it, but would not hesitate on a shot less than 50 yards.

I carry a Glock 20 as well, same reasons as some previous posters.
-15 rounds
-Plenty of loads that are plenty stout
-Piece of cake to shoot a lot of bullets in the right spot in a short period of time vs. revolver (for me). I'm assuming I'll be scared to death if I have to use it for bear protection, so the ease of operation and number of bullets eventually on target is more important for me than the ft lbs of the load.

Had a sweet revolver that I carried for years, loved the look, feel and ft lbs of the loads, just didn't win the comparison for me. Sold it, with regret that wont go away, and bought a Glock 20.