5 Best 10mm Bear Ammo

When you’re heading into bear country, it’s always a smart idea to re-evaluate your self-defense equipment. Due to several noteworthy factors, the 10mm auto has become a widely used bear gun. Traditional high-caliber bear loads can have excessive recoil and offer a limited number of shots. The 10mm auto maintains a powerful blow while offering a more manageable recoil, improved accuracy, and higher round capacities.

There are many 10mm defense ammo choices on the market with different purposes. To take down a charging grizzly bear, one may want something like a cast bullet or solid copper that will offer greater penetration than something like a jacketed hollow point.

Self-defense in the great outdoors should be taken seriously and MidwayUSA is here to help with popular brands like Underwood, Winchester, HSM, and more. Here are our 5 Best 10mm Bear Ammo options.

1

Underwood Hard Cast 10mm Auto Ammo 220 Grain Flat Nose Box of 20

While taking advantage of state of the art testing equipment, this high performance ammunition by Underwood is field tested using popular, real firearms that customers are most likely to own out in the real world with all the elements you would experience. If for some reason Underwood Ammunition fails to meet performance expectations, Underwood stands by their product 100% and will make sure the customer is satisfied with every purchase. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.

 

Hard cast flat nose bullets are non-expanding, powerfully penetrative bullets that are designed with your woods defense needs in mind; whether fending off wild hogs or black bears, the hard cast flat nose bullets are consistently effective in taking down any wild animals that you may encounter. In contrast to the round nose non-expanding bullets, the flat nose bullets are able to pierce through dense bodies of mass while maintaining their nose forward position, which is optimal for maximum penetration. ­Underwood Ammo’s hard cast featuring a “Black Cherry” coating. Equipped with enhancements from the previous Hi-Tek coating. “Black Cherry” coating is a polymer-based compound; its thermal stability allows it to handle more than any other coating today. The coating will protect against gas cutting with a high degree of wear and abrasion resistance. The “Black Cherry” coating prevents lead to bore contact, thus virtually eliminating lead fouling. All Underwood Ammo rounds utilize flash suppressed powder so that your vision will not be compromised if it becomes necessary to use your firearm in low light.

 

The Underwood nickel plating process provides several key benefits including; improved feeding in all actions of firearms, enhanced corrosion resistance over traditional brass, improved cosmetics, and ease of cleanup during reloading. Nickel plated casings will not tarnish like brass during storage or when in contact with foreign materials such as leather, moisture, and other metals. Until the development of the Ducta-Bright 7a process, nickel plating casings often limited the number of reloads as compared to raw brass. It was claimed that nickel plated brass casings embrittled the brass therefor making it less desirable for reloaders despite the ease of cleanup that nickel plating offers. In addition, ammunition engineers raising concerns of using nickel plating in very hot +P or magnum loads found that traditional nickel plating often cracked deep-drawn cases, or worse, lead to a total failure. This new process eliminates any concern, to the shooter or reloader, of hazard or ability to re-use the brass.

 

Features

  • No plastic burning smell
  • Thermally stable
  • Resistant to weathering and chemical degradation
  • Strong mechanical and tensile strength properties
  • Self-lubricating
  • Able to withstand high pressure conditions
  • Able to withstand high heat conditions
  • High degree of wear and abrasion resistance
  • Reduced friction resistance
  • Good flame retarding properties
  • Coating prevents lead to bore contact thus virtually eliminating lead fouling
  • Shoot higher velocities without lead fouling

What Customers Are Saying

I researched & chose these for hog hunting back up.

This is a real 10mm round. We have many feral hogs, many in the 300-400 lb. range. Underwood Ammo is 220 gr. coated hard cast FN rounds @1200 fps. Big pigs are mean with "cutters" and "armored" in their chest area; this hard-hitting round is meaner.
- Texas Grendelier, 3/4/2019

About Underwood Ammunition

Kevin Underwood started Underwood Ammo in 2013 after seeing a need in the market for better ammunition at a reasonable price. Some of you may be reading this while on-duty, on-reserve, or while off-duty from protecting our neighborhoods. Where-ever you are - We Salute You. Thank you for your service.

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2

Hornady Custom 10mm Auto Ammo 180 Grain Hornady XTP Jacketed Hollow Point Box of 20

Hornady custom-grade ammunition from the factory. Every round of Hornady Custom ammunition is hand inspected before packaging to ensure the highest levels of quality control. Hornady Custom ammunition is manufactured to give shooters and hunters the advantage of hand-loaded accuracy in a factory load. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.

