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Late December, 2023 Taurus announced theh release of their first 10mm handgun, the TH10. A few months later I was able to get my hands on one and was curious to experience it on the range. Those who have read our Taurus TH45 review will see a lot of commonalities. The TH45 and TH10 share the same frame and feature set, with the only notable difference being the caliber and capacity.
What Is it? The Taurus TH10 is a polymer-framed, hammer-fired, double-stack 10mm handgun with a double-action/single-action trigger and a safety mecahnism that doubles as a decocker, and can be put on safe in double or single action.
Who's It For? Although not a small firearm, the Taurus TH10's 4.25" barrel and 28.5oz weight makes it more portable than many other 10mm offerings. The MSRP of $530.99 (current retail pricing below) also makes it one of the more affordable options. Those who seek 10mm power for deep back-country life as an anti-bear gun will find the prospect of a lighter, more affordable, and DA/SA gun for the powerful cartridge appealing. COnsidering the cost of 10mm ammunition saving a couple bucks on the gun might make the TH10 a good first-time 10mm pistol for those curious about shooting 10mm.
My next pont may stir some controversy, but having reviewed over 400 handguns I've found the recoil impulse of hammer-fired guns to generally be smoother. My belief is that slide decelleration while arming the mainspring is greater than that of arming most strikers; as a result the slide hit the end of its travel with less energy on a hammer-fired gun than a striker-fired gun. In short, it's my opinion that hammer-fired semi-auto guns have an ellongated recoil impulse with a lower peak-recoil than striker-fired guns of the same caliber. This means the Taurus TH10 may produce a more-managable recoil impulse than a striker-fired 10mm.
Get a Closer Look at the Taurus TH10 in the tabletop video below:
Taurus TH10 Specs
UPC: 7-25327-62361-8
CALIBER: 10 MM AUTO
CAPACITY: 15 Rounds
FRONT SIGHT: Drift Adjustable
REAR SIGHT: Drift Adjustable
MAGAZINES INCLUDED: 2
ACTION TYPE: DA/SA
FRAME SIZE: Full
BARREL LENGTH: 4.25 In.
OVERALL LENGTH: 7.80 In.
OVERALL HEIGHT: 5.80 In.
OVERALL WIDTH: 1.43 In.
OVERALL WEIGHT: 28.50 Oz. (Unloaded)
TWIST RATE: 1:16 - in RH twist
GROOVES: 6
MSRP: $530.99
Online prices as of 11APR24
(subject to change, click links for current pricing)
While 10mm certainly gets lots of talk on the internet, sales numbers for 2023 show the caliber to be surprisingly not purchased often. Fortunately I still had some in reserve and was able to to follow the standard GBGuns Range Review protocol was followed including:
Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun.
Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It's a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure. This is also when I do my best to learn the trigger.
What's For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.
For this gun we used the following ammunition:
Priced and linked where found at the time this article was written. Apparently DoubleTap Ammunition has discontinued or changed some of the loadings.
155gr Doubletap DT Lead Free
180gr Hornady Custom XTP $23.01 / 20 at Global Ordnance
180gr Remington Bonded BJHP $48.99 / 20 at Remington
180gr Doubletap FMJ Match
180gr S&B FMJ $21.62 / 50 at Global Ordnance
180gr Remington Golden Saber $38.99 / 20 at Remington
180gr Doubletap Bonded Defense
190gr Doubletap Equalizer
200gr Doubletap Controlled Expansion
200gr Speer Gold Dot $33.73 / 20 at Global Ordnance
Range Ammo was 180gr Federal American Eagle FMJ $47.99 / 50 at Federal
Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6" spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.
Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn't so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.
After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.
The entire process can be seen in the Shooting Impressions video below:
Ammunition seen in our Shooting Impressions video was made possible in part by our Patrons and supporters of our ammunition savings account through Ammo Squared.
On the Range the Taurus TH10 didn't let me forget that I was shooting 10mm, but it didn't punish me either. The same frame that worked well enough for me with the TH45 worked just fine here too. I don't know if it was me getting used to the platform (shot the same day as the TH45), or perhaps the two guns being on different ends of the QC/QA spectrum, but I shot much better with the TH10 and felt the trigger was nicer and more predictable.
I can envision the 2024 market screaming that this gun should have a red dot mount, but I question if modern dots, ore more importabtly their mounting screws would survive long on a 10mm. So far all common dot-mounting systems apply recoil as a sheer force against dot mounting screws. Sheer force is not what screws were designed to bear.
Of the 10mm handguns I've shot, the Taurus TH10 is one of the most balanced and manageable. While the finish may not be the greatest, the TH10 is also one of the more affordable options. The caliber and feature set seem perfect for those needing an affordable back country gun, but slide refinishing may be needed.
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