Last Updated September 10th 2023
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Winners at a Glance
The Glock 29 is still the best 10mm carry gun on the market, but there are plenty of new contenders to choose from. Here are our top picks.
| Image | Product | Detail | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Glock 29 |
| Price |
 | Springfield Armory XDM Elite Compact |
| Price |
 | Glock 20 |
| Price |
 | S&W M&P |
| Price |
 | Rock Island Armory Ultra HS |
| Price |
 | Ruger GP100 |
| Price |
 | Dan Wesson Specialist |
| Price |
Intro
The best 10mm handguns are coming back with a bang and that means a fresh wave of compact 10mm carry pistols.
It was the round the FBI turned to after losing faith in 9mm. Then it faded into obscurity before coming back as a handgun hunting round.
Suddenly long slide Glock 40s, Springfield TRP and Kimber Custom Shop guns were lining up alongside the Smith & Wesson revolver brigade.
That brought 10mm Auto back into the public consciousness. Well that and it’s increasing use as a bear defense round. Honestly you don’t get much higher endorsements than that. Of late, 10mm high capacity handguns have begun to displace the big revolver that Alaskans used to carry with them at all times.
Bears are serious. They are dangerous, and a mag dump on a polymer frame Glock 20 10mm or Glock 40, can fell a grizzly, or at least make them think more than twice. That is kind of awesome.
10mm Concealed Carry: The New Competitive Advantage
With gun laws focusing on capacity, rather than caliber, and human nature being what it is, more and more of us are looking to reclaim that competitive advantage.
That used to be capacity, with 9mm subcompact handguns packing in more than 15 rounds. But take that right away with magazine limits and you’ll start seeing much more people skip right past the 45 ACP cartridge and start carrying 10mm guns as an EDC.
So what are the best 10mm carry pistols for sale in 2023?
1. Glock 29 10mm SF
- Price: $549.99
- Caliber: 10mm Auto
- Barrel Length: 3.78 inch
- Total Length: 6.97 inch
- Weight: 1.55lb
- Capacity: 10+1
Overall Winner
Price: 4/5 Concealability: 5/5 Reliability: 5/5 Simplicity: 5/5
You really have to be a contrarian to go against Glock in the 10mm concealed carry class. The competition is heating up, but this 10mm Glock is still king.
The Glock 29 SF is the classic compact Glock 10mm pistol, a little smaller than a Glock 19, and it packs in 10+1 rounds of devastating 10mm pistol ammunition.
It is also a Glock, so it should fire every single time you hit the bang switch, it shouldn’t fail and it’s basically the best shot you have got at a firearm that functions exactly as nature intended when you really need it.
This is a Glock Gen 4, so the old complaints are present and correct. The trigger is slightly mushy, the finger grooves are kind of annoying and there’s definitely room for some aftermarket Glock parts & accessories.
Reliable, Accurate, Repeatable and Predictable
And yet the polymer frame pistol still wins this one, because of those traditional Glock strengths of reliability, accuracy, repeatability, predictability
In reality it’s a grey striker-fired plastic pistol that happens to pump out around 650lb/ft of muzzle energy. It isn’t exciting to look at, but the Glock 29 is brutally effective at self-defense distances.
Sometimes that’s really all you want in life.
Recoil is Serious With a 10mm
The 10mm Glock kicks like a mule. This doesn’t feel like a butter-smooth Glock 19 9mm pistol. At all. Get used to savage CCW recoil with 10mm carry pistols, or go full John Wick and fit a handgun compensator.
The semi-auto Glock 29 was never going to be a soft shooter. This is bear defense in a Glock 19 footprint. Considering the total perversion of science going on here, a savage kick is a small price to pay for the stopping power.