 

Hornady XTP bullets were designed for hunting, self-defense, and law enforcement. One of the great things about the XTP bullet is reliable performance, it features controlled expansion where six serrations divide the bullet into six symmetrical sections. These sections weaken the jacket to allow controlled expansion at low velocities and ensures fragmentation does not occur at high velocities. The XTP bullet is really known for its stopping power. They were designed from the beginning to expand reliably at a variety of handgun velocities and deliver deep, terminal penetration with every shot. Most handgun bullets are designed to perform at a single factory-specified velocity where the XTP bullet is designed to offer controlled expansion over a range of velocities. Each XTP Bullet has a swaged core and drawn copper jacket to ensure uniform expansion and in-flight stability. Adding a cannelure to this bullet keeps the core and the jacket locked together while also allowing the cartridge case to tightly crimp, adding security at high velocities.

What Customers Are Saying

Great performance in wet ...

Great performance in wet phone books. The bullet expands and leaves sharp jacket "blades" that cause a lot of damage. Full power load - thanks Hornady! Accurate, clean. Only reason for a 4-star rating instead of a 5-star, is because of the flash, which is substantial. Great as a daytime round, which is what I use it for. If flash were suppressed, this would be the best 10mm defense round available. Overall darn good ammo.
- Charlie, 2/25/2010

About Hornady

“Ten bullets through one hole” is the philosophy that brought Hornady® Manufacturing from a two-man operation in 1949, to a world-leading innovator of bullet, ammunition, reloading tool and accessory design and manufacture today. Change is their constant and daily challenge. They outperform their competitors by ensuring the products they make are the ones their customers need right now, and accurately predict what they’ll want in the future. They recognize trends, and respect when to leave well enough alone. Their workforce includes an ample number of hunters and competitive shooters, as well as veterans and former law enforcement officers. At Hornady® Manufacturing, ammunition is more than their livelihood. It’s a major part of their daily life.

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3

Underwood 10mm Auto Ammo 140 Grain Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator Fluted Lead Free Box of 20

Underwood Ammo combines their trademark power and precision with Lehigh Defense masterfully designed Xtreme Penetrator bullets - the result is one jaw dropping round. This round is solid copper and features a unique nose that maximizes penetration and facilitates consistent and reliable magazine feeding.

 

This round offers:

  • Solid Copper (Lead Free) precision CNC machined design. Good for the environment, bad, really bad for the target
  • Unique nose that increases the hydraulic velocity creating high pressure spikes resulting in a larger permanent wound column and over twice the penetration than most expanding bullets.
  • Blunt nose for initial energy transfer and straight, deep penetration while allowing for reliable magazine feeding.
  • Solid copper construction and cutting edges to punch through entry barriers without deformation or deflection.

 

Nickel-plated brass casings, their nickel plating process provides several key benefits, not limited to but including; improved feeding in all actions of firearms enhanced corrosion resistance over traditional brass, improved cosmetics, and ease of cleanup during reloading. Nickel-plated casings will not tarnish like brass during storage or when in contact with foreign materials such as leather, moisture, and other metals.

As with all of Underwood Ammo rounds, they utilize flash suppressed powder so that your vision will not be compromised if it becomes necessary to use your firearm in low light.

While taking advantage of their state of the art testing equipment, this high-performance ammunition is field tested using popular, real firearms that their customers are most likely to own out in the real world with all the elements you would experience.

This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.

 

Features

  • This ammo is for cartridge size 10mm Auto.
  • The bullet is made from Copper.
  • The diameter (caliber) of this bullet is 0.4.
  • This bullet weighs 140 grains.
  • This bullet leaves the barrel at 1500 feet per second.
  • The ammo case is made from Nickel Plated Brass.
  • This ammo is a proven round for hunting.
  • The bullet in this product does NOT contain lead.
  • This round is designed to be supersonic and travels faster than the speed of sound.
  • The muzzle energy of this ammo is 700 ft lbs.
  • This product has been designed to be an effective choice for the ultimate in self-defense applications.
  • The bullet in this product has a Sectional Density, (SD) of 0.125. SD is the ratio of an object's mass to its cross sectional area with respect to a given axis. It conveys how well an object's mass is distributed (by its shape) to overcome resistance along that axis.
  • This ammo IS SAFE to use in a suppressor.
  • The bullet in this ammo has a ballistic coefficient (G1) of - Generally, the higher the coefficient, the more stable the projectile will be in flight.
  • Each box of ammo contains 20 loaded pieces of ammunition.
  • This ammo is manufactured by Underwood Ammo

 

What Customers Are Saying

I used this ammunition bear hunting this past fall.

I have used this ammunition in my glock model 40, to successfully harvest 2 black bears, and finish off a couple others. I am very pleased with the results, great penatraition and holds shape even when going through bone like skulls.
- Jed, 2/15/2019

About Underwood Ammunition

Kevin Underwood started Underwood Ammo in 2013 after seeing a need in the market for better ammunition at a reasonable price. Some of you may be reading this while on-duty, on-reserve, or while off-duty from protecting our neighborhoods. Where-ever you are - We Salute You. Thank you for your service.

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4

HSM Bear 10mm Auto Ammo 200 Grain Flat Nose Box of 20

Developed as a load to protect hunters while hunting or traveling in bear country, this American made ammunition is sure to keep you safe with its extreme terminal performance and stopping power. HSM Bear Ammunition is loaded with high-quality, dependable components delivering drastically higher velocities when compared to standard loads. Trust HSM Bear loads for your protection from dangerous game. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable brass cases.

What Customers Are Saying

Proven.

There are 2 recent successful bear defense stories where this ammo was used. Last one a hunter in Alaska stopped an 800lb grizzly w/ 2 shots from a Glock. I've dumped about 4 boxes of this with no issues.
- AK guy, 4/21/2022 Shop Now
5

Federal Premium Personal Defense 10mm Auto Ammo 200 Grain Federal HST Jacketed Hollow Point

Federal Premium Personal Defense HST Ammunition has been specially designed to deliver consistent, tremendous expansion, optimum penetration and superior terminal performance. The specially designed hollow point will not plug while passing through a variety of barriers and the jacket and core hold together providing nearly 100% weight retention! This ammunition was engineered to meet or exceed ammunition testing protocols; these protocols put bullets through 10% ordinance gelatin, steel, wallboard, plywood, laminated automobile safety glass and gelatin covered in heavy clothing and measure how well the bullets penetrate, expand and hold together.

One of the great things about this ammunition are high quality features that make this ammunition perfect choice for self-defense ammunition. Each round of ammunition is loaded into a Federal Premium nickel plated brass case with waterproofing on the case mouth and primer. Every load has a consistent powder charge and reliable primer for consistent ignition. Every HST bullet features a tapered jacket profile for reliable feeding, a cannelure that locks the copper jacket to the lead core, patented co-aligned internal and external skiving and a deep tapered hollow point that will not clog. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer primed, reloadable nickel-plated brass cases.

 

Features

  • Specially designed hollow point expands reliably through a variety of barriers
  • Expanded diameter and weight retention produce the desired penetration for personal defense situations without overpenetrating
  • Superior performance in FBI test protocol used by law enforcement officials to assess and select duty ammunition
  • Bullet nose profile, nickel-plated case and Federal's unique primer provide the ultimate in function and reliability in semi-automatic handguns

 

What Customers Are Saying

Finally in stock

Wet pack testing revealed very good penetration compared to Hydrashok. Less expansion in the end causes that plus the extra velocity. In a full size Rock Island recoil was barely noticeable. Not a hot loading but appropriate. I may carry this on my property but probably not when I travel in the truck. Hydrashok suits me for the urban carry. May use this for hunting because it is impressive.
- Vindicator, 1/1/2020

About Federal Premium

Federal Cartridge Company, as we know it today, started in 1922 when Charles Horn purchased Federal Cartridge and Machine out of receivership. Federal’s first products were shotshells, followed by rimfire in 1924. In 1976, Federal Premium was launched, combining boutique bullets with premium propellants and nickel-plated brass to create the “best of the best” in centerfire ammunition. Over a century later, MidwayUSA offers a complete spectrum of Federal ammunition, ranging from shotshell offerings like: Top-Gun, High Over All, Game Loads, Gold Medal Grand, and Prairie Storm; and centerfire rifle ammunition such as Fusion, Power-Shok, Gold Medal Match, Meat Eater; to centerfire pistol ammunition: HST, Punch, and American Eagle. Federal continues to manufacture rimfire ammo in the form of AutoMatch, Champion, and Game-shok. Federal supports handloaders with standard: small pistol, small rifle, large pistol, large rifle, 209 shotshell primers, and the Gold Medal-series match primers.

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