Other people think the recoil is too much. But hey, not everybody is tough like me and you…
2. Springfield Armory XDM Elite Compact OSP 10mm
- Price: $598.99
- Caliber: 10mm Auto
- Barrel: 3.8 inch
- Total: 7.7 inch
- Weight: 2lb
- Capacity: 11+1
A Close Second
Price: 4/5 Concealability: 5/5 Reliability: 3/5 Simplicity: 3.5/5
The Springfield Armory XDM Elite Compact OSP might be the best 10mm pistol you can carry and only reports of trigger issues and lock-ups are keeping it off the top spot. These are early teething problems, they will get fixed and this could be number one soon enough.
Springfield Armory always features highly on our
This is the next gen, match-grade XD Mod Compact, OSP. It comes with a fiber optic front sight and is optic ready for an upgrade to a red dot sight. Aside from that, this XD-M Compact OSP looks like a custom Glock that has just come back from a tuner.
Red dot sights are an increasingly common sight on CCW pistols. And the company has embraced them, making everything from the Springfield Hellcat through to the full size XD-M Elite and Compact OSP optics ready that could be the best handgun for home defense.
Have a look at this hands on review of one of the best 10mm pistols for conceal carry.
If you want an Energizer bunny of a compact 10mm handgun, and you don’t want a Glock, this is probably your new 10mm carry pistol. And this striker-fired pistol might just be better than that Glock after all.
3. Glock 20
- Price: $656.99
- Caliber: 10mm Auto
- Barrel length: 4.61″
- Total Length: 8.03”
- Weight: 1.73lb
- Capacity: 15+1
Best All Rounder
Price: 4/5 Concealability: 3/5 Reliability: 5/5 Simplicity: 5/5
If the Glock 29 wasn’t the best concealed carry pistol by a stretch, the Glock G20 10mm compact handgun would be your overall winner.
As it is, this is a seriously convincing 10mm pistol for personal defense and home defense. Don’t be fooled by its relatively lowly position. It’s just the size and that kinda basic sights set-up, and non adjustable rear sight while we’re here…
These are the Gen 5 10mm handguns, too, without the finger grooves and with a better trigger.
Still, the Glock G20 is a favorite bear defense gun and are pretty much the best 10mm pistols for anyone looking for a defensive pistol in bear and wolf country, or even a hunting handgun.
It’s a much more complete handgun than the Gen 4 G29 and you might want to bear that in mind when you’re buying a gun online. The fact it’s also compact enough to serve as a carry pistol is pretty damned impressive.
4. Smith & Wesson M&P Compact Optics Ready
- Price: $589.99
- Barrel: 4 inch
- Weight: 1.7lb
- Capacity: 15+1
The Best Compact Not a Glock
Price: 4/5 Concealability: 3/5 Reliability: 5/5 Simplicity: 4/5
Smith & Wesson was late to the best 10mm pistols party. But it’s here now and some people will be saying a silent prayer of thanks to see the S&W M&P Compact here.
If you want the slightly longer barrel to deal with the brutal muzzle flip, you’re just not a Glock fanboy or you have some kind of affinity with the pistol from your 9mm days, this Smith & Wesson M&P is a great gun, maybe even the best gun.
There S&W M&P has a proper manual safety, a detailed slide and a grip module that plenty of people will tell you is the best here. Smith & Wesson made this striker fired 10mm handgun optics ready, for the red dot sights you should invest in.
The second safety on the trigger is a nice touch, too. We don’t like the stock sights, but that’s an easy fix with the optics ready set-up on this S&W M&P.
Now this is one of the top 10mm pistols in 2023 and there’s a full size pistol with a 4.6 inch barrel too.
5. Rock Island Armory Ultra FS HC
- Price: $696.99
- Barrel length: 5 inch
- Total Length: 7.3
- Weight: 2.9lb
- Capacity: 16+1
Best Double Stack 1911
Price: 4/5 Concealability: 2/5 Reliability: 4/5 Simplicity: 2/5
Now we know that, normally, a 2.9lb full size 1911 doesn’t qualify as a carry pistol. And yet, and yet…
The Rock Island Armory is a double stack magazine with 16 rounds in it. 16 rounds of 10mm auto, plus one, and that is ridiculous for a traditional John Moses Browning design full size 1911.
Just for the sheer audacity of it, we love the Rock Island Armory Ultra FS HC 10mm handgun. For a home defense, car defense, self defense weapon. Whatever you want really. These are the kind of gun deals that made us start a website.
Also, that weight suddenly makes sense with this round, as it helps with recoil reduction. And that 5 inch government size barrel makes more sense when it helps control this feisty handgun ammo.
The Rock Island Ultra comes with the G10 grips and the flashy finishing touches that go with the Ultra line. You get that traditional beavertail grip safety, a fiber optic front sight and a pretty decent parkerized finish.
You also get a 17-round full size 1911 chambered in 10mm. And that will always be amazing. The Rock Ultra is a home defense rock star and it’s so good you might just want to find a way to carry it.
6. Ruger GP100 Wiley Clapp
- Price: $924.99
- Barrel length: 3 inch
- Length: 8.5 inch
- Caliber: 6
Best Revolver
Price: 4/5 Concealability: 1.5/5 Reliability: 4/5 Simplicity: 2/5
Some people prefer to carry a revolver. For them the stainless steel 10mm Ruger GP100 Wiley Clapp is the perfect answer.
The Ruger GP100 comes in some unusual calibers, including 9mm. The 10mm is an ideal target shooting gun for the range with a longer barrel. With the 3 inch barrel it might be kind of snappy. But it’s still a great 10mm Auto pistol that you could use for home defense, as well as personal protection.
Ready For Something Bigger?
A sub compact 10mm. It’s a great thing for concealment, but it kicks like a mule. 10mm recoil and muzzle rise are no joke and along with cost explain why it hasn’t taken over from 9mm as a personal defence round. 9mm Luger still rules the roost for many reasons, but felt recoil is one of them for sure.
But let’s say you’re set on 10mm pistols. A full sized gun is more of a PITA to transport daily, but there’s no doubt it helps to contain that savage kick. That’s just science.
Now the Rock Island Armory is so unique it’s staying up with the small 10mm guns, but there are options that just blur the lines between a carry and duty pistol. Because most of them did both jobs for LEOs and government agencies.
7. Ruger GP100 Wiley Clapp
- Price: $1,599.99
- Barrel: 5 inch barrel
- Overall Length: 8.8
- Weight: 2.75lb
- Capacity: 8+1
The Sig Sauer P220 Legion is a slightly bigger version of the 45 ACP Caliber you all know and love, as do Law Enforcement Officers. It’s a refinement of the Browning BDA pistol and one of the greatest 10mm pistols on the market.
Now the 5 inch barrel and additional weight of the cerakote clad stainless steel slide mean the Sig P220 isn’t a small gun by any stretch and it really is a full sized alternative to the single stack Delta Elite and Rock Ultra. But what an alternative.
If full sized longer barrels aren’t an issue and you like the longer sight picture for target acquisition, the best gun really might be the semi-automatic pistol right down the bottom of the list.
8. Ruger SR1911 10mm
- Price: $1,007.99
- Barrel: 5 inch barrel
- Overall Length: 8.8
- Weight: 2.5lb
- Capacity: 8+1
The Ruger SR1911 is one of the classic 1911 pistols and this one just happens to be fitted with target sights, a match barrel and chambered in 10mm.
You can get them with night sights and more tactical finishes too.
9. Colt Delta Elite
- Price: $1,524.99
- Barrel: 5″
- Total Length: 8.5″
- Weight: 2.19lb
- Capacity: 8+1 rounds
The Delta Elite is quite simply, an icon. When the FBI found serious faults with the 9mm Luger of the time, it commissioned a 10mm duty pistol for field agents that packed a bigger punch and more stopping power.
The Colt Delta Elite 10mm was that firearm.
The FBI fell out of love with the caliber and the Delta Elite over time and returned to the much-improved 9mm handguns. but that still leaves this great pistol that is revered for good reason.
A High Quality 1911 10mm Pistol
Now the full sized Colt Delta Elite 10mm pistol is for the likes of you and me. It’s a high quality, top tier handgun and you will love this beefed up, enhanced 1911 from the Novak rear sight through to that drilled and lightened trigger.
10. Dan Wesson Specialist 10mm
- Price: $1,969.99
- Barrel: 5″
- Total Length: 8.5″
- Weight: 2.5lb
- Capacity: 8+1 rounds
The Dan Wesson Specialist 10mm is another smash hit of a 1911 from the custom gunsmith.
Now we love this company and this is the tactical pistol, a 1911 built for combat with a match grade barrel.
It’s heavy and that long slide does go against the CCW spirit of this piece. But not all of you worry about that, you’re prepared to sacrifice a little to carry a full size example of John Moses Browning’s classic stainless steel handgun.
The extra weight does balance the recoil, a lot, and makes 10mm almost comfortable to shoot. So when it’s time to get down to business, the Specialist is brilliant and the single action trigger pull is stunning.
Where to Buy 10mm Ammunition
10mm loads are fairly popular handgun ammo, but not absolutely mainstream. So you might benefit from a few top picks on where to get your 10mm ammo and gun deals. Most places that sell the ammo will sell the 10mm pistol, too. That’s logic.
Palmetto State Armory is one of our favorite suppliers of guns and ammo at the moment and so it is with the 10mm pistol cartridge. We have a couple of other good options, too, but check out Palmetto State Armory first for your 170 grain projectiles and bigger full power 10mm loads like Buffalo Bore, and Sportsman’s Warehouse.
- Palmetto State Armory – Buy the best shooting 10mm ammo in bulk and get more stopping power.
- Sportsman’s Guide – Ammo for your 10mm pistols and gun deals on top 10mm cartridge choices.
- Sportsman’s Warehouse – Great ammo deals at Sportsman’s Warehouse for the best shooting 10mm loads.
10mm Handgun Parts & Accessories?
If you want parts & accessories, gun cleaning stuff, ear protection and more, we can help you with that. You want iron sights for an AR-15 or iron sights for your 308 rifle? Yes.
Brownells and Primary Arms are two of our favorite parts suppliers, although Palmetto State Armory isn’t far behind.
Primary Arms in particular is very good for upgrades and custom upgrades. Sportsman’s Guide is our current favorite for gun cleaning shiz, cleaning products or services etc and the best shooting accessories out there.
Other Guns You Might Like
We have a lot of other posts with lots of other gun deals you might like, rifles, shotguns, best handguns, pistols, revolvers etc. Check out these post for compact 9mm pistols, revolvers and more:
I am fortunate to have all the guns featured in this article except for the Wiley Clapp revolver., I have shot them all extensively. My favorite is the steel EAA Witness Compact, as I have modified it. I tend to gild the lily and frequently modify all my guns. For example, all my Glocks have aftermarket triggers, sights, recoil springs on the more powerful, magazine springs, sometimes firing pins, and so forth.
In the case of my Witness Compact, I had the front sight machined into the slide milled off and replaced with a slot fit to accept my favorite aftermarket sights, replaced the guide rod with a cone-shaped rod, replaced the recoil spring with one two pounds heavier and put new springs throughout the gun. I also added aftermarket grips from Copper Grip. The double-action trigger pull is now just a shade over 6 pounds on my Lyman gauge. I like to carry hammer down on a live round with the manual safety on. With the greatly reduced double-action pull, it works for me.
The gun shoots beautifully and is wonderfully accurate in my hands. It shades the Glocks I own but not by much.
Estoy interesado en una pistola.
For the record, excessive gun control measures are not “leftist” policy. Being a communist, socialist, or social democrat does not preclude one from being a staunch supporter of gun rights. That is a false dichotomy, and it is high time we abandon it.
Yep, leftists love guns. The term you’re looking for is liberal. Liberals want to put restrictions on and/or ban guns. That is one thing leftists and rightists have in common. We all hate liberals. Oh and one other thing, we both love guns.